Governors’ Defection to APC, Indication of One-party State Dictatorship, Oshun Warns

• Cites amendment to NPC, NBC Acts as signs of tyranny
• Warns APC guber candidate in Anambra may suffer setback

Gboyega Akinsanmi

The National Chairman of Afenifere Renewal Group, Hon. Olawale Oshun yesterday warned that the defection of some state governors to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was an indication that Nigeria was gradually sliding into a one-party state dictatorship.

Oshun, APC’s pioneer Director of Administration, further warned that the controversial amendment to the Nigerian Press Council Act and Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation Act reinforced Nigeria’s gradual descent into one-party state dictatorship.

He expressed this fear during an interview with THISDAY at the weekend, warning that the defection of the governors to the APC portended evil for the future of Nigeria as a federation.

Apart from federal and state lawmakers, three governors had defected from the PDP to the APC between November 2020 and June 2021, a development that had shrunk the number of PDP governors from 16 to 13
The governors include Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Nweze Umahi who joined the APC on November 17, 2020; Cross Rivers State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, who dumped the PDP on June 1, 2021 and Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, who moved to the PDP on June 29.

Expressing concern about the trend of the high-profile defection, Oshun warned that the trend of high-profile defection portended evil for the future of Nigeria as a federation while it posed threat to democracy.

He explained the centrality of opposition to democratic process, pointing out that every developing country and developed countries globally aspired to enable democracy in their domains.
He, thus, said: “Democracy, almost always, entails a government and an opposition. When you talk of opposition, it is a virile opposition. This present defection, for me, can only put Nigeria on the road to dictatorship or one-party dictatorship.

“Without any exaggeration, honestly, once you have one party system, what you have is the beginning of a full-blown dictatorship because the place of opposition will be eroded,” ARG’s national chairman warned about the looming danger of the lopsided defection.
He emphasised the significance of opposition to robust democratic culture, though explained that it was not enough “to have opposition parties that are not virile to stand up to the shenanigans of the party in government.

“We need a minimum of two strong parties – one in government and the other out of government. The essence of the one out of government is to put the one in government in check. That is why we have democracy.
“If we have weak opposition parties that can be manipulated or that cannot stand up to check the adequacies of the party in government, we are already on the way to full-blown dictatorship. That is the way I see the present gale of people moving from the PDP to the APC.”

Beyond the high-profile leaders that defected from the PDP to the APC, Oshun pointed at different indicators, which according to him, attested to Nigeria’s gradual descent into one-party dictatorship.
He cited the Nigerian Press Council Act Amendment Bill, National Broadcasting Commission Act Amendment Bill, Hate Speech Bill, Social Media Bill or the NGO Regulation Bill, which showed that Nigeria was on the way to dictatorship.

ARG’s national chairman acknowledged that the presidency and the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in separate statement had distanced themselves from these controversial bills
However, according to him, whoever is advocating it knows that the amendments to the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in particular are meant to stiffen the freedom of speech.

He said: “You take the media bills along with the purported stand on Hate Speech Bill, Social Media Bill or the NGO Regulation Bill. We are on the way to dictatorship. Suddenly, we are having this definition of hate speech coming into our dictionary. You ask yourself what hate speech is.

“This is a country that already has ample legal positions for libel or for slander. In terms of defining what a libel is or what a slander is, the responsibility lies on the judiciary. Individuals can make claims. Individuals can sue for damages. Suddenly, you are having a criminalization of hate speech.
“What is hate speech in respect of inter-personal relationship or in respect of relationship between the citizens and government? If you combine the argument for the bills on the control of the media imposing a 10-year jail term or recommending long sentencing for hate speech, we can all see, even if it is not a deliberate design, the ultimate consequence,” he noted with grave concern.

He observed that all these amendment bills “are pointing towards dictatorship. If it is not by design, then something is amiss if those in government cannot see those shenanigans and distance themselves completely from these bills. After all, those who are making the laws are members of political parties.

“The lawmakers represent their constituencies and constituents. The argument from the constituencies where they emanate is that Nigeria is a country of free speech. The argument there is that this is a country that was designed to be a democratic one even if we are still grappling with some challenges or even if it can basically be defined as a civil or civilian government.”

Oshun faulted the decision of the APC Caretaker and Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) to go ahead with the ward congress penultimate Saturday despite the decision of the Supreme Court on the governorship election of Ondo State.

He noted that he had read the advice of the APC National Legal Adviser, Mr. Babatunde Oghala and the Minister of State for Labour, Mr. Festus Keyamo about the judgment of the apex court on the governorship election of Ondo State.

From the inception, he lamented that having a sitting governor running the party “is an aberration. Apart from the illegality, my own main concern from the beginning has to do with the fact that being a governor is a burden enough.

“When a sitting governor now combines his responsibilities with a potentially full-time job of the National Chairman of the APC, there is no way you can do the two together if you are a human without taking into consideration the issue of constitution.

“In the first instance, having a sitting governor to run the affairs of the party was against the constitution. More fundamentally, the state from where he comes will suffer. The party will also suffer. Definitely, the suffering from the party is so complicated.

“If you look at the judgment of the Supreme Court, it will mean that if the APC candidate were to win the governorship election in Anambra State, will he be able to retain the seat for years no matter the number of votes garnered?

“Even Anambra presents itself as a problem for the APC. Even the ward congress we held penultimate Saturday should have been postponed because at the end of the day, if the congress will stand on illegality, all the actions of the elected state officials will also be a nullity,” he warned.

He, therefore, acknowledged that the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo had been looking at the decision of the apex court along with a team of lawyers and senior party leaders.

According to him, there is no point in grandstanding on this issue other than just accept the reality. We have to go back to the drawing board and allow properly constituted executives to start running the affairs of the party.