‘Political parties may boycott 2019 polls’

The presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr. Yunusa Tanko has said some opposition political parties may boycott the 2019 general elections because of threats and intimidation by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government. 

Dr. Tanko, a former National Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), told Daily Trust today in Abuja that the APC-led government had not given the opposition enough hope and a level playing field to operate.

He said the fundamental human rights of citizens have been.

Dr. Tanko, who is the current National Chairman of the NCP, said the government was not only weakening the opposition parties ahead of the general elections, but also instilling fear in opposition leaders.

“Not only that the present government is intimidating, it is also instilling fear in the opposition elements that raise any issue against them,” he said.

“It is possible [that some political parties will boycott the election] if this level of impunity continues unabated and caution is thrown to the winds. We may not have election but imposition.”

He said, “I am aware that the young man, Deji Adeyanju who has been in a Kano Prison for close to 50 days is one of Nigeria’s leading civil rights activists and human rights crusader. I am aware that Deji is a critic of the government of the day.

“In recent weeks, he has been repeatedly arrested and arraigned in several courts before his latest ordeal in the Kano central prison on the order of a Magistrate court. As an activist myself, I know it is not easy to take the difficult routes of holding government accountable.

“But those in power today must remember that they were once critics of power and government, and they were not denied the space to ventilate their opinions.”