A foundation member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu has said the victory of Anambra Governor, Charles Soludo of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) at the weekend election was an indication that Nigeria was not gravitating towards one-party state.
He congratulated Soludo for his victory and commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Okechukwu said the outcome of the election faulted the speculation the ruling party and, by extension, President Tinubu would rig the Anambra State gubernatorial election.
With the recent mass defections from the opposition parties into the APC, some sections of the opposition accused the ruling party of putting Nigeria at the risk of becoming a one-party state, which portends serious danger for the country’s democracy.
But reacting to the outcome of Saturday’s Anambra governorship election in an interaction with journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Okechukwu said the victory of APGA has rubbished the lie peddled by some opposition elements and even APC members that Nigeria was sliding towards a one-party state under the APC central government.
The immediate past Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) attributed the defections to PDP’s unforced error in breaching the rotation/zoning convention and APC’s growing support to the outstanding and remarkable achievements of President Tinubu in less than three years in office.
Okechukwu recalled Tinubu is in a league with progressive patriots that one party is not suitable for democracy anywhere and that citizens have the right to choose between associations, which one to belong to.
Reminded that some people are already referring to Nigeria as a de-facto one-party state, Okechukwu said: “Those saying that Nigeria has become a de-facto one-party state are speaking out of sheer ignorance of the history of our alliances, latest was in 2004 when such outcry sounded loud. Did we then anticipate that a Buhari would emerge to stop President Obasanjo and his 3rd gambit? Or did we envisage Peter Obi’s Obedient Movement in 2023 presidential election? Albeit there’s no valid fear for One Party State, all we need is performance, which Soludo demonstrated.”
“If APC is aimed to confine Nigeria to a one-party state, it could have used awesome powers at its disposal to shove Professor CC Soludo aside. The cardinal question is why the ruling APC lost the gubernatorial election?
“Like President Tinubu often says, Nigeria is not a one-party state but ruled by one party making the difference. That is why all progressives are working with APC, including APGA, which won last Saturday’s Anambra Governorship election landslide.”
Speaking further, Okechukwu recalled before the APC came to power, politicians have been defecting from the opposition party to the ruling party.
“My brethren, please remember that when PDP was in power, some of their leaders boasted that they would be in power for 60 years. It took the resilience of President Tinubu and late former President Muhammadu Buhari to galvanise the opposition to chase them away after they almost ruined the country through maladministration and corruption.
“Now that APC under President Tinubu is trying to reclaim the country and the same people whose political parties are in disarray, want to deceive Nigerians that we in APC are pushing for one-party state. The victory of Soludo has rubbished their lie,” he stated.
Congratulating the Anambra Governor on his re-election, Okechukwu urged him to be magnanimous in victory and carry everybody in the state along, including his opponents in last Saturday’s governorship election.
He wished Soludo well and thanked President Tinubu for allowing the level playing field: which is the hallmark of liberal democracy .
