PDP May Lose Another Bloc to APC

 

 

The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) may suffer another loss of a major component: the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) may be considering merger talks with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDM, founded by the late chief of staff, supreme headquarters, Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and inherited by the former vice president Atiku Abubakar, remains the most enduring political bloc in the country. The formation of the PDP in 1998 depended on it.

According to LEADERSHIP, the PDM was inspired by the successful merger of APC and the nPDP G-5 governors – Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Abdulfattah Ahmed (Kwara) and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto). The bloc has constituted a select committee to undertake what a source called “the possibility of an alliance or outright merger”.

According to the source, PDP has become very dictatorial with little room for opposing views. The PDM, he said, sees a future in a working relationship with the APC as a way of galvanizing inter-party support to wrest power from the PDP come 2015.

“This whole idea of alliance, or merger as you may wish to call it, was our original idea that we wanted to work on because we discovered that we needed not to deceive ourselves about winning as PDM.

“So the first thing we did was to undertake a study of the polity with a view to seeking the proper alliance, and we find the APC most plausible as a vehicle to achieve this. But, somewhere along the line, I think there were some conflicts of interests that made us abandon the whole idea.

“As it is, we have decided to move beyond the scepticism that has always characterised alliances by forging a relation; in fact, we have decided to set up a small committee to look at the possibility of an alliance or an outright merger with the APC because we have seen its workability, and if the whole essence is to rescue Nigeria, we will have no option than to fuse as one to forge ahead,” the source said.

The Interim National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, confirmed that the doors of the party were open to all Nigerians “irrespective of party and religious affiliation”, but mentioned he was unaware of specific PDM – APC bilateral talks.

Alaba Yusuf, the media adviser to PDM’s National Chairman, said he was not aware of any alliance or merger talks between the APC and the PDM as well.

“But you should know that in politics nothing is impossible; that is all I can say for now,” the PDM official stated.