Defectors joining APC willingly, Not forced – Presidency

As the drama of bigwigs opposition joining the ruling All Progressive Congress continues to unravel with its ensuing controversies, the Presidency has stated that the defectors willingly joined its fold and not under any form of duress, as speculated in some quarters.

The Presidency disputed claims of a one-party state and maintained that democracy is neither undermined nor threatened “just because politicians exercise their rights of association”.

Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, signed a statement on Sunday that contained this information.

According to Onanuga, “Nigerians who are joining the APC and expressing support for Tinubu are doing so voluntarily, believing that the reforms being implemented are beneficial to Nigerians and the next generation.”

The defection of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor Ifeanyi Okowa, Deputy Governor Monday Onyeme, commissioners, local government chairmen and others occurred last Wednesday.

The major opposition party is further weakened by the departure of Okowa, the PDP’s presidential running mate in the most recent election, and others.

Observers question if the Labour Party and the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), the major opposition groups, could challenge the ruling party in 2027 given their own internal problems.

The Presidency has refuted accusations that the ruling party is complicit in the crisis inside the opposition parties.

“The opposition cannot blame President Tinubu and the governing APC for their poor organisation, indiscipline, and gross incompetence in managing their affairs. It is certainly not part of President Tinubu’s job to organise or strengthen opposition parties.

“We find it curious that those who celebrated the defection of the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the formation of a regional grand coalition with the sole aim of defeating President Tinubu in the 2027 election are the same people shedding crocodile tears over Nigeria’s so-called drift to a one-party state and authoritarianism.

“While the latter-day defenders of democracy raised no anxious voice against the disgruntled politicians cobbling an anti-Tinubu, anti-APC coalition along dangerous regional lines, even before INEC blows the whistle for party politicking, they are quick to ascribe the political shifts in some states to ‘bribery, blackmail, and coercion” without any shred of evidence.

“Without any equivocation, freedom of association, freedom of speech and freedom of choice are part of the cherished ideals of democracy.  When politicians and citizens cannot freely join any association or political party of their choice or cannot openly express their views, democracy is imperilled.

“Those opposed to the Tinubu administration should understand that they can issue diatribes, without fear, against the government because we practice a thriving democracy.

“It is hypocrisy writ large when opposition politicians and their collaborators in the ‘human rights’ movement desire that the party of the President should implode so they can gain electoral advantage and cry wolf when their wish does not materialise.

“We want to state that democracy is not threatened or undermined simply because politicians exercise their rights to freedom of association.”

According to Onanuga, democracy is robust under Tinubu, and the multiparty democratic system will continue to thrive unchecked.

“His administration remains resolutely committed to upholding and strengthening the democratic foundations upon which our Fourth Republic has stood since 1999. Politicians changing party affiliation is not new or peculiar to Nigeria.

“In more advanced democracies, there are ready examples of notable politicians, statesmen and women who changed their parties,” he said.

Onanuga added that President Tinubu and the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Abdullahi Ganduje, deserve commendation for making the ruling party viable and attractive to all Nigerians willing to participate in the democratic process.

“President Tinubu is an avowed democrat and a firm believer in multiparty democracy. His political activism and democratic credentials in galvanising and strengthening opposition platforms as a force that defeated a sitting President and the then ruling party attest to his credibility as a tested defender of multiparty democracy.

“We urge all Nigerians to join hands with the administration in protecting our democracy by respecting our people’s choices and giving alarmists, who draw their narratives from the pool of fiction, a wide berth,” the statement added.