Bode George Condemns Police Action on PDP, Warns Against Turning Nigeria Into Dictatorship

A well-known PDP leader, Bode George, has denounced the security personnel’s siege of the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, calling it a perilous step toward dictatorship.
Former PDP Deputy National Chairman George reportedly spoke to reporters on Monday after armed officers prevented him and other top officials from entering Wadata Plaza, the party’s headquarters, along with other members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Committee (NEC).
George, who was clearly incensed, warned the Federal Government against leading the country down a similar route, claiming that the action was reminiscent of Nigeria’s political turmoil in the early 1960s.

“It’s breathtakingly annoying,” he said. It is our land. Did the court issue an injunction stating that we would not be holding our meeting in our office? What’s going on? It began in the South West in 1962 when I was a young man. Let’s not go crazy like that. Could you tell me what it is? Why don’t we sit and chat? What constitutes democracy’s core?

He questioned why heavily armed police were called in to break up a peaceful party gathering and accused the authorities of trying to suppress democratic discourse.

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George went on, “Nigerians are observing.” We want to conduct a meeting, therefore you came to our office and placed cops around it? Are you interested in making this country more like Russia or more like North Korea? We refuse to permit it. Nigerians won’t permit it.

He promised that the meeting would still go place, but he would not disclose the new location for security concerns.

Wadata Plaza was reportedly taken over by security personnel earlier in the day, denying party officials—including members of the Board of Directors—entry to the building where they had assembled for the important NEC meeting.