TOWARDS forming a formidable opposition
party in the country, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has appointed a
19-member committee with the mandate to negotiate its planned merger with the
Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
As the merger talks intensify, however,
former PDP governor of Ondo State, Chief Olusegun Agagu, has said the plan
would not work, adding that even if it eventually worked, it would not dim the
winning chances of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 polls.
Similarly and worrisomely, the Deputy
National Organising Secretary of one of the parties in the planned merger, ANPP,
Nasiru Garba Dantiye, has warned that the intended merger by some opposition
parties in the country might not see the light of day unless the stakeholders
jettison selfishness and get ready to make sacrifices.
In a statement issued in Lagos on
Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN said
the committee, to be chaired by Chief Tom Ikimi, has as members Ogun State
former governor, Segun Osoba and his Ekiti State counterpart, Niyi Adebayo, as
well as Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, and his Osun State
counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola.
Others are Senator John Akpanudoedehe,
Osagie Ize-Iyawu, Senator George Akume and Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
The list also includes Sen. Lawal
Shuaibu, Chief Audu Ogbe, Chief Achike Udenwa, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun,
Senator Chris Ngige, Dr. Usman Bugaje, Hadjia Rabiat Eshak, Dr. Ibrahim Y.
Lame, Alhaji Yusuf Ali and Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
According to the ACN, the appointment
of the committee was an indication of its total commitment to making the merger
a reality, and there is no going back in the party’s determination to work with
the CPC and ANPP to rescue and salvage Nigeria.
It also congratulated the leadership of
the CPC and the ANPP, which have already named their own merger committees, for
their patriotism, and appealed to all Nigerians to support the planned merger.
The party stated: “This is not about the ACN, CPC or ANPP but about our country
Nigeria, which is tottering on the edge of disaster due mainly to the lack of
leadership and failure of governance by the ruling PDP since 1999.
“The merger of the three parties is
like a ‘Noah’s Ark’, which all Nigerians who are tired of the endless drift of
our country must enter into. This is not about winning power at the centre at
all cost, as the naysayer will want Nigerians to believe. It is about putting
the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians above everything else.”
Nevertheless, Agagu, himself one of the
founding fathers of the PDP, disclosed in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital,
during a chat with reporters, that the present differences among some members
of the PDP, which was not unexpected in an emerging democracy, would soon be
over, stressing that it was a common occurrence in a large party like the PDP.
He said the other opposition parties were
looking forward to the disintegration of the PDP but that it is the only
formidable party at present, with a solid crisis resolution mechanism.
Dantiye, who spoke to The Guardian,
expressed the hope that Nigerians would allow the merger to work, adding,
however, that it is impossible to talk of merging and retaining the parties. He
said: “I am telling Nigerians that the merger is going to be a great challenge.
It needs a lot of sacrifice.
“It is more than pen and paper or
granting interviews because there are a lot of interests in party affiliation
and others. When it comes to a situation where only one person is needed for an
office and yet there are so many people from diverse places, different
religion, different political parties and tribes, which is one of the major
problems of our country, I know there are going to be challenges.”
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