The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Ajibola Basiru, has dismissed recent criticisms by opposition leaders, saying they are “crying because of loss of opportunity to plunder the resources of the Nigerian people” rather than genuine concern for citizens’ welfare.
Basiru made the remarks on Friday after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, hours after Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC.
The APC scribe was responding to a press conference held earlier in the week by opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who lamented that Nigeria was becoming a one-party state under Tinubu’s administration.
“Why I was laughing was that they were not crying for ordinary Nigerian people.
“They were not crying for the development of our people.
“They were crying because of loss of privilege, loss of opportunity to continue to plunder the resources of the Nigerian people,” Basiru stated.
He credited Tinubu with blocking “all the leakages where some people are milking Nigeria dry,” citing the growth of foreign reserves from $3bn to $49bn as evidence.
“The growth of our foreign reserves from about $3bn to $49bn did not come out of the blue.
“It’s not magic. It’s because all those cesspools of corruption have actually been blocked.
“The subsidy, petroleum subsidy profiteers were also part of them, and that’s why they were crying,” the national secretary stated.
Basiru argued that Nigerians are “happy because our country is getting better economically,” claiming the naira is “performing better than possibly any other currency all over the world” and that food inflation has reduced from about 35 per cent to approximately 15 per cent.
The APC official also dismissed opposition criticism of the Electoral Act 2026, describing critics as “a committee of circus displayers.”
“When a law has been made by the appropriate legislative body, then you have a bunch of people who don’t have a single elected person saying that that law should be cancelled.
“I think it’s more of speaking out of ignorance and out of lack of credibility to the Nigerian people,” he stated.
He challenged opposition figures to “go back to the trenches, go back to the Nigerian people and sell if they have anything that remains in terms of credibility for them to get electoral viability.”
With Fintiri’s defection, the APC now controls 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states, leaving the PDP with three states, while the Labour Party, Accord Party, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance control one state each.
Basiru stated, “The goal of our leader, President Bola Tinubu, is to build a pan-Nigerian political party.
“We have a situation whereby across the geopolitical zones in Nigeria, we have a very strong presence.
“With the addition of Governor Fintiri to the APC today, I think it’s only one state in the entire North-East that is not under the canopy of the APC.”
He described the development as “a testimony to the political acceptability of the APC and, of course, the political sagacity of the President.”
The opposition coalition, which includes the PDP, Labour Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party and several civil society groups, has raised alarm over what they describe as the systematic weakening of opposition parties through defections, allegedly induced by federal might.
At their press conference earlier in the week, Atiku and Obi, along with other opposition figures, accused the Tinubu administration of “weaponising” state institutions against opposition parties and creating an environment that forces opposition members to defect to avoid political persecution.
They specifically criticised the Electoral Act 2026, which they argued creates loopholes for election manipulation by making real-time transmission of results optional and mandating direct primaries, which smaller parties claim they cannot afford.
The opposition leaders also expressed concern about the alleged use of security agencies to harass opposition figures and the manipulation of court processes to favour the ruling party.
However, the Presidency has dismissed these allegations, with presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga describing opposition complaints as “reckless, spurious” and designed to mislead the public.
Basiru also confirmed that the APC held successful ward and local government congresses and is preparing for state congresses scheduled for Tuesday.
He stated, “I just gave an overview of what is happening in the party, particularly as regards success recorded at the ward and local government congresses and preparation for the state congresses coming up next week.”
Despite criticism that its dominance hurts multi-party democracy in Nigeria, the APC has maintained that defections reflect genuine dissatisfaction with opposition parties’ performance and the attractiveness of its policies and leadership under President Tinubu.
