03 Jul 2012
Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the CPC
The ongoing alliance talks between the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) will be finalised by
October, THISDAY learnt Monday.
A source involved in the talks said contrary to speculations that the
talks had started considering the likely pairing of candidates ahead of
the 2015 presidential election, the two parties are basically engaged in
confidence-building measures that would culminate in an enduring deal
between them.
The leadership of both parties were said to have started the process of
nominating persons that would represent them in a committee that will
be set up to work out the kind of alliance the two parties should go
into.
Already, it is unclear whether the parties would go into an alliance
under which they would field different candidates for elections in some
states or embrace an outright merger.
A senior national officer of the ACN, who confided in THISDAY, said it
was both premature and lacking deep political extrapolation for the
parties to have started the pairing of candidates in an election that is
still some three years away.
He added that the ongoing talks were not about the ACN and CPC alone,
but a phenomenon that would see to the coming together of progressive
forces in the country, irrespective of party affiliations, to provide a
credible alternative to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
hence the need for caution in deciding on candidates for any office at
all.
The two parties are already planning to test run the alliance by
fielding a joint candidate in the July 14 governorship election in Edo
State where the CPC’s candidate, Mr. Roland Airhiavbere, will formally
step down for the governor and ACN candidate, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole,
at a rally next week.
The rally will be addressed by leaders of the two parties,
Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the CPC and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of
ACN.
“I can tell you for certain, although this is off the record, that by
October ending, we will come out with something concrete from the
ongoing talks. By then, the committee that we are about to set up would
have fashioned out the modalities for our coming together.
“For instance, the committee will determine if the coming together will
be a merger or alliance? If it is a merger, do we have to form a new
party? If it is an alliance, what are the stakes of those coming in?
“If we are forming a new party, what will our logo be? These are the salient questions the committee will contend with.
“So you can see that it is early in the day to talk about candidates
when the real talks have not even started. It is important that we learn
from our experience in the past and that is why we must tread with
caution.
“What is coming from the ACN and CPC is more than just talks. It is
going to be like the Noah’s Ark because all politicians of like minds
are coming onboard.
“Already, there are PDP members talking to us and they are just waiting
for the talks to reach an advanced stage before they come in.
“They have indicated interest and this is the pattern everywhere. It is
a move that is going to be bigger than either Buhari or Tinubu and its
result will change the course of the nation for good,” the ACN member
said.
He promised that the outcome would be like a tsunami, which the PDP
would attempt to sabotage but would fail at it woefully, assuring
Nigerians that things are moving very fast.
“I can tell you things are moving very fast and by October ending, the
coast will be clear and the talks resolved concretely," he concluded.
SOURCE: ThisDay, 3 July 2012. http://www.thisdaylive.com
No comments:
Post a Comment