OPPOSITION POLITICIANS ON BUMPY ROAD/JekwuOnovo

It has been bumpy ride for opposition politicians in Nigeria. First, they are grappling with intra-party crisis. Second, their move to form alliance is not yielding any tangible result, as the platform they choose, ADC has its peculiar challenges. In that vein, they are torn between the devil and the deep sea. They are therefore, dazed, confused and somnambulistic. The messy state of the opposition politicians and their parties was captured in the last Saturday bye-elections in sixteen constituencies across twelve states of the country.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, showed its electoral might by clinching 12 of the 16 legislative seats contested in the bye-elections across 12 states of the country. According to the results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the APC won all seats on offer in the bye-polls in Ogun, Edo, Niger, Kaduna, Taraba, Jigawa, Adamawa and Kogi. It shared the two seats in Kano with the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP but had no answer to the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Anambra; and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Oyo. As it is, the APC won in 12 constituencies; APGA won in two; PDP won in one, and NNPP in one.

In summary, the opposition failed the mock exam, a prelude to the 2027 general elections. Add this to the plethora of defections from the opposition camps to the ruling APC; and the difference is clear—the opposition is riding on bumpy road.