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Tinubu Not Forcing Politicians to Join APC, Says NNPP Founder Boniface Aniebonam
NNPP founder Dr. Boniface Aniebonam dismisses claims that President Bola Tinubu is coercing politicians to defect to the APC, saying all party membership is voluntary. He warns defecting governors against seeking cover and urges EFCC to probe state finances.
Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, has said that politicians defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) are doing so of their own free will, not under any coercion from President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking in Lagos on Friday amid the recent wave of defections by some governors and lawmakers to the ruling party, Aniebonam dismissed claims that Tinubu was pushing Nigeria toward a one-party system.
“We are yet to see politicians who defected to the APC or any other political party in Nigeria at gunpoint, except for their personal convictions and choices,” Aniebonam said.
He maintained that political association in Nigeria remains a matter of personal choice, not compulsion.
“We have 18 registered political parties in Nigeria, which underscores the essence of a multi-party system in our constitution. Even if all the PDP governors and others join APC, it doesn’t make Nigeria a one-party state,” he stated.
According to Aniebonam, President Tinubu has never hidden his willingness to welcome new members into the APC, as it is the right of any political leader seeking re-election.
“The President had once said he would not stop anyone who wishes to join the APC. To claim that Nigeria is tilting to a one-party state is unfounded because INEC has not deregistered any existing political party,” he added.
The NNPP founder, however, cautioned that some defecting governors might be motivated by self-interest rather than ideology.
“Many of these governors are not doing much for their states. They think that running into the APC will provide them cover from investigation. But the APC must be careful — it’s easier to fight from within than from outside,” he warned.
Aniebonam further called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to closely monitor state governments and prosecute any governor found guilty of embezzlement.
He also urged Nigerians to remain politically vigilant, noting that the real power lies with the electorate, not politicians.
“What is the population of governors compared to those who will vote? They are merely a minority of eligible voters in Nigeria,” he said.
Aniebonam reaffirmed that the NNPP remains open to all Nigerians interested in contesting elections and insisted that President Tinubu “has done nothing wrong.”
“Only bad workmen quarrel with their tools. The President should be left alone — he has not coerced anybody to join the APC,” he concluded.
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