President Bola Tinubu has declared that Nigeria will never become a one-party state under his leadership, emphasising his unwavering commitment to democratic pluralism and constitutional rule.
Delivering an address at the joint session of the National Assembly to mark the 26th Democracy Day Anniversary, President Tinubu addressed critics accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of harbouring ambitions to consolidate political dominance and eliminate opposition.
“To those who ring the alarm that the APC is intent on a one-party state, I offer you a most personal promise. While your alarm may be as a result of your panic, it rings in error,” the President stated.
Drawing from his own political trajectory as one of the last standing opposition governors during the early 2000s, Tinubu reaffirmed his credentials as a staunch defender of multi-party democracy.
“In 2003, when the then-governing party tried to sweep the nation clean of political opposition through plot and manipulation, I was the last of the progressive governors standing in my region,” he recalled.
“Even with all of that, they could not control our national destiny because fate is written from above. Nigeria will not become a one-party state now.”
Tinubu clarified that it would be electoral malpractice to deny citizens their right to freely join political parties, including his own, stressing that it is not his responsibility to organise or restructure the opposition.
“The responsibility of proper opposition is in the hands of the opposition, not mine,” he said. “I will not advise the opposition to put its house in order, and I will not help them put their house in order either.”
Referencing the 2006 and 2010 interventions by previous National Assemblies, Tinubu praised lawmakers for their historic role in safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic values.
“In 2006, the 5th National Assembly protected our democracy against an unseemly third-term bid that would have ripped our constitution apart. In 2010, the National Assembly, through the doctrine of necessity, opened the door for then-Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to become Acting President,” he noted.
The President also paid tribute to democratic resistance during military rule, recalling how some lawmakers, including former Senate President Ameh Ebute, reconvened in defiance of General Sani Abacha’s regime.
“Some of us defied the General and his goons to reconvene in the Old Parliament Building in Lagos. We were jailed for our defiance,” he said, drawing applause from legislators present.
He expressed gratitude to his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, for recognising and correcting what he described as the “error of the 1993 elections,” which was widely believed to have been won by Chief Moshood Abiola and Alhaji Babagana Kingibe but annulled by the military regime.
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