The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday condemned the freezing of local government allocations to Osun State, describing it as political terrorism.
The party specifically accused the Federal Government of weaponizing State institutions to punish the people of the State.
The NDC in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said President Bola Tinubu’s mentality of ‘all is fair in war’ constitutes a serious threat to democracy and national stability.
The party said that withholding of funds was part of a broader strategy of intimidation which, it said, included the continued occupation of local councils by unelected APC loyalists, the arrest of opposition figures, armed political thugs allegedly backed by security agencies, as orchestrated destabilisation of the State, using federal institutions.
The statement reads, “The ADC condemns in the strongest possible terms the freezing of the statutory allocations due to the local governments of Osun State. This is not an administrative decision or a legal dispute. It is political terrorism by the Bola Tinubu-led APC government carried out with the instruments of the Nigerian state in order to achieve the singular objective of undermining the state government ahead of the coming governorship election in the State.
“This sinister move confirms that the Tinubu-led Federal Government will do anything, including starving the people of Osun State, to achieve its political objectives. Yet no democracy worthy of the name deliberately sacrifices the welfare of innocent citizens in pursuit of partisan political ends. The salaries of workers, the operation of primary healthcare centres, the education of children, rural infrastructure, and other essential public services have all been turned into bargaining chips in President Tinubu’s political contest.
“We have noted earlier that President Bola Tinubu’s mentality, which regards political contests as warfare, constitutes a serious threat to democratic engagement. But even in war, there are rules of engagement that recognise human dignity and place limits on the conduct of adversaries.
“Democracies are expected to hold themselves to an even higher standard. What justification can there possibly be for the barbarity now playing out in Osun State, where one man has declared war on his own people?
“The freezing of local government funds is only the latest chapter in what has become a systematic campaign to undermine constitutional government in the state. For well over a year, unelected APC loyalists have continued their illegal occupation of Local Government Councils, in open disregard for democratic legitimacy and the rule of law. Instead of protecting constitutional order, federal institutions have looked the other way and even encouraged the illegality.
“Candidates and leaders of the Accord Party have reportedly been subjected to indiscriminate arrests, not because they constitute a threat to public safety, but because political intimidation has become an accepted instrument of politics by a Federal Government that has abandoned all pretences to ethics or morality.
“In Osun State today, violence has become normalised. Hoodlums allegedly associated with the APC have openly deployed military-grade weapons to terrorise communities, intimidate political opponents, and undermine peace across the state. Rather than confront criminality with impartiality, security agencies have appeared content to watch from the sidelines.
“Even more disturbing are allegations that individuals and their armed gangs have enjoyed the active protection or indulgence of elements within the Nigeria Police while carrying out acts of intimidation against citizens. If true, nothing better illustrates the collapse of the distinction between the impartial authority of the state and the partisan interests of a political party.
“Taken together, these actions reveal something more dangerous than ordinary political competition. They point to the deliberate promotion of a state of anarchy by federal authorities and agencies whose constitutional duty is to preserve law, order, and democratic stability.
“No ruling party should ever confuse electoral competition with military conquest. Political opponents are not enemy combatants. Opposition-controlled states are not occupied territories. Public institutions do not belong to whichever party temporarily controls the federal government.
“The ADC therefore calls for the immediate restoration of all statutory allocations due to the Local Governments of Osun State, the withdrawal of all forms of federal intimidation against the people of the state, and the restoration of constitutional order.
“What the people of Osun deserve is the democratic right to freely choose who governs them. But right now, they have been placed under a siege. This rascality has to stop.”
Friday Olokor
