The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has expressed concern over what he described as growing insecurity among opposition political parties, warning that none currently feels protected from the possibility of deregistration.
Baba-Ahmed made the remarks during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Friday, where he said recent political and legal developments had created widespread uncertainty across opposition parties.
“I don’t think any party in the opposition sleeps with both eyes,” he said when asked whether the PRP was worried about possible deregistration.
When pressed on whether the concern also applied to his party, Baba-Ahmed replied, “Every party, except APC.”
His comments followed the recent judgment of the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, which nullified the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The court set aside its earlier ruling that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party.
The decision came after an application filed by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which argued that it was not joined in the original suit despite claiming ownership of the logo used in securing the NDC’s registration.
According to Baba-Ahmed, the ruling has heightened fears among opposition parties about their political future.
“Any party that tells you that they feel absolutely comfortable, then they’re not serious about being a political party in this country,” he said, describing the current political climate as “very unnerving.”
The PRP chairman also addressed the party’s historical roots, rejecting claims that it was associated with the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto.
“No, it’s not Sardauna. Actually, we were a thorn in the flesh of Sardauna. We weren’t his party; we opposed him,” he said.
Says State Police Not Nigeria’s Immediate Priority
Baba-Ahmed also criticised the Federal Government’s renewed push for the establishment of state police, arguing that the proposal was coming at the wrong time.
He maintained that the administration of President Bola Tinubu should concentrate on strengthening existing security institutions rather than creating a new policing structure.
“The issue of state police has been on the table for longer than Tinubu’s government,” he said.
“If it’s such a crucial element for improving our security, you would think a serious government, a serious president, would have said, ‘Let’s do state police.’ It’s been there all along.”
He argued that the military had increasingly taken on responsibilities that ordinarily belonged to the police, adding that the government still had several options to improve security without introducing state police.
“There are still 101 things President Tinubu can do with what he has on the ground to improve our security, to bring an end to all this stealing of human beings and killing of human beings,” he said.
“There is still the military. There is still the police. He can improve policing. He can improve the performance of the military. He can address many, many things.”
Baba-Ahmed warned that creating state police without first addressing the challenges facing the Nigeria Police Force could worsen the country’s security situation.
“You have the federal police that has failed to do any work. So what you’re doing is saying, ‘Governors, create your own police and go and do what you want to do with them.’ You are compounding the problem that we have,” he said.
