National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has thrown his weight behind the idea of a one-party system in Nigeria, arguing that the multiplicity of political parties is undermining effective governance.
Ganduje made the remarks on Thursday at the Presidential Villa after leading a delegation of APC stakeholders to meet with President Bola Tinubu.
During the visit, he disclosed that all three Senators representing Kebbi State under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are set to formally defect to the APC on the floor of the Senate next Tuesday.
The growing wave of defections from opposition parties to the ruling APC, coupled with ongoing internal crises in several opposition platforms, has led to discussions around the possibility of Nigeria tilting toward a one-party system. Critics have raised concerns that members of the opposition are being pressured or coerced into abandoning their initial platforms.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Ganduje said, “Almost every week in the Senate House of Representatives, you see members of other political parties decamping into the party. So we came here so that Mr. President will bless this resolution. And Mr. President has graciously blessed this resolution.”
When asked whether he was concerned about warnings from political leaders regarding the dangers of a one-party state, Ganduje maintained that such an outcome, if it emerges, should be seen as the will of the people.
“One-party state, you see, if one-party state is a wish and blessing to Nigeria, one-party state is not by force. One-party state is by negotiation. It’s by other political parties seeing the effect of the positive governance of our party.
“If they decide to come into our party willingly. I think there’s nothing nothing with that. In today’s democracy, China is one of the most strong countries in the world, and it’s a one-party system. We are not saying that we are praying for, we are working for one-party system, but if that is the wish of Nigerians, we cannot quarrel over that. You know they say too many cooks spoil the soup. Too many political parties spoil governance.”
His comments come amid the recent concerns raised by former President Goodluck Jonathan, who has cautioned against a slide toward one-party structure. Jonathan had noted that such a system should only emerge through broad-based consensus among stakeholders—not through coercion or manipulation.
