Pecohub The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, has dismissed growing concerns that Nigeria was drifting towards a one-party state, describing such claims as “an odious comment” by those he called “internally displaced politicians.”
Basiru stated this on Monday during an interview on Prime Time on ARISE NEWS, where he defended the dominance of the ruling party, the wave of defections to the APC, and the policies of President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Responding to concerns that multi-party democracy was weakening, Basiru said Nigeria remained firmly a multiparty state, pointing to the spread of political parties controlling different states across the country.
“I don’t think so. I think it’s a very odious comment and opinion by those I call internally displaced politicians,” he said.
“Today we have multiparty democracy even well illustrated by the spread of the political parties that are in control of various states in Nigeria.”
He noted that while the APC currently controls 27 states, other parties still hold governorship positions.
“Yes, my party, the APC has 27 governors, the PDP has five governors, APGA has one, NNPP has one, and AP party just got a governor,” Basiru said, asking, “What other illustration of multiparty democracy do you have?”
He argued that multiparty democracy did not require the ruling party to weaken itself for the opposition’s sake.
“Multiparty democracy does not mean that the ruling party should allow itself to be weakened, should become indolent and complacent,” he said.
“If multiparty democracy means canvassing your ideas, expressing freedom of association, freedom of information and freedom to organise, then definitely Nigeria is a multiparty democracy and working stronger.”
The APC scribe also rejected allegations that the Tinubu administration was weaponising anti-corruption agencies against opposition figures, insisting that law enforcement institutions were independent.
“I must immediately address the erroneous impression which is rather ridiculous for people to say that the presidency is weaponising EFCC. There’s no such thing like that,” Basiru said.
He cited examples of APC members facing prosecution to counter claims of selective justice.
“Governor Bello is a prominent member of our party and is currently standing trial before at least two courts in Nigeria. Is that victimisation?” he asked.
Basiru added that politicians with clean records had nothing to fear.
“If you don’t have skeleton in your cupboard, nobody should be afraid that anybody will go after you,” he said.
“Do you have immunity against criminal investigation or criminal prosecution just for the fact that you belong to opposition?”
Drawing parallels with Tinubu’s past, Basiru recalled that the president himself had once been subjected to anti-corruption trials.
“When our now president was prosecuted before the Code of Conduct Tribunal to full trial, that did not stop Bola Tinubu from continuing to organise and mobilise the opposition,” he said.
Addressing claims that governors were defecting to the APC to escape prosecution, Basiru dismissed the argument as illogical.
“People are harassing and saying some very unpalatable comment about governors who have defected as if they did not know that under the Nigerian law a sitting governor has immunity against criminal prosecution,” he said.
He cited reasons publicly given by defecting governors, including infrastructure projects and federal support.
“When governors had come forward to say the reasons why they decided to join the APC, the governor mentioned four important factors,” Basiru said, referencing road construction, electrification projects, and federal waivers granted under Tinubu’s administration.
He further rejected reports that the APC was scheming to secure bloc votes from specific regions to guarantee Tinubu’s re-election.
“That’s a fallacy,” he said. “We are creating a pan-Nigerian political party and the strength of the APC is all over Nigeria.”
He described claims that the party was targeting votes from the South-South and North-Central as “fertile imagination,” adding, “We have become a pan-Nigerian political party, we propagate our party and our programmes and get membership acceptance from Nigerians from all walks of life.”
Responding to suggestions that Tinubu was losing support in the North, Basiru cited recent election outcomes as evidence of APC’s strength.
“The barometer for acceptance of the president and political party is election,” he said. “Elections are not done on the pages of newspapers. They are not done in the studio of ARISE Television. They are done with the masses.”
He added that in the most recent elections, the APC won the majority of available seats.
On the economy, Basiru insisted that Tinubu’s reforms were yielding results, particularly in inflation and food prices.
“Just today (Monday) 14.5% is the inflation rate. On the contrary, it was about 34% in 2024,” he said, claiming that food prices had declined significantly.
“The uppermost bag of rice in Nigeria today is ₦60,000. In the corresponding period last year, it was about ₦100,000,” Basiru said, urging Nigerians to “go and price.”
Acknowledging initial hardship following subsidy removal and naira reforms, he maintained that the economy was stabilising.
“We thank God today that Nigerians are beginning to see the good side effect of the fact that we are now recalibrating Nigeria’s economy,” he said.
Basiru admitted that insecurity remained a challenge but rejected claims that no progress had been made.
“To say that we have not made advancement in the past two and a half years of the Bola Tinubu administration would not be correct,” he said.
He pointed to improvements in the South-East and parts of Southern Kaduna, while conceding that insecurity had not been completely eradicated.
“It’s a lingering problem… and we are very serious and very committed in being able to do so,” he added.
Defending Nigeria’s intervention in neighbouring Benin Republic, Basiru said the move was lawful, strategic and later ratified by the National Assembly.
“If there’s a major crisis in Benin, how do you envisage that will not spill over to Nigeria?” he asked.
He added that swift action was sometimes necessary. “Time is essential in terms of intervention in such a kind of matter,” Basiru said, noting that parliamentary approval followed shortly after.
He also defended the nomination of former INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, and other names that raised controversy on the ambassadorial list.
“Everybody is presumed to be innocent until proven otherwise,” he said, adding that none of the nominees was facing criminal prosecution.
On Yakubu’s nomination, he said, “There’s no law inhibiting somebody who has served his country creditably well from being appointed as an ambassador.”
He stressed that APC had both wins and losses under Yakubu’s watch at INEC. “Even under Professor Mahmood Yakubu, our party lost elections,” Basiru said.
