ANPP Leaders Optimistic over Opposition Coalition.

By Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

There is growing optimism within the ranks of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) that the much-touted move by key opposition political parties to merge will come to fruition after all.

ANPP is joining two other leading opposition parties, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to plan for a possible merger to confront the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the polls in 2015.

THISDAY gathered that due to the interest and enthusiasm the merger issue has generated, the party has decided to further enlarge the contact committee on opposition merger talks to 20 members, including all its governors, senators and top leaders of the party.

According to party sources, members’ interests increased following considerations of its position in the political calculation with three states under its control.

This includes the possibility of the party members being considered for the top most position under the emerging common platform.
However, the move has been delayed as it was learnt that the plan by leadership of ANPP  to inaugurate a contact  committee on the merger talks was shifted because most of the members had gone on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

Also, the inauguration planned to enable the committee to set out modalities for engaging other parties  in the coalition  was postponed because the national chairman, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, was still being expected from a trip to the United States.

A party source told THISDAY that the top hierarchy of ANPP, particularly the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Modu Sheriff,  are desperate  to go into negotiations with the other parties.

“Everyone among the progressives believe strongly that working in collaboration is the only way the opposition parties can stop the PDP and this is why all the parties are ready to make the necessary sacrifices to see that it succeeds,” he said.

Also, Onu who spoke in an interview with THISDAY, expressed the confidence of the party leadership that the proposed merger would succeed.

He said the party was already in discussion with other progressive opposition parties and that contrary to critics’ views that the talks will collapse, there was every reason to be optimistic over the success of the alliance this time around.

“We are working very hard on it. You know this cannot be easy but we are working in collaboration, we are talking to the major opposition political parties. 

“We are in discussion with them and we are very hopeful that by the end of the day we will able to secure an understanding that will help us to merge. 

“Our first option is to achieve a merger but if that is not possible, we settle for a coalition.  We started early this time, this has never happen before though many do not still believe it could be possible because they think it is difficult. 

“It has never happened before that discussions like this started early.  But I believe we have enough time to sort out all the problem that arise.

On the views that the opposition merger move is nothing but a marriage of convenience by parties with no common ideologies and that it will never work, Onu said those expressing such views are ignorant of the ideologies of most opposition progressive parties.

“I do not think that opposition parties involved in the talks have different views.  Out manifestos are quite similar and the new ANPP believe in the unity of Nigeria. We believe in a stable,  peaceful and prosperous country.  We also believe that there must be responsible leadership to offer service to our people so that Nigerians can get the best from their government.

“I feel that this one thing that binds all members of the opposition parties and there is a commitment that the time has come for us to provide this alternative platform that will help us get the desired Chang for the good of the nation,” he added.