President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has rejected allegations that his administration is orchestrating defections from opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting he has neither coerced nor forced any politician to switch sides.
The President made the remarks on Wednesday night, during an interfaith breaking of the fast (Iftar) with members of the Senate at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
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Responding to criticisms that his government is deliberately weakening opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections, Tinubu said: “Critics must talk. When they accused me of killing the opposition, but I didn’t have a gun. I could have given myself a licence when I have the authority. But I can’t blame anybody for jumping out of a sinking ship if they did.”
He likened recent high-profile defections including those of Kano Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf (NNPP to APC) and others to people voluntarily leaving a troubled vessel, adding that Nigeria’s security and economic challenges require national unity rather than partisan division.
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“What we have faced in the challenging period of this country, the terrorism and banditry, is causing us havoc. And we should pull together, unite in a way that our forefathers contemplated to bring about a constitutional democracy and pull us together. They didn’t say we should fight. It’s a good thing that we are working in harmony,” Tinubu said.
The President used the occasion to renew his call for the National Assembly to expedite the process of amending the 1999 Constitution to allow for the establishment of state police as a key measure to tackle the country’s worsening security crisis.
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Tinubu argued that the current centralised policing structure has proven inadequate against banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and other threats, and that state police properly regulated would bring governance closer to the people and improve response times.
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The Iftar event, attended by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, several APC and opposition senators, and religious leaders, was part of ongoing efforts to foster interfaith harmony and political dialogue during Ramadan.
APC National Leadership Welcomed Tinubu’s remarks as “statesmanlike” and reiterated that defections reflect public confidence in the Renewed Hope Agenda.
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Opposition Voices (PDP, LP, ADC) Dismissed the “sinking ship” analogy as arrogant, insisting defections are driven by federal might, financial inducements and insecurity rather than voluntary choice.
Civil Society groups supported the state police call but urged that any constitutional amendment must include strong safeguards against abuse and politicisation of policing.
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The President’s comments come amid a wave of defections to the APC in recent months, including governors, senators and key opposition figures, raising questions about the health of multi-party democracy ahead of 2027.
DDNewsOnline – Lagos
By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi
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