Presidential aspirant on the platform of the Accord Party, Gbenga Hashim, yesterday warned that Nigeria was gradually sliding back to the dark days of the late General Sani Abacha's military regime. He alleged that powerful political forces were plotting to cripple opposition parties ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
In a statement issued ahead of the Accord Party presidential primary scheduled for tomorrow, Hashim alleged that influential figures were deliberately working to weaken opposition platforms and prevent the emergence of credible challengers to the ruling establishment.
"Nigeria is being dragged back to the Abacha years," he said. Hashim accused a top chieftain of the Accord Party of orchestrating internal manoeuvres aimed at destabilising the party and frustrating its ability to field a presidential candidate. According to him, the development mirrored the political climate under the Abacha regime, when all registered political parties allegedly aligned behind a single power structure.
"We are seeing a replay of history, when political parties became tools for a self-succession agenda," he stated. The former presidential candidate also linked the alleged plot to powerful figures within the administration of President Bola Tinubu, insisting that attempts to dominate the political space would fail.
"This coordinated plot by top officials will fail, just as the Abacha agenda failed," Hashim said. He further accused the political establishment of systematically weakening opposition parties through what he described as manipulative legal and political strategies. According to him, the process includes the destabilisation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the enactment of a self-serving and obnoxious Electoral Act, and the failure of some of its promoters to comply with provisions of the same law before aspects of it were challenged in court.
In another development, the Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement has issued a warning to the Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, over alleged plans to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, vowing a political showdown if he proceeds. The group, which backs the presidential ambition of Hashim under the Accord Party, accused the governor of undermining emerging political alignments and warned that such a move would not go unchallenged.
Speaking on behalf of the movement, the South-West Coordinator, Abass Olaniyi, called on Adeleke to immediately reverse course and align with the Accord Party's presidential project. "Supporting another party's candidate against Hashim is a decision that will have consequences. We will not sit back and watch," Olaniyi said.
