A founding member of the All Progressives Congress, Osita Okechukwu, has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of fuelling a one-party state through what he described as anti-democratic actions and personal ambition.
In a press statement dated 2 April 2026, Okechukwu said Atiku’s recent declaration “Am not stepping aside,” has “conclusively vindicated” claims that the former presidential candidate is undermining democratic opposition in Nigeria.
Okechukwu questioned Atiku’s absence from a political gathering in Kano, where the African Democratic Congress welcomed Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya movement into its fold.
He said, “Is there any better way to fuel One Party State than His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s embarrassing absence from the Kano grand ceremony by ADC’s leadership, who welcomed Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and by extension the Kwankwasiyya movement into their fold; at a time when my great party, the APC is populating its fold?”
Okechukwu also criticised Atiku for accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of promoting a one-party state, describing such claims as contradictory.
He said Atiku “not only covertly opposed the defection of a Big Fish like Kwankwaso to ADC, but issued the sinister statement that he is not stepping aside, when nobody asked him?”
The APC chieftain further recalled what he described as similar behaviour during the 2023 presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, arguing that it contributed to internal instability within the party.
According to him, “the loud, repeated allegations of APC constructing so-call one ‘one-party state’ are nothing but a smokescreen to cover the opposition’s deep-seated anti-democratic tendency, disunity, and lack of strategic direction.”
He added, “Let it be stated without ambiguity — we are vindicated. Atiku’s declaration has laid bare the real problem of a foremost opposition held hostage by personal ambition, where no one is willing to neither yield ground for the collective good nor obey the zoning convention.”
Okechukwu said Atiku’s stance comes at a time when Nigerians expect a stronger and more united opposition capable of providing credible alternatives ahead of the 2027 elections.
“Methinks that as an octogenarian and elder statesman, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar should help build the consensus of Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso presidential ticket to make 2027 presidential election robust, credible, challenging and shining example to the globally community, instead of placing our democracy in unnecessery north-south debacle,” he said.
He maintained that the dominance of the APC is driven not just by incumbency but by the opposition’s internal divisions.
“For the avoidance of doubt… the strength of the APC lies not merely in incumbency, but in the inability of opposition parties to put their acts together and prioritize national interest over individual ambition,” Okechukwu stated.
He concluded that “the real danger to Nigeria’s democracy is not dominance by one party, but the reckless dysfunction of those who should provide balance.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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