Nwanyanwu: Efforts To Stop Strong Opposition Candidates From Contesting Threaten Democracy
Zenith Labour Party presidential candidate Dan Nwanyanwu alleges deliberate attempts to weaken opposition voices ahead of future electoral contests.
Zenith Labour Party presidential candidate Dan Nwanyanwu alleges deliberate attempts to weaken opposition voices ahead of future electoral contests.
Presidential Candidate, Zenith Labour Party presidential candidate, Dan Nwanyanwu, has accused political actors of attempting to weaken opposition parties by preventing credible candidates from participating in elections, warning that such actions pose a serious threat to Nigeria’s democratic process.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Saturday, He argued that democracy can only thrive when voters are presented with genuine alternatives and strong candidates capable of challenging those in power, stressing that efforts to sideline opposition figures undermine the integrity of elections and restrict voters’ choices.
“They don’t want any strong candidates to be part and parcel of the election. They want something. If that is what they want, they should tell us. Then political parties under inter-party advisory council will come together and say, okay, let us fix it. I’m going to go to the president. Then we know that that’s not democracy. We don’t let those go and contest. Allow free contest. Don’t try to stop people from contesting. Let us go and tell Nigerians what are better alternatives that we have. You also tell Nigerians the best we have done for Nigeria. That is how it has been.”
Nwanyanwu said the political environment was increasingly being shaped in a manner that favours entrenched interests. “They don’t want any strong candidates to be part and parcel of the election, democracy is about choice. Democracy is about competition. Democracy is about giving the people the opportunity to decide who governs them.”
He maintained that excluding strong opposition candidates from electoral contests deprives citizens of meaningful alternatives and weakens public confidence in the democratic process.
“If you remove credible candidates from the ballot, then you are taking away the right of the people to make a genuine choice.”
Nwanyanwu further warned that any effort to manipulate the political space for the benefit of a few individuals or parties could create long-term consequences for democratic governance and political stability. “A case was filed by some amorphous group that called itself an association of former legislators, like a social club and all that, people who have failed this country.”
He urged electoral stakeholders, political institutions and relevant authorities to ensure a level playing field for all contestants, insisting that elections must remain open, transparent and competitive. “Let us go and tell Nigerians what are better alternatives that we have, Allow free contest. Don’t try to stop people from contesting.”
He urged electoral stakeholders, political institutions and relevant authorities to ensure a level playing field for all contestants, insisting that elections must remain open, transparent and competitive. “The electoral process must be fair to everyone. Every qualified candidate should have the opportunity to contest and allow the people to decide, That is not acceptable. That can never be accepted. And that’s why the political parties are fighting back.”
