“Train youth wings.” Uzoma Nwonye advises political parties amid APC’s rising violence.

A Nigerian politician based in South Africa, Hon. Harris Uzoma Nwonye, has appealed to political parties in Nigeria to institute and train their own militant youth wings to counter alleged APC thugs. This call comes after suspected APC thugs disrupted an ADC meeting in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State recently. Hon. Nwonye, a former national delegate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) representing Umuaka Ward 2 during Nigerian’s transition to democracy in the 90s, expressed disappointment with APC’s role in the violence, citing instances of APC-related violence across the country. “I advise that every political party in Nigeria should start to train its own thugs now to counter APC thugs who have planned to orchestrate the 2027 election in every state in Nigeria, don’t say I didn’t warn you. To be forewarned is to be forearmed,” he disclosed to Umuaka Times correspondents in South Africa.

Citing a recent example of particular concern, Nwonye recalled the alleged threat to Peter Obi by an APC governor and the subsequent assassination attempt on Obi’s life, which he claims has gone unaddressed by authorities. He advised Obi to fortify his security and be prayerful, stating, “The handlers of Obi should try their best to give him the best protection ever. I do not trust this APC government and with the APC in power, just expect the unexpected.”

The call comes amid rising concerns about political violence in Nigeria, with instances of violence reported at APC ward congresses, assassination attempts, and electoral violence. Nwonye urged opposition parties to unite against what he described as the common enemy of the people.

Besides the call to political parties to train their youths, Nwonye also suggested ways to have a free and fair election in the country come 2027. According to him Nigerians should strengthen their electoral institutions by ensuring INEC’s independence and credibility, improve voter registration and verification processes and enhance security measures for polling units during elections. He also advised that Nigerians should promote peaceful campaigns, enforce laws against hate speeches, and encourage politicians to sign peace pacts, support civil society organizations promoting peace and deploy adequate security personnel to polling units as well as establishing special courts for electoral offenses.

For the most part, Hon Nwonye appealed to Nigerians to ensure that INEC must implement electronic voting and result transmission on real time.