From Okey Sampson,Umuahia

FormerSenate president , Adolphus Wabara and former Action Congress (AC) vice-presidential candidate, Senator Ben Obi are in high-level consultations in the United States with Nigerians in the diaspora on the best way to ensure the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in 2027 and safeguard Nigeria’s democracy.

In a telephone chat with newsmen, Wabara said the consultations, which cut across party lines, were 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 the nation’s multi-party system. 

Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the meetings with Nigerians in the diaspora and “some officials”, centred on the 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 in the country. 

According to him, “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.” 

Wabara stated that the consultations were “very fruitful” and focused on building a broad national consensus on how to rescue Nigeria from what he described as “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.”

The former Senate president warned that Nigeria’s democracy was facing one of its most critical moments since the return to civil rule, likening its condition to a patient in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). 

“Our democracy is currently in the ICU. Unless urgent and sincere efforts are made to strengthen our democratic institutions and guarantee credible elections, the future of our nation could be endangered.

“What we have in Nigeria today is a distorted version of democracy. This is not the democracy our founding fathers fought and made enormous sacrifices to bequeath to us. And we cannot afford to stand by and watch a few greedy political merchants hold the destiny of over 200 million Nigerians by the jugular.

“It is time for all patriotic and progressive Nigerians to rise above partisan interests and unite to defend democracy, protect our constitutional order, and ensure that the will of the people prevails through free, fair and credible elections in 2027.”

He called on opposition parties, civil society organisations, professional groups, youth and women organisations, and all progressive Nigerians to put national interest above partisan considerations and forge a united front in defence of democracy.

Wabara appealed to all eligible Nigerians who were yet to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to take advantage of the ongoing voter registration before the July 10 deadline, reminding the people that active citizen participation remains the strongest safeguard against electoral manipulation.