By James Offor
The presidency has faulted Nigerian activists’ claim that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration wants to turn the country into a one-party state.
The activists, including academics, at the weekend, accused the government of embarking on a “calculated and systematic” effort to dismantle the “democratic foundations of our republic and reduce Nigeria to a one-party state.”
Many have raised concerns at the recent trends in Nigerian politics over seeming calculated efforts to kill opposition parties.
This followed the gale of defections of many leading opposition politicians to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) with rumours that embattled Rivers State Governor, Similaye Fubura, the latest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) set to join the APC.
Yesterday, a group of 18 Nigerian activists and academics released a statement urging citizens to defend democracy and resist attempts towards creeping the country into “authoritarianism.”
The group, whose members refer to themselves as democrats, said, there is a “calculated and systematic” effort by the administration of President Bola Tinubu to dismantle the “democratic foundations of our republic and reduce Nigeria to a one-party state.”
They alleged that political pluralism is being eroded under this administration through bribery, blackmail, and coercion.
“Serving and former governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives, and key opposition figures are decamping en masse to the ruling party, not out of conviction, but out of fear and pressure.
“The pattern is disturbingly clear: an invitation by the EFCC for questioning on financial impropriety is swiftly followed by political capitulation. This weaponisation of state institutions for partisan gain corrodes public trust and undermines the integrity of our democracy.”
Last week, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, his deputy, Monday Onyeme, and his commissioners, as well as Oborevwori’s predecessor, who contested against Tinubu as PDP Vice Presidential candidate in the last elections, Ifeanyi Okowa, defected from APC to APC.
This came five months after Okowa was detained by the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, over corruption allegations.
Stressing that democracy without opposition is not a democracy, the group said: “The presence of multiple, vibrant parties is not a luxury—it is the lifeblood of any democratic system. It provides citizens with real choices, ensures accountability, encourages debate, and fosters innovation in governance.
“The drift toward a one-party state is a betrayal of the ideals that many of us—and indeed President Tinubu himself—fought for during the darkest days of military dictatorship. It is not what we envisioned when we stood in the streets demanding civil rule. It is not what the Constitution guarantees. And it is not what Nigeria’s future demands.”
The group said that “Nigeria risks returning to a culture of impunity, where the absence of opposition breeds arrogance and unaccountable governance.
“We jeopardise the federal character of our democracy by suffocating the diversity of voices and interests that make up our republic. We also stifle the political space for young Nigerians to organise, question, and contribute to the national discourse.
“This must stop.”
“We urge the Nigerian people, civil society, the media, and the international community to stand vigilant and speak out. History will not be kind to silence in the face of this unfolding danger.”
In the statement signed by Richard Akinnola, Abdul Mahmud, Sam Amadi, Auwal Musa, Nnimmo Bassey, Adeola Soetan, Uche Onyeagucha, Uzodinma Nwaogbe, Mma Odi, Osa Director, Adele Jinadu, Babafemi Ojudu, Abubakar Mohammed, Chidi Odinkalu, Tola Adeniyi, Jibrin Ibrahim, Femi Aborisade and Olufemi Adegbulugbe, the group urged Nigerians to rise against any move to introduce authoritarian rule in the country, saying it will breed anarchy and impunity in the country.
But in a swift reaction, the presidency assured that democracy is not under threat in Nigeria, saying that accusations that the administration is moving into authoritarianism are baseless.
A press statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, reads, “We’ve read the alarming claims orchestrated by 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 the defection of the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, the former governor and vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last election, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, and the principal political actors in Delta State certainly threw the opposition and their sympathisers into disarray.
“While the opposition elements are understandably heartbroken and disillusioned over the failure of their fabled grand coalition to gain traction, we find it disturbing that they resorted to peddling false allegations of the promotion of a one-party State against President Bola Tinubu, who is working very hard to reverse decades of economic mismanagement of our country.
“Contrary to the false claims in the sponsored 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.
“We must add 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 duty of opposition.
“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 imperiled. Those opposed to the Tinubu administration should understand that they can issue diatribes, without fear, against the government because we practice democracy.”
The presidency described as “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.”
It added: “We want to state that democracy is not threatened or undermined simply because politicians exercise their rights 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 delegitimise 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. 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.
“President Tinubu and the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Dr. 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 profound credibility as a tested and relentless defender of multiparty democracy.
“We urge all Nigerians to join hands with the administration in protecting our democracy by respecting their choices and giving a wide berth to peddlers of alarming narratives rooted in fiction.”
