APC labels Atiku, Obi “most itinerant defectors,” slams Daily Trust “opposition repeater station”

By Kunle Sanni –

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has launched a scathing attack on Daily Trust newspaper, accusing it of bias and “journalistic recklessness” over its Monday editorial titled “APC Should Learn From History.”

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the APC described the editorial as “a sordid display of bias, daftness, and untruths,” alleging that the newspaper was acting as “a repeater station of the opposition’s senseless screams.”

The ruling party took exception to the paper’s claim that recent defections by governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC could erode Nigeria’s multi-party democracy and push the country toward a one-party system.

“The editorial failed miserably to explain how governors exercising their constitutional freedom of association threaten multi-party democracy,” the APC said. “There is no law in Nigeria that prohibits governors from leaving the party on whose platform they were elected.”

According to the statement, the APC maintained that receiving new members, including governors, is within its democratic rights and that “there is no rule of law that sets a limit to how many or what category of citizens may join a political party.”

The party further argued that defections are part of Nigeria’s political culture, noting that both the APC and opposition parties have experienced such movements over the years.

“Defections in Nigerian politics are neither new nor one-sided,” the statement said. “Opposition leaders like Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi are Nigeria’s most itinerant defectors but remain the most vocal objectors to defections to the APC.”

The APC accused Daily Trust of double standards, saying the newspaper only sees defections as a threat when politicians move to the ruling party.