Senator Eteng Jonah Williams, representing Cross River Central Senatorial District, has taken a swipe at concerns that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is gradually driving Nigeria into a one-party state following gale of defections from opposition parties.
Meanwhile, addressing a special joint session of the National Assembly to mark Democracy Day, on Thursday, President Tinubu told the lawmakers that he has no intention of turning the country into a one-party state.
In a chat with journalists shortly after the President’s session with the lawmakers, Senator Williams wondered while people are bothered about the gale of defection from the opposition parties.
The former Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly explained that members of a political party are at liberty to leave when the party is not doing well.
According to him, defecting to another political party is a matter of self-decision, emphasizing that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not coercing anybody to join the Party.
When asked if President Tinubu and APC are driving Nigeria into one-party state, he said: “I don’t know why people would bother about that?
“If your party is not good, you change. If your party is not doing well and you feel that you won’t be fulfilled in that party, you change.
“That does not mean somebody is pushing you. It is a self-decision. The Constitution is clear – freedom of association. So, it’s not somebody that will force you to join a political party.
Senator Williams concluded by saying “Even if all Nigerians are saying it’s only APC, so be it”.
