Former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, has criticized the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for contributing to Nigeria’s growing trend toward a one-party state, rather than the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Okechukwu made these remarks on Sunday in Enugu, responding to accusations that the APC and President Bola Tinubu were responsible for the weakening opposition in the country.
The former VON boss, a founding member of the APC, dismissed the notion that the APC was the architect behind the weakening opposition. He instead pointed to the PDP’s “humongous culture of impunity” during its 16 years in power as the root cause of the situation. Okechukwu further argued that the PDP, which controls over 10 state governments, had allowed internal issues, including the “stomach infrastructure syndrome,” to derail its ability to provide effective opposition.
He recalled instances like the arrest of Alhaji Buba Galadima, former National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), in 2007, as an example of the PDP’s manipulative tactics in politics. According to Okechukwu, the PDP’s failure to uphold the party’s constitution, particularly with regard to the rotation of presidential power between the North and South, has had lasting consequences, including contributing to Nigeria’s drift toward a one-party system.
Okechukwu further criticized the PDP’s approach in the 2023 presidential election, claiming its overestimation of Atiku Abubakar’s appeal to the northern electorate was a significant misstep that exacerbated the problem.
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