*• Says influx of external governors, aides during off-cycle polls breeds intimidation*
*• Recalls ordering government officials out of Anambra, Ekiti during his presidency*
*• Urges National Peace Committee to summon urgent stakeholder meeting*
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has warned President Bola Tinubu, serving governors, and political actors against deploying heavy security details, aides, and federal machinery to states during elections.
Jonathan warned that the growing practice threatens Nigeria’s fragile democracy and risks turning off-cycle elections into contests of political intimidation and raw power.
In a statement addressing the recent governorship election in Osun State, the former president described the influx of influential external political actors and heavy security details on election days as “unwholesome,” insisting it must not be normalized.
While Jonathan commended the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, and the people of Osun for the peaceful conduct of the polls, he noted that developments in Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo states raise urgent national concerns.
Atmosphere of Intimidation
“The growing practice whereby serving governors, senior political office holders, party leaders, and other influential government functionaries, accompanied by large numbers of aides and heavy security details from outside a state, converge on states where elections are being conducted raises an issue that demands national attention,” Jonathan said.
He warned that such overwhelming presence creates an atmosphere of apprehension, intimidation, and undue pressure, which undermines the principles of free and fair elections.
Recalling his time in office, Jonathan noted that he faced similar situations during the 2013 Anambra and 2014 Ekiti governorship elections.
“After being briefed about the movement of senior political leaders into the states, I ordered them and senior government officials to leave immediately. This trend is unwholesome. If left unchecked, it could threaten our fragile democracy and have serious long-term implications for democratic stability,” he warned.
Risk of Escalation
Jonathan cautioned that if the trend continues, it could lead to dangerous escalations where rival political parties deploy state resources to match each other.
“What happens when each party seeks to match political power with political power, governmental influence with governmental influence, and mobilisation with counter-mobilisation?” he queried, adding that this would turn elections into physical battles for survival rather than peaceful democratic choices.
He urged stakeholders not to treat his intervention as a partisan dispute over the Osun election, but as a broader national issue concerning the future of the nation’s electoral system.
Call for Peace Summit
Consequently, the former president called on the National Peace Committee, led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), to urgently convene a stakeholder meeting to establish acceptable standards for political conduct during off-cycle elections.
He proposed that the engagement should bring together the leadership of registered political parties, INEC, security agencies, the National Assembly, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), civil society organisations, and the media.
“An early national conversation can help us establish appropriate boundaries and expectations for political conduct before practices that are unusual today become accepted as normal tomorrow,” Jonathan concluded.
