Former Senate President and the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has declared that at his age, nothing would make him draw back from speaking truth to power.
This is as he regretted that “democracy in Nigeria is currently under state capture”.
He strongly advocated mandatory use of the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System, BIVAS; and compulsory electronic transmission of election results, to eliminate electoral fraud and guarantee credibility of the 2027 polls.
Senator Wabara in a message marking his 77th birthday anniversary, said that anyone at his age “that is still afraid of speaking the truth without fear or favour, is a complete disappointment to his generation”.
The former Senate President who was born on June 1st, 1948, further said that “any nation without courageous men who can boldly speak truth to power, is doomed”.
He noted that “leaders become tyrants in the absence of vocal patriots who can stand with the people and point at the right direction.”
Senator Wabara who expressed worry over “the suppression of dissenting voices and the opposition in Nigeria, said democracy cannot thrive without credible opposition.”
Lamenting that democracy in Nigeria, had of late, come under state capture, Wabara advised the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, not to use the apparatus of state to muzzle the opposition.
He argued that for any democracy to thrive, “the opposition must be given a free hand to operate.”
The former Senate President, again, warned on the grave dangers of allowing Nigeria slide into one-party state.
He described those behind the current drift towards one-party state as “anti-democratic forces and the real enemies of Nigeria’s democracy.”
Senator Wabara said that the true guage of a democratic administration is its ability to tolerate dissenting voices and the opposition.
Wabara said that votes must be made to count in 2027 through making electronic transmission of election results compulsory, and through mandatory use of BIVAS.
Senator Wabara urged members of the national Assembly, to as a matter of national duty, put in place the necessary legislative framework that would help strengthen democratic institutions in the country.
He also urged the National Independence Electoral Commission, INEC, to ensure the credibility of the 2026 off-season elections in Osun and Ekiti States.
According to him, the off-season elections are golden opportunities for the electoral umpire to redeem its battered imagine and regain the confidence of Nigerians ahead of the 2027 polls.
Senator Wabara encouraged the opposition in Nigeria to remain resilient and resist any attempt to be cowed into submission.
The 77- year- old elder statesman, thanked God for preserving him all these years, and promised to continue to use the rest of his life to serve God and humanity.
The PDP BoT Chairman, who was born on June 1, 1948, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, hails from Ohambele in Ukwa East Local Government Area of Abia State.
He began his educational journey at Methodist Boys High School Lagos before receiving a Federal scholarship to study in the Soviet Union.
Wabara obtained a Master of Arts degree in International Relations with Distinction at Kyiv State University, USSR.
He earlier honed a Post-Graduate Diploma in the Russian Language from Voronezh University, before returning to Nigeria.
Wabara, a reputable Diplomat, served at the Nigerian High Commission in London and as Head of Chancery in Chad before transitioning into business, including a stint as Assistant General Manager at Apapa Trawlers under the Ibru Organization.
His entry into Nigerian politics began with the National Republican Convention (NRC), where he successfully represented Ukwa East Local Government Area, Abia State, as a member of the House of Representatives during the 3rd Republic.
He, thereafter, served as the Supervisory Counselor for Education and later a two- time (consecutively) Chairman of Ukwa East LGA.
Wabara who was elected into the Senate in 1999, later emerged the 10th Senate President from 2003 to 2005 during Nigeria’s 4th Republic.
His rejection of a ₦250 million bribe aimed at influencing support for the controversial third-term agenda proposed under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, pitched him against some forces that later ganged up against him.
Senator Wabara who has consistently remained a staunch member of the PDP since 1999, was elected the party’s BoT Chairman in 2024.
As advocate of justice, due process and party supremacy, Senator Wabara has been vocal against executive rascality and impunity of those in power.
VANGUARD.
