2015: ACN/CPC merger leaders reach out to IBB, Atiku •APGA splits


THE merger plan among opposition political parties has taken a new dimension with reports that leaders of the opposition are already taking their case to some leading members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

Reliable findings within the opposition movement showed that nocturnal contacts have been made with the political camp of former military president, Ibrahim Babangida who had announced his retirement from partisan politics.

Also reportedly contacted was the political camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar whom the opposition leaders allegedly believed has been plotted against going by the recent election of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the national chairman of the ruling party.

While it was not clear whether Atiku Abubakar has been directly approached, Sunday Tribune was told that some opposition leaders had for some time been working on resolving the personality clash between Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar as a prelude for getting the former vice president into the coalition.

The former vice president was however said to be uninterested in joining any anti-PDP coalition even as it was learnt that a level of success was recorded in the reconciliation efforts.

Insiders within the camp of the former vice president said the Adamawa politician was still hopeful of making headway within the PDP even as many of his key allies are said to be warning against Turaki`s laying his hope on the PDP in 2015.

“There is a division within the house. Many want Turaki to abandon the ship and join the grand coalition. Others urged him to retain his trust and support for president Goodluck Jonathan,” a close confidant of the politician said.

Further investigations however revealed that the former number two citizen still believed that the emergence of Tukur as party chairman had nothing to do with his aspiration even as many of his supporters are clamoring for a run into the emerging grand coalition.

Spokesman of Atiku Campaign Organization, Mallam Garba Sheu when contacted told Sunday Tribune that the former Vice President remained a bonafide, loyal member of the PDP, adding “we remain in PDP.”

The situation within the Babangida camp is however slightly different especially as the former leader has officially announced exit from politicking unlike vice president Abubakar who is still active in the field.

As at the last count, more than three bigwigs of the Babangida camp have crossed into the ACN especially in the southern part of the country. This is in addition to the spokesman of the Minna General, Kashim Afegbua who is now in the frontline of campaign for the re-election of Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

It was however gathered that despite the recent defections, the former leader has not directed his loyalists to join the emerging coalition.

Sources within the opposition however reconfirmed that contacts have been made with the Babangida group and that some strategic networking is ongoing as the coalition talks progress.

“We have contacted the General and we are having progress. We are reaching out to all well meaning Nigerians,” a CPC leader from Enugu state confided in the Sunday Tribune.

APGA splits over merger
While the merger leaders are reaching out to some leaders of the PDP, fresh reports are emerging of a rift within the All Progressive Grand Alliance on the proposed merger of leading opposition parties against the ruling party in 2015.

The South East caucus of the party heavily influenced by the Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, is said to be opposed to the anti-PDP coalition while the northern wing of the party is said to be favorably disposed to the coalition.

It was learnt that party leaders within the South East saw APGA as an Igbo political party with network support provided for it by the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, a position being disputed by the northern wing of the party.

Igbo wing of the party was said to have insisted on a silent agreement between South East and South South leaders which led to massive support for president Goodluck Jonathan in the 2011 poll and which many are hoping to repeat in the 2015 polls.

Leaders of both ACN and CPC in the South East are however said to be working hard to convince their brothers within APGA to join the alliance, an effort that has so far yielded no result.

The failure of the effort was reported to have led to an emerging division within the party which saw the northern wing of the party led by the party`s National Secretary, Sani Shinkafi to publicly announce the decision of the 19 northern states to join the merger even without waiting for a decision of the party`s national executive committee.

Meanwhile, the All Nigerian Peoples Party has urged a low profile approach to the ongoing merger talk among the opposition political parties for the effort to achieve desired results.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Emma Enekwu who spoke with Sunday Tribune over the issue noted that the party does not believe any noise should be made about the merger talk especially in view of past experiences in alliance talk among opposition parties.

“We are not opposed to the merger talks but we are not given to so much noise being made about it, he said.

“Merger is not a child’s play,” he said, adding that “a lot of work still needs to be done if we are to achieve success on this project.”
It would be recalled that ANPP had in the past entered into a government of national unity agreement with the ruling party ,a development that forced the national leader of the Congress for Progressive Change, Muhammad Buhari to quit the party.

http://tribune.com.ng/sun/front-page-articles/7611-2015-acncpc-merger-leaders-reach-out-to-ibb-atiku-apga-splits

Red-eyed desperados.
Imagine the highly deadly math formula:

IBB + Tinubu + Atiku + Buhari = Farouk Lawan!

dead on arrival. What the hate are they going to be using Atiku and IBB for ?

If ACN/CPC looses then please lick your wound and try again. DON'T pollute the party with likes of Atiku and IBB

Why not try to woe likes of Rochas, Lamidi etc in

I guess Northerners will forever be seen as dead-weight parasites who demand so much yet provide absolutely NOTHING.
Imagine the Northern wing of APGA (which so far hasn't even won a councillorship post in its region) coming to speak like their absense will mean a god-damned thing. You can't win jack.
This was the same nonsense they did in ACN with Bafarawa and some other losers getting up, dusting their unproductive arses and saying their goodbyes just because party allocation awuf no dey reach their hungry mouths again.
The South-East wing is the only reason you grass-chewing boneheads are even relevant, yet for reasons beyond human comprehension, you feel you can tip a phucking scale in the event that you join some dumbass merger with some hungry yellow-eyed desperadoes? Well, good luck with that.

I love the way the South-East is playing its game jare.

The failure of the effort was reported to have led to an emerging division within the party which saw the northern wing of the party led by the party`s National Secretary, Sani Shinkafi to publicly announce the decision of the 19 northern states to join the merger even without waiting for a decision of the party`s national executive committee.

Some People are not politicians. A national party secretary coming out to pronounce to the public what the party has not agreed on?
What a shame. Tomorow they will say "yoruba's are not trust worthy".

This has gota prove APGA and ACN the motive behind northerner's joining any party from south.
They change goal post during MKO ,

i can see the picture more better now that northerner's are not to be trusted.

ok this whole thing have become a joke, did i just see ibb and atiku?? common wats the point them .

alj harem: dead on arrival. What the hate are they going to be using Atiku and IBB for ?

If ACN/CPC looses then please lick your wound and try again. DON'T pollute the party with likes of Atiku and IBB

Why not try to woe likes of Rochas, Lamidi etc in

your eyes don dey open

These politicians are all thesame.the real losers are you nigerians.

APGA will surely stand on their own as a party,the SE needs them on standy as an alternative.the northern apga will not be missed just as bafarawa and his group were never missed by ACN.APGA needs reorganisation,victor umeh has refused to allow internal democracy to grow in APGA,he has become a life chairman.victor umeh should step down,APGA needs new leadership.

9ja voice:

Some People are not politicians. A national party secretary coming out to pronounce to the public what the party has not agreed on?
What a shame. Tomorow they will say "yoruba's are not trust worthy".

This has gota prove APGA and ACN the motive behind northerner's joining any party from south.
They change goal post during MKO ,

i can see the picture more better now that northerner's are not to be trusted.

the northerners overate themselves a lot because they have been in power for long but they fail to realise that the bulk of their time in power was under military rule.they think they can just walk into a western or eastern party,take over and hand the party over to a buhari or ibb.apart from tafawa balewa,the only other civilians from the north to rule nigeria are shagari and yar adua,and these people time in power combined was not upto obasanjos 8 yrs civilian rule.we are now in a civilian dispensation which is different from military rule which the north used to rule for many years but the northerners just dont get it.the born to rule mentality will take them no where.

Opposition is strong enough to eject PDP from Aso rock.

At this rate the merger is gradually living up to Lamido's label of opposition parties as 'Sanctuary of Failures.'

Sad.

I hope they keep SS/SE out of this idiocy, the seeks out the likes of Atiku, and IBB. People that even the PDP have marginalised for obvious reasons.

Abeg add Obj, Bode George, Bankole, Tafa Balogun, Ibori (from prison) to the mega merger. These guys unque skills will surely help the merger capture Nigeria.

Are they merging to provide Nigerians with a better leader comes 2015 or they merging to give us any leader from Nothern region.

great

Torch1: Are they merging to provide Nigerians with a better leader comes 2015 or they merging to give us any leader from Nothern region.

good question ,now for south west they think PDP is the pronblem of nigeria, remove pd and all our problems dissapear thats what they believe while the north is only interestd in getting power either with pdp or with opposition , right now they welcome anything or party that will get them back into power but i trust tinubu to leave them hanging again.

IBB & ATIKU again? That merger is already a failure.
GEJ must be laughing in orhobo by now.

I am loving SE right now. SE leaders are bad but once in a while they make you rejoice over their intelligence. It was very easy to deduct this so called merger has nothing to do with improving Nigeria as some tried to deceive the masses with. SMH. I'm glad APGA saw through the act and I'm also glad they refuse to join. Not that I support them riding with PDP but CPC and ACN is like setting yourself on fire and hoping the wind will blow the fire off and save you. It simply a destruction and I'm loving them for seeing through act.

Ejiné: I guess Northerners will forever be seen as dead-weight parasites who demand so much yet provide absolutely NOTHING.
Imagine the Northern wing of APGA (which so far hasn't even won a councillorship post in its region) coming to speak like their absense will mean a god-damned thing. You can't win jack.
This was the same nonsense they did in ACN with Bafarawa and some other losers getting up, dusting their unproductive arses and saying their goodbyes just because party allocation awuf no dey reach their hungry mouths again.
The South-East wing is the only reason you grass-chewing boneheads are even relevant, yet for reasons beyond human comprehension, you feel you can tip a phucking scale in the event that you join some dumbass merger with some hungry yellow-eyed desperadoes? Well, good luck with that.

I love the way the South-East is playing its game jare.

9ja voice:

Some People are not politicians. A national party secretary coming out to pronounce to the public what the party has not agreed on?

Na bobo just dey sit and wonder. During the announcement, I was actually trying to understand how someone with very little power in a political party can come out and speak for the entire political party without asking those way higher up in the food chain than him neither did he bothered to ask other members before making the announcement. My interest was peaked: I actually wanted to see how he planned on getting APGA members to join him in the merger. I guess all talk but no action na volume for am.

@ejine
I agree ooo!! I'm still pondering how those with so much little power felt their presence would affect a party negatively. If they have made a heavy impact to the party, understandable but to the fact you've done sh1t and yet chest-beating. Na wa ooo!!!. Well I'll wait and see how they propose to get their dream become a reality upon the party.