NATIONAL Chairman of the opposition Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Prince Tony Momoh and the Lagos State ACN Vice Chairman, Sakiru Seriki Tuesday reiterated the desire by progressive forces in the country to join hands in ensuring the defeat of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) at the polls.
The duo claimed that it was unfortunate that the PDP-led administration had failed to live up to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians since the return of democratic rule in the country.
Momoh spoke to members of the National Executive Committee of the CPC who converged at the party secretariat in Abuja to take a final stand on the idea of merger with other opposition parties to form the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Persuading NEC members of the CPC to adopt the merger deal in the interest of Nigerians, he listed appalling poverty, unemployment, the spate of insecurity and destruction of lives and property as the legacies bequeathed to the nation by the PDP led government.
He noted: "Let me use this opportunity to mention that the merger is not all about trying to take over power from the PDP and do what the PDP has been doing all these years. "The merger is being promoted to set an agenda, to look at the constitution and ensure that Nigerians who have sovereignty, that this sovereignty is returned to them because the sovereignty has been stolen from them for the last 12 years."
Continuing, the former Information minister argued: "We would ensure that those we elect will be those who merit the election because they are those who were voted for, those in whose favour the vote counted. We will ensure that welfare and security as specified in the constitution are reached.
"Now, there is no welfare, now there is no security. There is no social justice. Instead what we have is chaos everywhere in the country, there is insurgency and no safety in the country.
"We want merger and it is only when we merge that we can solve the problems in Nigeria today and take a decision to send PDP to the grave. We have to make a sacrifice and ensure we move into the merger and grow the new party so that Nigeria will have the change it needs."
Sekiri, who Spoke to The Guardian in Lagos said that from the glowing insecurity in the country and the declining fortunes of Nigerians by the day, the President Goodluck Jonathan- led administration can no longer be trusted to pilot the affairs of the country beyond 2015 when his first tenure expires.
He added: "Judging from the achievements of Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, his other ACN governors in Edo, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti State, it is obvious that if allowed to control the centre, the progressives would impact more positively on the people than the visionless PDP led government."
The Guardian