A leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Sam Nkire, has urged the ruling party to increase its membership by attracting like-minded members of the opposition parties.

Following the success of the recent APC National Summit at the Presidential Villa, Nkire urged party faithful to continue the drive for more progressives to the fold.

At a media event in Abuja, the pioneer member of the National Caucus of the APC said the solidarity and unity exhibited by APC leaders at the summit spoke louder than anything the remaining and fading opposition coalition can muster.

The elder statesman welcomed the new entrants to the party and congratulated the intending members who have made up their minds to abandon their sinking vessels.

Nkire said the APC is growing because Nigerians had come to believe that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu is a veritable vehicle with which to achieve peace and prosperity. He dismissed the claims that Tinubu is trying to turn the country into a one-party state.

He said: “Nigeria was too prominent in the democratic world to contemplate authoritarianism. “President Tinubu and team are self-examining and know that they are in offices to make responsible choices for the people who elected them to offices.”

The former National Chairman of the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) opined that his party, the APC would never work to banish or extinguish dissenting or opposing views, adding that: “The APC believes and will continue to believe that democracy is the best form of government for Nigeria”.