A broadcast journalist with a national television claimed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) vowed to form an interim government against the then-ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), if the 2015 general elections were rigged.
This is coming on the heels of agitations that have since trailed the outcome of the 2023 presidential election and the public warning issued by the Department of States Service (DSS) on the plots for an interim government.
While grilling a member of the APC over the emerging issue of an interim government as part of the post-election developments, the journalist said;
“In 2015, the APC said that if the elections then were rigged by the PDP that it would form an interim government. In 2014, and 2015, they kept on saying that,” the journalist said.
Muhammadu Buhari of the APC, won the 2015 general elections to unseat the then-incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, who was seeking re-election at the time.
Claim: APC vowed to form an interim government if PDP rigged the 2015 elections.
Verification
The CDD Election War Room can confirm that the claim is misleading.
Findings revealed that the APC ahead of the 2015 general elections said that it would form a parallel government if the elections were rigged in favour of the PDP.
The leadership of the APC released a statement in November 2014, saying it would not recognize the outcome of the 2015 elections if they were rigged, and would go ahead to form a parallel government.
John Odigie-Oyegun, who was APC national chairman at the time, had earlier said the same in August 2014.
However, an interim government is not the same as a parallel government. An interim government is a provisional form of government that operates temporarily until the country settles on a stable or permanent government.
A parallel government is a form of an alternative — often rebellious — government that runs alongside the main government in power. It is a treasonable offense, according to section 37 of Nigeria’s criminal code.
Nigeria had an interim government in 1993, which was led by Ernest Shonekan. In 1998/1999 Abdulsalami Abubakar led a transitional government.
The closest any part of Nigeria has experienced to a parallel government is Boko Haram terrorists attempting to run a state within a state by hoisting flags and taking over villages and towns in the northeast.
Nigeria has had no record of a full-fledged parallel government.
Verdict
The claim that APC vowed to form an interim government if the PDP rigged the 2015 elections, is misleading. The CDD Election War Room, however, found that the party threatened to form a parallel government, which is not the same, but often worse than an interim government.