Former Chief of Staff to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, has ruled out the possibility of Nigeria becoming a one-party state, insisting that history and political realities make such an outcome impossible.
Gambari spoke in Abuja at a media interaction organised by the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, where he reviewed political developments ahead of the 2027 general elections. He dismissed opposition fears of a looming one-party system, saying Nigeria’s multiparty tradition remains firmly intact.
Drawing from history, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs recalled that previous dominant parties such as the Northern Peoples Congress, the National Party of Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party all failed in their attempts to entrench long-term dominance. According to him, similar efforts today would also fail.
He argued that the ambitions of Nigeria’s political elite cannot be contained within a single party, adding that attempts to impose a one-party structure would only breed instability.
However, Gambari warned that weak party structures remain a major challenge to democracy. He said political parties in Nigeria function largely as vehicles for acquiring power rather than institutions built on ideology or clear policy differences, making party switching easy and consequence-free.
He stressed that strengthening party organisation and enforcing internal discipline would discourage defections and protect the country’s multiparty democracy. Gambari added that sustaining democracy requires active citizen participation and commitment, noting that history alone would not prevent democratic backsliding without deliberate action.
