President Bola Tinubu has dismissed claims that his administration is deliberately weakening opposition parties, insisting that he has not used state power to compel defections or stifle dissenting voices.
The President addressed the issue during an interfaith Iftar with senators at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He was responding to mounting criticism that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is gaining strength through alleged pressure on opposition figures to switch sides.
“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,” Tinubu said.
His comments come against the backdrop of a series of high-profile defections from opposition parties to the APC, developments that have sparked accusations that the political environment is being skewed in favour of the ruling party.
Tinubu rejected those allegations, arguing that lawmakers and political actors who left their former parties did so voluntarily, not under coercion.
“But I can’t blame anybody for jumping out of a sinking ship if they did,” he said, implying that internal instability within opposition parties may be driving the wave of defections.
The President also pointed to the country’s security challenges, including terrorism and banditry — as part of the broader strain on the nation’s political and social fabric.
READ ALSO: Opposition Parties Reject 2026 Electoral Act, Demand Fresh Amendment
“What we have faced in the challenging period of this country, the terrorism and banditry, is causing us havoc,” he stated.
Calling for greater unity among political leaders, Tinubu urged collaboration across party lines, stressing that Nigeria’s democratic framework was intended to promote cohesion rather than conflict.
“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,” he said.