Tinubu Rules Out One-Party State In Nigeria……..But happy PDP, others in Disarray
By Yadnom Awu/ Asaba
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, today, gave firm words that he would not turn Nigeria into a single party state.
Fears of a single party state had been heightened by the mass defections of high ranking opposition figures, including governors and national and state law makers, into the ruling All Progressives Congress APC.
However, President Tinubu is pleased that the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) and other opposition parties are in disarray.
The oppositions’ inability to solve their internal problems is a huge boost to the ruling APC ahead of 2027.
The wave of defections had heightened of recent when state governors and national law makers elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, especially in the South- South, jettisoned the PDP for the APC.
But addressing Nigerians at the National Assembly (NASS) today ,Tinubu offered his firm personal promise on the matter that had caused much public concern.
He recalled the efforts of Nigerians to institute a multi- party mechanism in the polity and his personal struggle against dictatorship and the alleged attempt by the PDP, during the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency to unseat the opposition in the South West, including Lagos State, where he was governor.
He captured the import of the struggle when he recalled that he was ” the last progressive governor standing” after the political onslaught of the PDP.
He assured that at no time would Nigeria turn into a single party state.
However, in reference to the defections, the president said no one could prevent anyone from jumping off a sinking boat, more so when there was no live jacket in it.
Tinubu recalled the arrogance of the PDP, which under the Obasanjo regime had boasted that it would rule the country for a half a century, and asked rhetorically , what had become of it and its boast, which, he said, was made under an atmosphere of false grandeur.
