Professor Pat Utomi, a leading economist and political activist, has launched a shadow government with members drawn from multiple opposition parties, aiming to serve as a credible counterforce to the President Bola Tinubu administration.
The “Big Tent Coalition Shadow Government” was unveiled virtually on Monday night, with the intent to highlight governance failures and offer policy alternatives.
The Federal Government, through Minister Mohammed Idris, condemned the move, calling it “an aberration” incompatible with Nigeria’s presidential democracy. Idris told The Press, “At a time when our nation is set to celebrate 26 unbroken years of presidential democracy, the idea of a so-called shadow government is an aberration.” He stressed that Nigeria’s political system does not accommodate shadow governments as practiced in parliamentary systems and that opposition should be exercised within the legislature.
Utomi, however, justified the formation of the shadow cabinet as a necessary response to worsening national crises, including rising poverty, the exodus of multinational corporations, and escalating terrorism and insecurity. He criticized the government’s “resort to propaganda” and suppression of opposing views, warning that democracy is under threat. “The imperative is that if a genuine opposition does not courageously identify the performance failures of incumbents, offer options, and influence culture in a counter direction, it will be complicit in subverting the will of the people,” Utomi said.
The shadow government will convene weekly to assess policies and propose alternatives in areas such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, and security. Utomi called for decentralised policing and ethical governance reforms, underscoring the urgent need to address poverty and corruption.
