2027: Olawepo-Hashim alleges plot to crush opposition

Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a presidential aspirant for Nigeria's Accord party, has voiced strong concerns, alleging a conspiracy by powerful political interests to undermine opposition parties before the 2027 general elections. He claims Nigeria is regressing to the "dark days" reminiscent of the late Gen. Sani Abacha's military rule.

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Nigeria is being dragged back to the Abacha years.

In a statement, Olawepo-Hashim asserted that influential figures are actively working behind the scenes to weaken opposition platforms and stifle the emergence of genuine challengers to the current establishment. He specifically accused a prominent Accord party chieftain of orchestrating internal moves to destabilize the party and prevent it from fielding a presidential candidate. The aspirant sees parallels with the Abacha era, where political parties allegedly served a single power structure.

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We are seeing a replay of history, when political parties became tools for a self-succession agenda.

Olawepo-Hashim further alleged that certain high-ranking officials within President Bola Tinubu's administration are involved in efforts to monopolize the political landscape. He declared that this "coordinated plot by top officials will fail, just as the Abacha agenda failed." He also criticized the political establishment for allegedly weakening opposition parties through manipulative legal and political tactics, citing the destabilization of the Peoples Democratic Party and the enactment of a "self-serving and obnoxious" Electoral Act.

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This coordinated plot by top officials will fail, just as the Abacha agenda failed.

Despite internal party turmoil, Olawepo-Hashim affirmed that the Accord's presidential primaries would proceed as scheduled on May 30. He vowed that pro-democracy advocates would resist any attempts to erode democratic principles and political diversity. "We shall not be discouraged. We shall not be intimidated. We fought for democracy, and by the grace of God, we will defend it," he stated, signaling his intensified political activities and mobilization efforts for the 2027 election.

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They weakened the opposition, wrote the rules to favour themselves, and still refused to play by those rules.