Former Governor of Jigawa State and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sule Lamido, has issued a stark warning on the potential consequences of the party’s collapse, saying Nigeria risks drifting into one-party rule and authoritarianism.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm on Tuesday, the elder statesman stressed that the PDP is not just a political party but a critical pillar of Nigeria’s democracy.
“If the PDP collapses, Nigeria will collapse. Where there is no opposition, then there will be an emperor. And all emperors are eventually destroyed by their greed,” Lamido said.
The 75-year-old politician, who played a prominent role in the formation of the PDP in 1998, said the history of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic cannot be separated from the legacy of the PDP, which governed at the federal level from 1999 to 2015.
“The PDP is Nigeria’s history in the last 25 years. If the party collapses, it is Nigeria’s democratic history which collapses,” he emphasized.
Lamido argued that the PDP laid the foundational blocks for democratic governance, making it possible for opposition candidates like Muhammadu Buhari (APC, 2015) and Bola Tinubu (APC, 2023) to assume power through democratic means.
“If PDP hadn’t restored democracy in 1999, Buhari would not have been president in 2015, and Tinubu would not have succeeded him in 2023,” he stated.
He also said that President Tinubu himself needs a strong opposition like the PDP to keep him accountable. “More than anybody, Tinubu needs PDP to be chasing him, to be on his toes. But when it collapses, nobody will be chasing him—he will be chasing himself,” Lamido warned.
Despite ongoing internal crises and defections, Lamido firmly declared that he has no plans to leave the PDP.
Realignments Ahead of 2027
With just two years to Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, political realignments are already underway, fueled by internal rifts within major parties and growing discontent with the current administration’s handling of the economy.
Among the 19 registered parties, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has increasingly gained attention from political heavyweights seeking new platforms.
Talks of a “Third Force” alliance gained significant traction on March 20, 2025, when opposition figures including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai unveiled plans for a coalition to challenge Tinubu in 2027.
The coalition, which also includes smaller parties and civil society groups, is capitalizing on the strong showing by Atiku (PDP) and Obi (Labour Party) in the 2023 general election, where their combined vote tally exceeded 12 million—a figure more than four million higher than Tinubu’s declared total by INEC.
As Nigeria grapples with soaring inflation, economic hardship, and political uncertainty, Lamido’s remarks echo growing calls for a resilient opposition, institutional reform, and greater democratic accountability.
