Former President Jonathan has cautioned that Nigeria’s democratic stability is under threat from an “unwholesome” trend of high-ranking political figures descending upon states during off-cycle elections.
The former leader raised the concern in a social media statement following the recent Osun State governorship poll, where Accord party candidate Governor Ademola Adeleke was declared the winner after securing 511,067 votes against the All Progressives Congress candidate Bola Oyebamiji’s 444,815 votes.
While commending the Independent National Electoral Commission, security forces, political parties, and voters for the peaceful conduct of the exercise, Jonathan described the heavy influx of outside political power during recent polls in Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo as an unusual practice that must not become standard in a democratic society.
Drawing parallels to his tenure as commander-in-chief during the 2013 Anambra and 2014 Ekiti elections, Jonathan recalled instructing senior officials and party leadership to evacuate immediately after being informed of similar large-scale deployments.
The former president warned that the overwhelming presence of external political actors on election day risks creating an environment of intimidation, bullying, and undue pressure. He cautioned that if opposing governors begin deploying state influence against one another, it could escalate political tensions into high-stakes battles for survival.
Addressing the nation’s political class, Jonathan urged leaders to view the practice as a broader institutional issue rather than a partisan dispute.
“We must ask ourselves whether the increasing deployment of political power and large-scale mobilisation by senior office holders on election day in states holding elections is consistent with the spirit of free, fair and peaceful democratic competition,” Jonathan said, adding, “This hardly happens in other democratic countries.”
He stressed that public officials hold a responsibility to use their authority to strengthen democratic institutions rather than intimidate opponents, warning against letting contests degenerate into victory at any cost.
“What happens when governors from opposing political parties begin to descend on every state holding a competitive election? What happens when each party seeks to match political power with political power, governmental influence with governmental influence, and mobilisation with counter-mobilisation?” he asked.