Isaac Samuel
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dismissed speculations that his administration is plotting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
The President said such an idea is neither desirable nor acceptable.
Addressing lawmakers during a joint sitting of the National Assembly on Thursday as part of events marking Democracy Day, Tinubu said he would never support or enable the elimination of political opposition in Nigeria.
He recalled how, as the then-governor of Lagos State in 2003, he stood alone in the Southwest as the only opposition leader after the then-ruling party swept the region in what he described as a campaign of manipulation and inducement..
The President said claims by opposition figures that the APC was plotting a one-party system were unfounded and reflective of internal weaknesses within those parties, not any external sabotage.
The President said: “At this point, I plead for your indulgence, so that I may put a terrible rumor to bed. 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 as a result of your panic, it rings an arrow.
“At no time in the past, nor any instance in the present, and at no future junction, shall I view the notion of a one-party state as good for Nigeria. I have never attempted to alter any political party registration with INEC. Equally, my dear friends and colleagues, we cannot blame anybody seeking to bail out of a sinking ship, even without a life jacket.
“Look at my political history. I will be the last person to advocate such a scheme. In year 2003, when the then-governing party tried to sweep the nation clean of political opposition through plot and manipulation, I was the last progressive governor standing in my region.
“They boasted of ruling, not only 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 adversary held all the cards that a mortal man could carry. Even with all of that, they could not control my destiny, and could not control our national destiny, because fate is written from the above.
“Nigeria will not become such a state now. The failed effort to create a one-party state placed progressive political party forces on a trajectory to form the APC. It put me on the trajectory which had brought me before you today.
“I dare not such a feeble to any political adversary by repeating the same mistake of political overreach. A one-party state is not in the oven, nor shall it ever be. That said, we would be guilty of political malpractice if we close our door on those from other parties who now seek to join the APC.”
