….Accuses Presidency, INEC and judiciary of conspiracy to keep Atiku off 2027 ballot, calls on Nigerians and international community to defend democracy.
Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Monday, alleged a fresh plot by the Presidency, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and elements within the judiciary to remove the African Democratic Congress (ADC) from the ballot ahead of the 2027 general election.
Frank warned that any attempt to exclude the ADC and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, from the election would amount to an assault on democracy capable of plunging the country into chaos and anarchy.
In a strongly worded statement, Frank claimed that credible information available to him indicated that the ADC had become the principal target of a coordinated plan aimed at crippling the opposition and entrenching a one-party state.
According to him, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is merely being used as a decoy while the real objective is to ensure that the ADC and Atiku are not on the ballot in 2027.
“We have been reliably informed of a fresh plot to use the judiciary and INEC to remove the ADC from the ballot come 2027. The ADC has always been the main target, while the NDC is merely being used as a decoy.
“The ultimate objective is to ensure that the ADC and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, do not participate in the 2027 election at all costs,” he said.
Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, claimed that the information was passed to him by a top source within the Presidency who, according to him, expressed concern over the implications of such a move and the damage it could do to Nigeria’s democratic image.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and closely monitor what he described as a dangerous pattern being orchestrated by the ruling party in its alleged determination to retain power by every means possible.
“I urge Nigerians to take this warning seriously because a new twist in this plot will soon surface. What is being perfected is a dark agenda designed to silence opposition parties and perpetrate a massive electoral fraud ahead of the 2027 general election,” he alleged.
The former APC spokesman also appealed to the international community, particularly the United States’ Government, to intervene to prevent what he described as an impending democratic crisis.
According to him, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has allegedly abandoned democratic norms and is determined to use state institutions and apparatus to destroy opposition parties, especially the ADC.
“I call on the international community, especially the United States’ Government, to intervene and ensure that Nigeria does not descend into crisis because of the desperation of those in power.
“The current administration has thrown decorum to the wind and appears determined to truncate democracy for selfish political interests by deploying state institutions against the opposition,” he said.
Frank further warned INEC and the judiciary against becoming “accomplices” in any alleged anti-democratic plot, saying that Nigerians, the international community and posterity would hold them accountable for their actions.
“We are already aware of what is being planned. Those behind this conspiracy within the Presidency are known to us and their identities will be made available to the international community as individuals who enabled impunity and democratic barbarism in Nigeria,” he declared.
He called on Nigerians, political leaders, civil society organisations and all democratic stakeholders to rise in defence of the country’s democracy.
Frank also urged opposition leaders and presidential candidates to put aside their differences and unite against what he described as an attempt to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
“This is the time for all opposition leaders and presidential candidates to come together in defence of democracy. If we fail to act now, we may all have to deal with the grave consequences of our silence and inaction.
“Nigeria’s democracy must not be disrupted by the desperation of a few individuals who are determined to hold on to power at all costs,” he said.
Signed:
Comrade Timi Frank
ULMWP Ambassador (East Africa and Middle East) and
Senior Advisor, Global Friendship City Association (GFCA), USA.
