Former presidential aide and ex-lawmaker, Dr. Usman Bugaje, has raised fresh alarm over what he describes as the systematic erosion of democratic principles by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) through the use of financial inducements to secure defections from the opposition. In a strongly worded critique aired on TV on Thursday, Bugaje accused the APC of using money and coercion to hollow out opposition structures, particularly targeting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), thereby endangering the country’s democratic future.
According to Bugaje, who once served as Political Adviser to the President and also held a seat in the National Assembly, the political atmosphere in Nigeria has been severely compromised by what he calls “transactional politics” — where money, rather than ideology or governance competence, determines political loyalty and alignments.
“For what I know—and I don’t claim to know everything—the APC is basically using money to buy off PDP,” Bugaje said during the interview. He added that, beyond financial incentives, subtle threats are also being deployed against individuals with pending investigations, particularly those with cases under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Bugaje did not mince words when he referenced a practice he claims dates back to the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo: the weaponization of state institutions to pressure political figures into submission. “Of course, if there are people with records in the EFCC, they might threaten them… this has been the practice right from the time of President Obasanjo,” he noted.
The former legislator warned that the dangerous entrenchment of money in Nigerian politics risks the complete collapse of democratic governance. “For as long as money is going to be the determining factor, then that’s the end of democracy and that’s the end of politics,” he said, drawing parallels to authoritarian transitions in countries like Peru under Alberto Fujimori.
Bugaje’s remarks come amid a series of high-profile defections, most recently in Delta State, where several PDP members switched allegiance to the APC. While the PDP’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, downplayed the development, suggesting that the next election would be a “battle between Nigerians and the APC,” Bugaje was less optimistic.
He dismissed the PDP’s response as lackluster, asserting that the party had lost its credibility and functionality as a viable opposition. “There has not been opposition right from the time the Minister Wike did what he did. PDP has lost that opportunity to become an opposition party,” Bugaje lamented.
Bugaje traced the root of the current crisis to the absence of internal democracy and ideological clarity within Nigeria’s major political parties. Recalling his involvement in the formation of the APC, he disclosed that efforts to implement merit-based leadership structures were thwarted from the start. “We should develop criteria for people who are going to hold responsibilities of the party. They all opposed it, except a few of us,” he said.
He noted that many of those now in leadership lack the intellectual grounding and character necessary for principled governance. “People who don’t have the character to hold a party, people who don’t have sufficient education to understand the implication of some of the things they do — these are the people now in charge.”
In a sobering conclusion, Bugaje argued that unless drastic changes are made to the way political parties operate, Nigeria’s democracy could slip further into decline. “If you have people who are qualified, who have character, who have got the passion for the party, you can be sure one thing: that party is going to remain intact,” he said. “But once it’s all about what you can get, then the soul of the party is gone.”
Bugaje’s critique not only highlights the growing influence of money in Nigeria’s political system but also reflects the broader frustrations of many Nigerians with a political class seen as detached from governance priorities. With 2027 on the horizon, the political temperature continues to rise — and so too does concern over the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic institutions.