Former Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, has asserted that every party, regardless of whether it is the ruling party, will always seek to weaken the opposition.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Cole made this known during an interview on ARISE Television’s ‘Prime Time’, programme.
Reacting to the insinuation that the APC is working against the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Tonye Cole noted that such happens everywhere in the world.
According to Cole, it is the opposition’s responsibility to push back, which makes democracy work.
He said, “Every party, regardless of being APC or not, will always push to weaken the opposition. It is the opposition’s response to that push that makes democracy work. This happens all over the world.
“First and foremost, it’s one of the things that I personally have looked forward to, that democracy always requires an opposition, and if that opposition is strong, then it brings legitimacy to the entire process.
“And so one of the things that you are seeing now is an opposition that is now determined that, let’s come together. Is that good for democracy? Absolutely. Would the APC oppose such a coming together? Definitely.
“I’m one of those creatures that believe that competition actually makes you better. Competition makes you think smarter. It makes you look forward at your own weaknesses and your strength.”