A former presidential candidate, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has warned that Nigeria’s democracy is under grave threat, alleging a coordinated effort by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to cripple opposition politics and impose a oneparty civilian dictatorship.

Olawepo-Hashim, in a statement issued from Doha, Qatar, where he is attending the Covenant Altar of Worship Ministry’s First Worship Convention, condemned the Abuja Federal High Court ruling that halted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention scheduled for November 15.

He described the court’s decision as part of a wider strategy to neutralise the PDP and weaponise the judiciary against multiparty democracy. “What happened in court is not an isolated incident. It is a carefully choreographed plot to paralyse the opposition and entrench authoritarian rule,” he said.

He also decried reports which indicated that a former governor of Jigawa State and PDP founding member, Alhaji Sule Lamido, was blocked from purchasing the nomination form to contest for the position of national chairman of the party. He described the development as a blatant assault on internal party democracy.

Olawepo-Hashim accused those he termed “fifth columnists” within the PDP of collaborating “wittingly or unwittingly” with forces loyal to the APC to frustrate ongoing reform efforts in the party.

“It is now clear that both external pressures and internal sabotage are being deployed to stop the rebirth of the PDP as a credible alternative and defender of democratic values,” he asserted.

Despite the setbacks, the 2027 presidential hopeful vowed that committed party loyalists will not allow opposition politics to be extinguished in Nigeria. His words: “Those celebrating the creeping civilian dictatorship should pause. The true soldiers of democracy are still standing. We will resist every attempt to kill opposition and destroy pluralism in this country.”

He disclosed plans to resume highlevel consultations with key party stakeholders on his return to Nigeria, with the aim of rallying “genuine leaders and men and women of conscience” to safeguard democratic freedom.

“The darkest hour, they say, comes before dawn. A new day will break for Nigeria’s democracy,” Olawepo-Hashim assured Nigerians. He also called on members of the PDP to remain resolute, saying: “We call on party members not to despair and not to faint.”