President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dismissed the possibility of Nigeria becoming a one-party state, saying that fate will not allow it.
In his Democracy Day message posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, President Tinubu described claims that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) seeks to turn Nigeria into a one-party state as unfounded.
“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 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 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,” he stated.
He recalled that in 2003, when the then-governing party tried to “sweep the nation clean” of political opposition through plot and manipulation, he remained the last standing progressive governor in his 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?,” he asked.
The president continued: “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 the above. A greater power did not want Nigeria to become a one-party state back then.
“Nigeria will not become such a state now 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.”
He advised other political parties to focus on putting their house in order, affirming that he will not help them do so.
“It is, indeed, a pleasure to witness you in such disarray,” he acknowledged, adding that “our efforts must never be to eliminate political competition but to make that competition salutary to the national well-being by working across the political aisle whenever possible.”
