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Political parties

Nigeria's Opposition Parties at Crossroads: Warning of One-Party System Imposition

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Former President Goodluck Jonathan recently cautioned against the imposition of a one-party system through political manipulation, warning that such a move could plunge Nigeria into confusion and anarchy. Jonathan's remarks came amid a wave of defections from opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), sparking fears of creeping authoritarianism.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which held sway in the South-south, has lost the zone to the APC after defections by governors of Edo, Cross River, Delta, and Akwa Ibom states.
  • No fewer than 2,004 supporters of the PDP and NNPP have defected to the APC in Jigawa state, with three senators from Kebbi state also defecting from the PDP to the APC.
  • The APC now holds 68 seats in the 109-member senate, consolidating its majority, while the PDP has 30 seats.
  • Former President Goodluck Jonathan warned that a one-party system may not be evil, but it must be implemented procedurally, not through manipulation.
  • Bayelsa PDP caretaker chairman, George Turnah, insisted that the party will support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's re-election even if Governor Douye Diri didn't, while the suspension of Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara places his fate in the balance.
  • Senator Gabriel Suswam raised the alarm that the PDP could cease to exist before the 2027 general elections if the party's leadership fails to address its ongoing internal crises.
  • The PDP is currently in a crisis, with two major sources of instability: the unresolved battle over the national secretary position and the escalating rift between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the suspended Governor Fubara.
  • BUkolas Saraki has been tasked with refining the modalities for the PDP's National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and convention to reunite all aggrieved members of the party.

Statistics:

  • 2,004 supporters of the PDP and NNPP have defected to the APC in Jigawa state.
  • 3 senators from Kebbi state have defected from the PDP to the APC.
  • The APC now holds 68 seats in the 109-member senate.
  • The PDP has 30 seats in the senate.
  • The Labour Party has 5 seats, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has 2 seats, and both the NNPP and APGA hold 1 seat each.
  • 107 sitting members are in the senate.
  • Former Anambra South Senator Ifeanyi Ubah died last July, and Monday Okpebholo vacated the Edo Central seat after being elected governor of Edo state last September.

Sources:

  • Former President Goodluck Jonathan
  • Bayelsa PDP caretaker chairman, George Turnah
  • Senator Gabriel Suswam
  • Former Senate President Bukola Saraki
  • Arise Television's The Morning Show
  • Blueprint

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