The Presidency has insisted that the recent defections from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was down to politicians’ free will and not coercion from President Bola Tinubu or his allies.

It also denied accusations of trying to build a one-party state.

The presidency claimed democracy is not under threat or undermined “simply because politicians exercise their rights of association.”

“Nigerians migrating to the APC and expressing support for Tinubu are doing so out of their free will, based on the belief that the reforms being executed are in the interest of Nigerians and the unborn generation,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement Sunday.

The statement is titled ‘Democracy Strong and Alive in Nigeria.’

Onanuga’s rebuttal follows last Wednesday’s defection, of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, his predecessor Ifeanyi Okowa, Deputy Governor, Monday Onyeme, commissioners, local government chairmen and others.

Okowa was the PDP’s vice presidential candidate in the 2023 election.

The PDP, Labour Party, and NNPP are currently grappling with internal crises compounded by defections to the APC, which has left their parties in disarray.

Some politicians say the crises are being sponsored to weaken the opposition ahead of 2027, a claim the presidency denies.

“The opposition cannot blame President Tinubu and the governing APC for their poor organisation, indiscipline, and gross incompetence in managing their affairs,” Onanuga said on Sunday.

He added, “While the opposition elements are understandably heartbroken and disillusioned over the failure of their fabled grand coalition to gain traction, we find it disturbing that they resorted to peddling false allegations of the promotion of a one-party state against President Bola Tinubu, who is working very hard to reverse decades of economic mismanagement of our country.

“Contrary to the false claims in the sponsored propaganda materials in circulation across mainstream and social media, democracy is not under any threat in Nigeria. Accusations that the administration is moving towards authoritarianism are baseless and exaggerated.

“We must add that no policy, official action, or directive from the Presidency seeks to ‘dismantle democracy’ or ‘weaken opposition or create a one-party state.’”

The Presidency said accusations of bribery, blackmail, and the weaponisation of state institutions “only exist in the idle minds” of politicians and their agents “who have failed in their assigned duty of opposition.”