CISLAC raises alarm over weakening opposition

…as APC names rival party leaders to campaign council

By Musa Baba Adamu with agency report

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has warned that the inclusion of prominent opposition politicians in the presidential campaign council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) could undermine Nigeria’s multiparty democracy and weaken the opposition’s capacity to hold the ruling party accountable.

CISLAC Executive Director, Auwal Rafsanjani, expressed the concern in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, following the reported inclusion of Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA); and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party in the APC presidential campaign council.

Rafsanjani said the development raised serious questions about the independence, credibility and future of opposition parties, particularly their ability to present Nigerians with a genuine alternative to the ruling party.

He acknowledged that political cooperation and freedom of association were legitimate democratic rights but argued that the participation of influential opposition figures in the ruling party’s campaign could blur the ideological distinctions between political parties.

“What meaningful political alternative can opposition parties offer Nigerians when some of their most influential leaders are actively coordinating the re-election campaign of the ruling party?” he asked.

According to him, political parties should be defined by clear policies, programmes and principles rather than serving as platforms for individual political interests.

He warned that the growing alignment of opposition figures with the ruling party could weaken opposition structures, deepen internal divisions and diminish their ability to provide the checks and balances necessary for democratic governance.

The CISLAC director said Nigerians had the right to question the political direction and independence of parties whose influential members were supporting the electoral interests of another party while retaining their existing political identities.

He, however, clarified that cross-party cooperation was not inherently unlawful and that participating in another party’s campaign did not automatically amount to defection or misconduct.