Olusegun Ariyo
Former presidential aide, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, has encouraged opposition parties in Nigeria to merge in order to keep the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on its toes.
According to him, many things appear to be going wrong in the APC because there are no formidable parties anymore to challenge it.
An APC stalwart, Obono-Obla, was a guest on Sparkling FM radio’s Let’s Talk Nigeria discourse programme on Friday morning.
“I am a progressive professional in politics who desires healthy and competitive politics. I advocate for the merger of these smaller parties to enable Nigeria to have at least two strong parties to serve as a formidable opposition to the APC.
“Opposition parties should not be talking about alliances. They should collapse into a smaller number of parties by way of merger, not alliances.
“We need a party to keep us on our toes. We did it in 2015. I was on a committee that merged CPC and other parties to form the APC. We then became a powerful opposition and defeated a ruling party.”
Commenting on the recent meeting between Peter Obi and Musa Kwankwaso, which reportedly aimed at coming together to realign against the APC, he said such efforts are akin to rolling stones that gather no moss. “Their realignment means nothing. It is just media hype. They’re colourless politicians. They can’t effect anything.”
He disagreed with the notion that it was too early for the APC to begin discussions about President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
According to him, Tinubu has a fundamental right to re-contest the presidency if he so wishes.
“It’s not too early to begin talking about the 2027 presidential election. Remember, there is freedom of speech.
“It shows political development and that our people are concerned about governance. Note that politics is an everyday discourse.
“Talking about 2027 is akin to anyone talking about all other issues.”
He advised opposition politicians to be steadfast and consistent, strongly presenting their points, rather than acting as daytime opposition while hobnobbing with the ruling government at night.
