The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to publicly clarify his controversial July 29 remark that “all is fair in politics,” warning that his silence over alleged threats by members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) could be interpreted as approval.
The opposition party’s demand followed reports that the chairman of Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory, Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo, allegedly warned residents who refuse to vote for the APC to leave the council.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said President Tinubu must personally distance himself from statements capable of intimidating voters and call erring APC members to order.
The party declared that no Nigerian should be made to feel that his or her right to live in a particular community depends on political affiliation.
“People’s right to live in their own country should not depend on the political party they support,” the ADC said.
Abdullahi argued that Shekwolo’s alleged remarks were particularly troubling because, as an elected official responsible for the welfare and security of residents, he appeared to have linked their right to remain in the area to the party they support.
The ADC described such a position as an alleged threat of forced displacement and said it raised serious questions about the safety of political participation ahead of the 2027 elections.
The opposition party said Tinubu’s July 29 comment had taken on renewed significance against the backdrop of recent statements attributed to some APC members.
“If that is not what the President meant, he should say so himself, and he should say so now,” the statement said.
The ADC insisted that the clarification must come directly from the President, warning that presidential silence at a moment of rising political tension could have dangerous consequences.
“Silence at this point is not neutrality. Silence is ratification,” the party declared.
The ADC also demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Kuje council chairman by the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Services (DSS), alleging that the reported threat violated Sections 40, 41 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution.
The sections guarantee freedom of association, freedom of residence and protection against discrimination.
The party further cited an earlier incident involving APC Senator Francis Fadahunsi during the Osun governorship election, alleging that he threatened opposition supporters but was questioned by the police and subsequently released without prosecution.
According to the ADC, failure to impose consequences for such conduct could embolden other political actors to issue similar threats.
With the 2027 general elections approaching, the party urged the National Peace Committee to intervene before inflammatory political rhetoric escalates into intimidation, confrontation and violence.
The ADC maintained that Nigeria’s democratic space must remain open to citizens regardless of the political party they support, insisting that political competition must not become a weapon for threatening citizens’ rights.
