Nigeria risks sliding into a one-party state if defections from opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) continue unchecked, a rights group has warned.
Executive Director, Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED, Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, raised the alarm on Monday over a growing trend of governors, senators and House of Representatives members abandoning their original parties to join the APC.
Zikirullahi worried that since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, several governors from traditionally opposition strongholds have defected to the ruling party. Delta, Enugu, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States have seen high-profile defections that experts say are motivated by personal gain rather than policy alignment or reforms.
He said the wave of defections is not just political manoeuvring but a threat to democratic governance. “This trend is the slow but steady march toward a one-party state, a civilian dictatorship cloaked in democratic garb,” he said.
The Executive Director cited examples from other countries to highlight the dangers of one-party dominance. In Zimbabwe, politicians defected to ZANU-PF for personal survival, resulting in hyperinflation and mass migration. Russia’s United Russia consolidated power through suppression of dissent. Cameroon and Kenya also experienced prolonged social and economic crises under similar political conditions.
According to him, Governors who have switched to the APC include Delta State’s Sheriff Oborevwori, Enugu’s Peter Mbah, Akwa Ibom’s Umo Eno and Rivers’ Siminalaye Fubara. The rights group said these defections were “calculated moves to secure protection, patronage, and relevance ahead of the 2027 elections.”
He added that, “Once a PDP fortress since 1999, Governor Oborevwori’s defection in 2025 shocked many. His move was not about delivering better governance but about aligning with the ruling party for personal survival.
“Governor Peter Mbah’s defection in October 2025 marked the collapse of another PDP stronghold. His decision was framed as ‘supporting Tinubu’s reforms,’ but in reality, it was about securing political relevance.
“Governor Umo Eno defected in June 2025, citing the need to ‘support Tinubu’s reforms.’ Yet, citizens saw little or no evidence of reforms improving their lives. Instead, the defection was about consolidating elite interests.”
CHRICED also criticised Nigeria’s National Assembly and judiciary, saying the legislature has become a “rubber stamp body” endorsing defections without scrutiny, while courts have validated defections and dismissed opposition challenges.
The group warned that unchecked defections could deepen poverty, worsen insecurity, and trigger mass migration. They said citizens risk losing trust in democracy and seeing social services collapse.
“Living under one-party dominance breeds hopelessness. Citizens lose faith in elections, believing outcomes are predetermined. Youth disengage from politics, seeing it as a game of survival for elites. This despair fuels crime, drug abuse, and migration, as people seek escape from a system that no longer serves them,” the statement said
CHRICED called on civil society, the media, opposition parties and the judiciary to resist the drift toward one-party dominance.
