A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, (NDC), Engineer Buba Galadima, has alleged that the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is using every available machinery to frustrate opposition parties and limit their activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He made the allegation while speaking exclusively on Arise News on Tuesday, with just 100 days to the 2027 general elections, claiming that opposition politicians were facing several obstacles as they prepared for the polls. Galadima further alleged that the ruling party was seeking to weaken its political opponents and make it difficult for them to campaign freely across the country.
“If you can observe, we are only 100 days away from the general election, yet the election fever has not caught the country at all. Every politician, except those in power, is watching their backs because, as I speak to you, I don’t think there is any candidate outside the APC that is sure of contesting this election.
“The APC itself is not letting it go, and they are using all machinery available to them—good and bad, in fact, more so good than anything. This election, like many others, has a lot of constraints and a lot of roadblocks put on the path of democracy,” he said.
Galadima also alleged that money was being offered to opposition politicians to withdraw from the 2027 race, claiming that some candidates had already accepted payments to forfeit their tickets in favour of APC candidates.
“If you go to Calton Hotel in Asokoro, there is a lady from Zamfara who is sharing money. She is paying, and this is proving me right because I have said on several occasions that President Tinubu and all his comrades are afraid of a contest, and they want to win unopposed. That’s why they accumulated such an enormous amount of money to be used in buying people.
“I can say what happens: every member of the House of Assembly who agrees to forfeit his ticket and withdraw for an APC candidate is being given 50 million Naira. By the lady! There are a lot of security people, DSS people, and everybody in the hotel as you go now. In fact, she just held a meeting about three or four days ago with Professor Nentawe, the chairman of APC, showing some candidates who forfeited their right to contest the election.
“They wrote resignations and collected money. Several have collected, and they are still collecting from state to state. Yes, so that the APC candidate becomes uncontested,” he alleged.
Reiterating his claim that opposition politicians were being targeted, the NDC chieftain said some members of the party had attended meetings where offers were allegedly made to persuade candidates to withdraw from the 2027 elections.
“I know people who attended the meeting, and they have clips of that meeting. If you are contesting for Senate, you have 500 million plus a jeep. If you are contesting for Governor and you want to withdraw, it’s 2 billion Naira plus a jeep.
“I may be wrong, but this is the information we have. Not only that, there are blocks put in the path of the opposition. This APC and its government do not want any opposition party to campaign in any part of the country. As they are stoned wherever they go, they also want to make life impossible for those opposing them.”
Referencing the Electoral Act 2026’s campaign spending limit, which permits a presidential candidate to spend up to ₦10 billion, Galadima questioned how political parties could comply with the law when, according to him, a single billboard in Imo State costs as much as ₦1 billion.
“The Electoral Act says that no party should spend more than 10 billion Naira on a campaign. That looks like a huge amount of money to you, but one item alone—do you know how much they are asking for one billboard in Abuja? In Imo, it is 1 billion Naira for one billboard, not the whole state. Just to fix one billboard, you pay 1 billion.
“So, if you have to pay every state 1 billion and you pay 37 states, which is 37 billion Naira including Abuja, did you run foul of the Act or not?”
The NDC stalwart further alleged that the APC was the only political party with visible billboards and posters across Abuja, questioning whether the nation’s capital could be said to belong exclusively to the ruling party.
“Have you seen the billboard or poster of any candidate of any political party except the APC in this Abuja? So is that democracy? Does Abuja belong to APC alone?”
Speaking on what he described as the government’s treatment of Northern Nigeria, Galadima alleged that oil exploration projects in the region had been put on hold and questioned why agricultural equipment acquired under the previous administration had allegedly remained unused.
“I don’t think President Bola Tinubu is expecting any vote from Northern Nigeria because of three things he did.
“One: All the oil explorations in the North have been put on hold. Two: General Buhari bought 20,000 tractors that arrived in this country three years back, along with equipment, harvesters, planters, and everything for agriculture. Somebody just kept them away in their houses, and you can see them tomorrow if you want. There is a place called the Sheda Seed Council; the tractors are there, three years on, rotting away. They want to impoverish a section of the country.”
Speaking on the treatment of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Galadima alleged that the Tinubu administration was being selective in its handling of alleged offences, arguing that other APC figures accused of similar infractions were still holding prominent positions within the party.
He also defended El-Rufai’s political support for President Tinubu during the 2023 election, noting that the former Kaduna governor had worked against opposition from political leaders in the North to support Tinubu’s emergence.
“A lot of people committed the kind of offense they allege El-Rufai has committed, and they are working all over the place. In fact, they are bigwigs in the APC Campaign Council. Why then El-Rufai? Which of the offenses they claim he committed is not available elsewhere?
“The judiciary sits down to watch this, and citizens do conclude that they have been directed by powers that be. Is that a capital punishment? He didn’t kill, at least to the knowledge of the generality of Nigerians, and he was the one that fought the entire leadership in Northern Nigeria to support Tinubu.”
Recounting his advice to El-Rufai to remain outside the country, Galadima said he had received information suggesting that the former Kaduna governor could be arrested if he returned to Nigeria, prompting him to approach Rabiu Kwankwaso and urge him to persuade El-Rufai to delay his return.
“I don’t want to be El-Rufai, but I want to say something similar. So, I was told that they were planning to arrest El-Rufai before he went to London. When I went to Kwankwaso, I was telling him that this is what I heard, and that I’m not the best friend of El-Rufai, but I don’t want him to be unjustly treated, because that’s what they are planning against him. I suspect he spoke to him, so he postponed the date of coming.
“So, that is it. But El-Rufai does not deserve to be treated this way by his tormentors. He has done good for them. He has assisted them. Maybe without El-Rufai, that difference between Tinubu and Atiku during the election wouldn’t have been there.”
Disclosing the findings of a secret study commissioned by the NDC and conducted by a British polling company, Galadima claimed that the poll indicated that Peter Obi would win the 2027 presidential election if the election was free, fair and transparent.
“We commissioned a study—a secret study using a British polling company. Not to publish; we wanted them to tell us the truth, the reality of what the situation is on the ground. They came up with findings.
“In those findings, they told us clearly that if there is a free, fair, and transparent election, Peter Obi would win this election. That’s their finding: will win this election. They said, however, despite the President’s unpopularity, he may still manipulate the system. So they’ve given us a hint of what is likely to happen.
“That informed the release by The Economist of London. That was part of the findings of that secret poll we commissioned. The company told us that if we keep the pressure—because we are the only people visible and with the energy to campaign—we can win that election.”
Turning to the NDC’s Obi-Kwankwaso presidential ticket, Galadima said the party would present what he described as a “healing ticket”, aimed at promoting peace, harmony and prosperity across Nigeria.
He said the NDC would take the message of the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket to Nigerians in English, Pidgin, Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa, expressing confidence that its message of peace and prosperity would resonate with voters across the country.
“We have not even started discussing what our party and ticket stand for, which we christened a ‘healing ticket.’ When we start to explain in English, in Pidgin, in Igbo, in Yoruba, and in Hausa, I want to assure you that Nigerians will buy into it because everybody wants to live in peace, in harmony, and in prosperity.”
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