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By Chukwudi Nweje
Former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), and foundation member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has dismissed recent calls by the opposition political parties for a merger that would oust the ruling APC in 2027.
Leader of the National Consultative Front (NCFront), the group that rallied some opposition parties to adopt the Labour Party (LP) during the 2023 elections, Prof Pat Utomi and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, had at different fora spoke on the need for a merger of the opposition parties to oust the APC from power, the same way the APC ousted the PDP in 2015.
But, Okechukwu, who was a member of the merger committee that midwifed the formation of APC, said the calls for a merger would not bear any fruit.
He said: “First of all, the circumstances on the persistent call for opposition political parties to forge a formidable coalition to oust the APC like the PDP was defeated in 2015 differ remarkably.
“Secondly, dethroning an incumbent President should not be a political pastime, but as a practical political consciousness to remove an under-performing administration.”
He stated that the difference in the socio-economic situation of Nigeria between 2015 and 2024 is clear, stressing that while in 2015, Nigeria lost focus, today, despite the socio-economic hardship, both the international and local communities agree that the Tinubu administration has courage, vision and focus.
Okechukwu said that the former Vice President was referring to the current socio-economic hardship, which he said, was not caused by Tinubu.
“In 2015, under President Goodluck Jonathan, there was little or no hope. Luckily, President Tinubu with his economic reforms, won the confidence of the international community. All he needs ri do is to domesticate his economic programme to benefit the greatest number of Nigerians.”
He said that while a formidable opposition coalition is healthy for Nigeria’s democracy, the opposition parties have to convince Nigerians on which economic philosophy the coalition would be anchored upon.
He added: “Nigerians know that all the leading presidential candidates in 2023 were all neo-liberals. For instance, like Tinubu, Atiku and Obi agreed to remove fuel subsidies and to harmonise the foreign exchange rate. Since they all belong to the neo-liberal school of thought and are capitalists, they better support President Tinubu because the success of Tinubu’s economic reforms is better for such students more than those of us who subscribe to the belief that government has business in our welfare.”
