Opposition parties backing Tinubu remind us of Abacha’s ‘leprous fingers’ transition — Duke

Former Governor of Cross River State and presidential candidate for the Peoples Redemption Party in the 2027 general election, Donald Duke has likened opposition parties supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid to political manoeuvres during the late military ruler Sani Abacha’s controversial transition to civilian rule, warning that Nigeria is heading towards disaster.

Mr Duke, who made the claim while appearing on Arise TV Morning Show on Thursday said the alignment of opposition parties with Mr Tinubu undermined the prospect of a credible contest, recalling the five political parties that endorsed General Abacha’s transition programme in the 1990s.

“Some of the opposition parties supporting the president. It is reminiscent of what happened in Abacha’s transition. You know, the five leprous fingers? Yes. So you now have four leprous fingers, because one of the fingers has dropped off,” Mr Duke said.

He warned that Nigerians should take the political direction of the country seriously rather than treat the emerging alliances as routine political manoeuvring.

“You should find time because we shouldn’t be glib about where we’re going. I said that where we’re going in this country is, we’re looking at disaster. We are looking at disaster. We’re doing nothing about it. We’re playing politics with ourselves,” he said.

What were Abacha’s ‘five leprous fingers’?

Mr Duke’s reference was to the five political parties that supported General Abacha’s transition programme and endorsed his bid to become a civilian president before his death in June 1998.

The parties, often collectively described as the “five leprous fingers”, were the United Nigeria Congress Party, National Centre Party of Nigeria, Democratic Party of Nigeria, Grassroots Democratic Movement and Congress for National Consensus.

The expression captured the criticism of the transition programme, under which the five parties converged behind the military ruler rather than provide a meaningful contest for political power.

General Abacha seized power in November 1993, after the collapse of the short-lived Interim National Government established following the annulment of the 12 June 1993 presidential election, widely believed to have been won by Moshood Abiola.

Mr Abacha subsequently introduced a transition programme that critics regarded as an attempt to legitimise continued military rule through a civilian presidency. All five registered political parties eventually adopted him as their consensus presidential candidate.

His death on 8 June 1998 ended the controversial process. General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who succeeded him, initiated a fresh transition programme that culminated in the return to civilian rule in May 1999.

In the build up to the 2027 election, opposition figures from the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Accord Party have openly backed Mr Tinubu.

Also, some Labour Party youth leaders have proposed an alliance with the APC to support President Tinubu’s re-election bid, although the party has not formally endorsed him. This development has given birth to the Rainbow Coalition promoted by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

By invoking the analogy, Mr Duke suggested that the willingness of opposition parties to support an incumbent president could weaken democratic competition and leave voters without a credible alternative.

The comparison comes as political actors begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 general election, with the opposition facing questions about its ability to unite around a viable challenge to Mr Tinubu.

Duke criticises Tinubu’s economic policies

Mr Duke said the government should focus on expanding economic production and productivity rather than placing excessive emphasis on revenue collection.

He argued that high interest rates were discouraging businesses from borrowing and investing, limiting their capacity to expand and create jobs.

“You can’t grow your economy at 30-something per cent interest rate. It’s not possible. No one would go to a bank and borrow money at such high costs,” he said.

He also said inflation is caused by high energy costs, arguing that reducing petrol prices would help lower production expenses and ease pressure on households and businesses.

“The central bank will tell you it’s because of inflation. What are the inflationary items? Your cost of fuel is horrendous. So that is an inflation. And that’s why it makes it incumbent to try and bring down the price of fuel as low as possible,” he said.

Mr Duke criticised the government’s economic management, insisting that its focus on revenue generation did not adequately account for the productive capacity of the economy.

“This tax minister who sells himself coordinating minister of economy, you know, big names kill small dogs, right? He’s looking at revenue, not the totality of the economy,” he said.

He argued that Nigeria should be raising a larger share of its gross domestic product through its budget and expanding the tax base by growing economic activity.

“If you say you’re the largest economy in Africa and your GDP is about $400-and-something billion or so, the figures, you should be able to raise about 15 to 20 per cent of your GDP as your budget. We’re still at five per cent. So we’re not even capturing the numbers we should,” he said.

He warned that excessive dependence on petroleum-related earnings would perpetuate the country’s economic difficulties rather than promote sustainable development.

“We’re just focusing on petrol. But it’s a double-edged sword, because if you focus on that, you’ll remain poor, as we are,” he said.

Energy, healthcare, education priorities

Asked about his immediate priorities if elected president, Mr Duke identified energy, healthcare, education, infrastructure and the productivity of Nigerians as key areas requiring urgent attention.

“Everything in Nigeria is almost a state of urgency, but I’ll strengthen, I’ll come back to this energy thing because it’s what is stifling the country, right? I’ll focus on health, I’ll focus on education, of course, infrastructure, but more importantly, I’ll be focusing on the productivity of Nigerians,” he said.

He said that the cost of living had become unsustainable for workers, whose earnings were increasingly inadequate to cover basic expenses.

“Nigerians are not productive because the banks are not lending. The cost, look, the average, if you’re a worker, your one salary can’t fill your minimum wage, can’t fill your tank. Those are the things killing Nigerians,” he said.

Mr Duke declined to promise an immediate salary increase, saying a government should first examine the costs eroding workers’ incomes.

“I didn’t say I would increase salaries. Oh, okay. No, I can’t sit down on this chair and say I’m going to increase salaries because there’s so many things you’ve got to look at,” he said.

“What I will strive to do is reduce the cost of those things that grapple at our salaries.”