Paul Ibe Accuses APC of Attempting to Buy Opposition Leaders

Media adviser to the former vice president of Nigeria, Paul Ibe, has accused the All Progressive Party (APC) of buying up opposition leaders. Speaking at an interview monitored by RadioNow 95.3 fm news desk, Mr. Paul Ibe alleged that the APC and the current administration are gearing towards a one-party dictatorship by buying up the opposition.

“When a gentleman uses the word desperate or desperation, I’m sure he was referencing the APC, you know, and this administration, because here is a party and an administration that is, you know, using a playbook, you know, of, you know, trying to, you know, aggregate everybody, you know, into the same boat. One party dictatorship. That’s what this party is, you know, this administration is trending towards.And it’s, you know, it’s very clear from all intents and purposes, from what they are doing, you know, buying up, you know, they are on a buying up spree, you know, buying up the opposition, you know, leaders, you know, all over the place. I mean, what does that suggest to you? That’s desperation. That’s classical desperation.And because they are, you know, unable to, you know, to deliver on the promises that I have made to Nigerians and with an eye on 2027, it becomes difficult for anybody to expect, you know, anything from them in terms of governance. And so they are adopting desperate measures, buying up, you know, the opposition leaders, and that’s what they are doing.”

Mr. Ibe clarified that, with nothing to show at the end of their tenure by 2027, the APC is now destroying the opposition party by corrupting and buying opposition leaders.

“It’s a notorious fact that this administration, you know, has an agenda, you know, to decimate, you know, the opposition parties, whether it’s the PDP, the Labour Party, or the opposition in general. And the reason is clear. They understand that the way they are set, I mean, the way they are going, they’ll have little or nothing to show, you know, for the four years by 2027.And so they are compromising, you know, you know, destroying, you know, the opposition, you know, they are buying up. I mean, what else can be clear than that they are buying up the opposition, you know, (0:29) they are corrupting, you know, the, you know, the opposition leaders, and that’s what they’ve been doing.”

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He compared this tactic to the Mediterranean, advising the APC to be mindful of its capacity to avoid sinking like the Mediterranean.

“The APC has made it its assignment to determine, you know, what happens in the PDP. Not just at the party, at the state, you know, you know, it’s a state policy. And you think, I mean, we should let that by? It is a policy of the state, not even just of the party, to interfere in the, you know, in the affairs of, you know, an opposition party. The opposition needs to be, I mean, that be an environment that will enable, give the opposition the opportunity to thrive. Strong opposition is very critical, you know, in a democracy. Otherwise, it’s your turn, oh Israel. We will all, you know, coalesce, you know, into the APC. The point is this. The way that the APC is shopping and buying up people, it reminds me of what is going on in the Mediterranean. You know, people trying to migrate, you know, getting into all those boats. It is being mindful of the capacity. Even the boats, those boats have limited capacity. And so even the APC itself has a limited capacity, the number of people that they are taking up. And sooner or later, what probably happens in the Mediterranean, Nancy, will, you know, will happen to them. It will sink.”