The New Nigeria People’s Party, (NNPP) on Tuesday applauded former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal for the merger of opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general election.
Atiku had during a meeting with the national executive committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council Nigeria (IPAC) at his residence in Abuja last week urged the opposition parties to present a common front against the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He charged the opposition parties to come together and create a more formidable front that would prevent Nigeria from sliding into a one-party state.
The NNPP Acting National Chairman, Abba Ali, who addressed journalists at a media briefing in Abuja, described the proposal as a welcome development.
He recalled that the merger of opposition parties before the 2015 elections led to the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the APC.
The chairman said: “Just recently, the former Vice-President of the Federal Republic, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was reported to have called for a merger of opposition parties as a way of checkmating the inordinate drive of the ruling APC towards a one-party state and protecting our hard-earned democracy.
“The NNPP sees this call from Atiku Abubakar as patriotic and a welcome development for which we unreservedly commend him.
“To that extent, the NNPP is reiterating its position that the former Vice President’s latest call is a proposal we applaud wholeheartedly.
“However, as we stated earlier, while we fully embrace this initiative and applaud it as a matter of necessity, the NNPP is looking at this issue from a much larger perspective and considering all factors inherent in it.”