The All Progressives Congress (APC) has fired back at Daily Trust newspaper over its Monday editorial titled “APC Should Learn From History,” describing it as a display of “editorial bias, daftness, and journalistic recklessness.”
In a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the ruling party said the editorial was deliberately crafted to malign the APC and spread falsehoods about the recent wave of defections by some state governors to the party.
Morka said the newspaper’s claim that defections to the APC “portend a dangerous trend towards the erosion of multi-party democracy and a descent into a despicable one-party state” was baseless and reflected a poor understanding of constitutional freedoms.
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According to him, “The paper failed miserably to explain how the exercise by the governors of their constitutional freedom of association and democratic liberty to choose among competing party alternatives threatens the country’s multiparty democracy or signifies a descent into a one-party state.”
He emphasized that there is no law in Nigeria restricting governors or any citizen from changing political affiliation.
“The paper postulated that citizens’ right to associate with any political organization must be exercised within the bounds of the law but failed to identify the law that prohibits governors from quitting the party platform on which they were elected and joining another party of their choice. The paper didn’t cite it because such law does not exist,” he stated.
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The APC spokesman described the editorial as “grossly bereft of reason, objectivity, and rationality,” accusing Daily Trust of echoing opposition propaganda.
“It was clearly based on the vile intent of its editors serving as a repeater station of the opposition’s senseless screams,” he said.
Morka argued that the defections should be viewed as evidence of the APC’s growing strength and the opposition’s weakness, not as a threat to democracy.
“The defections from opposition parties to our party deliver a damning indictment of their failed leadership, dysfunction, and lack of internal democracy,” he noted.
He further accused Daily Trust of double standards, saying the newspaper often praises defections when they favour opposition parties but condemns them when they benefit the APC.
“In the paper’s perspective, defections to APC are a threat to democracy, but defections from APC to opposition parties advance democracy. That double standard is glaring, invidious, and unacceptable,” he said.
Morka dismissed fears of Nigeria sliding into a one-party state as “wishful thinking,” stressing that the nation’s democracy remains vibrant with about 19 registered and active political parties.
While acknowledging the media’s right to editorial opinion, the APC cautioned against deliberate misinformation and bias.
“It is a mark of crass irresponsibility for Daily Trust to peddle falsehoods, conjectures, and outright deception as editorial material,” Morka said.
He reaffirmed the party’s commitment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which, he noted, is focused on improving citizens’ welfare and building a stronger, more prosperous Nigeria.