10 OPPOSITION GOVS BACK MERGER TO DEFEAT PDP

OPPOSITION parties on Tuesday took their planned merger against the ruling Peoples Democratic Party a step further when 10 governors from four different political parties met in Lagos and  unanimously endorsed merger plans by their leaders.

The governors, in a communiqué at the end of the meeting, said they hoped to wrestle power from the PDP in 2015 and take the country out of its “current political quagmire.”

The opposition  governors spoke after a four-hour closed door meeting at the Lagos House, Marina, Lagos.

However, the PDP said on Tuesday that it supported the merger by the opposition political parties  because it would strengthen “national debate.”

It also said that it prayed for the success of the project.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, who said this in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, however, said such a merger or alliance must not be based on ethnic and religious sentiments.

He said it must also not be based on any personal agenda.

 “We welcome the alliance or the merger. It is in the best interest of the country as it would provide a viable opposition. It would also lead to a healthy debate in the polity. But such an alliance or merger must not be based on ethnicity or any religion,” he said.

“It must also be national in outlook. We pray it works. We are not against it at all.”

Those who attended the Lagos meeting included the five governors from the Action Congress of Nigeria-controlled states viz; Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Abiola Ajumobi (Oyo), and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun).

The sixth ACN governor, Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State was absent from the meeting.

Others who were present included, Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, All Progressive Grand Alliance; Nasarawa State Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura, Congress for Progressive Change; and Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari, All Nigeria Peoples Party.

The other ANPP governors, Kashim Shettima (Borno) and Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe) were represented by Senator Dejere Alkali.

Host governor, Fashola, said the meeting was “essentially about the concerns on Nigeria and the way forward,” adding that key decisions were taken at the end of the meeting.

Reading the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, Shettima said the governors reviewed the situation in the country and resolved to endorse the merger initiative with a primary intention to fix Nigeria.

He said, “This must be done as progressive and patriotic leaders of our people across party, religious and geopolitical zones.

“We are concerned about the state of the nation and in the interest of our people we deliberated on what can be done to rescue our country.

“As governors, we fully endorse the merger initiatives already commenced by our various political parties. Nigeria is greater than all of us and we have a duty to make it work for our people and the future.”

Yari said the brains behind the merger would offer a better political option to what the nation had witnessed since her return to democracy in 1999.

He said, “The objective is to fix Nigeria in the right perspective. Go and ask many people outside here whether they are happy since 1999 till date. It is a duty for all of us as leaders to drive our people right and we believe the PDP has done less.

“We have the knowledge and progressive idea to move the country forward, so if you say that we intend to move the PDP out of power, yes we are ready to do that.”

Fashola, who dismissed insinuations that the merger plans would die before arrival, said the drive behind the merger would produce some of the best hands the nation could boast.

He added, “The commitment that we bring to the table will certainly override any scepticism. I am convinced that the full weight of 10 governors and many more, who, unfortunately, could not make it today, is a much stronger force. The underlying reason is clearly how to make this country a better place. This is not the best that this country can have and we intend to deliver Nigeria’s best.”

Fayemi said the merger was aimed at rescuing the country from bad governance, adding that governors had resolved to work in patriotism and serve the people of Nigeria.

He said the representation from the different political parties and geopolitical zones was a proof that the merger plans were aimed at nothing but rescuing the future of the country and the citizens.

Okorocha said the move would prevent any chance by the government at the centre to turn the nation to a one-party state.

He said, “The merger has become very necessary in order to save our democracy and the likelihood of turning Nigeria into a one-party state does not augur well for democracy, therefore I personally fully endorse this movement and this new merger to rescue the nation.”

Amosun said, “A lot of other people will come on board once they see our sincerity, that is why we are determined and I am sure that with the support of all Nigerians, this merger will work.”

Source: Punch