[b]Ahead of the March 29 court-ordered gubernatorial election in Kogi State, the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) has entered into an alliance with the Action Congress (AC) and Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRDD) in a bid to wrestle power from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The alliance, which was formalized at a meeting held at the Le Meridien Hotel in Abuja, Thursday, had in attendance the ANPP gubernatorial candidate, Abuba-kar Audu, AC leader in the state, Prince Olusola Akanmode, Senator Otaru Ohize, Hon. A.K. Salihu, Hon. Abdul Kokori and the MRDD candidate, Col Suleiman Babanawa.
But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed the coalition by the parties, calling it a futile exercise that would not achieve the desired result.
Thursday’s agreement puts to rest weeks of speculations of an impending alliance between the parties by political watchers in the state.
Based on the alliance, the ANPP candidate, Prince Audu will be the governorship candidate of the aligned parties while the AC candidate, Senator Mohammed Ohiare, will be his running mate.
Briefing press men in Lokoja yesterday, the Kogi State chairman of AC, Chief Mike Adeleye, stated that the alliance was necessitated by the determination to restore hope to the people of the state saying “although nobody gave the alliance any chance to work, it has come to stay and with it, we are sending a signal to PDP that its time is up.”
Adeleye said the alliance was already standing on a tripod and “is ready to sweep PDP away from the state.”
He said, “With Audu in the eastern senatorial district, Akanmode in the west and the leaders of AC in the central senatorial districts, the alliance will battle PDP to a standstill and chase them from Lugard house, the seat of government.
“We know it has been next to impossible in Nigeria for opposition parties to come together to work as a team but we want to send a signal to PDP that it has come to stay.”
The AC chairman further stated that the national secretariat of his party has directed the state chapter to work tirelessly for the success of the alliance to ensure victory in the March 29 election, adding that the alliance was formed on an agreement to rescue Kogi State from epileptic governance.
Meanwhile, a group within the PDP in the state working for the return of Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, the Kogi Elite Group, has described the alliance between ANPP and AC as a marriage in futility, which can never be regarded as a reliable partnership.
The chairman of the group, Dr.Tom Ohikere, opined in Lokoja that any alliance between Akanmode and Audu can never be regarded as a reliable partnership based on past alliances between them, which never succeeded.
Dr. Ohikere stated his group would commence a full-blown campaign on March 1, 2008, which will be taken to all the twenty-one local governments in the state to assist PDP and Alhaji Idris. [/b]