The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has said that despite quadrennial elections since 1999 and some incremental gains, the country has yet to translate its ballot exercises into real progress that lifts citizens out of destitution.
Its Media and Communication Officer, Robert Egbe in a statement issued Wednesday to commemorate June 12, 1993, election and the 26th anniversary of uninterrupted civilian rule in Nigeria.
It decried deepening frustration among citizens, who, despite decades of democratic rule, continue to battle grinding poverty, chronic insecurity, and bad governance.
CAPPA was of the opion that public institutions have fumbled on stewardship of collective resources and left basic services in tatters, consequently widening the trust gap between government and the governed.
It said: “Social and economic poverty has become pervasive. If anything, the surge of youth-led protests across the country in recent times, especially against bad governance, reflects just how much Nigerians are teetering on the brink of survival.”
It added that essential services such as public water, shelter, education, health care, and electricity remain inaccessible to many, even as ill-conceived privatisation drives have impacted costs beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.
It noted: “In 2024, nearly 130 million Nigerians lived below the poverty line, and another 13 million are reportedly set to join them amid today’s cost-of-living shock.
“Our national circumstances are an outrage for a country blessed with abundant mineral resources, fertile land, and human talent.”
CAPPA also warned that Nigeria’s key institutions and basic freedoms are under siege.
It stressed that the country’s anti-corruption agencies, legislature, and even the judiciary continue to wobble under political pressure, with their independence compromised by back-room appointments and political interference.
CAPPA condemned what it described as the increasing actions of state governments to use court orders to gag free speech and force peaceful protests into designated centres.
It dubbed the trend as an unsettling tactic and aberration that Lagos and Ogun States, and even the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have latched on to in recent times.