Politics

APC, LP Trade Blames Over Alleged Use Of State Resources To Stifle Opposition

ByTitilope Adako

PublishedJune 4, 2025

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party (LP) clashed on Tuesday over allegations that the ruling party is using state resources and institutions to suppress the opposition.

Senator Nenadi Usman, Chairperson of the Labour Party’s National Caretaker Committee, accused the APC of deploying intimidation, manipulation and harassment tactics to weaken rival parties and force defections.

Speaking at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Global Award and Dinner Night in Abuja, Senator Usman, represented by her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Mr Ken Eluma Asogwa, said, “Since the emergence of the APC as the ruling party, there has been a deliberate and relentless campaign to undermine the opposition.

“Tactics range from infiltration and co-optation to the use of state institutions for harassment, intimidation, and even judicial manipulation. The ruling party has become adept not just at consolidating power but at weakening every form of challenge to it. This is not democracy. This is domination masked as governance.

“The APC cannot in good conscience profess commitment to democratic ideals while simultaneously working to destabilise opposition parties like the Labour Party and others.”

She warned that any system that uses state resources to sow division within opposition parties is not interested in fair political competition.

“Without a strong and functional opposition, we cannot claim to be practicing democracy—only a shadow of it.

“Around the world, we have seen how opposition movements shape democratic resilience. Yet here at home, we are witnessing the slow suffocation of opposition voices—not by accident, but by design.”

Usman urged opposition parties to put aside self-interest and internal wrangling to form a credible alternative.

“But let me also be brutally honest, while external interference from the APC has played a role, it is not the only culprit. The opposition has too often been complicit in its own weakening.

“We must acknowledge that personal ambition, greed and internal divisions have made us vulnerable. No amount of external sabotage can succeed if there is no internal decay. That is why I say the most potent antidote is not merely vigilance, but patriotism—genuine, uncompromising patriotism.

“When our leaders put Nigeria first – above ambition, above ego, above the lure of quick power—no ruling party can break us. It is time to stop acting like victims and start behaving like visionaries. Our role is not to whine about the state of the nation but to fight for its redemption.

“It does this country no good to operate a system where one party dominates unchecked. Even the APC, if it is wise, should understand that democracy dies not with a bang but with the silence of dissent. Once the people are left with no real alternative, the legitimacy of the entire system is at risk.

“We must call out the failures of the APC administration—its economic mismanagement, insecurity, shrinking civic space and worsening inequality. But more importantly, we must come armed with real solutions and speak not just to the frustrations of Nigerians but to their hopes. Not just criticism, but conviction. Not just slogans, but substance. Not just ambition, but action.”

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vowed to wrest power from the APC in 2027, declaring that the Tinubu-led government has failed to deliver on its promises.

At a press conference, the state chairman of the PDP, Edward Percy Masha, said, “The APC’s promise of a ‘renewed hope’ in security, welfare, infrastructure, health, education, agriculture and economic transformation has failed to translate into meaningful or positive outcomes for the nation.

“Since coming on board, there has been little or no difference in the security situation inherited from the preceding APC administration.

“The APC’s two years in office can best be described as Nigeria’s worst era, despite the humongous accruals from the subsidy removal.

“The 2027 general elections will be the people against the APC. We will mobilise the people to defend their mandate at all costs.”

In response, the APC dismissed the accusations as baseless.

The National Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, said in a phone interview with Daily Trust, “It is not in the interest of the APC to be interfering in the activities of a suffocated party like the Labour Party.

“The APC is too busy delivering, administering and trying to deliver on the mandate given to it. It doesn’t have the time to be interfering or hoodwinking members of the opposition.

“It is not in the interest of the APC. The APC is trying to encourage the opposition so that there will be vibrant politics and democracy.”

Ibrahim maintained that the APC remains focused on fulfilling its campaign promises and is confident of retaining power in 2027.

Titilope Adako

Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.