Senator Shehu Sani has urged opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and others, to address their internal conflicts rather than blaming President Bola Tinubu for their challenges.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Sani criticized the opposition for expecting the president to intervene in their affairs.
“It doesn’t make sense to blame someone else for your internal issues,” he said. “If the PDP, LP, NNPP, or any other party has internal problems, it’s their responsibility to fix them. Blaming President Tinubu is not only illogical but also irresponsible.”
In the past year, many opposition members — including governors and lawmakers — have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), often citing unresolved disputes within their former parties. The opposition, in turn, has accused Tinubu and the APC of orchestrating these crises.
Sani, however, dismissed these claims, insisting that the parties must take accountability for their own instability.
“If members within your party are undermining it and you fail to take action, then shift the blame to the president, you are simply being unserious,” he stated.
He further explained that it’s neither the duty nor the strategy of a ruling party to resolve the issues of its rivals. According to him, it’s natural for a ruling party to benefit from the disorganization of the opposition.
“A president wouldn’t help fix the very structures that might later be used against him,” Sani added. “It’s strategic to let your opponents deal with their own chaos.”
During his June 12 Democracy Day address, President Tinubu had also taken a jab at the opposition, describing them as disorganized and fractured. He said he would neither encourage them to put their house in order nor offer assistance, adding that their current state was a delight to observe.
“Rather than creating imaginary enemies, political parties concerned about losing members should look inward and fix their internal processes,” Tinubu said during a joint session of the National Assembly.
He concluded, “I won’t tell you to fix your problems, and I certainly won’t help you. Watching you in disarray is a pleasure.”
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