THE SUN
Plans by Nigeria’s three main opposition parties to form a formidable force ahead of the 2027 general elections in a bid to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may have hit a cul-de-sac, as key actors in the on-going arrangements are unwilling to shift grounds.
In separate interviews with Saturday Sun, leaders of the three main opposition parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), expressed divergent views on the proposed merger. While some admitted that moves were underway, others dismissed the ongoing talks as unrealistic.
Some analysts have also noted that the individual presidential ambition of each of the major actors in the three opposition parties – Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the NNPP – is a major reason the planned merger might not materialize.
A national official of the PDP, Timothy Osadolor, said suggestions by stakeholders for a merger between the major opposition party with other parties were currently a subject of discourse in the party.
Osadolor, who is currently the Deputy National Youth leader, told Saturday Sun that there is no consensus yet on the issue within the PDP, noting that party leaders have divergent views on the issue. He disclosed that in due course, the issue would be tabled before the party’s National Executive Coming (NEC), where a decision will be taken.
His words: “It is officially on the table. There are those in favour and those who are not in agreement. It is already an issue on the table. And the NEC will look into it, as suggested by the Waziri Adamawa (Atiku Abubakar) himself.”
Osadolor, while speaking in support of the proposal for the merger of opposition parties, told Saturday Sun that “it is something that all well meaning Nigerians should embrace, because at the end of the day having a plethora of opposition political parties will not be enough to checkmate the APC.
“One will expect that all these mushroom parties would aggregate themselves and go into alliance with the PDP so that we will have a more robust opposition party that will wrestle power from the APC. “We need a formidable force to be able to wrestle power from APC. You need a force that can aggregate itself into one party unit. That is why PDP’s offer for a merger, as being led by the Waziri himself is a welcome development. I want all these politicians to see beyond their noses and personal interests and look at the bigger picture.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report. But contrary to popular views, the NNPP has ruled out merger plans with any of the political parties ahead of the 2027 presidential polls for now.
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