The Presidency has dismissed claims that politicians joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are being coerced, insisting that the defections are voluntary and driven by confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said none of the politicians who recently joined the APC was pressured to do so.
“None of the people who joined the governing APC was pressured to do so. They all did so of their own free will. They are being motivated by the noticeable gains of President Bola Tinubu’s reform programme,” the statement said.
The Presidency was reacting to comments by a group of opposition figures who alleged that the wave of defections to the APC posed a threat to Nigeria’s multi-party democracy. It argued that the Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of association, including the right of politicians to change parties at will.
According to the statement, similar political movements occurred in the past without claims that democracy was under threat, particularly during periods when politicians defected en masse to the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Presidency also rejected accusations that President Tinubu is using anti-corruption agencies to target political opponents. It maintained that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operates as an independent institution empowered by law to investigate and prosecute financial crimes without political interference.
“President Tinubu does not issue directives to any anti-corruption agency on whom to investigate, arrest, or prosecute,” the statement said, adding that accountability applies to all Nigerians regardless of political affiliation.
The Presidency described allegations of “weaponisation” of the EFCC as distractions by politicians lacking credible campaign issues, noting that recent anti-corruption efforts contributed to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
