President Bola Tinubu has dismissed allegations that his administration is orchestrating the collapse of opposition parties, insisting that neither coercion nor state power has been used to silence dissenting politicians.
Speaking during an interfaith Iftar with senators at the Presidential Villa, Tinubu addressed concerns that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is benefiting from defections by opposition members.
“Critics must talk. When they accused me of killing the opposition, but I didn’t have a gun. I could have given myself a licence when I have the authority,” the President said, rejecting claims that the political space is being manipulated in favour of the APC.
Amid a wave of defections to the APC, Tinubu maintained that politicians who switched allegiances acted out of personal conviction.
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“But I can’t blame anybody for jumping out of a sinking ship if they did,” he remarked, suggesting that internal crises within opposition parties, rather than government interference, explain the movement of members.
The President also tied Nigeria’s political tensions to broader security issues, citing terrorism and banditry as destabilising forces.
“What we have faced in the challenging period of this country, the terrorism and banditry, is causing us havoc,” he stated.
Tinubu urged political leaders across party lines to prioritise national unity and democratic consolidation.
“And we should pull together, unite in a way that our forefathers contemplated to bring about a constitutional democracy and pull us together. They didn’t say we should fight. It’s a good thing that we are working in harmony,” he added, framing cooperation as essential to Nigeria’s democratic stability.
