Atiku who warned against the likelihood of Nigeria slipping into a one-party state was quoted as saying “We have all seen how the APC is increasingly turning Nigeria into a dictatorship of one party.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that without a genuine coalition, it will be difficult to take over power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 presidential election.
The PDP’s 2023 Presidential candidate and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, while hosting the National Executive Committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria, made a merger proposal to establish a strong opposition party that would be able to dislodge APC in 2027.
Atiku who warned against the likelihood of Nigeria slipping into a one-party state was quoted as saying “We have all seen how the APC is increasingly turning Nigeria into a dictatorship of one party.
“If we don’t come together to challenge what the ruling party is trying to create, our democracy will suffer for it, and the consequences of it will affect the generations yet unborn.”
In an interview with PUNCH, ther PDP Deputy Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said that Atiku made the call to protect the future of Nigeria and Nigerians.
Abdullahi alleged that the APC had impoverished Nigerians, saying that only a genuine coalition of opposition political parties could boot out the President Bola Tinubu-led APC administration.
“We believe only merger or coming together of all opposition political parties will produce a better result. So there is a need for other political parties to understand that it will be difficult to defeat the All Progressives Congress without a merger.
“So the other political parties must see the reason and identify with the PDP’s clamour for coalition. So, if they see this, then the better for Nigeria’s opposition and the people.
“But if other political parties want to go about it individually, they are not as strong as the PDP. It is very difficult for us to attain the objective of taking charge of the government and sacking this army of occupation that has decided to inflict maximum penury and anguish on Nigerians,” he said.
Also, PDP’s Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, said that opposition political parties would find it difficult to dislodge the ruling party without synergy with the people.