Wabara rallies diasporans to protect Nigeria’s democracy ahead of 2027

A former Senate President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has begun high-level consultations in the United States with Nigerians in the diaspora on strategies to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy and ensure the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in 2027.

The consultations, held in collaboration with former Action Congress vice-presidential candidate, Senator Ben Obi, cut across party lines and are aimed at mobilising progressive Nigerians at home and abroad to defend the country’s democratic institutions, preserve political pluralism and resist any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s multi-party system.

Speaking in a telephone interview with journalists in Umuahia on Tuesday, Wabara said the meetings focused on growing concerns over the state of Nigeria’s democracy, the shrinking democratic space and the urgent need for patriotic forces to unite in defence of constitutional governance.

He disclosed that participants expressed deep concern over what they described as “increasing pressure on opposition parties, the erosion of public confidence in the neutrality of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the danger of weakening Nigeria’s democratic foundations.”

According to him, the consultations also focused on “building a broad national consensus on how to rescue Nigeria from state capture and restore confidence in the electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.”

“The common objective of these consultations is to rescue Nigeria from state capture, free up the democratic space and ensure that the will of the people, not the will of a few powerful individuals, prevails in 2027,” he said.

Wabara warned that “Nigeria’s democracy is facing one of its most critical moments since the return to civil rule.”

He also urged all eligible Nigerians who are yet to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards to take advantage of the ongoing voter registration exercise before the July 10 deadline, stressing that “active citizen participation remains the strongest safeguard against electoral manipulation.”

The consultations in the United States followed similar high-level engagements Wabara held in London a few weeks ago with former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Bode George.