The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, has dismissed claims that the ruling party is attempting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television’s The Morning Show, Morka addressed concerns raised over the recent wave of defections from opposition parties to the APC, stating that such movements do not imply a deliberate effort to dismantle Nigeria’s multiparty system.
“Many of these people are coming in and saying, ‘we want to be part of the process.’ We want to identify with that process. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Morka said. “That does not mean that we desire for Nigeria to become a one-party system.”
Drawing comparisons with the era when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controlled over 28 states, Morka noted that the PDP was not accused of promoting a one-party structure at the time.
He emphasized that Nigeria’s democracy is constitutionally protected as a multiparty system and that the APC respects this framework. “Nigeria, both in the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and a plethora of other laws, has embedded systems that unmistakably define the country as a multiparty and pluralist society,” he stated.
According to him, any attempt to turn Nigeria into a one-party state would require a near-impossible constitutional amendment. “We cannot, as a party, go against the force of the Constitution. To change that, you’d have to alter a lot of legal provisions, which is nearly impossible,” he added.
Morka also clarified that the APC’s focus remains on strengthening its internal structures and governance, not on suppressing political competition. “Our concern is not the narrative of a one-party state. We are focused on how to continue to protect and build our party,” he said.
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