DPP Splits, Faction Joins APC
The crisis of confidence brewing in the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), has blown open as a faction of the party opposed to the ongoing opposition parties’ merger negotiations boycotted a special national convention held to ratify the party’s membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At the Tuesday national convention, some prominent leaders of DPP, including, former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), General Jerry Useni (rtd), former governorship candidate of DPP in Delta State, Chief Great Ogboru, and Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd) were absent.
Addressing journalists shortly after the conclusion of deliberations at the national convention, the acting National Chairman of the party, Mr. Olisaemeka Akamukali, said the convention had formally approved DPP’s merger with the Action Congress of Nigeria ( ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party ( ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA) to form the APC.
He said the special national convention of the party was held to formally adopt the APC constitution and manifesto and obtain the required approvals from party members as required by the constitution and the country’s Electoral Act.
“DPP is going ahead with the merger arrangements along with opposition political parties in the country. We realised we have virtually been practicing regional politics for a long time and it’s wrong for our country. We want to be part of the history and one of those who spearheaded the merger initiative, ” he said.
Speaking on what motivated the move by DPP to join APC, Akamukal said the party believed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had failed to satisfy the yearnings of Nigerians for good governance.
“People are tired of PDP, Look at my brother, the President. I have always told people that you don’t send a boy to do a man’s job. It’s not done. So, people are looking at APC as their saviour of Nigerians and we want a better Nigeria and we want to be part of that history,” he said.
Akamukali said the decision to partake in the merger was taken at the last meeting of DPP NEC, wondering why Useni and Ogboru would now want to pull out.
According to him, the NEC had on February 13, this year resolved that having analysed the present political development in the country, that DPP would close ranks with the other opposition parties to float a merger.
Akamukali accused some prominent leaders of the party, who were opposed to the merger including Ogboru of seeking selfish interests.
He said his group was determined to implement the decision of the NEC meeting to the letter with regards to participation in the ongoing opposition coalition merger talks.
“The decision to participate in the opposition merger talks was unanimously agreed upon at the last NEC meeting of the party.
“In fact, Useni and Ogboru were at the meeting when the decision was taken and they were appointed members of the merger committee.
“So we cannot take a decision at the NEC and one individual will tell you he is bigger than the party. Nobody is bigger that the party, DPP is not a one-man show, ” he said.
He said those who were holding dissenting voices would definitely come back to the fold as no one was bigger than the party itself.
The National Auditor of the party, Muhammed Yahaya Jingi moved the motion for the party to merge with other opposition parties and to adopt the constitution and manifesto of the APC.
The party’s lone member at the Senate, Senator, Pius Ewherido, representing Delta Central, told journalists that he was in support of the move to concretise the merger.
He said there is no reason why the party would opt out of the progressive train when Nigerians were yearning for a strong opposition party that could take over power from the PDP.
He said what the party had done with the holding of the special convention was to keep the requirement of the constitution and the Electoral Act for the merger to be actualised.
DPP was initially founded by the former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, as a splitter group from the ANPP.
Culled from Allafrica
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