A former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
It was reports that Bucknor-Akerele warned that efforts to turn Nigeria into a one-party state would fail.
She spoke during an appearance on Vanguard’s political programme, Politics Hub, where she criticised the APC-led administration over insecurity, economic hardship and the state of the country’s democracy.
Asked to assess Nigeria’s current political climate under President Bola Tinubu, Bucknor-Akerele described the situation as dangerous.
She said, “Well, we are in a very dangerous political climate at the moment, we are in danger of being swamped by insurgents, and then, we are also in danger of being lost economically because the economic situation is really disastrous.
“Most people are finding it difficult to be able to eat one square meal a day, and this is a tragic situation for us to be in.”
She accused the ruling party of infiltrating opposition parties in a bid to dominate the political space.
“Look at what is happening to all the political parties. The main party is trying to infiltrate all the political parties and turn Nigeria into a one-party state and I do not think it can work,” she added.
Ex-Deputy Governor Recalls Rift With Tinubu
Bucknor-Akerele served as deputy governor to Tinubu in Lagos State from May 1999 to December 2002 before resigning after political disagreements.
Speaking on her working relationship with Tinubu, she said they clashed over political agenda and direction.
She said, “Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not want to work with me at all because he had a different agenda from the agenda of what the AD stood for at that time.
“What he wanted was somebody who would assist him in taking over the AD, and because I was not ready to do that, we had our differences.”
The former deputy governor said her disagreement with Tinubu reflected differences in their approach to power and public service.
She added, “I think some people go into power for self-aggrandisement, while others go into power because they want to serve, and I think that was the difference between me and the powers that be, let us put it that way.”
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