“Hold APC Responsible”: Wabara Warns Democracy at Risk as Judiciary Sides with Ruling Party

Former Senate President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has warned the ruling All Progressives Congress to accept responsibility if Nigeria’s democracy suffers a setback arising from what he described as the systematic weakening of opposition parties.

The warning was issued in a statement on Sunday, November 15, 2026, following the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of his faction’s suit seeking to compel INEC to recognise its leadership, ValidViewNetwork reports.

THE JUDGMENT

Wabara was reacting to the Court of Appeal’s decision in the PDP leadership dispute.In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel, the appellate court declined to disturb the July 17, 2026 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which dismissed the suit filed by the Wabara-led BoT faction .

The appellate court held that the Wabara-led group lacked the locus standi to institute the action on behalf of the PDP.

It consequently struck out the party’s name as the eighth appellant and held that the appeal had become academic and amounted to an abuse of judicial process .

The suit had sought to validate actions taken on behalf of the PDP by the Tanimu Turaki, SAN-led faction, including a national convention organised by the group, which subsequently announced former President Goodluck Jonathan as its consensus presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

Wabara described the appellate court’s refusal as a “travesty of justice” and said the circumstances surrounding the emergence of the Abdulrahman Muhammad-led faction raised serious questions about democracy in Nigeria.

He warned that accepting the Muhammad-led faction’s position without adequately addressing the issues surrounding its emergence amounted to “standing truth on its head”.

THE WARNING TO THE JUDICIARY

Wabara cautioned the judiciary against becoming entangled in political disputes in ways that could further erode public confidence in the institution.

He said the growing legal battles within opposition parties, particularly the PDP, the African Democratic Congress, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, had raised troubling questions about their ability to participate effectively in the 2027 elections.

He alleged that the APC was benefiting from the weakening of opposition parties and urged the judiciary to protect its independence and credibility by ensuring that its decisions did not create the impression of favouring any political interest.

“THE OPPOSITION SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BREATHE”

Wabara did not mince words. “The opposition should be allowed to breathe. Nigeria cannot afford a situation where formidable opposition parties are weakened to the point that nobody can effectively challenge the ruling party in 2027,” he said.

“Tinubu should not be made a sole presidential candidate in 2027. That would be anti-democratic and a dangerous precedent capable of bringing avoidable embarrassment to our country. Using the courts to make Tinubu the sole presidential candidate in 2027 will not save the APC”.

He recalled that the APC itself benefited from a competitive political environment before taking power in 2015, and questioned whether the APC would be in power today if the PDP had used the courts to cripple opposition parties while it was in government.

WHY IT MATTERS

Wabara’s statement is a warning from a man who has seen the inside of power and the outside of it. He was Senate President when the PDP was the ruling party.

Now he is BoT Chairman of a party that has been fractured by legal battles and defections. He knows how the system works, and he is saying that the system is being weaponised.

The Court of Appeal’s ruling is a procedural decision. It says the Wabara faction lacked the standing to bring the suit. It does not say the Muhammad faction is legitimate. It does not say the PDP’s leadership crisis is resolved. It simply says the courts will not intervene.

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But Wabara’s point is broader. If the courts will not intervene when opposition parties are in crisis, and if the crises are being engineered by the ruling party, then the 2027 election may not be a contest at all. It may be a coronation.

The APC has not responded to Wabara’s statement. The judiciary has not commented. And the opposition parties continue to fight among themselves, while the clock ticks toward 2027. ValidViewNetwork reports.