Former Lagos State governor Babatunde Fashola has dismissed reports that the present administration is trying to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise on Saturday, Fashola said the emergence of a coalition led by opposition leaders in Nigeria dispels such claims.
According to the former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, with the emergence of a coalition, Nigeria may benefit from what he called the “reawakening of opposition from what has been a long slumber”.
He said: “Well, there are many things to take away from those developments. I think perhaps the first is that it puts a lie, a big lie, to the story making the rounds about eight weeks ago that Nigeria was going to become a one-party state because there is an opposition of some quality, whatever that quality may be.
“I respect the rights to associate, and Nigeria perhaps benefits from the reawakening of opposition from what has been a long slumber, if you ask me. The opposition essentially abdicated its responsibility over the last two years.”
Fashola stated that the coalition had a responsibility to provide a compelling alternative message, a manifesto to convince Nigerians.
Fashola said, “The second point to make is that it is a manifestation of a right to choose a freedom of choice, a freedom to associate, and one must respect that as I do.
“In terms of the political consequences, there are many things that I’m waiting to see. Gathering ourselves together and saying we want to change Nigeria, we want to remake Nigeria, is all very well and good.
“What is the compelling alternative message? Without a manifesto, without a programme of action, I can’t speak to how persuasive the coalition will be, but there’s still a distance to run.”
Naijaonpoint reports that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has been adopted by some leading opposition leaders as the political party to contest the presidential election against President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
They include the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi; and a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai.