President Bola Tinubu has asserted that under his administration, Nigeria will not transition into a one-party state.
He has reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to the principles of democratic pluralism and the rule of law as enshrined in the Constitution.
Addressing a joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday to mark the 26th Democracy Day Anniversary, President Tinubu responded to critics who accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of nurturing 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 political trajectory as one of the last standing opposition governors during the early 2000s, President Tinubu reaffirmed his credentials as a committed 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.
“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,” he recalled.
President Tinubu clarified that it would amount to electoral malpractice to deny citizens their right to freely join political parties, including his own, adding that it is not his duty 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.”
Recalling the 2006 and 2010 interventions by previous National Assemblies, President Tinubu commended 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, recounting 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 recognizing and correcting what he described as the “error of the 1993 elections,” which were widely believed to have been won by Chief Moshood Abiola and Alhaji Babagana Kingibe but were annulled by the military regime.