The All Progressives Congress (APC) has lamented the inefficience of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which it said turning the country into a one party state.
The ruling APC, however challenged other opposition parties to take up the responsibility.
In a statement signed Thursday in Abuja by its spokesman Yekini Nabena, APC said it is not surprising that progressive-minded members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been defecting enmasse from the opposition party to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in recent times.
“For a party unable to run its Secretariat, pay staff salaries and its leadership grappling with a crisis of confidence, it will be unfair to expect its progressive-minded members to remain in the PDP which has failed woefully as the supposed ‘main’ opposition party in Nigeria.
“It is disheartening that the PDP is pushing Nigeria into a largely one-party state. As a party that believes in democracy and progressive politics, the APC does not subscribe to this. We therefore challenge other opposition political parties to take the place of the PDP because even as the governing party, we recognize the importance of rigorous and intelligent interrogation of our policies and programmes by the opposition which the PDP has woefully failed to do.
“Recall that APC recently welcomed the Governor of Ebonyi State, David Nweze Umahi and Senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial District, Elisha Abbo. This is in addition to earlier return of many prominent Party members and leaders including, former PDP national chairman, Senator Barnabas Gemade; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Dr. Alex Otti among others.
While welcoming the new and returning entrants into the ruling party, the APC said the party ranks appreciated the important work the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) under the Chairmanship of Governor Mai Mala Buni is doing to reposition the party by accommodating all interests and ensuring peace, unity, fairness, equity, justice and inclusion and internal democracy in our great party.
“The Governor Buni-led CECPC is working assiduously and has achieved great success in ensuring that the Party is repositioned, united, and conducts the planned membership registration, update and revalidation exercise to produce a clean, credible and authentic national membership register ahead of the planned National Convention.
“For now, the PDP and Alh. Atiku Abubakar who has began early 2023 campaign on the PDP’s presidential candidature he is poised to purchase, are engrossed with their Dubai meetings to plot their hallucinatory return to ensure their bid to selloff the remainder of our national assets. Nigerians are wiser.”