Major opposition political parties in the country should approach talks for a possible merger with open arms and without preconditions because all issues should be on the table, National Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu said in Abuja yesterday. He also predicted that the planned merger of major opposition parties will succeed before the 2015 general elections, unlike last year when the effort hit the rocks. He spoke in his office when he received a Media Trust Limited editorial team led by the Editor-in-Chief, Malam Mannir Dan Ali.
Dr. Onu said of the planned merger talks, "We are in the process of coming together. Many people may not know that in 2011, it was ANPP that started the merger process. We met with the ACN and ACN met with CPC and later all of us came together, four of us. What happened was that by the time we came together, the election was close so people had already made up their minds. But this time, it will not happen like that because we have started [the merger talks] very early and it is again ANPP that initiated this." Onu added, "We are very optimistic that by God's grace it will work because we have started very early and all those constraints normally in place would not be there. We don't have any preconditions; everything is on the table. We come and discuss. The ideal thing is merger, but if we cannot get merger, then we go for coalition or alliance as some people may call it. We don't have preconditions; everything should be open and you should be able to discuss because if there are preconditions at the onset, then it will not work. Since it is going to be a new party, you have to talk of name, motto and logo, so you can't go with conditions."
The ANPP boss also spoke about the many political assets that he said his party will contribute to the planned grand opposition party. He said ANPP has multi-dimensional strengths such as age, electoral experience, high capacity and a past record of achievements. He described ANPP as the most peaceful party in the country that does not witness intra-party rancour. He also said the party has contested for and won elections in all parts of the country in the last 13 years. Many politicians who currently occupy positions in other parties were once candidates on ANPP's platform, he said, including the current governors of Ogun and Oyo states. Four out of the 10 former state governors who serve in the Senate today are ANPP members, he said.
Dr Onu, who was the Third Republic governor of old Abia State, said he has remained with ANPP since its formation in 1998 because of his love for the country and his belief that some people must make sacrifices and remain in opposition parties in order for democracy to develop and flourish in Nigeria. He said, "It is really difficult to be in opposition, but what is motivating me is the love of my country. If we all go into the ruling party, it will not augur well for the nation's democracy. There must be some people to pay the price, to deprive themselves of whatever gain they may have gained by going into the ruling party."
The ANPP leader spoke about many other issues including electoral reforms, state of affairs in ANPP, performance of state governments, insecurity in the country, his party's Board of Trustees, his experience in 1998 when his presidential ticket was bargained away and local government elections. Read the full details of the interview in Sunday Trust this weekend.
Daily Trust