The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has decried what he described as the erosion of democratic principles in Nigeria, saying the country is facing a crisis.

The former Anambra State governor spoke on Tuesday at the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital, where he reflected on the state of democracy and governance in the country.

Obi recalled spending three years in court challenging his election as Anambra State governor, noting that judges he had never met previously delivered judgments in his favour.

He said such an experience would be difficult to replicate in Nigeria today.

“I was in court for three years challenging my election, five judges that I never met for one day gave judgement in my favour, it cannot happen in Nigeria of today. I went to Court of Appeal, five judges I never met gave judgement in my favour.

“So, if you look at that and look at what is happening today in Nigeria where professors are now aiding illiterates to rig elections, where our lawmakers have removed forgery as an offence in electoral matters, and Senior Advocates of Nigeria are defending forgery. Our religious leaders are now praying for criminal politicians for blessings. We have a crisis. And above all, our judges are now singing on your mandate,” Obi said.

He urged Nigerians to examine the direction of the country and question the state of its democratic institutions.

Obi said Nigerians must reject the normalisation of practices that undermine democracy, warning that their consequences could be inherited by future generations.

According to him, “We need to reverse this because the abuse we are allowing today will take its revenge on our children.”

This year’s GJF Democracy Dialogue is anchored on the question: “Beyond elections, can political parties and the judiciary save African democracy?”

The event was chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and attended by former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and former Vice President Namadi Sambo.

Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed hosted the event, which also brought together constitutional experts and civil society voices from across the continent.

Outrage has trailed a viral video showing the lawmaker representing Osun East Senatorial District, Francis Fadahunsi, instructing members of the All Progressives Congress to “kill” opposition supporters while condemning Accord Party in Ilesa, Osun State.

The federal lawmaker was addressing some of his supporters and APC members in Ilesa on Tuesday.

Speaking in Yoruba, Fadahunsi, one of the top campaigners of the APC candidate in the August 15, 2026 governorship poll, Bola Oyebamiji, dared the people at the gathering to video-record him and share it on social media.

He said, “If you see any of them from now on to the day of the election, kill them.”

His statement was met with loud cheers from his followers who wore APC fez caps.

Fadahunsi’s statement has since been condemned by many as inciting and anti-democratic.

Pelumi Olajengbesi, a spokesman for the campaign council of Governor Ademola Adeleke, slammed Fadahunsi for the vitriolic order to his followers.

Olajengbesi said, “This is a serious threat to lives and the peaceful conduct of the August 15 election.

“Mr. Inspector-General of Police, this must be addressed immediately. Nobody has the right to kill an Accord member or any citizen. Nobody has the right to stop Osun people from voting. Enough is enough!”

An Osun State indigene, Wale Akintoye, on Facebook, wrote, “Nigeria Police Force Osun CP won’t arrest this man now but will go after people of the opposition party.

“Has it got to this that openly a death sentence is passed by a senator? This is shameful. Politics is not a do-or-die affair, but leaders that are in position are calling for the killing of Osun people.”

Adenike Bekky said, “All because of politics, he seems to have forgotten that it was our votes that gave him the mandate and positioned him where he is today. Why should anyone be threatened or harmed simply because they chose not to decamp with you? Politics should never be a matter of life and death. We cannot all face the same direction, and political differences should never be a reason to threaten the lives of citizens.”

Also, Bukky Stephen said, “Even telling people to record him and send it out means he is above the law. Nigerian police should act on this if they are not biased.”

By Augustine Akhilomen

With just days left for the conduct of the much expected Osun governorship election, the political atmosphere in the state remains tense, coupled with the fact that there are palpable fears that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may not be fair to all political parties despite it’s consistent assurance of conducting a transparent, credible, free and fair election.

Although 14 political parties are on the ballot, political analysts say the campaign dynamics, political intrigues and strength of the major contenders have effectively narrowed the race to the All Progressives Congress (APC), which candidate, Alhaji Bola Oyebamiji is seeking to reclaim Osun, and the Accord, which is banking on Governor Ademola Adeleke’s incumbency, popularity and record in office.

For INEC, the poll represents yet another opportunity to reinforce public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process following the reforms and technological innovations introduced in recent election cycles.

“The Osun governorship election is a very important election because of its proximity to the 2027 general election. We are determined to ensure that the process is free, fair, and credible,” INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan said in a recent statement.

The election is therefore not merely a contest among political parties; it is also a referendum on the country’s electoral management system and the ability of democratic institutions to deliver credible, transparent and peaceful elections ahead of the 2027 general election.

Again, the political environment in Osun has historically been among the most competitive in Nigeria. Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, elections in the state have frequently been characterised by intense rivalry, violence, legal disputes and narrow victory margins.

The state’s electorate has demonstrated an independent voting culture, often resisting assumptions based solely on party dominance in the South-West. Political allegiance has however shifted over the years, reflecting local governance issues, candidates’ personalities and grassroots mobilisation rather than ideological considerations alone. This history makes every governorship election in Osun particularly unpredictable and interesting to watch.

However, the recent happenings in the state, starting with the arrest and detention of the secretary to the Osun State Government (SSG), Teslim Igbalaye, for alleged vote buying, and the arrest of the Osun State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Mayowa Asejoorin, in connection with gunshots fired at the APC members on Saturday In Ilesa by the police, have raised a question mark on the police’s neutrality ahead of the election.

The police are meant to protect the interest of the people and not be used as a tool to frustrate or intimidate politicians. Such action will only portray a negative picture about the police heading to next week’s election. This is coming in the wake of repeated assurance by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Tunji Disu that the force will be unbiased and neutral before, during and after the elections.

Then, just last week Thursday, in a move that came as a surprise to most Nigerians and that was out rightly condemned, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) froze the Osun State Government account with days to the election. The development came hours after Governor Ademola Adeleke alleged that the EFCC was planning to freeze the state’s accounts and those of top government officials.

Despite the fact that president Bola Tinubu has intervened on the matter by directing EFCC to immediately return to court and vacate the order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government, the move was seen as an attempt by the federal government to intimidate and frustrate the state government by all means and to make it difficult for Governor Adeleke to retain his governorship position.

Most observers were of the view that there was no ground whatsoever to justify the action of the EFCC with election just around the corner. They faulted the anti-graft agency for being used by the presidency to circumvent the democratic process in the countdown to the Osun governorship election. “The timing was particularly damaging”, says Senator Babafemi Ojudu. “An anti-corruption investigation may be legitimate, but when enforcement action is taken only days before an election, its timing becomes inseparable from its political consequences”, Ojudu said in a statement.

Ojudu asked how a federal agency could take such a step with grave political, economic and democratic consequences without anticipating the damage it could do to the credibility of both the federal government and the electoral process.

But then, questions on the lips of political observers remain: will INEC and other critical agencies be truly independent to discharge their duty without any form of interference from the federal level?

Reacting to the development, Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine and a close friend of Governor Adeleke said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has lost the confidence of many Nigerians.

Momodu cited the forthcoming governorship election in Osun state as an example, saying that despite being an election in just one of Nigeria’s 36 states, it already resembles a war.



“I think INEC has a lot of work to do and a lot of grounds to cover for the majority of Nigerians to believe they are serious as an umpire,” he said.

“The impression currently is that INEC is impotent, and you cannot blame Nigerians for that. There is a Yoruba proverb that a woman whose child has been killed before by a witch sees every woman as a witch.

“So, INEC has always dashed the hopes of Nigerians. So, don’t be surprised if Nigerians see INEC as a witch that will continue to kill and suck the blood of its victims. Despite all the resources poured into INEC, it usually fails so glaringly and spectacularly.

“We saw in 1993 how the June 12 election ran very smoothly. But today we don’t have anything close to that. Nigeria should be improving, not deteriorating, not degenerating. And the umpire cannot be different from those who appointed them. “If those who appointed people believe in free and fair elections, they will do everything possible to manipulate, to manoeuvre, to meander and make sure that they have their way by hook or by crook.”

In his own opinion, The President of the Nigerian Society of International Affairs (NSIA), Prof. Hassan Saliu, told Thepledge that the Osun governorship election is shaping up to be one of the most politically sensitive contests in recent times, with several underlying factors likely to shape both the campaigns and the eventual outcome.

“There will certainly be pressure on INEC because of the political importance attached to the election. The Commission must rise above every form of influence, remain faithful to the law, and ensure that every contestant is treated fairly. Only a credible process can produce an outcome that enjoys public confidence,” he said.

Also speaking, a lecturer of Politics and Governance at Kwara State University, Malete, Dr. Seyid Hassan Cisse, told Thepledge that INEC’s constitutional independence places a greater responsibility on the Commission to safeguard the credibility of the election.

He said the political atmosphere in Osun remains tense because of the competing interests surrounding the poll, insisting that the electoral umpire must resist every form of pressure and allow the democratic process to take its course.


“The independence attached to INEC requires it to remain neutral. My appeal is that the Commission should allow the will of the people to prevail. Let democracy triumph, let every eligible voter exercise his or her franchise freely, and let every valid vote count,” he said.

“If the will of the people does not prevail, we will be writing a chapter of history whose consequences may be borne by future generations. Electoral integrity is not only about today but also about preserving confidence in our democracy,” he stated.

It is believed that the success of the election will depend not only on the commission’s technical competence but also on the collective commitment of political actors, security agencies, civil society organisations, the media and the electorate to uphold the principles of free, fair and peaceful elections.

For sure, all eyes will be on Osun as voters go out this Saturday to elect the governor who will preside over the affairs of the state in the next four years. Will it be Governor Adeleke of the Accord Party or Bola Oyebamiji of the APC? What is however not in doubt is that the Osun election is seen as a test case for next year’s general election. Nigerians are watching to see how INEC, the police, the political leaders, the electorate and other stakeholders play their roles in making sure the outcome justifies the efforts put into it.

More importantly, Osun voters want to see an outcome that is a reflection of what they wanted. They want to see a transparent and credible process translating to free and fair results.