The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) represents everything that is wrong with our political system.
Not everyone in the APC is a bad person. The few good ones in the party know that the party has become a disgrace to civilized governance, but they remain there for immediate personal interest, gambling with their reputations for possible political advantage.
The APC presidential candidate, the sitting President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is obviously compromised and, according to his own campaign itinerary, will visit only 12 out of the 36 states of the federation for his re-election campaign. I have carefully reviewed the itinerary, and Edo State — where they have promised to deliver 2.5 million votes for him is not among the states the “strong man” of Nigeria will visit.
The shameless apologists of the APC are already defending this abnormality; defending the arrogance and lack of stamina of a sitting President who seeks the votes of Nigerians for a second term but cannot visit all the states. This is bizarre in any democracy and normal only under tyranny.
I asked a good friend of mine in the APC to tell me why President Tinubu deserves a second term. He responded with their usual singsong: “President Tinubu is the only President in Nigeria courageous enough to remove fuel subsidy.”
The only achievement of the APC/Tinubu administration is the infliction of suffering upon Nigerians, while the President and the rogue elements in the APC share the surplus revenue accruing from subsidy removal. The removal of subsidy has not created jobs. Our roads remain in terrible condition. There is no hospital in Nigeria good enough for the medical care of President Tinubu himself. Farmers cannot produce enough food nor earn a decent income. Not one Naira is paid to Nigerian students as bursary, only a dubious student loan scheme. Insecurity has become a normal way of life. Women are abandoned to their fate in dilapidated markets across the country.
The petrol tanker explosion at Oluku, Edo State, on 15th October 2026, which claimed many lives and razed the market with goods worth hundreds of millions of naira destroyed, is another clear example of a failed government.
First,the tanker fell because of a large pothole at the centre of the road. Roads across Nigeria are in complete disrepair. The APC government keeps shifting blame among local, state and federal governments. No tier of government is willing to accept responsibility for regular road maintenance. When I was Chairman of my local government, I maintained federal roads in Uhunmwode Local Government Area.
Second,the scooping of fuel from the fallen tanker would have been avoidable if the economy was favourable and if there was a functional government proactive in the protection of lives and property.
Third,the devastating fire could have been prevented or contained if there was a functional fire service in Edo State. When Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor was Governor of Edo State, within his first 100 days in office, he reactivated the Edo State Fire Service and purchased modern fire-fighting equipment. This essential service has since been abandoned for propaganda and projects that serve only the immediate personal interests of political office holders.
The APC/Tinubu government is a failed government with all the features of tyranny. They know they cannot win any credible election in Nigeria. Their scheme is to rig the elections and subvert the sovereignty of the Nigerian people. They are busy tearing posters and destroying campaign materials of opposition parties. They are busy attacking political meetings and gatherings of the opposition.
The pretenders to democracy in Nigeria, such as Senator Adams Oshiomhole of “One Man, One Vote” and Senator Opeyemi Bamidele of “NANS Aluta” fame, are no longer speaking against the enemies of democracy, but are waiting to benefit from the barbarism and corruption of the APC.
The APC has no campaign agenda for Nigerians order than violence against innocent citizens and preparation to rig elections.
Nigerians are aware of the danger that a second term for APC/Tinubu portends. Nigerians must continue to pray and be resolute to come out in large numbers to vote out the APC/Tinubu regime. The fight for democracy in Nigeria must not be left to the candidates of opposition parties alone. It must be a collective responsibility and a shared resolve by all Nigerians to rescue our nation from these adversaries of good governance.
I commiserate with the families who lost their loved ones in the Oluku fire incident and sympathize deeply with the traders who lost their market, their goods and their means of livelihood.
Dr. Isaiah Osifo,
Two-time Chairman, Uhunmwode Local Government Council,
Pioneer Chairman, Edo State Chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON),
NDC South-South Zonal Publicity Secretary.
Email: isaiah.osifo@gmail.com
