Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has expressed that the idea of Nigeria becoming a one-party state isn’t something entirely out of the question.
The former Kano State Governor shared his thoughts during a chat with journalists on Friday. This followed a meeting at the Presidential Villa where he led several APC stalwarts and three senators from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing Kebbi State to meet with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to Naturenex, these PDP senators had gone to formally inform the Nigerian leader of their intention to defect to the ruling APC.
Speaking about the growing trend of lawmakers switching allegiances to the APC, Ganduje remarked: “Almost every week in the Senate, House of Representatives, you see members of other political parties decamping into a party. So we came here so that Mr. President will bless this resolution.”
He went on to reveal: “And Mr. President has graciously blessed this resolution. And by Tuesday, I urge you to go and see what is happening in the chambers.”
When asked to address the recurring warnings by political commentators and elder statesmen cautioning against the dangers of a one-party state, and whether that was the APC’s vision, Ganduje responded: “One-party state, you see, if one-party state is a wish and blessing to Nigeria, one-party state is not by force. One-party state is by negotiation. It’s by other political parties seeing the effect of the positive governance of our party.”
He continued by citing an example from outside Nigeria: “If they decide to come into our party willingly, I think there’s nothing like that. There’s nothing with that. Today, democratic China is one of the most strong countries in the world.”
Ganduje clarified that it isn’t a deliberate plan by the APC to establish a one-party system in the country but insisted that if the Nigerian people desired it, it would be their democratic choice: “And it’s a one-party system. We are not saying that we are working for one-party system. But if that is the wish of Nigerians, we cannot quarrel with that.”
He wrapped up his thoughts with a popular proverb to underscore his point about Nigeria’s current political environment: “You know they say too many cooks spoil the soup. Too many political parties spoil governance,” the APC national chairman emphasized.
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