PDP more democratic than APC, says Olawepo-Hashim

August 25, 2025 by Our Reporter

A former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has said the main opposition party is more democratic than the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He accused the APC of lacking ideology, internal democracy, and a vision for Nigeria’s future.

Speaking on a national television programme, Olawepo-Hashim alleged that the APC functions more like an authoritarian movement than a democratic platform.

 “In the APC, one or two individuals hand down instructions for everyone else to obey like zombies. That is not a political party; it is a cult,” he said

The PDP chieftain argued that the APC has not resolved the economic decline and insecurity in the country.

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 “They promised change, and indeed they brought change — by dragging Nigeria’s GDP (gross domestic product) from over $570 billion in 2014 to less than $300 billion in 2025. They crashed GDP per capita from over $3,000 to below $1,000. They also expanded insecurity from the Northeast to engulf the Northwest, the Northcentral, and the Southeast,” he said.

Contrasting the APC with the PDP, Olawepo-Hashim maintained that the main opposition remains Nigeria’s “truly democratic party,” where divergent views and internal debates shape decisions.

He cited the recent show of solidarity in Zamfara, where PDP governors rallied behind the party’s National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, as evidence of its consultative culture.

“Everything was beautiful. Even the governors had to persuade the National Executive Council (NEC). This is the PDP tradition alive again,” he noted.