Abdullahi Sule, the governor of Nasarawa, says the growing dominance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should not be mistaken for Nigeria becoming a one-party state.
Sule spoke on Tuesday after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja.
The Nasarawa governor said dominance by the APC does not equate to the death of other political parties in the country.
Sule said Tinubu’s policies and achievements are responsible for the defection of members of opposition parties to the APC.
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He said the defectors were not pressured to join the ruling party, noting that they were inspired by Tinubu’s reforms.
“It’s a reflection of the performance of our party and the performance of Mr President,” he said.
“We’ve seen reforms in the unification of exchange rates, the removal of fuel subsidies, and now in the power sector.
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“What is even more impressive is the focus on skill acquisition and agriculture. These are real reforms that matter to the people.”
He added that in a democratic setting, each political party desires to dominate the arena and win elections despite the presence of other parties.
The governor cited the dominant nature of the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States, which, he noted, still gives room for the existence of other political parties in the country.
“We just want to be the party that wins 90 percent of the votes. The other parties can have 10 percent. Every party wants to give back to society, and I think that’s what our party is doing,” he said.
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Over the past few months, several leaders in the opposition parties have defected to the APC.
The most recent is the defection of Sheriff Oborevwori, governor of Delta, and his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
The wave of defections hitting the opposition parties has elicited conversation that the country is gradually becoming a one-party state.
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