Nigeria’s Democracy Facing Gradual Erosion &#8211; Seyi Makinde

Seyi Makinde has warned that Nigeria’s Democracy is facing gradual erosion.

Philips News reports that the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, warned that Nigeria’s democracy is facing a gradual erosion due to the weakening of opposition parties.

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This online newspaper notes that Makinde made this comment while speaking at a national summit held in Ibadan, Oyo State, southwest Nigeria, on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

At the forum, key opposition figures, including Rauf Aregbesola, Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Rotimi Amaechi, and Peter Obi, met to chart a common strategy.

Speaking at the forum, the Oyo Governor said: “Across Nigeria today, we are witnessing a level of political concentration that should concern all of us. They point to a pattern where the space for real political competition is disappearing.”

Makinde cautioned that democracy “is not destroyed overnight,” but “weakened step by step,” stressing that “when opposition becomes ineffective, democracy itself begins to lose meaning.

He emphasised that democracy must be defined by “the existence of real alternatives” and warned that without this, “what we have may still be called democracy, but it will no longer function as one.”

Governor Makinde, however, warned that: “Democracy without opposition is not democracy, it is a slow drift towards a one-party state. And Nigeria must not make that drift.”

The Oyo Governor urged stakeholders to “think clearly, speak honestly, and act with a sense of responsibility that goes beyond party lines.”