The political parties must face up to the real issues
Right before our very eyes, a new political culture is unfolding in the country. From a sitting Senator publicly inciting people in Osun State to kill supporters of opposing parties, to a council chairman in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) threatening residents except they vote for his party, to a commissioner in Borno State promising to amputate the hands of anyone who exercises their franchise in a different way from his preference, the political climate in Nigeria is increasingly becoming toxic. To compound the challenge, a state governor is now announcing that he will remove from office any elected local government official who does not ‘deliver’ the votes for his party during the 2027 general election.
While swearing in the newly elected chairmen and vice chairmen of Ebonyi State’s 13 local government areas (all won by his party as is customary with such elections in the country), Governor Francis Nwifuru descended into the gutter. “Any chairman who fails to win his council will be removed from office and replaced with a councillor. I want this information to be on the headlines of newspapers because, as politicians, we would not speak in secret,” Nwifiru declared. “The chairmen know we would win in the state and if they choose to sleep and allow others to take their areas, they would be removed.”
