Results of the National Assembly elections released so far indicate the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is in a position to become the new leading opposition party in Nigeria, reports Sunday Oguntola.

It has taken almost a decade. But it has been worth the waiting. Finally, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is back in its prime position. In 1999, the entire six Southwest states were governed by the progressive Alliance for Democracy (AD), which later transformed to the ACN. All elected politicians from the region then from the local to the federal levels emerged under the platform of AD. Observers said the region witnessed the most rapid transformations since the advent of democratic rule within that period.

Developments took a long flight in 2003 and 2007 when reactionary forces captured the region. Only Lagos state stood firm against the rampaging rigging machinery of the Federal Government- backed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Infrastructures nosedived; developments stagnated and the conditions of living deteriorated. Nationally, the ACN lost its ranking as a leading opposition party. National Assembly’s legislators could not push through radical, progressive bills.

Governor Raji Fashola of Lagos was the lone voice of progressive politics in the Governors’ forum. But good days are back again for progressive politics. ACN recaptured Edo, then Ekiti and Osun in what some have aptly described as a major political tsunami. Last Saturday’s National elections further brightened the party’s return to prominence. It won all the Senatorial and House of Representatives seats available in Lagos, which has been its enclave.

In Ogun, the party swept all three senatorial seats and three out of the four House of Representatives seats released so far. In Oyo, ACN has two senatorial seats, leaving PDP with one. It shares four Reps with the Accord Party while PDP has five. In Osun, all the three senatorial seats are in ACN’ kitty. Eight out of the nine Reps slots have been delivered to the party. In Edo, the ACN has two to one PDP’s senatorial seats. It also won 6 Reps seats, leaving only two for the PDP. When Ekiti votes on April 26 for the rescheduled National Assembly, it is certain the party will have more seats to boast of.

But the party’s good showing transcends the South West region. In the North Central, some House of Representative seats are falling to ACN. In Benue, it has two Reps seats just like the ruling PDP. In Kogi, the party has won only seat out of the four declared so far. In Plateau, the party has one of the six House of Representatives seat. In the South South, only the party has managed to take something out of the PDP. It has a Reps seat in Akwa Ibom courtesy of its governorship candidate, John Udoehehe.

Available statistics show the party has won 31 House of Representatives seats compared to PDP’s 48. The ACN has 11 senatorial seats to PDP’s 13. When the remaining 15 senatorial districts and 48 federal constituencies eventually take place, it is expected the party will gain more grounds and consolidate its position as the new leading opposition party in Nigeria.