Nigerians Who Saw Nothing Wrong in PDP Fraudulently Controlling 31 States in 2007 Now Accuse APC of Imposing One-Party State – Presidency

The Presidency has pushed back against criticisms that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is steering Nigeria toward a one-party state, pointing to the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) dominance in the 2007 elections as a precedent. Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga said the PDP “fraudulently” took control of 31 states while in power without sparking national outrage.

In a post on X, Onanuga shared a political map from the 2007 elections, highlighting how the PDP had captured nearly the entire country, leaving only five states to the opposition. He argued that those raising alarms today over APC’s control of 22 states were silent when the PDP held a near-monopoly on power. “There was no uproar then that the PDP was imposing one-party on our country,” he wrote.

Onanuga labelled current critics as hypocrites, accusing them of overlooking the PDP’s use of political means to dominate while now challenging the APC’s rising support across Nigeria. “Suddenly, the same people who did not see anything wrong in the PDP taking over the entire country by political fraud are the same people now accusing our party of trying to impose a one-party state,” he said.

His comments follow recent remarks by APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, who suggested that a one-party state could bring about more efficient governance. Ganduje noted that while the APC is not officially working toward that goal, “if this is the wish of Nigerians, we cannot quarrel with that,” adding that “too many political parties spoil governance.”