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Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, Chidi Odinkalu, has criticised opposition political parties and leaders over their handling of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, elections, describing them as ineffective and disorganised.
The former NHRC chairman specifically stated that, in his view, there is presently no credible opposition in Nigeria.
Speaking on Politics Today, a programme monitored on Channels Television, Monday, Odinkalu said the opposition failed to demonstrate leadership at a critical moment.
He specifically referenced the public holiday declared by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike on the eve of the election, arguing that opposition parties missed an opportunity to mobilise supporters in response.
According to him, a decisive opposition would have organised a rally the following day to challenge the move and energise its base. Instead, he alleged, opposition leaders remained inactive.
Odinkalu described the opposition as “an utter disgrace,” stating that the current political climate reflects a lack of seriousness among parties expected to provide checks on the ruling government.
He said:
“I think the opposition forces, you know, the ADC, whoever else; I don’t even know which PDP there is now, if there is any, because Nyesom Wike is APC faction of PDP, it seems to me.
“But the so-called opposition forces, in my view, are an utter disgrace. And I say that with no apologies to anybody.
“Now take an example: Nyesom Wike wakes up on Thursday night after people have started retiring to declare a public holiday. If I were a member of a political party, and I were a leader of a political party, I would call a rally on Friday. That was a fantastic opportunity for opposition leadership to prove itself.
“If you had political troops on the ground, call a rally on that Friday to dare him and use that to mobilise. What did they do? They were indoors, sleeping.
“It’s difficult to speak to the ineptitude of political opposition in Nigeria. They are not serious. And I think anybody who looks at the system has got to say that, at the moment, there is absolutely no opposition.
“What I do not understand, however, in the face of that, is why the ruling party still feels the need to manufacture the kinds of things it does, from violence to rewriting results to putting one where it should not be, turning hundreds into thousands. I do not understand why they feel the need to do that, because there is actually no opposition group.”
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