The Presidency has dismissed concerns that recent high-profile defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC) pose a threat to Nigeria’s democracy, describing such fears as baseless and politically motivated.
Last week, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, former Governor and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice-presidential candidate Ifeanyi Okowa, and several other PDP leaders in Delta State defected to the ruling APC in a major political realignment.
The development triggered a wave of criticism from opposition figures, who alleged that the defections were engineered through coercion and could undermine Nigeria’s multiparty democracy. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, reacting to the defections, warned that democracy in Nigeria was “under siege,” adding that when opposition voices are stifled and political competition is weakened, democracy itself is at risk.
“Let me be unequivocal: freedom of association and expression are not optional in a democracy — they are fundamental rights. Alongside these stand the pillars of a just and functional democratic society: the people, the rule of law, credible elections, and accountability. Undermine any of these, and democracy itself begins to crumble,” he said.
However, the Presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, rejected these claims, insisting that democracy in Nigeria remains vibrant and under no threat.
Onanuga said the defections had merely exposed the internal weaknesses of the opposition, accusing “disgruntled opposition figures, some partisan human rights crusaders, and emergency defenders of democracy” of raising a false alarm.
“The seismic shift caused by Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno’s open support for President Bola Tinubu, alongside the defections of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, and principal political actors in Delta and Rivers States, has thrown the opposition and its sympathisers into disarray,” he said.
“While it is understandable that the opposition is heartbroken over the collapse of its much-touted grand coalition, it is disturbing that they now peddle unfounded allegations of President Tinubu promoting a one-party state,” Onanuga added.
He emphasised that no policy or directive from the Presidency aims to dismantle democracy, weaken opposition, or create a one-party system, describing accusations of bribery, blackmail, and weaponisation of state institutions as “products of idle minds.”
“The opposition cannot blame President Tinubu or the APC for their own poor organisation, indiscipline, and incompetence. Strengthening opposition parties is certainly not part of the President’s responsibilities,” Onanuga said.
He further criticised what he called the opposition’s double standards, noting that the same people now lamenting defections into the APC had celebrated former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s move to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and efforts to form a regional coalition against Tinubu.
“It is sheer hypocrisy,” he said, “to cheer political realignments that favour the opposition but cry wolf when similar moves strengthen the ruling party.”
Onanuga asserted that freedoms of association, speech, and choice are fundamental democratic ideals, insisting that citizens joining the APC are doing so of their own volition, driven by faith in President Tinubu’s reforms.
“Democracy is not threatened simply because politicians exercise their right to freedom of association. It is actually a disservice to democracy for so-called defenders to delegitimise the political choices of Nigerians who believe in the President’s agenda,” he said.
The Presidency maintained that under Tinubu’s leadership, Nigeria’s democracy remains strong and that the country’s multiparty system would continue to thrive.
“Party switching is neither new nor peculiar to Nigeria. In advanced democracies, notable politicians often change parties,” the statement read.
Onanuga also commended President Tinubu and the APC’s National Working Committee, led by Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, for making the party “viable and attractive to Nigerians willing to participate in the democratic process.”
