₦airaland Forum

9japride:
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Your politicians know the wealth and the usefulness of the Southeastern are ready to go to length to keep them.
Anyone doubting that is just being mischievous.

mrvitalis:
I'm actually loving how South East is playing 2027 politics

9japride:
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But their resources is relevant?

yommen:
The way the previous ones were picked up na. Na today?

sonsomegrigbo:
Yes! Exactly the way they picked up the guys behind the infamous MMM




YOU HAD BETTER WAKE UP FROM SLEEP

chiommy123:
Na today? No be so they do shine shine as he come settle we hear anything again?

press9jatv:
BREAKING!! ADMIRAL IBAS WRITES APOLOGY LETTER

The sole administrator of Rivers State Admiral Ibok Ekwe Eket Ibas has written to the national assembly to Pardon his failure to attend their invitation

Recall that national assembly earlier invited the sole administrator for a meeting to deliberate indepthly on how to move Rivers State government forward.

Ibas has refused to attend to their call for 10 days now and still counting

In his apology letter Ibas claimed that the reason he hasn't attended is because he's not mentally and intellectually prepared for such high level discussions which involves economic, security, education, employment, social welfare, and other serious matters

I have earlier said that Ibas doesn't look competent, his body language says it all. He is indeed retired and tired. The only notable noise he has made since his inception is warning peaceful Rivers women protesters to stop demonstrating their democratic rights.

Even Hon Ugochinyere was said that Ibas should have no business with Rivers State government because he is not capable to lead

Who in his right senses would compare Ibas to gov Sim, or consider him as a befitting replacement for a God sent like gov Fubara

The national assembly should sack him immediately and bring back our God sent SIM.

appleous:
Go and collect the fine.

Owo mi da agbero government

People who can't even manage a one man business with no staff will be talking about collecting fines from international companies.

I say, go and collect it

ednut1:
go collect am na

appleous:
I think it is you they will send to their SF headquarters to collect the fine?

Go and collect it

Oponu

appleous:
Clowns.

Money that they will steal?

Instead Meta should shut down their services in Nigeria.

Effing clowns

ednut1:
They would rather leave Nigeria than pay. So who loses?

mrvitalis:
Say we have two people contesting
A and B

You know A is the wrong choice but has better structure to win
But B is the better choice but have less structure to win

Majority of Nigerians would vote A in order not to he in the bad books of A when he wins..


As an Igbo man I find this funny 🤣 and strange because I would gladly vote B... Does that make me bad in politics?

Or does that make Nigerians bad in politics?

ntipro:
I don't know about others but I have not heard been getting updates from NV. Abeg who knows why?

safarifarms:
What about availability of Doctors? Its not just to have the facilities, if there are no doctors/nurses then its useless.

Most doctors want to stay in town where they can quickly dive into their 2nd job with a private hospital after the shift in the public hospital.

Even with incentives, they'll take the posting, collect the salaries, but will hardly be available. That's the problem with most health centers in the interiors.

Ebubu2:
Only option to beat Tinubu in 2027 is Wike to be pleaded with, and given ANY concession he is asked for, to ensure he supports PDP in 2027.

That way, Fubara and Rivers will automatically be in the bag. Wike can be pretending to still be in APC while he scatters APC from the inside ahead of 2027, many Niger delta governors will align just as they are following Wike to APC.

Obi will be assured of economic policy such as CBN President which will also favour Igbo entrepreneurs and importers with favorable loans and banking policies; outcome is Obi will support the coalition and Igbo people will support Atiku/Wike.

El Rufai will play the little spoiler against Kwankwaso's plan to throw Kano to APC, EL Rufai will do his little spoiler in North West by throwing his little portion to the coalition of Atiku/Wike and be installed as Sole Administrstor of Lagos state.



Anything outside these, Tinubu will rig himself in as all these Governors defecting will provide the instrument of powers in their various states for the FG to win in South South.

Atiku/Wike with Obi/El-Rufai spoiler and 2027 will be UMBRELLA!

DrMB:
First, they defected. Then, they disappeared. And now, it’s as if they never were.
It started with a few defections. Then came the intimidation. Now? Whole states are turning monochrome—and democracy is bleeding out, one seat at a time.
There was no announcement. No emergency decree. Just a creeping silence, as opposition voices faded and a single party took control. Is Nigeria still a democracy—or just playing one on TV?

The Mirage of Multiparty Democracy

It’s all still there—on paper.

The 1999 Nigerian Constitution remains intact, enshrining multi-party democracy, affirming freedom of association, guaranteeing electoral competition. The idea of pluralism is preserved in ink and law.

And yet, on the streets of Port Harcourt, and Lagos, in the whispers of Abuja corridors, in the silence of shrinking newsrooms… something feels off.

Not dead. Not yet.

But dying? Quietly, subtly—like a candle losing its flame to the wind.

When Bola Ahmed Tinubu took the reins in 2023 under the All Progressives Congress (APC), there were already murmurs. But now, murmurs have grown teeth.

Dominance by Numbers—or by Design?

Let’s look at the scoreboard, shall we?

Presidency? APC.

Senate? 59 out of 109 seats.

House of Representatives? 176 out of 360.

Governors? APC now holds 22 out of 36 governorships (21 as of November 2024, plus Delta’s Oborevwori).

If politics were a football match, this would be a rout.

But it’s not the numbers alone that raise eyebrows. It’s how they got there.

In December 2024, 26 PDP lawmakers in Rivers State defected en masse to the APC. Not one. Not five. Twenty-six. It felt less like a switch and more like a surrender. People didn’t just switch jerseys—they joined the other team’s locker room.

And this isn't isolated. All across Nigeria, state by state, the APC isn’t just winning elections. It’s absorbing opposition.

A Past That Warns the Present

Somewhere in the archives of Nigeria’s political history lies a cautionary tale: The National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

During the Second Republic (1979–1983), the NPN followed a similar playbook—entrench dominance through defections, weaken opposition through incentives (or threats), and consolidate power under the guise of “unity.”

It ended badly. For democracy. For the people. And eventually, for the NPN itself.

Is this déjà vu?

The Opposition Is Bleeding

Take the PDP—once a colossus, now a fragmented shadow.

Riddled with leadership squabbles, bleeding members to defections, and struggling to reconcile competing ambitions (remember the 2023 Peter Obi–Atiku Abubakar stalemate?), the PDP is becoming less of an alternative and more of a memory.

The Labour Party? Energetic, but underfunded and often chaotic in internal structure.
NNPP? Largely regional, still finding its national voice.

The result? No unified front. No coordinated resistance.

When the Referee Picks a Side

It’s not just the players. It’s the field itself.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), long hailed as a bastion of electoral integrity, was rocked by allegations of bias during the 2023 elections—logistical failures, sudden result transmission glitches, and alleged favoritism.

Security agencies were accused of targeting opposition rallies while offering “protection” to ruling party events.

And the press? Journalists are being harassed, arrested, and in some cases, disappeared.

Without a fair referee, even the best team can’t win.

But Wait—Where’s the Pulse

It seems only the APC political heart still beats.

Eight parties won National Assembly seats in 2023.

Is the PDP still controlling 12 states?

Are the LP, NNPP, and APGA still holding their seats?

We are witnessing a steady wave of defections—legislators abandoning their parties, and even governors crossing the aisle.

And civil society isn’t sleeping. Groups like Yiaga Africa, Enough is Enough, and BudgIT continue to call out irregularities, promote electoral transparency, and push back against authoritarian drift.

There’s resistance—but it’s fragmented. Tired. Outgunned.

The Human Cost of Quiet Tyranny

Let’s move from numbers to names.

Chidinma, a young woman in Lagos, was harassed for showing up at a polling station wearing an LP shirt.

Femi, a journalist in Bayelsa, was detained for “inciting unrest” after tweeting about vote-buying.

These are not headlines. These are lives. When democracy erodes, it doesn’t just happen in the legislature—it happens on streets, in homes, in conversations about who you can trust.

Low voter turnout isn’t apathy. It’s fear. Or worse, fatalism.

Crossroads, Not Cliff

Nigeria hasn’t fallen off the edge—yet.

There are paths still open:

A unified opposition coalition—perhaps built on policy alignment rather than personality worship.

Electoral reforms that truly enforce INEC independence and accountability.

Protected press freedoms, with civil society shielding the truth from suppression.

But time is short. And the 2027 elections won’t just decide leadership—they will test whether Nigeria remains a democracy, or merely wears its costume.

The Sound of Silence

Maybe the most chilling part isn’t what’s being said.

It’s what’s not.

As defections rise and scrutiny fades, as the ruling party cements control with little resistance, we must ask:

When the competition disappears, do we still call it democracy?

We’re not there yet.

But if nothing changes, we will be.

In a democracy, many voices matter. But when only one is heard—loud, constant, and unchallenged—it’s no longer a conversation. It’s a command.

Coming next: Behind Closed Doors – Inside the APC’s Defection Machine: Who funds it, who fears it, and who feeds it.

DR MELCHISEDEC BANKOLE

Obiedun:
Dey play. The party is going. It will fade away. It's like you people don't understand politics. You base your judgment on emotions

spencekat:
Omo-Agege and Ned can move to PDP.

Bobloco:

Peacecore:
Same way u guys were calling the pdp election Wike held in Rivers illegal buh they're still ruling till today.

Peacecore:
i highlighted a constitutional amendment for u n u r still saying that I should show u