The National Chairman of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, has accused close allies of President Bola Tinubu of fueling political unrest in Rivers, Osun, and Lagos States for their personal gain, warning that their actions pose a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
Speaking over the weekend in Abuja, Nwanyanwu urged President Tinubu to rein in his political surrogates, cautioning that the ongoing crises in the three states could destabilize the country ahead of the 2027 elections.
“We caution against Osun and Lagos States rehearsing the Wild Wild West and Rivers State revisiting the dangerous militancy in the oil region witnessed in the past,” he stated.
Nwanyanwu noted that the legal battles surrounding political control, particularly in Rivers State, have intensified tensions. He questioned the legitimacy of the 27 lawmakers who defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), despite no national division within their former party.
He condemned their attempts to withdraw affidavits confirming their defection, saying, “Even an unborn child can attest to the very act of defection, with announcements, video recordings, and the reception organized by their new party.”
The ZLP leader further criticized the withholding of funds from Rivers State, linking it to the ongoing crisis. He warned that unchecked political interference could lead to a democratic recession, drawing parallels with past political turbulence in Nigeria’s history.
Calling for urgent presidential intervention, Nwanyanwu reminded Tinubu of their shared struggle for democracy in the 1990s, stating that many of those now exploiting the system were not part of that fight.
“The intervention of Mr. President is very urgent because we live in a region where democracy is regrettably in recession. This is how the Wild Wild West political crisis started,” he warned.
