Former PDP running mate in the 2023 Cross River State governorship election, Mrs. Emana Ambrose-Amawhe, has dismissed concerns about Nigeria becoming a one-party state, insisting that politicians are voluntarily joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) without coercion.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Ambrose-Amawhe, who recently defected to the APC herself, emphasized that political affiliations remain a matter of personal choice.

"Political parties are open platforms where people choose to align with certain ideologies. There is nobody holding a gun to anybody's head to join the APC," she stated. "People are voluntarily and willingly joining the APC."

Ambrose-Amawhe praised Governor Bassey Otu's administration, suggesting his performance has attracted politicians to the ruling party. "The development strides of Governor Bassey Otu are worthy of emulation, not just by other governors across the 36 states of Nigeria, but they should be a rallying point for Cross Riverians generally to join hands and make the job easier for the governor to deliver the democratic dividends to the people at the grassroots," she said.

Explaining her own defection, the former PDP gubernatorial running mate said it represents "the beginning of new things politically" and "the entry into a new season in the entire landscape of Cross River State."

"We have collapsed our entire structure to partner with Governor Bassey Otu to deliver on his People First mandate and partner with the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu to drive economic development for our people, every Cross Riverian," she added.

Despite her support for the current administration, Ambrose-Amawhe acknowledged that after two years in government, Nigerians should be seeing clearer indicators of economic progress if the country were moving in the right direction.

On her personal motivations for switching parties, she explained: "I decided to defect because I cannot be an armchair politician. Every politician needs a viable platform. I came to serve my people. I am an active citizen. I do not want to sit on the sidelines and achieve nothing for the people I serve."

Her defection comes amid a growing trend of opposition politicians joining the ruling APC across Nigeria, raising concerns among some political observers about the country potentially sliding toward a one-party system.