Sunday 30 December 2012

2013 and the opposition’s mega party plans

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2013 and the opposition’s mega party plans
One of the major political events observers of the power game in Nigeria are looking forward to in 2013 is the result of the ongoing merger talks among opposition political parties in the country.
It is believed that if it succeeds, the proposed mega party will give the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) serious run for its money and size.
The merger of the parties is one of the strategies being canvassed by some  politicians to defeat the ruling PDP which has dominated power since the advent of the present democracy in 1999.
While more opposition parties are said to be interested in joining the move to form a mega party, the three leading opposition political parties in the country namely, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) may have decided to drop their identities by April 2013, when talks on their proposed merger are expected to be completed.
Few days back, the Chairman of the ANPP National Rebuilding and Interparty Contact Committee, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, told journalists in Abuja that the merger talks between ACN, CPC  and ANPP had reached the last stage.
Shekarau, a former governor of Kano State, allayed fears that the talk may collapse again when he announced that the chieftains of the three parties had decided to forget their individual ambitions to make the fusion a success.
“Certainly, we are going to submit our party certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission after our merger. That is what a merger means. The Electoral Law is so clear on the procedure for a merger.
“If we decide to merge, the next thing is that we go back to our parties, call National Executive Committee meeting, and discuss with the members, in the presence of INEC officials. Then, you can call congress and that is all.
“The difference now is to pass a resolution and all this will be simultaneously done (by the three parties) and we will inform INEC about it. When that is done, INEC has no choice than to register your new identity.”
The National Publicity Secretaries of CPC and ACN, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin and Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in separate interviews recently confirmed Shekarau’s claim that a merger of the three leading opposition parties is in the offing.
“Yes, we are ready to lose our identity for the sake of the bigger party that is capable of sacking the PDP. My National Chairman, Prince Tony Momoh, has said it several times that he is ready to lose his position as well.
“I’m also ready for that, if that will enable us form a party that will be big enough to confront and remove the PDP from the central government,” Fashakin said.
“ACN is committed to getting a single platform of all opposition political parties that will drive the PDP out of power.
“All I can tell you is that the modalities are being worked out. And we are committed to it,” Mohammed said.
Few weeks back, another leading opposition party, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) also announced its readiness to be part of the merger move. The party said though it is poised to displace the PDP in 2015, it will not mind working with other oppositin parties to achieve that.
The party’s national chairman, Victor Umeh, made the announcement when asked if his party is part of the merger talk currently going on. He said the APGA is not opposed to the move and will surely be part of it.
There are also talks that the paties may have already put forward some names including but not limited to Action Congress for Progressive Change, (ACPC) and Action Congress Alliance, (ACA) as possible names that would be used to consummate the alliance.
The parties are also said to be expediting plans to hold their national conventions where the alliance will be endorsed by their members. Sources said all things being equal, the conventions will hold very early in the new year. If this happens, then a new political party will surely be born in 2013.
TheNation

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