THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of normalising violence in politics, declaring that the ruling party has turned elections into “war” where “blood is the price for power.”
The opposition party’s reaction followed a viral video in which Senator Francis Fadahunsi was allegedly heard saying: “So, we have come to tell you, up till the day of the election, if we see them, it is killing.”
In a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of its Interim National Working Committee, Comrade Ini Ememobong Essien, the PDP described the remark as “uncivilised and appalling” but said it was not surprising coming from an APC member.
The party linked the statement to what it called a pattern of “hurtful rhetorics” from the ruling party, citing President Bola Tinubu’s past comments that “Political power is not going to be served in a restaurant… At all cost, fight for it, grab it, and run with it” and that “all is fair in politics.”
According to the PDP, such language has raised the political temperature of the country to “unprecedented fever-pitch levels” and created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Elections were not structured as a do-or-die contest but as an opportunity for the masses to freely choose their leaders,” the statement said.
“What Nigerians face instead is a ruling party that has normalised warlike rhetoric — intimidating the people, silencing the opposition, and working to impose a predetermined outcome on the electorate in 2027.”
The PDP said the APC’s approach undermines democratic norms and threatens the credibility of the electoral process, warning that continued use of threats and violence could jeopardise the country’s democratic survival.
The party demanded a “transparent investigation” into the Senator Fadahunsi incident and other threats to peaceful and transparent elections, specifically in Osun State where the video reportedly emanated from.
It also called on the President, the APC and their officials to “cease the deployment of anti-democratic narratives and threats” in the name of political communication.
“Civility must take centre stage in our political communication, and the elections must be a true reflection of the will of the people, freely given through the ballot. This is the irreducible minimum, which the government and all political parties must adhere to, in the interest of the survival of democracy and the country,” the PDP said.
