Ebere Ifendu, the President of the Women in Politics Forum, characterized the widespread change of allegiance by Nigerian governors to the ruling All Progressives Congress, or APC, as a deeply embarrassing situation. During an interview on Arise Television monitored on Thursday, Ifendu expressed serious concern that Nigeria’s democratic system is currently endangered. Her remarks were a direct response to the numerous state governors who have left their original political parties to join the APC. Recent reports indicate that the governors of Enugu, Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, and Akwa-Ibom states have all switched to the governing party.
In her reaction, Ifendu stated that the situation is frankly embarrassing. She explained that in politics, parties are expected to have distinct ideologies, such as being a socialist party like the Labour Party or a conservative one, but there must be a guiding ideology. She questioned whether Nigerian political parties lack ideology, since people move so easily from one party to another. She noted that when citizens vote for a political party, they do so based on the principles the party presents. Ifendu warned that democracy in Nigeria is being threatened because the public is losing faith in the leaders they elected.
She further argued that a political candidate carries the mandate of their party, not a personal one, and is elected based on the party’s platform. Therefore, abandoning that party to join another raises the question of whether Nigeria is sliding toward a one-party state. She stressed that without a viable opposition, democracy ceases to exist, concluding that the current trend observed in Nigeria is fundamentally wrong.
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