“I like the noise of democracy.” James Buchanan Jr.

The lie that Nigeria is operating a multi-party system of politics or government, with a whopping 18 legally registered political parties (see: INEC, 2023), is daily being perforated by the actual practice of politics (realpolitik, as the Germans call it) in the country; a classic example of appearance being way different from reality.
The body language of Nigerian politicians—and the atmosphere of its political trajectory—has always been tilted in favour of at best a two-party and at worst, a one-party set-up. This could be traced back to the First Republic, during the clash of the alliances between the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) and the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA), well into the Second Republic when the dominant ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) sought to smother into oblivion any voice of dissent or opposition but rather foist on the opposition, the Hobson’s choice of choosing between either entering the Big Tent of the NPN, or facing a well-oiled witch-hunt. This is usually climaxed either in having some opposition actors being hacked to death by the assassin’s axe or being rammed into distant goals (better described as ‘dissenters centres’) from their habitats, on various trumped-up charges. A bad precedent was thus set; and it came to become one which would be so faithfully followed for much of the past sixty-three years, by whichever set of its disciples made a majority in the Government of the day, otherwise called ‘the ruling party’.

DEFECTIONS AND STOMACH INFRASTRUCTURE: THE LINK
The ruling party syndrome (or ‘party spirit’, as George Washington, America’s first and greatest president, once termed it), has continued to plague and foul the Nigerian political space with its corrosive stifling and depletion of opposition or alternative voices, so much so that since the return of democracy in 1999, Nigeria continues to totter precariously on the precipice of one-party politics or government. The situation has got to its worst nadir since the last general elections of 2023. With the spate of defections (or decampments), anti-party activities, and spineless opposition at the federal and state legislature levels of late, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has since emerged the behemoth winner, clawing at the foundations of the nation’s democracy like a leviathan. And its ever-yawning jaws are closing in on the rest of the other seventeen (17) registered political parties. The death of Opposition is nigh and the fate of democracy in Nigeria is benighted against a bleak socio-political one-party future. It makes one wonder what politics Nigeria is really operating. A co-operative for people-oriented service or a trusteeship for egotistic personal vendetta? The reality appears to be a woeful weave of the two. My OZEKPEDIA neologism either coined or rephrased this genre of politics as “Akpu”, or “Edikang ikon”, “tuwo shinkafa”, or politics of “omisaghue and amato”. Ozekpedia has also termed it “come-and-chop”, or “chop-I-chop” politics. Maverick politician ang great achiever, Ayodele Fayose (Peter the Rock), former governor of Ekiti State, once called it “stomach infrastructure” politics. Before Fayose, colourful Nigerians such as Busari Adelakun (Eruobodo) and Lamidi Adelabu had coined “Amala” or “Gbegiri” politics. All refers to the sorry non-ideological stance of Nigerian politicians (sorry, “Politricians” according to OZEKPEDIA) where over 90% of leading lights and major players in the APC today were once the controllers of the PDP (now a mere shadow opposition).

WHAT IS POLITICS?
This simple question of what the essence of politics is all about has agitated great minds for centuries. No definition is quite exhaustive. A few shed some directive light. One was so brief or flippant it acquired a universal notoriety. It is “who gets what, when and how”. This was by Harold Dwight Lasswell, a leading American political Scientist, Communications theorists and Law Professor at Yale University. The question that comes to mind then becomes, “Who gets what?” The answer to this poser could be found in the etymology of the word politics, which is the Greek word ‘politiká’, meaning “affairs of the cities”. Without undue resort to polemics devoid of practicality, it is our submission that power is the search result of politics. So, the question “Who gets what, when and how?” acquires the reply POLITICAL POWER. Now, politics is the ways and means of acquiring political power, which is the power an individual requires to partake in the politics of his country for the formulation and implementation of positive policies directed towards the welfare of the country. A. Appadorai defines politics simply as “the science concerned with the State and of the conditions essential to its existence and development”: see The Substance of Politics (1975) 11th ed., p. 4. Put in homely metaphor, politics is therefore the avenue through which the venue for the consecration of the “affairs of the cities” is routed. And nations have blazed and failed on the effect of their politics!
MULTI OR ONE PARTY- QUO VADIS, NIGERIA?
The looming spectre appears to be a gradual gravitation towards a one-party system of Government. How? Of Nigeria’s 36 States, APC, the ruling party, controls a majority of 20 states. PDP trails behind with 13 states; while the Labour Party (LP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the New Nigeria People’s Part (NNPP) clutches on to one state a piece. For APC to override any decision of the entire Governor’s forum (if we go by two-third majority vote), all it needs to do is to pluck out four governors from PDP, APGA, LP and NNPP. Sikena! Opoo!!
Coming to the National Assembly (NASS), the APC is also dominant. Of the 109 Senators in the Upper Red Chambers of the NASS, APC tops with 60; PDP 37; LP 8; SDP 2; and APGA 1. Two-thirds of 109 Senators is 73.80, for APC to have its way through in the Upper Chamber on matters that requite two-third majority votes, all it needs to do is to lobby and get additional 13 Senators from the other parties – a mere piece of cake, based on the non-ideological “come-and-chop” politrics we presently operate in Nigeria. The same is the story in the 360-member Chambers of the House of Representatives (the Green Chambers).
Is this movement towards a one-party state good for Nigeria? does it allow for plurality of ideas and strong democratic precepts? We shall now look at the gamut of all these.

WHAT ARE POLITICAL PARTIES?
A political party is a vehicle for the attainment of political power. This vehicle usually contains a group of citizens who act together as a political unit and seek to obtain control of the Government or take part in it. Political parties articulate the desires of the masses they represent. They give life to politics, educate the electorate and help in carrying on elections. They may act as watchdogs of Government depending on the system of party politics in practice in the polity.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PARTY SYSTEM
A party system is the adopted way by which the Government of a country allows political participation through political parties. It is the system of government by political parties in a democratic state. There are various types of party system practised all over the world. The most common are:
(a) One-party system;
(b) Multi-party system.
ONE-PARTY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
As the name implies, in a one-party system of government, the train of political power or politics travels on a monorail. Only one political party is legally eligible to vie for power. All other parties aside the ruling party are banned. Although they may exist in closets; they must remain closeted to all political intents and purposes. It is a case of Either,—no Or! In the world today, countries that practise one-party system of government include Russia, China, Bulgaria, Rumania, Finland, Yugoslavia, North Korea, Cuba, and Czechoslovakia. They are usually Communist countries, with the Communist Party as the one and only recognized political party. A one-party system is characterized by the presence of only one legally recognized political party, absence of an official opposition, absence of opposition parties during elections, limitation in the scope of political education, sameness of the state and the ruling political party and presence of only one political ideology, if any. A one-party system has its advantages and disadvantages. It is to these we now turn.

ADVANTAGES OF A ONE-PARTY SYSTEM
The following are the reasons why a one-party system is preferred by all the countries that practise it. They include:
(a) Political Stability: a one-party system of government is characterized by political stability as there is usually a long-term security of tenure or a life-tenure into the bargain. The incidence of deadly power struggle amongst political parties with the attendant orgy of blood, arson, pains and pangs is removed. Divisive tendencies are eliminated or nipped in the bud.
(b) Speedy Decision-making: Socio-political decisions are reached much more quickly and easily because there are no much nay-sayers in the absolutist system. The decision of the party is always right. And because of this centralized decision-making process, the decisions made are more focused, direct and result-oriented.
(c) Less Expensive: A one-party system is easy to run because it is usually shorn of all the heavy expenditure that is required to run a multi-party government. There are usually fewer avenues for the wasting of scarce national and individual resources.
(d) Ensures National Integration: A one-party system promotes national unity because every step of the government is taken or seen to be taken in the best interest of the nation, not the leaders. Political, cultural, religious, ethnic or tribal fears are allayed, because they are hardly allowed to rear their ugly heads in the first place. There is a reduction or outright absence of sectionalism, favouritism, prebendalism, tribalism or ethnic and religious bigotry.
(e) Ensures continuous Economic Development: In a one-party system, the incidence of tenure-based development as happens in a multi-party system where elections could be easily won by any political party than the ruling party and thus government changed unexpectedly from time to time as happened in Nigeria in 2015, is totally removed or drastically reduced. Here, the government’s security of tenure gives it time to plan and execute developmental programmes on a long-term basis for the benefit of the people.
(f) Useful in Times of National Emergencies: A one-party government is always together and speaks with one voice in times of national emergencies. The interest of the country as represented by the ruling party is always ensured and protected.
(g) In a one-party system of government, no much time is wasted or dissipated in unnecessary media war, criticism, squabbles, and high-powered political propaganda. Every member of the society has a stake or is made to believe they have a stake in the government and works to build rather than pull it down. The usual centripetal and ...

DISADVANTAGES OF A ONE-PARTY-SYSTEM
The following are the reasons why a one-party system should be avoided in favour of more liberal or democratic ones as will be discussed anon. They include:
(a) Prone to Dictatorship: In a one-party system, the ruling party sees itself as the state (L’Etat, c’est moi – I am the state – by Kind Louis XIV of France, 13th April, 1655). It acts and reacts arbitrarily and whimsically without much consideration to external interests, rights or suggestions. Any form of opposition is seen as treasonable, and must be crushed. Tolerance is obfuscated. There is no supremacy of the law but of the leaders. Political debate is stifled and the words of the leader of government become the law of the land.
(b) Breeds unbridled Corruption in Governance: It is said of power that it corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely (Lord Acton). A one-party system of government could engender so much corruption as there is no opposition to criticize or speak against it. Nepotism, favouritism, prebendalism, sectionalism, tribalism, and other negative “isms” thrive in this government set-up.
(c) Lack of Accountability: In a one-party system where the government is not answerable to anybody but itself the government acts according to its whims and caprices. There are no checks and balances as the government has a blank cheque to do and undo as it pleases.
(d) Undemocratic: As the government is but a select class of the populace, the vast majority of the people are shut out of participation in the administration of their government. Democracy is stifled and the aspirations of the people asphyxiated.
(e) No Freedom of Choice: In a one-party system, imposition of leadership is the order of the day. The most unpopular, clueless candidate could be imposed on the nation without the opportunity given for his screening. Elections, if any, are conducted as a mere formality to rubber stamp the anointed.
(f) Hinders Development: A one-party system inhibits social development because important governmental policies, programmes and decisions are taken without consulting widely and subjecting same to constructive debate, criticisms and input. The progress of the leader of government is often equated with the progress of the society. Rather than developing the country, the government spends taxpayers’ moneys in stockpiling very costly military hardware which they then use to harass and intimidate the masses of the people in order to maintain their iron grip on power.
(g) Citizens are reckoned as objects of the state and all social freedoms and liberties are crushed and their rights curtailed. Personal growth and innovation are hindered; and there is mutual distrust between the government and the governed.
(h) Breeds civil unrest and culminates in such social vices as armed banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, insurgency, terrorism and bloody insurrections, revolutions and overthrows. There are usually pent-up grievances, bad blood and sour emotions against the leadership class from the lot of the masses. Peace is enforced; no loyalty is real.
(i) The laws of the land could be amended at any time to serve the needs or ends of the government at the expense of the governed. Tenure elongation and other unconstitutional vices are committed with impunity.
(j) Civil rights are often abrogated. In these political enclaves, citizens exist rather than live. Fear hangs in the air, as the Big Brother might be watching, hearing and seeing!

MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
In his Gettysburg Address, delivered on the afternoon of 19th November, 1863, during the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States of America, defined democracy as “government of the people, by the people, for the people”. This definition has come to become the hanger from which to assess liberalism and/or authoritarianism in the enterprise of government or governance. In it is contained all the hallmarks of free, popular and untrammelled participation in governance or the political process, which is effectively achieved through the instrumentality of multiple political parties vying for political power, during periodic elections.
Multi-party system is that system of political participation that encourages the full and adequate participation of the people in politics, nay governance, through political parties or units of their own choosing. Countries that practise multi-party system include Nigeria, South Africa, the UK, the United States of America, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Tunisia, Ukraine, Turkey, India, Cameroon, Israel, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, etc.

ADVANTAGES OF A MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM.
The following are some of the reasons why nations choose the multiple party system.
(a) Full Citizens’ Participation in Governance: The multi-party system encourages citizens from all walks of life to participate in the government of their country and contribute in the overall development of their society.
(b) Encourages Liberalism and Opposition: In a multi-party system, citizens are not gagged or caged; opposition is welcome and the ruling government is kept always on its toes by the timely constructive checks on the activities of Government. In Africa, the opposition is more active in South Africa, where the Economic Freedom Fighters, have held the ruling ANC to accountability since 2013.
(c) Prevents Despotism and Tyranny: The multi-party system does not guarantee a stronghold on government for too long. Periodically, elections are held and positions open to all to contest. Bad leaders are often booted out of office through the ballot and those who are elected into office rule with the constant reminder in their minds that only excellent service can guarantee them security in office.
(d) Allays Fears of the Minority: There are minority groups in every society. In a multi-party system where politics is free for all, minority groups can form themselves into parties, or form alliances with other minorities or parties to participate in governance. These reduce the resentment that festers in a system that restricts or restrains popular participation in governance or the electoral process.
(e) Helps in the Facilitation of Peaceful Change of Government: In a multi-party system of government, the process of changing government is always easy, as elections are held periodically and the electorate votes in the government of their own choosing. This allows for peaceful change of government.
(f) Encourages Voter Participation: Multi-party system ensures voter participation is usually high, because the electorate has the power to elect their leaders and have a strong say in the outcome of the elections that throw up their leaders. They feel valued and this encourages active participation in the electoral process. It makes representation more real and public life more honest.
(g) Breeds a ready alternative force to displace and replace a non-performing government.
(h) Reduces the incidence of corruption in governance: Incidence of corruption is reduced because of the abundance of a watchful civil society community that follows up on the activities and programmes of government officials to make sure that the right thing is done always. Through them, many shady deals have been unearthed, exposed and the affected government officials named and shamed.
(i) Shared Responsibility: In a multi-party system governance, there is a shared responsibility. It is not the exclusive preserve of a few privileged and powerful lot. For this reason, the interest of the common good is put over and above personal considerations. Citizens view the government as their common patrimony and do everything to preserve and improve on it as patriotically as possible.
(j) Openness and transparency in government: In a multi-party system the resentment that festers amongst citizens when their voices are muffled by the ruling class in a one-party system is removed, and citizens express their grievances in more democratic ways instead of resorting to criminality, intrigues, subterfuge, insurrection, sabotage, vandalism, and vicious class struggle.
(k) Fear of the Electorate: The fear of what the electorate would do come next election makes the government to channel governmental presence by way of infrastructural development and provision of vital social amenities to every part of the country.

DISADVANTAGES OF A MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM
The following are some of the reasons why nations choose the multiple party system.
(a) Political Instability as a Result of Party Rivalry: As a result of the multiplicity of parties vying for the ultimate goal of ruling the country, it often degenerates into vicious and unhealthy rivalries amongst the various parties. The aim of politics then only becomes the securing of personal, sectional or partisan benefits rather than carrying out a programme of public policy. In the words of Alexander Pope, party politics becomes “the madness of the many for the gain of the few."
(b) Encourages Division in the Polity: In climes like Africa where religion, tribalism, ethnicity and other primordial consideration inform the formation of political parties, the political parties are always at loggerheads with one another. This often leads to disagreements that invariably degenerates into bloody civil unrests and ethnic cleansing.
(c) Expensive and Corruption Prone: It is very expensive to operate and may engender official corruption. A multi-party system is usually very expensive to operate. Because many political parties are vying for power, they put so much money and other resources into the electioneering, with the hope that all expenses would we recouped once they win and take over government. This system of “investment politics” thus engenders high-octane official corruption and waste of the nation’s resources. In some countries, the cost of running elections are higher than the annual budgets! Many take bank loans and others sell landed properties to contest elections – they invest to reap.
(d) Confusion as to the Choice of credible Leaders: In a multi-party system where the parties are many and the candidates are surplus, the electorate could get confused in the choice that they make. Many factors could lead to this, namely, monetization of the electoral process, vote-buying, bribery, fake promises, lack of a single/national political ideology, and selfish interests.
(e) Leads to Compromise of Political Values: In a multi-party political system, it is may be very difficult for one political party to win election and control the government. In that wise, parties enter into alliances or coalitions to enable them achieve their goals. When such a government borne out of diverse political attitudes, cultures and values band together there is always bound to be clashes and conflicts of interest (centripetal and centrifugal), unhealthy compromises which have very negative impacts on the programmes of the government and the society.
(f) Creates Room for Electoral Malpractices.
(g) Retards national growth and development because of the need for the majority of the parties to agree before critical governmental decisions are made and implemented. And this inter-party consensus may always be difficult to arrive at.
(h) Engenders factional hatred which invariably lead to mutual distrust that defeats the purpose of government, which is the molding of national unity and consensus as well as the conditions essential to the development of the nation.

CONCLUSION
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter”-
Ecclesiastes 12: 13.
All men desire happiness. States exist for the purpose of bringing about the greatest happiness of the greatest number of its citizens. Government is the instrument the State employs for the actualization of this goal; and political parties are the routes or vehicles to government. Therefore, parties are necessary for the formulation of government and a popular government is the delight of the masses. The success of the State and the respect it gets from the masses of its people is judged by the efforts it makes to give their rights—nay their lives—increasing meaning.
We have exhaustively discussed the system of attaining political power in a democracy with the searchlight beamed across the globe. We have discussed the one-party system and the multi-party system. They have their advantages as well as their disadvantage, duly appraised and objectively construed. Only after one has gone through these two party systems of government with some objectivity would one realize the dilemma one is cut in in choosing one from the other. But the litmus test of “the greatest happiness of the greatest number of its citizens” becomes our barometer (to measure or show the changes that happen in the economy, society or political space whether the system is run on one-partysm or multi-partysm), because the State exists for the sole good of the citizen. On this journey, therefore, the State is the means and the citizen the end.
If democracy is “government of the people, by the people, for the people” for the attainment of the “the greatest happiness of the greatest number of its citizens”, then it should leave wide open the Ark of politics for its multitude to enter in order that they may be rescued from the flood of tyranny of one man or one party calling the shots, for better or for worse.
It is on the basis of the above purpose of the State that this writer prefers the multi-party system, which seeks to accommodate and harmonize different interests and represents the interest of the majority and minority for the good of all; indeed that system which allows all men to join in the roaring chorus of democracy accompanied by the different percussion of its players

The ruling party syndrome (or ‘party spirit’, as George Washington, America’s first and greatest president, once termed it), has continued to plague and foul the Nigerian political space with its corrosive stifling and depletion of opposition or alternative voices, so much so that since the return of democracy in 1999, Nigeria continues to totter precariously on the precipice of one-party politics or government. The situation has got to its worst nadir since the last general elections of 2023. With the spate of defections (or decampments), anti-party activities, and spineless opposition at the federal and state legislature levels of late, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has since emerged the behemoth winner, clawing at the foundations of the nation’s democracy like a leviathan. And its ever-yawning jaws are closing in on the rest of the other seventeen (17) registered political parties. The death of Opposition is nigh and the fate of democracy in Nigeria is benighted against a bleak socio-political one-party future. It makes one wonder what politics Nigeria is really operating. A co-operative for people-oriented service or a trusteeship for egotistic personal vendetta? The reality appears to be a woeful weave of the two. My OZEKPEDIA neologism either coined or rephrased this genre of politics as “Akpu”, or “Edikang ikon”, “tuwo shinkafa”, or politics of “omisaghue and amato”. Ozekpedia has also termed it “come-and-chop”, or “chop-I-chop” politics. Maverick politician ang great achiever, Ayodele Fayose (Peter the Rock), former governor of Ekiti State, once called it “stomach infrastructure” politics. Before Fayose, colourful Nigerians such as Busari Adelakun (Eruobodo) and Lamidi Adelabu had coined “Amala” or “Gbegiri” politics. All refers to the sorry non-ideological stance of Nigerian politicians (sorry, “Politricians” according to OZEKPEDIA) where over 90% of leading lights and major players in the APC today were once the controllers of the PDP (now a mere shadow opposition).

WHAT IS POLITICS?
This simple question of what the essence of politics is all about has agitated great minds for centuries. No definition is quite exhaustive. A few shed some directive light. One was so brief or flippant it acquired a universal notoriety. It is “who gets what, when and how”. This was by Harold Dwight Lasswell, a leading American political Scientist, Communications theorists and Law Professor at Yale University. The question that comes to mind then becomes, “Who gets what?” The answer to this poser could be found in the etymology of the word politics, which is the Greek word ‘politiká’, meaning “affairs of the cities”. Without undue resort to polemics devoid of practicality, it is our submission that power is the search result of politics. So, the question “Who gets what, when and how?” acquires the reply POLITICAL POWER. Now, politics is the ways and means of acquiring political power, which is the power an individual requires to partake in the politics of his country for the formulation and implementation of positive policies directed towards the welfare of the country. A. Appadorai defines politics simply as “the science concerned with the State and of the conditions essential to its existence and development”: see The Substance of Politics (1975) 11th ed., p. 4. Put in homely metaphor, politics is therefore the avenue through which the venue for the consecration of the “affairs of the cities” is routed. And nations have blazed and failed on the effect of their politics!

MULTI OR ONE PARTY- QUO VADIS, NIGERIA?
The looming spectre appears to be a gradual gravitation towards a one-party system of Government. How? Of Nigeria’s 36 States, APC, the ruling party, controls a majority of 20 states. PDP trails behind with 13 states; while the Labour Party (LP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the New Nigeria People’s Part (NNPP) clutches on to one state a piece. For APC to override any decision of the entire Governor’s forum (if we go by two-third majority vote), all it needs to do is to pluck out four governors from PDP, APGA, LP and NNPP. Sikena! Opoo!!
Coming to the National Assembly (NASS), the APC is also dominant. Of the 109 Senators in the Upper Red Chambers of the NASS, APC tops with 60; PDP 37; LP 8; SDP 2; and APGA 1. Two-thirds of 109 Senators is 73.80, for APC to have its way through in the Upper Chamber on matters that requite two-third majority votes, all it needs to do is to lobby and get additional 13 Senators from the other parties – a mere piece of cake, based on the non-ideological “come-and-chop” politrics we presently operate in Nigeria. The same is the story in the 360-member Chambers of the House of Representatives (the Green Chambers).
Is this movement towards a one-party state good for Nigeria? does it allow for plurality of ideas and strong democratic precepts? We shall now look at the gamut of all these.

WHAT ARE POLITICAL PARTIES?
A political party is a vehicle for the attainment of political power. This vehicle usually contains a group of citizens who act together as a political unit and seek to obtain control of the Government or take part in it. Political parties articulate the desires of the masses they represent. They give life to politics, educate the electorate and help in carrying on elections. They may act as watchdogs of Government depending on the system of party politics in practice in the polity.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PARTY SYSTEM
A party system is the adopted way by which the Government of a country allows political participation through political parties. It is the system of government by political parties in a democratic state. There are various types of party system practised all over the world. The most common are:
(a) One-party system;
(b) Multi-party system.

ONE-PARTY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
As the name implies, in a one-party system of government, the train of political power or politics travels on a monorail. Only one political party is legally eligible to vie for power. All other parties aside the ruling party are banned. Although they may exist in closets; they must remain closeted to all political intents and purposes. It is a case of Either,—no Or! In the world today, countries that practise one-party system of government include Russia, China, Bulgaria, Rumania, Finland, Yugoslavia, North Korea, Cuba, and Czechoslovakia. They are usually Communist countries, with the Communist Party as the one and only recognized political party. A one-party system is characterized by the presence of only one legally recognized political party, absence of an official opposition, absence of opposition parties during elections, limitation in the scope of political education, sameness of the state and the ruling political party and presence of only one political ideology, if any. A one-party system has its advantages and disadvantages. It is to these we now turn.

ADVANTAGES OF A ONE-PARTY SYSTEM
The following are the reasons why a one-party system is preferred by all the countries that practise it. They include:
(a) Political Stability: a one-party system of government is characterized by political stability as there is usually a long-term security of tenure or a life-tenure into the bargain. The incidence of deadly power struggle amongst political parties with the attendant orgy of blood, arson, pains and pangs is removed. Divisive tendencies are eliminated or nipped in the bud.
(b) Speedy Decision-making: Socio-political decisions are reached much more quickly and easily because there are no much nay-sayers in the absolutist system. The decision of the party is always right. And because of this centralized decision-making process, the decisions made are more focused, direct and result-oriented.
(c) Less Expensive: A one-party system is easy to run because it is usually shorn of all the heavy expenditure that is required to run a multi-party government. There are usually fewer avenues for the wasting of scarce national and individual resources.
(d) Ensures National Integration: A one-party system promotes national unity because every step of the government is taken or seen to be taken in the best interest of the nation, not the leaders. Political, cultural, religious, ethnic or tribal fears are allayed, because they are hardly allowed to rear their ugly heads in the first place. There is a reduction or outright absence of sectionalism, favouritism, prebendalism, tribalism or ethnic and religious bigotry.
(e) Ensures continuous Economic Development: In a one-party system, the incidence of tenure-based development as happens in a multi-party system where elections could be easily won by any political party than the ruling party and thus government changed unexpectedly from time to time as happened in Nigeria in 2015, is totally removed or drastically reduced. Here, the government’s security of tenure gives it time to plan and execute developmental programmes on a long-term basis for the benefit of the people.
(f) Useful in Times of National Emergencies: A one-party government is always together and speaks with one voice in times of national emergencies. The interest of the country as represented by the ruling party is always ensured and protected.
(g) In a one-party system of government, no much time is wasted or dissipated in unnecessary media war, criticism, squabbles, and high-powered political propaganda. Every member of the society has a stake or is made to believe they have a stake in the government and works to build rather than pull it down. The usual centripetal and ...

DISADVANTAGES OF A ONE-PARTY-SYSTEM
The following are the reasons why a one-party system should be avoided in favour of more liberal or democratic ones as will be discussed anon. They include:
(a) Prone to Dictatorship: In a one-party system, the ruling party sees itself as the state (L’Etat, c’est moi – I am the state – by Kind Louis XIV of France, 13th April, 1655). It acts and reacts arbitrarily and whimsically without much consideration to external interests, rights or suggestions. Any form of opposition is seen as treasonable, and must be crushed. Tolerance is obfuscated. There is no supremacy of the law but of the leaders. Political debate is stifled and the words of the leader of government become the law of the land.
(b) Breeds unbridled Corruption in Governance: It is said of power that it corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely (Lord Acton). A one-party system of government could engender so much corruption as there is no opposition to criticize or speak against it. Nepotism, favouritism, prebendalism, sectionalism, tribalism, and other negative “isms” thrive in this government set-up.
(c) Lack of Accountability: In a one-party system where the government is not answerable to anybody but itself the government acts according to its whims and caprices. There are no checks and balances as the government has a blank cheque to do and undo as it pleases.
(d) Undemocratic: As the government is but a select class of the populace, the vast majority of the people are shut out of participation in the administration of their government. Democracy is stifled and the aspirations of the people asphyxiated.
(e) No Freedom of Choice: In a one-party system, imposition of leadership is the order of the day. The most unpopular, clueless candidate could be imposed on the nation without the opportunity given for his screening. Elections, if any, are conducted as a mere formality to rubber stamp the anointed.
(f) Hinders Development: A one-party system inhibits social development because important governmental policies, programmes and decisions are taken without consulting widely and subjecting same to constructive debate, criticisms and input. The progress of the leader of government is often equated with the progress of the society. Rather than developing the country, the government spends taxpayers’ moneys in stockpiling very costly military hardware which they then use to harass and intimidate the masses of the people in order to maintain their iron grip on power.
(g) Citizens are reckoned as objects of the state and all social freedoms and liberties are crushed and their rights curtailed. Personal growth and innovation are hindered; and there is mutual distrust between the government and the governed.
(h) Breeds civil unrest and culminates in such social vices as armed banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, insurgency, terrorism and bloody insurrections, revolutions and overthrows. There are usually pent-up grievances, bad blood and sour emotions against the leadership class from the lot of the masses. Peace is enforced; no loyalty is real.
(i) The laws of the land could be amended at any time to serve the needs or ends of the government at the expense of the governed. Tenure elongation and other unconstitutional vices are committed with impunity.
(j) Civil rights are often abrogated. In these political enclaves, citizens exist rather than live. Fear hangs in the air, as the Big Brother might be watching, hearing and seeing!

MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
In his Gettysburg Address, delivered on the afternoon of 19th November, 1863, during the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States of America, defined democracy as “government of the people, by the people, for the people”. This definition has come to become the hanger from which to assess liberalism and/or authoritarianism in the enterprise of government or governance. In it is contained all the hallmarks of free, popular and untrammelled participation in governance or the political process, which is effectively achieved through the instrumentality of multiple political parties vying for political power, during periodic elections.
Multi-party system is that system of political participation that encourages the full and adequate participation of the people in politics, nay governance, through political parties or units of their own choosing. Countries that practise multi-party system include Nigeria, South Africa, the UK, the United States of America, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Tunisia, Ukraine, Turkey, India, Cameroon, Israel, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, etc.

ADVANTAGES OF A MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM.
The following are some of the reasons why nations choose the multiple party system.
(a) Full Citizens’ Participation in Governance: The multi-party system encourages citizens from all walks of life to participate in the government of their country and contribute in the overall development of their society.
(b) Encourages Liberalism and Opposition: In a multi-party system, citizens are not gagged or caged; opposition is welcome and the ruling government is kept always on its toes by the timely constructive checks on the activities of Government. In Africa, the opposition is more active in South Africa, where the Economic Freedom Fighters, have held the ruling ANC to accountability since 2013.
(c) Prevents Despotism and Tyranny: The multi-party system does not guarantee a stronghold on government for too long. Periodically, elections are held and positions open to all to contest. Bad leaders are often booted out of office through the ballot and those who are elected into office rule with the constant reminder in their minds that only excellent service can guarantee them security in office.
(d) Allays Fears of the Minority: There are minority groups in every society. In a multi-party system where politics is free for all, minority groups can form themselves into parties, or form alliances with other minorities or parties to participate in governance. These reduce the resentment that festers in a system that restricts or restrains popular participation in governance or the electoral process.
(e) Helps in the Facilitation of Peaceful Change of Government: In a multi-party system of government, the process of changing government is always easy, as elections are held periodically and the electorate votes in the government of their own choosing. This allows for peaceful change of government.
(f) Encourages Voter Participation: Multi-party system ensures voter participation is usually high, because the electorate has the power to elect their leaders and have a strong say in the outcome of the elections that throw up their leaders. They feel valued and this encourages active participation in the electoral process. It makes representation more real and public life more honest.
(g) Breeds a ready alternative force to displace and replace a non-performing government.
(h) Reduces the incidence of corruption in governance: Incidence of corruption is reduced because of the abundance of a watchful civil society community that follows up on the activities and programmes of government officials to make sure that the right thing is done always. Through them, many shady deals have been unearthed, exposed and the affected government officials named and shamed.
(i) Shared Responsibility: In a multi-party system governance, there is a shared responsibility. It is not the exclusive preserve of a few privileged and powerful lot. For this reason, the interest of the common good is put over and above personal considerations. Citizens view the government as their common patrimony and do everything to preserve and improve on it as patriotically as possible.
(j) Openness and transparency in government: In a multi-party system the resentment that festers amongst citizens when their voices are muffled by the ruling class in a one-party system is removed, and citizens express their grievances in more democratic ways instead of resorting to criminality, intrigues, subterfuge, insurrection, sabotage, vandalism, and vicious class struggle.
(k) Fear of the Electorate: The fear of what the electorate would do come next election makes the government to channel governmental presence by way of infrastructural development and provision of vital social amenities to every part of the country.

DISADVANTAGES OF A MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM
The following are some of the reasons why nations choose the multiple party system.
(a) Political Instability as a Result of Party Rivalry: As a result of the multiplicity of parties vying for the ultimate goal of ruling the country, it often degenerates into vicious and unhealthy rivalries amongst the various parties. The aim of politics then only becomes the securing of personal, sectional or partisan benefits rather than carrying out a programme of public policy. In the words of Alexander Pope, party politics becomes “the madness of the many for the gain of the few."
(b) Encourages Division in the Polity: In climes like Africa where religion, tribalism, ethnicity and other primordial consideration inform the formation of political parties, the political parties are always at loggerheads with one another. This often leads to disagreements that invariably degenerates into bloody civil unrests and ethnic cleansing.
(c) Expensive and Corruption Prone: It is very expensive to operate and may engender official corruption. A multi-party system is usually very expensive to operate. Because many political parties are vying for power, they put so much money and other resources into the electioneering, with the hope that all expenses would we recouped once they win and take over government. This system of “investment politics” thus engenders high-octane official corruption and waste of the nation’s resources. In some countries, the cost of running elections are higher than the annual budgets! Many take bank loans and others sell landed properties to contest elections – they invest to reap.
(d) Confusion as to the Choice of credible Leaders: In a multi-party system where the parties are many and the candidates are surplus, the electorate could get confused in the choice that they make. Many factors could lead to this, namely, monetization of the electoral process, vote-buying, bribery, fake promises, lack of a single/national political ideology, and selfish interests.
(e) Leads to Compromise of Political Values: In a multi-party political system, it is may be very difficult for one political party to win election and control the government. In that wise, parties enter into alliances or coalitions to enable them achieve their goals. When such a government borne out of diverse political attitudes, cultures and values band together there is always bound to be clashes and conflicts of interest (centripetal and centrifugal), unhealthy compromises which have very negative impacts on the programmes of the government and the society.
(f) Creates Room for Electoral Malpractices.
(g) Retards national growth and development because of the need for the majority of the parties to agree before critical governmental decisions are made and implemented. And this inter-party consensus may always be difficult to arrive at.
(h) Engenders factional hatred which invariably lead to mutual distrust that defeats the purpose of government, which is the molding of national unity and consensus as well as the conditions essential to the development of the nation.

CONCLUSION
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter”-
Ecclesiastes 12: 13.
All men desire happiness. States exist for the purpose of bringing about the greatest happiness of the greatest number of its citizens. Government is the instrument the State employs for the actualization of this goal; and political parties are the routes or vehicles to government. Therefore, parties are necessary for the formulation of government and a popular government is the delight of the masses. The success of the State and the respect it gets from the masses of its people is judged by the efforts it makes to give their rights—nay their lives—increasing meaning.
We have exhaustively discussed the system of attaining political power in a democracy with the searchlight beamed across the globe. We have discussed the one-party system and the multi-party system. They have their advantages as well as their disadvantage, duly appraised and objectively construed. Only after one has gone through these two party systems of government with some objectivity would one realize the dilemma one is cut in in choosing one from the other. But the litmus test of “the greatest happiness of the greatest number of its citizens” becomes our barometer (to measure or show the changes that happen in the economy, society or political space whether the system is run on one-partysm or multi-partysm), because the State exists for the sole good of the citizen. On this journey, therefore, the State is the means and the citizen the end.
If democracy is “government of the people, by the people, for the people” for the attainment of the “the greatest happiness of the greatest number of its citizens”, then it should leave wide open the Ark of politics for its multitude to enter in order that they may be rescued from the flood of tyranny of one man or one party calling the shots, for better or for worse.
It is on the basis of the above purpose of the State that this writer prefers the multi-party system, which seeks to accommodate and harmonize different interests and represents the interest of the majority and minority for the good of all; indeed that system which allows all men to join in the roaring chorus of democracy accompanied by the different percussion of its players

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Ms. Hafsat Abubakar Bakari to serve as the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), pending her confirmation by the Senate.

Ms. Bakari is a lawyer and financial intelligence expert with years of experience in anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF).

Before her appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, she served as Deputy Director at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, and was at different times the Head of the General Services Unit; Head of the Strategy and Reorientation Unit, and Head of the Board Secretariat of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The President anticipates that Ms. Bakari will bring her wealth of experience and expertise to full discharge in this critical role, especially in view of his administration's war against illicit financial flows and other sharp practices currently prevalent in segments of the nation's foreign exchange markets.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

February 20, 2024

Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as fuel or petrol, is currently sold at N1000 per litre in some parts of the country.

Naija News understands that the black market is taking advantage of the recent strike actions by tanker drivers, resulting in a significant increase in the price of petrol.

Journalists inspecting the development observed on Wednesday morning that many filling stations owned by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria in Lagos State, Ogun State, and surrounding areas were closed.

Also, long queues were observed at stations owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria.

While the black market is selling petrol at N1000 per litre, MEMAN stations such as Eterna, NorthWest, TotalEnergies, Mobil, Capital Oil, Enyo, Conoil, ForteOil, MRS, and others are offering varying prices ranging from N599 to N615 per litre, according to Channels Television.

As a result, more vehicles are flocking to MEMAN stations as consumers search for the stations with the most affordable prices.

Currently, most IPMAN stations are closed due to low product supply. The few stations that have products available are selling petrol for no less than N650 per litre.

Speaking on the development, Chairman Satellite Depot, IPMAN Lagos State, told journalists on Wednesday morning that NNPCL no longer supplies its members with products.

“NNPCL no longer give us products despite the fact that the pipeline in our area has been repaired. We don’t know why they stopped using the pipeline to supply us with products.

“Maybe they fear vandalism. We now rely on private depots who sell to us at an ex-depot price of between N620/N622 per litre. By the time we take the products to our stations, the landing cost will be around N630 or more, depending on the distance from the depot to our stations.

“Some people are selling around N650. It would have been cheaper if we bought directly from NNPCL at around N555 per litre,” he said.

Naija News reports that following strike actions, due to operational challenges faced by members of the National Association of Road Transport Owners and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, the drivers decided to end the strike on Tuesday.

This decision came after a meeting with the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, oil marketers, and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

NARTO National President, Othman Yusuf, instructed members to promptly resume petroleum loading activities following a meeting in Abuja.

Minister of budget and economic planning, Atiku Bagudu, has urged Nigerians to remain hopeful and keep faith with the government claiming that President Bola Tinubu’s policies aimed at transforming the nation are already bearing fruits and delivering results.

Bagudu, a former governor of Kebbi State, spoke at a national policy summit themed “Activating the Policies and Promises in the Renewed Hope Agenda” organised by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (P-BAT) Academics and Professionals in Abuja.

He said that Nigerians have a reason to be optimistic because they have found a leader in Tinubu who had succeeded before in a leadership capacity by transforming Lagos from what it used to be through inclusive leadership.

“Today, there is a cry for inclusion across the country and we have a leader who believes in inclusion and has practised it in Lagos by creating a state that worked for all, carrying everyone along and allowing them to excel,” he said.

The convener and national coordinator of P-BAT Academics and Professionals, Prof Yemi Oke, informed that P-BAT Academics and Professionals is a group of academics, intellectuals and intellectually minded professionals, whose aim is to volunteer its time, efforts and resources to support President Bola Tinubu.

Oke noted that the group’s views and suggestions have been implemented by some agencies and ministries of government.

He said, “Ahead of this Summit, we organized ‘Pre-Conferences’ and ‘Mini-Summits’ along the 8-point agenda of the Tinubu administration. Those Pre-Conferences and Mini-Summits gave us the opportunity to push out some of our views as ‘Policy Advisors’.

“We are happy to report that a lot of our views and suggestions in those ‘Policy Advisories’ are being implemented by some of the agencies and ministries of government,” he said.

In the same vein, spokesperson of the group, Mrs Mary Ikoku, said: “Nigeria is not absolved from what is happening globally.”

While calling for calm amid hardships caused by the ongoing economic reforms, she said “in the UK you see people who can’t even warm up their homes, they can’t warm themselves from the cold, and that is a country where you could say they don’t have a lot of poor people. They don’t have the multidimensional poverty that you can say Nigeria is trying to work its way out of.”

“Other countries are struggling. We need to give this government time. With the support that people like these academics and professionals are doing, more people should actually do what this group is doing to support the country,” she added.

A retired police commissioner and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Chief Osato Iredia, has said by his action, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) is setting the stage for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to produce Godwin Obaseki’s successor.

He alleged that the lawmaker, who served as governor of the state for eight years, is working behind the scene to make PDP favoured aspirant Asuen Ighodalo to win the governorship election in the September 2024.

He told newsmen in Abuja yesterday that there was a bond among Oshiomhole, Obaseki and Ighodalo to govern the state one after the other.

In a statement he issued after the press conference, which was released to LEADERSHIP, the APC leader in Oredo local government area, said he was not surprised about the development.

He said Oshiomhole was imposing an unpopular candidate in the person of Dennis Idahosa from Edo South, on the party at this time, when it was not justifiable.

He added that Oshiomhole’s idea was to present a weaker APC governorship candidate against PDP’s Asuen Ighodalo so that the later could win the election easily.

“If Governor Obaseki had not left the APC, Asuen who is the governorship aspirant of PDP would have been the candidate of APC. Remember how Obaseki left APC? He left with their Lagos friends to PDP.”

Iredia called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of APC to disregard the Governor Hope Uzodinma result that declared Hon Idahosa as the governorship candidate of APC if the party was serious about winning the September election.

Iredia said, “Oshiomhole from Edo north, Obaseki from Edo South and Ighodalo from Edo Central want to complete the circle in 2024 as they planned it many years ago.

“The people of Edo State across the three senatorial districts are in consonance with zoning except for Oshiomhole who kept encouraging aspirants from across the state to join the race.”

“The only way the party can win the governorship election in September is to adhere to the APC primaries that produced Senator Monday Okpebholo from Edo Central,” he said.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has added a new twist to the controversial primaries for the Edo State Governorship election scheduled for September 21 saying it is yet to be concluded.

The party therefore fixed Thursday, February 22, 2024 for the completion of the process.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, stated these while reading the decision of its National Working Committee (NWC) in a meeting held on Tuesday night.

He said, “At its emergency meeting held today, Tuesday, February 20, 2024, to consider the report on the Edo State Governorship Primary Election, the National Working Committee (NWC) deliberated on the report and resolved that the Edo State Governorship Primary Election has not been completed, and has now fixed Thursday February 22, 2024 for the completion of the Primary Election Process.”

The poll, which was conducted on February 17 had produced three winners.

The Chairman of Electoral Committee of the primary, Governor Hope Uzodimma, had announced Dennis Idahosa as winner, while returning officer, Stanley Ugboaja, declared Monday Okpebholo as winner.

Elsewhere, Ojo Babatunde, who claimed to be representing the returning officers in all the local governments declared Anamero Dekeri as the winner of the election.

Following the confusion that ensued, both Dekeri and Okpebholo had written the appeal committee of the party to demand their certificates of return.

Another aspirant, Prof Oserheimen Osunbor, insisted on Tuesday that no election held in the state contrary to results that were announced.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Morka disclosed that the election has not been completed, adding that the process will continue on Thursday.

He said, “I am here to give you the outcome of the emergency meeting of the National Working Committee of our party held today regarding Edo State governorship primary election.

“At its emergency meeting held today, Tuesday, February 20, 2024 to consider the report on the Edo governorship primary election, the National Working Committee of our party deliberated and resolved that the governorship primary election has not been completed and has now fixed Thursday, February 22 for the completion of the APC Edo State” primary election process.”

Meanwhile, the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, had earlier congratulated Idahosa on this emergence as the party’s candidate.

It was nor clear as of press time what led to the decision of the party’s NWC led by Ganduje.

President Bola Tinubu has directed immediate settlement of outstanding electricity bill due to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, explained that Tinubu’s directive followed the reconciliation of accounts between the State House Management and AEDC.

According to the statement, “Contrary to the AEDC’s initial claim of N923million debt in paid advertorial in newspapers, the State House outstanding bill is N342, 352, 217.46, according to a letter by the management of AEDC to the State House Permanent Secretary dated February 14, 2024.

“Having reconciled the position to the satisfaction of both parties, the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has given assurance that the debt will be paid to AEDC before the end of this week.

“Following the example of the Presidency, Chief of Staff also urged other MDAs to reconcile their accounts with AEDC and pay their electricity bills.”

President Bola Tinubu’s government is targeting $10 billion in revenue generation to increase foreign exchange liquidity and stabilize the naira, Vice President Kashim Shettima disclosed on Tuesday.

Addressing the inaugural Public Wealth Management Conference in Abuja, Shettima outlined the administration’s plans to optimize management of federal assets and investments towards unlocking their revenue potential.

The event was organized by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) with the theme, “Championing Nigeria’s Economic Prosperity”.

According to the president, his administration will generate millions of jobs by leveraging Nigeria’s extensive public assets to maximize and double the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

What the President is Saying

Reading the President’s Keynote address, VP Shettima stated:

“The Federal Government set a goal to raise at least $10 Billion in order to increase foreign exchange liquidity, a key ingredient to stabilise the Naira and grow the economy.
“At the core of this is ensuring optimal management of the assets and investments of the Federal Government towards unlocking their revenue potential. This includes our bold and achievable plan to double the GDP growth rate and significantly increase the GDP base over the next 8 years.”

However, Tinubu pointed out that years of mismanagement and underutilization have affected Nigeria’s assets, both within and beyond its borders, resulting in revenue losses that have impeded economic growth.

Meanwhile, he assured that the newly restructured Ministry of Finance Incorporated, which is to act as custodian and active manager of these assets, will now take the center stage.

The President further emphasised transparency and accountability as key principles, believing that improved corporate governance, innovative partnerships, and attracting alternative investment capital will significantly increase returns.

What you should know

President Tinubu’s government’s move to merge the forex windows in mid-2023 triggered a significant drop in the Naira’s value, with its exchange rate against the Dollar escalating from roughly N700/$1 to an unprecedented level of over N1,500/$1.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, has partly attributed the significant foreign exchange challenges facing Nigeria to the absence of inflow of foreign exchange into the country due to lack of confidence from investors.

To address these challenges, the CBN revised the operations of International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs), restricting them to inbound transfers only and mandating that international transfers be paid out in Naira.

This policy impacts major IMTOs, including Western Union and MoneyGram, and is part of broader efforts to stabilize the foreign exchange market.

  In a presentation to the Senate two weeks ago, Cardoso revealed that around $1 billion has been invested in the FX market over the past couple of weeks, adding that CBN’s recent policies have contributed to this positive trajectory.

Arising from a stakeholder meeting on February 20, the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) confirmed that it has resumed operations after down tooling for two days.

Its national president, Alhaji Yusuf Lawal Othman, broke the news in Abuja after a meeting with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA); representatives of the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and others.

The NARTO boss also confirmed that the marketers have increased the freight rate of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from N32.

He said since the marketers were still calculating the actual figure, he could not state a particular amount of the new freight rate.

He noted that the association would direct its members to start lifting petrol immediately.

During a Senate session on Tuesday, President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio stated that many of the recent protests over Nigeria’s economic hardship have been sponsored campaigns.

“You can see a lot of sponsored protests here and there. Most of those sponsored protests are not aware of the kind of efforts being made by this Senate to tackle the situation,” Akpabio declared.

“There is no father that wants to see his child sleep in the night without food, with their stomach grumbling. So we must provide.”

The Senate President did not provide evidence to back up his claim that the protests have sponsors behind them.

The comments come amid widespread demonstrations and civil actions across Nigeria over surging costs of living, unemployment, and hunger.