Nigeria’s federal structure remains intact, strong and decentralised, the Director General, Budget Office of the Federation ( BOF), Mallam Tanimu Yakubu, submitted.
He buttressed his claim, noting that subnational governments wield significant autonomy, fortified by statutory allocations and independent fiscal authority.
In a public statement released on Tuesday, the Budget DG countered a recent public commentary which alluded to Nigeria drifting to a one-party state, among others.
“The assertion that Nigeria is veering towards a one-party state lacks evidential support. Genuine one-party systems, whether formal or informal, are characterised by systematic electoral suppression, a void of credible opposition, uniform voting patterns, and institutional closure.
Nigeria, by contrast, presents a starkly different picture: fragmented electoral outcomes, widespread split-ticket voting across states, robust judicial arbitration, and sustained elite contestation.
What some perceive as a “one-party drift” is, in fact, a process of coalition consolidation, a well-documented phenomenon in political science where political actors coalesce around viable governing platforms in high-stakes, decentralised systems.
This is not democratic decline; it is rational political behaviour within a competitive federal structure”, he submits.
Making a reference to the All Progressives Congress (APC), he clarified the party defies characterisation as an ideological monolith bent on dominance.
“At its core, the APC is a multi-regional coalition platform specifically engineered to overcome the nation’s inherent political fragmentation. Its formation in 2013 marked a pivotal moment in Nigerian political history, representing the most significant voluntary merger of opposition forces.
“This transition from identity-based fragmentation to aggregation politics culminated in the party’s electoral success in 2015, the first defeat of an incumbent government, signalling a decisive shift from a dominant-party rule to a more competitive, coalition-based democracy. This remains one of Nigeria’s most consequential democratic milestones”.
He concluded that, “Nigeria is demonstrably not on a path toward a one-party state. Instead, it is experiencing the consolidation of competitive coalition politics, where one party currently demonstrates superior organisational and electoral performance”.
The responsibility for maintaining political balance does not rest with the ruling party deliberately weakening itself. Rather, it squarely lies with the opposition to organise, differentiate its platform, and compete effectively. History’s true caution is reserved not for strong parties, but for the inherent dangers of weak alternatives”.
