ACN Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
The
major opposition parties in the country – the All Nigeria Peoples
Party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, and the Congress for Progressive
Change – have said they are ready to include the deregistered parties in
their ongoing merger plan.
The merger, which is scheduled to emerge
in 2013, is aimed at launching a formidable challenge against the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the 2015 general elections.
The National Publicity Secretary, ACN, Lai Mohammed, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the deregistered parties, which wish to work against the PDP, would be welcomed to the merger.
He said, “Our doors are not closed to
the parties that are progressives and are ready to push the PDP out of
power in 2015. The condition is that they must be thoroughly convinced
and ready to oust the PDP from political offices at the state and
federal levels.”
Similarly, the National Publicity
Secretary, ANPP, Emma Eneukwu, said the best option for the delisted
parties was to join the established ones. He added that such would
enhance the quality of the politics in the country.
He said, “We are ready to absolve them.
Any deregistered party that shows interest in joining us is welcome. If
any party is deregistered, the best option is to join another. We
already have a committee in charge of consultancy and I am sure it is
reaching out to them (the parties).
In the same vein, the National Publicity
Secretary, CPC, Rotimi Fashakin, said the party was ready to
accommodate the deregistered parties, but noted that it would only
accept those that share similar ideologies with it.
He said, “The good option for any
political party in their shoes is to join the existing ones that have
been tested and found to be viable. I am talking about parties of the
progressives, not the kind of party system the Peoples Democratic Party
has which is on its way out. The PDP is a party in its final days. We
will definitely welcome such associations (parties). However, only those
with similar objectives will be accommodated.”
Meanwhile, the banned parties are also exploring the possibility of registering as new parties.
Confirming this, the National Chairman
of the Peoples Redemption Party, Balarabe Musa, said, “We either go to
court or seek registration of another political party. We are also
likely to join forces with leading opposition parties to challenge the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party, at the 2015 general election.
He said, “The parties have been meeting.
We have met for some days now, and there would be more meetings on the
way forward. And from the discussion so far, there is the possibility of
the parties coming together to form an alliance. However, I believe the
more effective way to tackle this problem brought by PDP is to join
forces with a viable opposition party and that, in my opinion, is the
ACN, either through a merger or a democratic electoral alliance.”
However, the National Chairman of the Fresh Democratic Party, Rev. Chris Okotie, told SUNDAY PUNCH that his party was bent on challenging INEC in court.
He said, “I won’t like you to create the
impression that INEC has the final say in this matter, because to do
that is to capitulate to INEC and to the hegemony of the PDP. This is a
democracy and the rule of law has been established. The constitution
governs the affairs of this nation. Our position at Fresh is to
determine whether that which INEC has declared is constitutional. We are
going to court to contest that in the interest of our democracy and for
posterity.
“So we believe that within the
democratic philosophy of this nation, INEC has gone beyond its powers.
We believe the judiciary will rectify this anomaly. There is no way we
are going to accept this conspiracy between the PDP and INEC.
Similarly, the National Chairman of the
Progressive Action Congress, Charles Nwodo, said the delisted parties
had agreed to continue with their court action against INEC.
“What we have decided is that we will
continue with our court action against INEC to prove a point. According
to the Constitution, INEC does not have the right to deregister
political parties. And we are doing this for the sake of our democracy.
The constitution states that we shall operate a multiple party system,
so INEC cannot determine the number of parties in the country.”
Reacting to the possibility of
re-registration by the affected parties, the Chief Press Secretary to
the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, said, “The constitution provides
for the minimum requirements they must meet. Once they meet the
conditions, the INEC has no choice but to register them.”
INEC’s Secretary, Abdullahi Kaugama, had
said INEC deregistered the 28 parties “in the exercise of the powers
conferred on it by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral
Act 2010 (as amended).”
ThePunch
No comments:
Post a Comment