We Will Pay Dearly If One Party State Is Created In Nigeria – Former Gov Sounds Alarm

Former Niger State governor, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has warned that Nigeria would suffer dire consequences if it slips into a one-party state.

He stated this in Abuja during the 6th Zik’s Awards Lecture, held as part of activities marking the 121st posthumous birthday of the late Nnamdi Azikiwe.

Aliyu berated governors who abandon their parties because of “bribe or intimidation”, despite constitutional provisions prohibiting such actions.

“If we make the mistake of creating a one-party state in Nigeria, we will pay dearly for it.

“It is good that we give people an alternative voice. But that does not mean that if people choose to go one way, we must rebel,” he said.

He said his late arrival at the event was due to travel constraints, noting that he had been in Ibadan the previous day, “against all odds,” to help “strengthen the vehicle” offering Nigerians an alternative political platform.

Aliyu said internal reform within his party had become necessary.

“So we examined what had been happening in our party and, like surgeons, we removed the cancer that had crippled it.

“We hope that, with the removal of that blockage, the party can now move forward and give Nigerians a genuine choice,” he added.

Reflecting on Azikiwe’s life, Aliyu said his admiration for Zik stemmed partly from personal coincidences, birth dates and academic journeys, but more importantly from Zik’s role as a “pragmatic nation-builder”.

“Zik was a Nigerian before Nigeria gained independence,” he said.

© 2025 The Eye Opener News, [email protected]