National Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Osa Director, says Nigerians should should trust the party with their votes in the 2027 general elections because it is a credible platform for national leadership.

Featuring in an interview on Symfoni TV on Saturday, Director highlighted the contribution and qualifications of the key figures in the party.

According to him, NDC’s consistency and commitment to societal betterment makes it a reliable choice for voters.

“Nigerians should choose the NDC with their vote because that is the alternative platform to rescue this nation for the best.

“What do I mean by alternative platform? We are politicians that have verifiable pedigree, not people you don’t know where they come from or the school they attended.

“NDC will not set the Ministry of Education on fire because you ask for their certificate.

“You have people like Peter Obi, Rabi’u Kwankwaso and Senator Seriaki Dickson. These are three major people piloting the affairs now, and the national chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, and then some of us are also there.You can check us out. Our pedigree and consistency.

“These are people who have offered something to the Nigerian society. These are people who can stand by what they believe in come rain come shine,” he said.

Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has damaged the country’s democracy.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Osa Director, made this allegation on Saturday during an interview on Symfoni TV.

He was speaking on the 2027 general elections and the activities of the ruling party towards the opposition.

“The APC has damaged our democracy. Let me quickly say that what we are witnessing with the APC government starting from 2015 till now, is succinctly captured and explained by two political science scholars in Harvard University who wrote a book, ‘Why Democracies Die’, and the conclusion of that book was that democracy is not going to be periled.

“The greatest challenge to democracy is not the armour tank or the booming guns, but is by those who find themselves in position of authority through democratic process, who will now use their position to subvert democracy and undermine democratic institutions.

“That is what we are witnessing in Nigeria today, where there is no respect for the judiciary, there is no respect for freedom of the press. You treat your political opponents as enemies that must be crushed,” he said.

By Omeiza Ajayi, ABUJA

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said that when former President Olusegun Obasanjo had little to his name after leaving prison, he, Atiku, fed and clothed Obasanjo, ensuring he lacked nothing.

Read Also: ‘Picking Atiku as vice president greatest mistake of my life’ – Obasanjo

The revelation is coming on the heels of Obasanjo’s statement that he regretted picking Ariku as his vice.

However, Atiku insisted that Obasanjo’s latest attack was rooted in his bitterness over the collapse of his third-term agenda years ago.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said he watched Obasanjo’s recent interview with sadness rather than anger.

Recalling his personal history with the former President, Atiku said he stood by Obasanjo during his years in prison and supported his family, and went further to clothe and care for him after his release before helping to build the political alliances that eventually produced his presidency.

“History records that while Chief Obasanjo was in prison, I stood firmly by him. I supported his family, worked tirelessly with other patriots for his release and never wavered in my belief that he deserved his freedom.

“When he eventually regained his freedom, he had little to his name. I received him, clothed him, ensured he was properly cared for and extended every support necessary to help him regain his footing”, he said.

Obasanjo had recently declared that his greatest regret in life was making Atiku his vice.

But speaking further, Atiku said; “I am proud that I stood against the third-term agenda. I am proud that I stood by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I have no apology whatsoever for frustrating every attempt to subvert our democracy for personal ambition,” Atiku said.

3rd term agenda

He maintained that if Obasanjo’s hostility stemmed from his refusal to back an unconstitutional third term, he would wear that resentment as “a badge of honour,” stressing that the Constitution remains supreme and that no individual is bigger than the country.

Atiku argued that the fight against the third-term agenda was never a personal contest between him and Obasanjo but a defence of Nigeria’s democracy, adding that history had already delivered its verdict in favour of the Constitution.

He also pointed to recent remarks by the Director-General of the World Trade Organization WTO, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who he said described the economic management team he led as among the best the country has had, questioning the timing of Obasanjo’s attack against that backdrop.

“Whether or not the timing is merely coincidental is for Nigerians to judge. What is beyond dispute, however, is that while distinguished Nigerians who served at the highest levels continue to acknowledge my contributions to one of Nigeria’s most successful periods of economic management, Chief Obasanjo appears determined to diminish them,” he said.

He said he harboured no regrets over those sacrifices, describing acts of kindness as matters of conscience rather than transactions requiring repayment, but warned that gratitude should not be replaced with revisionism.

Atiku expressed disappointment that a former President would devote energy to recycling old grudges at a time when Nigeria is grappling with economic hardship, unemployment and insecurity, insisting that the 2027 election should focus on rebuilding the country rather than reopening old wounds.

He said his years of restraint towards Obasanjo were out of respect for the office the former President once occupied, but stressed that such restraint had limits.

“Chief Obasanjo is entitled to his opinions. He is entitled to his personal grievances. What he is not entitled to are his own facts.

“History is stubborn. It cannot be rewritten by bitterness, nor erased by repeated falsehoods. In the end, history will render its verdict—and so will the Nigerian people,” he stated.