President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, said he is not involved in the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) decision not to register a new political party.
“I have never attempted to alter any political party registration with INEC,” Mr Tinubu said in his Democracy Day speech at the National Assembly.
Dismissing insinuations that he is plotting to make Nigeria a one-party state by crushing other opposition parties, Mr Tinubu said, “At no time in the past, nor any instance in the present, and at no future juncture shall I view the notion of a one-party state as good for Nigeria.”
He added, *To those who ring the alarm that the APC is intent on a one-party state, I offer you a most personal promise. While your alarm may be as a result of your panic, it rings in error.”
The president justified the wave of defections affecting other opposition parties, saying, *We cannot blame anybody seeking to bail out of a sinking ship even without a life jacket.”
Mr Tinubu’s statement comes a few weeks after former Rivers governor and Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, accused the Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC of being biased and frustrating the registration of a new party.
“Already he is stopping parties from being registered,” said Mr Amaechi in an interview aired on Arise TV on June 4. “Already, INEC has taken sides as it is no longer an umpire. The so-called reforms put in place by INEC are not to anyone’s advantage because there are no political parties to compete in transparent elections.”