President Bola Tinubu stated yesterday that a one-party state is not beneficial for the country.
He spoke against the backdrop of fears that the country is drifting towards a one-party state, following the gale of defections of governors and National Assembly members from opposition parties to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
n his address to the joint session of the National Assembly in commemoration of 2025 Democracy Day in Abuja, President Tinubu stated that as the opposition sinks, he will not be the one to help them put their house in order, adding that it is his pleasure to see them in disarray.
Dismissing fears of a one-party state in Nigeria, he said: “To those who ring the alarm that the APC is intent on a one-party state, I offer you a most personal promise. While your alarm may be a result of your panic, it rings in error.
“At no time in the past, nor any instance in the present, and at no future juncture, shall I view the notion of a one-party state as good for Nigeria. I have never attempted to alter any political party’s registration with INEC. “Equally, my friends, we cannot blame anybody seeking to bail out of a sinking ship, even without a life jacket.
“Look at my political history. I would be the last person to advocate such a scheme. In 2003, when the then-governing party tried to sweep the nation clean of political opposition through plot and manipulation, I was the last of the progressive governors standing in my region.
“In all their numbers and false grandeur, they boasted of ruling, not governing, Nigeria for the next half century or more. Where are they now?
“Yet, I stood alone. My allies had been induced into defeat. My adversaries held all the cards that mortal man could carry. Even with all of that, they could not control our national destiny because fate is written from above. A greater power did not want Nigeria to become a one-party state back then. Nigeria will not become such a state now.
“The failed effort to create a one-party state placed progressive political forces on a trajectory to form the APC. It put me on the trajectory which has brought me before you today. I dare not do such a favour to any political adversary by repeating the same mistake of political overreach.
“A one-party state is not in the offing. Nor should it ever be. That said, we would be guilty of political malpractice if we closed the door on those from other parties who now seek to join the APC and I sincerely welcome our party’s newest members from Delta and Akwa Ibom states, led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Pastor Umo Eno, and other members.
“These national political parties, fearful of members leaving, may be better served by examining their internal processes and affairs, rather than fearfully conjuring up demons that do not exist.
