The All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised concerns over the wave of defections to its platform, cautioning against the potential implications for Nigeria’s democratic structure.
Speaking with Punch on Friday, the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Duru, urged the party leadership to exercise restraint in encouraging defections from opposition parties, warning that a weak opposition could harm democracy.
Duru emphasized the importance of maintaining a vibrant opposition to ensure checks and balances in governance.
The caution comes in the wake of mass defections by Labour Party (LP) lawmakers to the ruling APC, a trend that has drawn mixed reactions from political analysts and citizens.
Speaking on the defections, Duru said, “The political space must be reinforced in such a way that people must not be encouraged to leave one party to another. People should be encouraged to stay within their political environment to develop the ideology of their party and not abandon it only because there are issues within the party.
“That is the only way to run a political party in Nigeria. I’m not one of those that will encourage defection. Opposition must be allowed to bloom and flourish. It is only on that account that you can have that agenda.
“Opposition represents a tendency that must not only be encouraged but also be cultivated and nurtured for the sake of the good of our country. If you decide, for any reason, that you need to change the party on the basis of which you’re elected, you need to put in your letter of resignation and then canvass for vote on the basis of another political party.”