The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has said that the idea of a one-party state should not be opposed if it reflects the desire of the Nigerian people.
Speaking to State House correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday on the planned defection of three serving Senators from Kebbi State to APC, Ganduje noted that a shift towards a single-party system could be considered a democratic outcome if achieved through voluntary political realignments.
“If a one-party state is a wish and blessing to Nigeria, then so be it,” Ganduje said. “A 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 cited China’s political model as an example of how a one-party system could still deliver effective governance, saying: “Today, China is one of the most powerful countries in the world, and it is a one-party system.”
While clarifying that the APC was not actively campaigning for Nigeria to become a one-party state, the former Kano State governor emphasised that such a political development should not be dismissed if it happens organically.
“We are not saying we are working for a one-party system,” he said, “but if this is the wish of Nigerians, we cannot quarrel with that. You know they say too many cooks spoil the soup , too many political parties spoil governance,” he concluded
Ganduje’s remarks came amid growing concerns about the dominance of the APC in national and state politics following a wave of defections by opposition politicians to the ruling party.
