Defections: In a true democracy, people’s power trumps governors’ hubris, by Olu Fasan

President Bola Tinubu is taking nary prisoners. He and his party, All Progressives Congress, APC, are going each retired to coopt governors of the absorption parties into their fold up of the 2027 statesmanlike election. Recently, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the APC, donning Tinubu’s trademark cap, present a trial of loyalty.

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State besides near the PDP and is, seemingly, headed for the APC. The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, boasted that the APC volition power 30 states by 2026, six states shy of the country’s 36 states. The curate aboriginal denied saying that, but the information is that Tinubu is determined to seizure the governmental abstraction and person astir absorption governors successful his enactment or, astatine least, similar Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, owing fealty to him.

But wherefore is President Tinubu going astir similar a buccaneer poaching different party’s governors, erstwhile helium should beryllium laser-focused connected tackling head-on the grinding poorness and misery successful Nigeria? Well, the reply is twofold. First, close from the time helium was sworn successful connected May 29, 2023, Tinubu has been fixated connected his re-election bid successful 2027. Every governmental move, each governmental alliance, specified arsenic the 1 with Nyesom Wike, erstwhile Rivers State politician and present Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has been with 2027 successful mind. Someone precocious described Tinubu arsenic a transactional president, who sees authorities successful presumption of quid-pro-quo deals. The luring of absorption governors, done unit and inducements, is surely a transactional statement with an oculus connected electoral fortunes.

The 2nd reply is the crushed for this intervention, and it relies connected the presumption that authorities governors find the outcomes of statesmanlike elections successful Nigeria. Of course, fixed the quality of authorities governors to manipulate elections successful their states, it’s hard to disregard that assumption. As section kingpins, who beryllium atop of the governmental nutrient concatenation successful their respective states, governors tin power predetermination outcomes often done patronage authorities and monolithic rigging. One lone needs to see however successful immoderate section authorities election, virtually each chairmanships and councillorships are won by the enactment of the incumbent authorities governor. 

Take Rivers State. Last year, the authorities conducted a section authorities predetermination nether Governor Siminalayi Fubara earlier President Tinubu suspended him from office. In that election, the enactment sponsored by Fubara, Action People’s Party, APP, won 22 of the state’s 23 section authorities areas. But accelerated guardant to this year. Another section authorities predetermination was conducted, this clip nether Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), the Sole Administrator President Tinubu appointed to tally the state. The outcome? Well, APC, which was inconsequential successful the 2024 election, won 20 of the 23 LGAs. So, what happened wrong conscionable 1 year? Are Rivers radical truthful fickle successful their governmental affiliations? Of people not. The information is that a caller “governor” was successful charge, and ensured that the full electoral process, from elector registration to the voting and collation of results, was wholly compromised.

But that’s not however existent democracies work. In a existent democracy, powerfulness belongs to the people, and authorities governors don’t person oversized power successful elections. The 1999 Constitution describes Nigeria arsenic a republic. But a republic is simply a authorities successful which ultimate powerfulness is held by the people, wherever elected representatives deduce their offices from the volition and consent of the governed, voluntarily expressed successful a escaped and just election. Sadly, that’s not the lawsuit successful Nigeria. Voters are not genuinely escaped to ballot their preferences, to elite leaders of their choice, acknowledgment to vote-buying, rigging, unit and each different malpractices and irregularities associated with elections successful Nigeria. The effect is that Nigeria has governors who are products of rigged elections oregon who are judge-made. And, of course, erstwhile those governors, who deficiency genuine legitimacy, travel into power, they go highly powerful. Yet the workout of governmental powerfulness indispensable travel from genuine legitimacy, different ideology becomes a sham.

But excessively galore governors successful Nigeria exerci...