A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Cletus Obun, has openly acknowledged that undermining the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a deliberate political strategy employed by his party.
Obun, a former chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) in Cross River State, made this assertion during an appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.
Responding to claims by PDP member Segun Sowunmi, who accused President Bola Tinubu of fueling PDP’s internal crisis by appointing Nyesom Wike as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Obun dismissed the allegations. He described infiltrating rival parties as a legitimate political tactic.
“If PDP comes out to say so, it’s the worst political confession to be ever made,” Obun stated. “If you’re saying that we’re able to infiltrate PDP and destabilise them, it’s part of our duty to do so, just as it is their work to also ensure that the APC is destabilised.”
He further argued that such tactics are acceptable provided they do not incite violence. “So long as it’s not disruptive to become violent, it’s a good political weapon to use,” he added.
Sowunmi, however, criticized Tinubu’s decision to appoint Wike, a former PDP governor, as a minister, attributing it to his party’s ongoing instability.
Obun’s comments have sparked debate over the ethical limits of political maneuvering in Nigeria’s democracy.