National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has addressed concerns raised by opposition leaders about Nigeria potentially becoming a one-party state.
Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday, Ganduje downplayed the alarm, suggesting that the trend of defections to the APC reflects the party’s growing influence.
“If one-party state is a wish and blessing to Nigeria… One party state is not by force, it is by negotiation and it is by other political parties seeing the effect of the positive governance of our party. If they decide to come to our party willingly, I think there is nothing wrong with that,” Ganduje said.
Drawing a comparison, he added, “Today China is one of the strongest countries in the world and it’s a one party system. We are not saying we are working for one-party system but if this is the wish of Nigerians, we cannot quarrel with that.”
Ganduje, who was accompanied by three Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators reportedly set to defect to the APC, noted that the ongoing realignments are part of a broader effort to strengthen the ruling party.
He explained, “It is in continuation with the initiative of President Tinubu that APC must do what we must do democratically to increase our numerical strength. And in this incident, not only our numerical strength but also our quality and capacity of our followership.”
Referring to the pending defection of the three PDP senators from Kebbi State, he said, “Negotiations went on underground between the major stakeholders in the State and now they have come to the conclusion that results, the three Senators, the PDP senators from Kebbi State have agreed and resolved that they are decamping to our great party, the APC.”
Ganduje expressed confidence in the APC’s ability to integrate these defectors smoothly, adding, “Our constitution is very clear about this and not only that, our political dexterity in managing such affairs is on the table so I assure you that there will be a smooth integration.”
He hinted that the formal announcement of the defections would be made soon, stating, “By Tuesday, you will see what will happen in the Red Chamber.”
