The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the reported arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife by the United States as a stark warning to governments it says lack democratic legitimacy, including Nigeria.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC criticised President Bola Tinubu’s failure to react to the development, calling Nigeria’s silence “deeply embarrassing” and reflective of a loss of international relevance.
The party argued that while it supports national sovereignty and non-interference as enshrined in the UN Charter, those principles should not be used as shields for authoritarianism, electoral fraud, or human rights abuses.
According to the ADC, Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election was widely condemned by several Latin American governments, the European Union, and international democratic institutions for alleged fraud, repression, and exclusion of opposition candidates. The party said the popular celebrations that reportedly followed Maduro’s arrest exposed a deep legitimacy crisis within the Venezuelan state.
The ADC also suggested that Tinubu’s silence may stem from fear, claiming the Nigerian government lacks the moral authority to take a principled stand on democracy and accountability.
“At a time when the global community is confronting the limits of sovereignty in the face of democratic collapse, Nigeria — Africa’s largest democracy — is conspicuously absent,” the statement said.
The party concluded that the Venezuela situation serves as a cautionary tale for “dictators, including supposedly elected ones,” warning that rigged mandates can no longer hide behind national borders.
