The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has said that though it was willing to accept members of the recently de-registered parties into its fold, it was not having any plans of merger with another party in the run to the 2015 General Elections.
According to the National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, “our constitution does not give any room for merger. We can accept individuals but not parties.”
He made this statement in response to the planned merger of opposition parties in the country.
The party said it was not disturbed by the planned merger, as it had said severally before, despite losing governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States to the Action Congress of Nigeria and Labour Party respectively.
The National Publicity Secretary was confident that all alliances and mergers against the party in 2015, saying, “Ganging up is a sign of weakness. Why can’t a party stand on its own and win elections if it is sure it is going to be accepted by the people. You don’t need to gang up to win; it will not succeed.”
The merger talks between the leading opposition parties: the Action Congress of Nigeria, the Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples’ Party are said to have reached an advanced stage, with the new party expected to be launched next year.
It is hoped that the new party that will emerge would be able to give the PDP a strong challenge in 2015.