Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has called on Nigerians to make efforts to stop the plot to foist one party system on Nigeria by his party.
In a statement made available to media houses, Eze said should the plot to cause one political party in Nigeria succeed, the country may lose everything remaining of its sovereignty as the schemes will mark the formal collapse of democracy.
He further said it was politically unrighteous that while other climes are making frantic efforts to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions within their bounds, some elements in the seat of power under the APC administration are hatching and stealthily advancing the idea of foisting on Nigeria, a one party system, describing such move as a deliberate invitation to anarchy.
He criticised the comments credited to APC National Chair, Umar Ganduje, calling on all the opposition parties in Kano state to join the APC and make Kano a one-party state.
“Ganduje is not the first person of his stature to voice such imperial sentiments. Sixteen years ago, the then National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), late Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, boasted that his party would keep national power for 60 years.
“It was the stand of the likes of Ogbulafor that forced some of us patriotic Nigerians to meet and exiled PDP from governance and it is unfortunate that the party that we struggled to install is hatching similar mentality.”
“Such move will be unfair to those that risked their lives to install APC with the hope of giving Nigeria and Nigerians not only a proper progressive political party but a party that will rescue the country from the challenges of poverty and insecurity”, he noted.
He urged Nigerians to support the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other patriots in their drive to front a formidable opposition to salvage the country.
“It is in this regard that I as a patriotic Nigerian and a nationalist in that matter not minding my membership of APC is hereby urging all Nigerians, not minding our political differences to support this idea of proferring alternatives to most of our policies and reposition opposition political parties and save our country and strengthen our democracy”.
Eze quoting ThisDay Newspaper said; “the designers of the Nigerian constitution obviously considered the nation’s political journey and its complexities before arriving at the multi-party option. It’s bad that the various parties haven’t lived up to the core of their statutory roles.
“Nigeria hasn’t come this far in its chequered political history to flirt with any system that stifles opposing views. A culture that involves only one strong or sole party which runs the government can be expected to churn out unilateral decisions that are, in many cases, detrimental to the freedoms and potential progress fought for by our heroes right from the precolonial times”
