The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of inciting violence over his “Operation Wetie” comment during the opposition political parties’ summit in Ibadan on Saturday.
Mr Makinde alleged that Nigeria was drifting towards a one-party state, referencing “Operation Wetie”—a Yoruba phrase meaning “wet him or her”—a violent campaign in which political opponents and their property were set ablaze in the western region in the 1960s.
“Those that are carrying on as if there’s no tomorrow… should remember that ‘Operation Wetie’ started from here. This is the same Wild Wild West,” said the governor who hosted the summit.
However, the APC, in a statement on Sunday by its spokesperson, Felix Morka, said Mr Makinde’s “incitement” was “baseless and senseless, reckless, and a clear and present threat to peace and national security.”
The ruling party said it was “disturbing” for a sitting governor to reference the campaign “to threaten violence against the people and government of Nigeria.”
“By his incitement to violence, Makinde has shown himself to be unworthy of the high office of governor that he occupies,” the APC said.
It warned that the governor’s remarks could result in violence and destabilise the country, urging security agencies to act swiftly to protect lives and property.
The party added, “Makinde must be reminded that constitutional immunity from prosecution is not immunity from accountability for threats or acts against national security.”
The APC dismissed what it termed “confused” opposition leaders’ claims that Nigeria was gradually sliding into a one-party state.
It insisted that the crises rocking the parties were self-inflicted, ranging from poor leadership, disregard for the rule of law, factionalisation, anti-democratic activities, to leaders’ “desperate and dissonant” presidential ambitions.
The ruling party also accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of destroying the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by violating the zoning arrangement in 2023.
“The Labour Party (LP) was effectively subverted by the restless nomadic disposition of its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, permanently swinging from one party to another in search of a free and uncontested presidential ticket.
“The African Democratic Congress (ADC), so-called coalition platform, was basically stillborn, strangled by the reckless robbery of that party’s leadership by the same band of marauding opposition figures, never willing to remain and build their parties but always quick to use the revolving door onto the next available party. They have left nothing but desolation in the opposition’s trail,” it said.
Besides, the President Bola Tinubu-led APC maintained that Nigerians would not entrust the affairs of the country to the leaders of the “coalition of confusion.”
It added, “All they have in their arsenal is fear-mongering built on false narratives about the APC.”
Saying it rejected a veiled expectation of opposition leaders that it would help them manage their internal affairs, the APC added that it would not undertake such a duty or provide any such leadership consulting services to them.
The APC stated that the opposition would not blackmail it into jettisoning its plans and preparations for the 2027 general elections.
“Nigeria’s democratic space remains as robust as can be. With nearly two dozen parties registered and participating freely in the country’s electoral process, the opposition’s unjustifiable attacks on our great party and their threats of violence are nothing but primitive capitulation, an admission of incompetence, and a peremptory alibi for what is looking to be a fantastic rebuke at the hands of the Nigerian electorate come 2027,” it added.
On Saturday, the PDP and ADC announced plans to field a single presidential candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
The resolution was contained in the communique issued at the end of the national summit attended by members of the Labour Party, the Accord Party, the All Progressives Movement (APM), the Youth Party (YP) and the Action Democratic Party (ADP), among others.
