- Lament drift of good governance in political space
- Why gale of defections to APC should worry Tinubu, others – Analysts
- Presidency knocks opposition, says democracy strong, alive in Nigeria
Nigerians have lamented the dearth of strong opposition in the country to serve as a check on the current administration, arguing that the increasing defections of opposition politicians to the ruling All Progressives Congress would constitute democratic reversal.
According to them, current on goings in the nation’s politics have shown that political parties have ceased to add values to governance for common good, rather, politicians only consider personal gains in politics.
They expressed these concerns in their separate interviews with THE POINT, urging the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act to give room for independent candidates to vie for elections without belonging to any political party.
Lamenting the dearth of strong opposition in Nigeria, the citizens said political parties are no longer living up to their expectations, stating that greed and personal interest of politicians have overweigh party ideology and values.
Instead of focusing on delivering dividends of democracy, Nigerians pointed out that political parties have been concerned with crises and how to win elections.
“We might be living in the world of illusions that all is well when there is glaring evidence of zero governance, politics, politicking that doesn’t translate to economic well-being of the masses.”
Citing internal conflicts within the party at both the state and national levels as the main reason for their departure, hundreds of PDP members had reportedly defected to the ruling APC since after the 2023 general elections.
Likewise, the NNPP and Labour Party have experienced a notable wave of defections to the APC, with many members pointing to internal disputes and other related issues as their reasons.
Last week, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor and PDP’s 2023 Vice Presidential candidate Ifeanyi Okowa, along with all party members in the state, officially defected to the APC.
Also, the Senator representing Kano South Senatorial District, Kawu Sumaila, last week officially confirmed his defection from the NNPP to the ruling APC.
In another related development, a long-serving member of the House of Representatives, Oluwole Oke, announced his resignation from the People’s Democratic Party and has reportedly been hobnobbing with chieftains of APC in Osun State.
There are indications that more first term governors in the opposition parties are either preparing or being pressured to switch and join the APC.
Sources said that while some governors would abandon their political parties and switch allegiance to the APC openly, others might secretly work for the second term bid of President Bola Tinubu.
A political interest group, Osun Leaders of Thought has advised Governor Ademola Adeleke against defecting to the APC, urging instead that he remains in the party while fully supporting President Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
In a statement signed by Adesola Adigun, OLT’s Chief of Public Affairs, the group said there have been rising pressures on Adeleke to cross over to the APC, warning that such a move could destabilise both state and national political alignments.
“We take note of mounting pressure from far and near to get Governor Ademola Adeleke to cross over to the APC. This is ill-advised and unnecessary. The Governor should remain in PDP and continue the good work he is doing for the good people of Osun State,” the group said.
While reaffirming support for President Tinubu’s 2027 ambition, the group described it as a matter of ancestral and regional loyalty, noting that Osun, being Tinubu’s ancestral home, has a moral obligation to support his second term.
A political commentator, Oyeleke Abayomi, identified the fast drift of good governance in Nigeria’s political space, wondering why political parties are only bothered about enlarging their population and winning elections, rather than pulling Nigerians out of endemic hardship.
He said, “There is looming ominous sign in the horizon that many state governors that are not elected under the umbrella of APC are being coerced by the president to join the ruling party, the APC.
“Given the conspiratorial attitudes of Nigerian politicians, this attempt is capable of igniting a political crisis given the fact that politicians of divided ideological interest will be forcefully yoked together and work at cross purposes.
“It is only when Nigerian politicians learn to live for humanity that the rat race for occupying political offices will reduce to the barest minimum. The country will be better off for it.
“But, in a situation where their main focus is targeted at inordinate ambitions, greed, acquisition of wealth and tenacity of office without focus on responsibility and accountability to the people that voted them into offices, the country will continue to witness retrogression in terms of socio economic development.
“Poverty, pains, penury and squalor will continue to wreck their havoc on the masses. We might be dreaming of becoming a great nation but the attitudes of our political leaders are not matching this political statement.
“We might be living in the world of illusions that all is well when there is glaring evidence of zero governance, politics, politicking that doesn’t translate to economic well-being of the masses.
“The only thing that remains eternal truth is that God cannot be mocked. To choose between that which is honourable result oriented and the one that is doomed to failure and destruction, the choice is ours as citizens.”
Other speakers vowed to change their voting approach by choosing reputable individuals into political offices rather than focusing on political parties.
A good governance advocate, Emmanuel Adejobi, asked the federal legislators to amend the Electoral Act to allow citizens to vie for political offices without joining political parties.
He argued that, “Nigerian political parties have derailed; they no longer follow their agenda and ideas. How can a governor who had castigated the APC during gubernatorial campaign now made a u-turn and embrace what he described as a failure? This only goes to show that politicians don’t have our interest at heart and since we have realised this, I think it is high we Nigerian voters desist from aligning with parties but rather go for credible personalities.”
“On this note, I want to urge the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act and include independent candidacy whereby citizens interested in seeking for political office can declare intention without necessarily belonging to any political party,” he stated.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Osun State Council, Wasiu Ajadosu said Nigerians would be the ones to suffer the consequences of the current gale of defections because those ditching their political parties are not interested in good governance.
The political analyst said if President Tinubu is a true democrat, he ought to have known that crippling opposition is anti- democracy and good governance.
According to him, “Governors have been cross-carpeting openly or otherwise because of their selfish interest and at the end of the day, the people suffer for it. I think there is a need to regulate the defection of politicians because if care is not taken, Nigeria may be turned into a one-party state and that will never help us.
Noting that “The beauty of democracy lies in having more political parties,” Ajadosu opined that “One should even feel concerned that more or less, two political parties are popular in this country.”
He added, “With the population of Nigeria, we are supposed to have more than ten popular political parties. A one-party state will never assist us. For me, I feel there is a need for us to have a regulation that would make it difficult for politicians to abandon their political parties.
“There is no consistency among politicians. Obafemi Awolowo that all of them are claiming to emulate was known with progressivism and welfarism but they have departed from it. Politicians in the South West are only priding themselves as defenders of Awolowo for political market strategy and not for the good of the masses. Is there governance style and achievements from those who do not claim to be Awoists?”
For him, “Lack of opposition will never assist democracy. Tinubu should not have been fueling defection if he is actually a democrat because once opposition is crippled, democracy is stifled.”
Also weighing in on the matter, a former governorship candidate of the SDP, Goke Omigbodun, said personal interest rather than communal interest has been fueling decamping of politicians to the ruling party, saying, “It has rarely been about the people.”
“The people deserve whatever we get in this country because we are the same people that sold ourselves to these so-called leaders. Many people got profits from the votes they cast at the last elections. This interest doesn’t seem to be matching up with what they expect.
“When Adams Oshiomhole as chairman of APC said the moment you decamp to the APC, your sins are forgiven you, what else do we expect to see? This defection here and there may not lead to good governance for the people of Nigeria.
“The squabbles within the political party are not about good governance or the people. They are all about parochial group interest and most of the times, individual interest. The ruling party always wants to destabilise opposition party. It is not about APC alone, it is also with the PDP when they were in power at the Federal Government level. I witnessed that when I was the acting chairman of the SDP. It is all about private interest,” the civil society activist stated.
Omigbodun, who is the Convener of Good Governance, stressed that, “If we continue the way we treat elections into offices, then we are heading nowhere. It is all about more leaders given money to buy votes. Having state governors and imposing local government chairmen and giving them money, removing PDP governor and imposing military administrator in Rivers State? Is that how to govern a country?
“Only God can stop that through the people. The people will also now arise and say we are not morons. They should go for the right candidates from any political party. They should vote for the right candidates. There is no good political party and there is no bad political party, we only have people who populate political parties.
A Nigerian voter, Bunmi Odeyale promised to avoid what he termed “pocket infrastructure” in the coming election.
“I hope people will not sell their votes. We are now in the opposition in this country because the party system has failed us, Nigerians, because there is no ideology and good governance. That is very dangerous for democracy. Once we realize that the power belongs to the people, we will reject the bad candidates. We won’t deal with political parties, we are voting for good personalities with potential to change our situation for better,” he said.
A lawyer, Bukola Onifade noted that, “The main purpose of getting yourself involved in politics is to bring dividends of democracy to the people. Now, politicians only go into politics to make money. All politicians are not up to 20 percent of voters but the issue of cross-carpeting and moving from one party to the other is based on what people want to gain.
Lamenting the dearth of ideology and values in the political parties, be said “Their values and ideology have faded away,” adding, “Opposition should be seen putting the ruling government on its toes but there is no vibrant opposition again because you even see supporters of other political parties still carrying the identity of a different party.”
A chieftain of the APC, Kehinde Ayantunji, defended President Tinubu on the gale of defection, saying, “President Bola Tinubu has been consistent as a politician and that is why APC is strong today. You cannot find this kind of character in PDP. Atiku has moved to three to four political parties just because of personal ambition.”
“Yes, the ruling party might feel relaxed in the absence of vibrant opposition, but the PDP lacks what it takes to serve as watchdog. There is a clear difference between APC and PDP. The way they manage parties is different,” he added.
Presidency knocks opposition, says democracy strong, alive in Nigeria
However, the Presidency said on Sunday night that contrary to the false claims in the propaganda materials in circulation across mainstream and social media, democracy is not under any threat in Nigeria.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement that while the opposition elements were understandably heartbroken over the failure of their fabled grand coalition to gain traction, the government found it disturbing that they resorted to peddling false allegations of promoting a one-party state against President Bola Tinubu, who is working very hard to reverse decades of economic mismanagement in our country
“We have read the alarming claims of disgruntled opposition figures, some partisan human rights crusaders and emergency defenders of democracy over recent defections of key members of opposition parties into the governing All Progressives Congress.
“The seismic shift caused by Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno’s open declaration of support for President Bola Tinubu, the defection of the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, the former vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the last election, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, and the principal political actors in Delta and Rivers States certainly threw the opposition and their sympathisers into disarray.
“While the opposition elements are understandably heartbroken over the failure of their fabled grand coalition to gain traction, we find it disturbing that they resorted to peddling false allegations of promoting a one-party state against President Bola Tinubu, who is working very hard to reverse decades of economic mismanagement in our country.
“Contrary to the false claims in the propaganda materials in circulation across mainstream and social media, democracy is not under any threat in Nigeria. Accusations that the administration is moving towards authoritarianism are baseless and exaggerated,” Onanuga stated.
He added that no policy, official action, or directive from the Presidency seeks to “dismantle democracy” or “weaken opposition or create a one-party state.”
“Accusations of bribery, blackmail, and the weaponisation of state institutions only exist in the idle minds of politicians and their agents who have failed in their assigned role of opposition and are fishing for scapegoats.
“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,” he stressed.
According to Onanuga, “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 imperiled.”
He added that 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.
“Nigerians migrating to the APC and expressing support for Tinubu are doing so out of their free will, based on the belief that the reforms being executed are in the interest of Nigerians and the unborn generation.
“It is a gross disservice to democracy in itself for these emergency defenders of democracy to delegitimize the political choices of some Nigerians while upholding the choices of others to form a coalition against Tinubu and APC.
“Under President Tinubu, democracy is strong, and the multiparty democratic system will continue to flourish unhindered.
“Under President Tinubu, democracy is strong, and the multiparty democratic system will continue to flourish unhindered.”
“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 added.
The presidential spokesman noted 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.”