Nigeria is becoming a one-party state – Gov. Udom Emmanuel

Vanguard reports that Governor Emmanuel said democracy would be jeopardised in the seeming one party structure, which the country was pursuing, and in the circumstance, the system would stifle the voice of the opposition, thereby paving the way for despotism which he said was not in the best interest of the country.

He said: “As a country, we are assisting other countries to institute democracy, how come we are destroying ours? We should not allow the country to be run like this, else our democracy will collapse.”

The governor cited an example of alleged action by the police during PDP convention as evidence that Nigeria is gradually losing freedom that comes with democracy.

He said: “The sealing off of International Conference Centre, venue of the meeting, by the Police was a sad commentary on our democracy. Twice, we have experienced this. The other time, we had to hold the convention at the zonal secretariat of the party because the Port Harcourt stadium was barricaded by the Police.

“A country of more than 170 million people is too large for one party structure. Let us make room for other parties to operate because a multi- party system will ensure the survival of democratic governance in the country.”

Nigeria is becoming a one-party state – Gov. Udom Emmanuel