All members of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in 15 out of 18 local government areas of Cross River State have defected to the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) ahead of the August 28, 2010, local government polls in the state.

This development, according to political pundits, is a calculated attempt to give the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a stiff opposition and competition in the proposed council polls.

In a statement by the state chairman of APGA, Rev (Dr.) A. O. Williamson and National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Ukpenetus Ogometu, it was disclosed that “former leaders of PPA, represented by Dr. Fidelis Ezou Okoh and others said they realised that their former party has lost focus.”

The statement further stated that the defunct PPA leadership acknowledged APGA’s consistency of purpose and strict adherence to the rule of law as trademarks which endeared people to the party, stressing that “since APGA has recorded success in its struggle for a better society, the former leaders of PPA decided to embrace the true family of progressives.”

It stated that the defectors pledged to work according to tenets of APGA to give more dividends of democracy to the ordinary people of the state.

Saturday Tribune gathered that with the development, APGA has been strengthened and better positioned to give the ruling PDP a good fight. The party is also said to be ready to constitute the local government council executives in the 15 council areas.

Meanwhile, the APGA National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ukpenetus Ogometu, emphasised his party’s readiness to “advance justice, human rights and dignity, as a factor which can ensure a better Nigeria.”

Is APGA growing or what?

It seems Anambra State is setting example with good governance.

006:

Is APGA growing or what?

It seems Anambra State is setting example with good governance.

I guess APGA is expanding. You forgot to add the link. Here it is

http://www.tribune.com.ng/sat/index.php/news/1487-criver-ppa-declares-for-apga.html

APGA is definitely growing. This is a great news and I wish them more success. As long as they continue to lead by good example they will become a party to reckon with in the South and nation at large.

udezue:

APGA is definitely growing. This is a great news and I wish them more success. As long as they continue to lead by good example they will become a party to reckon with in the South and nation at large.

the old alliance is on the verge of reawakening.

News like this just turns me off. What is it with these patronizing politicians ditching their parties at any slight chance yet they go ahead without quitting their appointments through which they got on the former's platform.

The light is gradually spreading in the East. No going back. With free and fair elections, APGA will eventually win over the East.

The bible says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

Onlytruth:

The light is gradually spreading in the East. No going back. With free and fair elections, APGA will eventually win over the East.

The bible says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

#
Is this the agenda of APGA? what the Bible says?

This is why I am not a fan. They call themselves progressives but their phylosophy is based on nothing. Just conjectures.

Where is APGA, are they on the left, right or centre of politics? What is their ideology or manifesto? quoting the bible and telling us about liberation does not mean much if you do not have a clear direction on policies.

^^^

What matters in APGA is good governance; ideology is secondary.

006:

^^^

What matters in APGA is good governance; ideology is secondary.

where is the good governance?

006:

^^^

What matters in APGA is good governance; ideology is secondary.

Is governance, good or bad, not based on some kind of political ideology? Don't confuse issues.

That being said; consolidation of smaller parties to challenge the beast, PDP, is not a bad idea.

Haterz

Very nice!

APGA is my new party. Let it spread throughout the East. Regional Parties are back!

Southwest can have AC while Southeast can have APGA

APGA I hope they are more liberal

mikeansy:

#
Where is APGA, are they on the left, right or centre of politics? What is their ideology or manifesto? quoting the bible and telling us about liberation does not mean much if you do not have a clear direction on policies.

Do any party in Nigeria think of ideology or good governance. What is the ideology of PDP, ANPP and the rest. The only thing they all have in comon is how much they are going to loot.

udezue:

Haterz

I guess you reserve insults for those that have an opposing view to yours. Its rather juvenile, really.

Katsumo, sweetie no offense but it is what it is.

udezue:

Katsumo, sweetie no offense but it is what it is.

I guess its hating to point out that APGA, like other Nigerian political parties, lacks some kind of ideology.

mikeansy:

#
Is this the agenda of APGA? what the Bible says?

This is why I am not a fan. They call themselves progressives but their phylosophy is based on nothing. Just conjectures.

Where is APGA, are they on the left, right or centre of politics? What is their ideology or manifesto? quoting the bible and telling us about liberation does not mean much if you do not have a clear direction on policies.

Can you in all honesty tell me that you don't know what APGA stands for?
What is the meaning of PROGRESSIVE politics? APGA stands for All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Is it not an ideology?

Unless you are trying to redefine things unnecessarily, progressive is LIBERAL; you know, opposite of CONSERVATIVE in the AFRICAN context.

I would explain this more.

Progressive politics means adopting things that move a nation forward instead of things that consolidate the progress already made.

A progressive would prefer that the BEST candidate in terms of qualifications and ability takes over leadership; while conservative politics (at least in Nigerian context) believe in things like QUOTA SYSTEM and ZONING.

A progressive would prefer something like state police because frankly it makes more sense, while a conservative would retain the status quo even if it is not working.
Simple.

Onlytruth:

Can you in all honesty tell me that you don't know what APGA stands for?
What is the meaning of PROGRESSIVE politics? APGA stands for All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Is it not an ideology?

Unless you are trying to redefine things unnecessarily, progressive is LIBERAL; you know, opposite of CONSERVATIVE in the AFRICAN context.

I would explain this more.

Progressive politics means adopting things that move a nation forward instead of things that consolidate the progress already made.

A progressive would prefer that the BEST candidate in terms of qualifications and ability takes over leadership; while conservative politics (at least in Nigerian context) believe in things like QUOTA SYSTEM and ZONING.

A progressive would prefer something like state police because frankly it makes more sense, while a conservative would retain the status quo even if it is not working.
Simple.

Should the policies of the party not be a better indicator of its ideology? If your argument is predicated solely on the name of the party, then it is deeply flawed. APGA has a governor in Anambra, what sort of policies is he pushing? Have you read the manifesto of APGA?

Katsumoto:

Should the policies [/b]of the party not be a better indicator of its[b] ideology? If your argument is predicated solely on the name of the party, then it is deeply flawed. APGA has a governor in Anambra, what sort of policies is he pushing? Have you read the manifesto of APGA?

Don't tell me that even you don't know what progressive politics means. Are you honestly questioning the progressive policies of the Peter Obi administration?

Onlytruth:

Don't tell me that even you don't know what progressive politics means. Are you honestly questioning the progressive policies of the Peter Obi administration?

I know what progressive politics and it is close to what you have described; it is more or less centre-left. But a party can be called anything; its the manifesto and policies that matter. I am not from Anambra, so I can not comment on the leanings of his policies. If you say that he (Obi) is practising progressive politics, what sort of policies has he pushed that lean towards the left?

Katsumoto:

I know what progressive politics and it is close to what you have described; it is more or less centre-left. But a party can be called anything; its the manifesto and policies that matter. I am not from Anambra, so I can not comment on the leanings of his policies. If you say that he (Obi) is practising progressive politics, what sort of policies has he pushed that lean towards the left?

So, you cannot see that for instance while other governors are busy rushing to issue bonds and creating other borrowing and debenture instruments, the Peter Obi administration is instead carefully managing the state finances and developing the state with AVAILABLE funds? How many other states in Nigeria does that?

I know what you are trying to do but like always, I won't indulge you with that.

Progressive politics is OLD in Nigeria dating back to NCNC. APGA is not much different. If there is any difference, APGA only improved on the deficiencies of the NCNC.

If you want to learn more about the party, join up.

Progressive politics in Nigerian context is not the same as in western context.

Onlytruth:

So, you cannot see that for instance while other governors are busy rushing to issue bonds and creating other borrowing and debenture instruments, the Peter Obi administration is instead carefully managing the state finances and developing the state with AVAILABLE funds? How many other states in Nigeria does that?

I know what you are trying to do but like always, I won't indulge you with that.

Progressive politics is OLD in Nigeria dating back to NCNC. APGA is not much different. If there is any difference, APGA only improved on the deficiencies of the NCNC.

If you want to learn more about the party, join up.

People will always have differing views, that my position is divergent from yours should not result in stereotyping and name-calling. What am I trying to do? How many states have issued or tried to issue bonds? Are they up to five? So Obi is now a progressive because he has not tried to raise money from the capital markets? Most states in Nigeria, including the few that have tried to issue bonds, are still wholely dependent on revenue from the centre with Lagos being the sole exception.

I can not knock Obi because I don't know much about how he is running his state but I do know that he is not generally considered amongst the best governors in Nigeria. You are bound to be biased because APGA is Ojukwu's party and we all know of your unflinching support for him.

Liberalism, conservatism, progressives or whatever means the same thing everywhere. The fact that Nigerian politicians are clueless and do not practice issue based politics does not mean we have our own definitions of the political spectra.

It is not enough to describe APGA as a progressive or Left-wing party merely because the "P" in their name stands for Progressive. Nomencletures are no substitutes for policies and ideologies.

You know a Liberal on his view on things like how education should be funded (state or individual), how healthcare should be funded, their tax and spend policies etc.

Not whether you have Progressive in your name or whether you are angrier than everyone else on the sorry state of Nigeria. The fact that you have struggled to point out how APGA differs from everyone else supports my argument that they are not any different than the rest.

Just conjectures to stoke up passion and win votes, when elections are over they use red sand and pure tar with no gravels to build express way for the rest of us.

mikeansy:

Liberalism, conservatism, progressives or whatever means the same thing where. The fact that Nigerian politicians are clueless and do not practice issue based politics does not mean we have our own definitions of the political spectra.

It is not enough to describe APGA as a progressive or Left-wing party merely because the "P" in their name stands for Progressive. Nomencletures are no substitutes for policies and ideologies.

You know a Liberal on his view on things like how education should be funded (state or individual), how healthcare should funded, their tax and spend policies etc.

Not whether you have Progressive in your name or whether you are angrier than everyone else on the sorry state of Nigeria. The fact that you have struggled to point out how APGA differs from everyone else supports my argument that they are not any different than the rest.

Just conjectures to stoke up passion and win votes, when elections are over they use red sand and pure tar with no gravels to build express way for the rest of us.

Well put

Katsumoto:

People will always have differing views, that my position is divergent from yours should not result in stereotyping and name-calling. What am I trying to do? How many states have issued or tried to issue bonds? Are they up to five? So Obi is now a progressive because he has not tried to raise money from the capital markets? Most states in Nigeria, including the few that have tried to issue bonds, are still wholely dependent on revenue from the centre with Lagos being the sole exception.  

I can not knock Obi because I don't know much about how he is running his state but I do know that he is not generally considered amongst the best governors in Nigeria. You are bound to be biased because APGA is Ojukwu's party and we all know of your unflinching support for him.

Look I understand the general point of your argument but you would at least admit that Nigeria for the past 11 years (basically under Obasanjo and PDP) stifled the democratic development of the country by constantly rigging elections. These parties would have all grown and established their structures using their political ideologies of course. Today, a party like APGA is still trying to establish itself by investing in things that defeat election rigging instead of focusing on the general political ideology. APGA would have preferred free education at primary and secondary school levels and free primary health care, but where is the money, when it was already mortgaged by previous PDP government in Anambra state?
Only last week, Peter Obi completed the pension arrears dating back to 1996!  

If he is not a progressive, he won't bother with something that "outdated". He is still doing it.
So, for now, he is trying to lay foundations of good governance which will endure.
My wish is that Jonathan conducts a free and fair elections next year in order to allow parties like APGA to fully consolidate and push their progressive agenda.

mikeansy:

Liberalism, conservatism, progressives or whatever means the same thing everywhere. The fact that Nigerian politicians are clueless and do not practice issue based politics does not mean we have our own definitions of the political spectra.

It is not enough to describe APGA as a progressive or Left-wing party merely because the "P" in their name stands for Progressive. Nomencletures are no substitutes for policies and ideologies.

You know a Liberal on his view on things like how education should be funded (state or individual), how healthcare should be funded, their tax and spend policies etc.

Not whether you have Progressive in your name or whether you are angrier than everyone else on the sorry state of Nigeria. The fact that you have struggled to point out how APGA differs from everyone else supports my argument that they are not any different than the rest.

Just conjectures to stoke up passion and win votes, when elections are over they use red sand and pure tar with no gravels to build express way for the rest of us.

My friend I can understand that you are still licking your wounds from the crushing defeat handed to you, your godfather Obasanjo and your party PDP in the last governorship elections in Anambra state.

Times are changing beyond your control and soon there will be no PDP anywhere near my state.

Onlytruth:

My friend I can understand that you are still licking your wounds from the crushing defeat handed to you, your godfather Obasanjo and your party PDP in the last governorship elections in Anambra state.

Times are changing beyond your control and soon there will be no PDP anywhere near my state.

instead of providing a credible or superior argument you talk about who is licking wounds. whatever that means.

Soludo not being the current Governor is Anambra's loss and loss to the Igbo race not Soludo's. The noise about picking up fights with OBJ, PDP or outsiders is simply a distraction. What are Obi's records?

Even Obi is not proud of his own records for all the noise you make about him being a progressive. Obi had no record to run on in the last election. How did he win? getting Ojukwu to make a last wish, playing weeks and weeks of videos of the attrocities committed by the Ubas in Anambra and somehow trying to link that to Soludo because they shared the same party at the time.

It would have been nice to see what the so called Progressive Obi would have claimed he achieved. NOTHING!!!!!

APGA politics is based on conjectures rather than substance.

I can also say that PDP is also ideologically useless and I am not necessarily too loyal to PDP. But yes I agree with Soludo on his choice of politics most of the time and I am not ashamed of thhat.

Onlytruth:

Look I understand the general point of your argument but you would at least admit that Nigeria for the past 11 years (basically under Obasanjo and PDP) stifled the democratic development of the country by constantly rigging elections. These parties would have all grown and established their structures using their political ideologies of course. Today, a party like APGA is still trying to establish itself by investing in things that defeat election rigging instead of focusing on the general political ideology. APGA would have preferred free education at primary and secondary school levels and free primary health care, but where is the money, when it was already mortgaged by previous PDP government in Anambra state?
Only last week, Peter Obi completed the pension arrears dating back to 1996!  

If he is not a progressive, he won't bother with something that "outdated". He is still doing it.
So, for now, he is trying to lay foundations of good governance which will endure.
My wish is that Jonathan conducts a free and fair elections next year in order to allow parties like APGA to fully consolidate and push their progressive agenda.

I don't play tribal politics. Do you think that I am going to defend Obasanjo because he is a Yoruba man. I don't care who rules Nigeria as long as he/she performs. The president of Nigeria may come from the smallest tribe in Nigeria but it wouldn't matter to me as long as he/she can provide good roads, power, education, security, etc. You expect too much from the current political class. All the individuals who went to politics in 1999 are/were the wrong set of people to take Nigeria forward. They were all after theirs and their godfathers interest. Were you expecting thieves like that to have ideologies? To blame Obasanjo for the failings of the political class is naive at best and disingenuous at worst. Obasanjo did not lay the foundations for the political schools of thought in 1999.

mikeansy:

instead of providing a credible or superior argument you talk about who is licking wounds. whatever that means.

Soludo not being the current Governor is Anambra's loss and loss to the Igbo race not Soludo's. The noise about picking up fights with OBJ, PDP or outsiders is simply a distraction. What are Obi's records?

Even Obi is not proud of his own records for all the noise you make about him being a progressive. Obi had no record to run on in the last election. How did he win? getting Ojukwu to make a last wish, playing weeks and weeks of videos of the attrocities committed by the Ubas in Anambra and somehow trying to link that to Soludo because they shared the same party at the time.

It would have been nice to see what the so called Progressive Obi would have claimed he achieved. NOTHING!!!!!

APGA politics is based on conjectures rather than substance.

I can also say that PDP is also ideologically useless and I am not necessarily too loyal to PDP. But yes I agree with Soludo on his choice of politics most of the time and I am not ashamed of thhat.

How can you say that Obi did not achieve anything? Okay I'll mention his biggest achievement: He defeated PDP and godfatherism in Anambra state. 

He is also laying the foundations of good government.
You can say he is a prude, but there is no way anyone in his right sense would say that Obi is a thief or call him the worst governor in Nigeria. He cannot steal or BORROW his way out of our problems. Building honest wealth takes time.
Our most prized possession -our coffers- is safe in his hands.

I cannot say that about his opponents especially those from PDP.

PDP would have sent us and our children into many years of debt.

Anambra will be a rich state soon. After all the foundations are fully laid.