THE WHISTLER
Some political and civil society groups have said the Labour Party has assumed the status of the major opposition party in Nigeria and not the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, any longer.
They made their positions known on Sunday in separate interviews with THE WHISTLER.
The PDP came to power in 1999, when Nigeria returned to civil rule, and retained the presidency for 16 years until 2015 when it lost to the APC.
Yet, eight years after the APC took power, many Nigerians believe PDP has not discharged its role as the main opposition party effectively.
Secretary-General of the Conference Of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) Willy Ezugwu, in an interview with THE WHISTLER, described the PDP as opposition in theory and not in practice.
Ezugwu noted that the PDP has ceded the status of the main opposition party to the Labour Party (LP).
The LP was regarded as one of the parties that merely made up the numbers on INEC’s list of registered political parties until Peter Obi, a former PDP chieftain, joined just before the 2023 general elections.
Speaking with THE WHISTLER, Ezugwu said, “PDP is not playing any opposition. The party is in total disarray. They are not one body; They are not together.
“It is quite unfortunate because PDP is supposed to be a viable, strong opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). I can even say it is the Labour Party (LP) that is now the major opposition party.”
A stalwart of the PDP, former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike, who led an intra-party revolt against the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar before and during the 2023 general elections, has just been appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by President Bola Tinubu.
Wike had claimed that PDP leaders approved his involvement in the Tibubu-led APC government.
He also revealed that PDP governors nominated persons for appointment by Tinubu.
Ezugwu described the development as unfortunate, adding that the PDP’s failure to effectively challenge the APC was not in the interest of Nigeria’s democracy.
“You know in Nigeria all the political parties usually flock around the ruling party, which is not right. That is not how to grow democracy. In every democracy, there must be a strong opposition to make the government sit up.
“As things stand now, PDP is the opposition in theory not in practice.
