The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and five other political parties is forming a coalition.
Involved in the coalition are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The movement tagged ‘the Coalition of Concerned Political Parties (CCPP)’ was formed in Abuja yesterday at a meeting attended by leaders of the seven political parties at the National Secretariat of the SDP.
A former vice president and presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, had, last month, asked the opposition parties to come together to wrestle power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking when he hosted the National Executive committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council Nigeria (IPAC) in his house on November 14, Atiku had warned against the likelihood of Nigeria slipping to a one-party state and asked the opposition to close ranks.
Addressing journalists after the meeting of the seven political parties, the chairman of the SDP, Shehu Gabam, clarified that the coalition is neither a merger nor was against the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC).
Also speaking at the meeting, the acting National Secretary of the PDP, Setonji Koshoedo, who represented the acting party’s national chairman, Umar Damagum, explained: “This coalition wants to offer strong opposition for the good of Nigeria. Our duty is to offer alternative solutions to government policies.”
On his part, the national chairman of the ADC, Chief Ralph Nwosu, said the idea behind the coalition “is to strengthen our democracy. We have seen that people in government are trying to stiffen viable opposition.
Equally, the national chairman of the APM, Yusuf Dantalle, said there were other parties in the coalition that were not at the meeting.
