Media entrepreneur and former presidential aspirant, Dele Momodu, argues that Nigeria has already slipped into a one-party State under President Bola Tinubu, citing the growing dominance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across several states.
Momodu argued that the country is no longer merely drifting towards a one-party system but has effectively arrived there, particularly in the South-South region, which he said has largely fallen under the control of one political bloc.
He pointed to Akwa Ibom State as a striking example, describing it as a traditional stronghold of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) that does not depend on federal patronage for survival due to its abundant resources.
Momodu questioned the decision of the governor to defect from the PDP shortly after assuming office, noting that the party that facilitated his emergence is now being sidelined.
According to him, it was unprecedented for a governor elected on the platform of one party to allegedly restrict opportunities in the state to members of another party, describing such actions as historically troubling and morally questionable.
He stressed that while political defection is a democratic right, it is wrong to use the mandate and benefits secured through one party to undermine that same party.
Momodu also referenced developments in his home State of Edo, where he alleged that non-APC members are increasingly marginalised.
While acknowledging that governors have the freedom to align politically, he maintained that deliberate efforts to exclude opposition parties from political and civic space undermine democratic values.
He warned that history would ultimately judge current political actors, insisting that the erosion of political pluralism poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
Asked if Nigeria is drifting towards a one-party State, he retorted: “We are not drifting; we are there already. The situation in which the entire South-South has been captured by one man… and a lot of them who didn’t even need to go there are running into the APC. Look at Akwa Ibom State. Akwa Ibom has no business in APC, Akwa Ibom is a traditional PDP state. It can survive on its own, it does not even need the Federal government. Akwa Ibom is so blessed with resources that every governor of the state has always been considered very important in Nigeria.
“But when you have a man who was brought in by PDP and he ran away from the PDP even by the second year… What is chasing him? And now he is saying that only APC people can get jobs in Akwa Ibom, it is unprecedented. History is awaiting all of us. Was it APC that worked for him to become governor? If he wanted to give everything to APC, then he should have waited for APC to vote him for a second term then he can transfer everything to APC.
“But for, what he is enjoying is from PDP, it is not from APC, so why are you now shutting out those who brought you to power? And he is a pastor, he knows that God will judge him. I know it is his democratic right to go wherever he chooses but he cannot use what you have gained from someone else to give to another person.
“Look at my home state, Edo State. There, if you are not a member of APC, you are declared a persona non grata. That is not right. The governor is free to choose his friends and so on, at least there the APC brought him to power unlike Akwa Ibom, where PDP brought him to power and suddenly you want to kill PDP in your state. I think that is ungodly.”