- Electoral umpire being teleguided by external forces – Lukman
- It’s not true, says Oyekanmi
- APC, PDP stalwarts involved in plot to oust Tinubu – Utomi
There are strong indications that key stakeholders of the proposed coalition against the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 election are experiencing bottlenecks in their efforts to actualise their plans of dislodging the ruling party.
Former Director-General of the Progressives’ Governors Forum, Salihu Lukman, who is the spokesperson for the stakeholders, on Monday, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of frustrating the efforts of stakeholders to register a new political party to actualise their aim.
He alleged, in a statement made available to the media, that the electoral umpire was being teleguided by external forces.
The former APC chieftain stated, “The question of negotiating the political party is the most difficult challenge. This is an area that many members of the coalition have been engaging in different ways for more than a year now.
“Perhaps, it is important to highlight that there are many groups, including some members of the coalition, who have filed applications to register political parties.”
“For reasons best known to INEC, these applications are being frustrated. The only conclusion that can be reached in the circumstances is that INEC has decided that it will not register new parties,” he declared.
The erstwhile APC North West Vice Chairman, however, said the Coalition of Political Leaders had not adopted any of the registered political platforms for the task of dislodging the President Bola Tinubu-led APC.
He alleged that efforts to seek an alternative within some existing registered political parties had met a brick wall, saying that the APC and the Presidency had instigated crises in the political parties that had engaged in discussions with the new platform.
He also clarified that candidates’ selection and zoning arrangement had not been agreed upon by the coalition of leaders, which includes former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai; and former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, among others.
Lukman pointed out that the main focus at the moment was getting the leaders to agree to work together, adding that there was substantially a strong recognition that prospective members should set aside personal ambitions to contest the 2027 elections.
Accusing the APC-led administration of setting the stage for a one party state, the coalition added that the second issue being negotiated was the political party to adopt for the 2027 election.
“It is almost a clear case of destroying the legal basis for any party to qualify to field candidates for 2027 other than the ruling APC.
“This is quite unfortunate coming during the tenure of a party that is envisioned to be progressive. It is even more troubling when it is during the tenure of a leader – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu – who has unarguably been in the vanguard of Nigeria’s democratic struggle.
“The way the Nigerian democratic space is rapidly shrunken can only be imagined under a military government. The determination and resilience of Nigerians is being called to question under the current APC government led by President Tinubu,” he noted.
IT’S NOT TRUE – INEC
In a swift reaction, the Independent National Electoral Commission dismissed the claim of the coalition as untrue.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, told the media that there were guidelines for the registration of an association as a political party.
He stated, “It is not true. The Commission will not frustrate any association seeking registration as a political party.
“We operate a transparent process. There are conditions to be fulfilled, and there is an application procedure to be followed, as contained in the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties (2022).
“There are documents to be submitted and verified, and there are different stages of an application. An applicant needs to comply with all the requirements and must also submit genuine documents.”
“If there are issues during the application process, the Commission will immediately inform the applicant to rectify such areas,” Oyekanmi added.
APC, PDP STALWARTS INVOLVED IN PLOT TO OUST TINUBU – UTOMI
The Leader of the National Consultative Front, Prof Pat Utomi, has outlined ongoing moves to crystallise a formidable coalition to defeat the All Progressives Congress in the 2027 general elections.
Utomi, one of the opposition movement leaders, said several discontented members of the APC and Peoples Democratic Party were keen on joining the coalition, apart from members of five other political parties.
Utomi said huge numbers of the APC, PDP and other political parties had expressed their willingness to embrace the coalition to save Nigeria from the brink.
He noted that several movements and parties would join the coalition and form an alliance, though he noted that there were ongoing talks on the particular platform that would be adopted for the 2027 battle.
“This is serious business. Nigeria is on the brink at a time of a changing global order.
“The approach we now take is to focus on core influence groups within parties.
“In this regard, there are good people who subscribe to our values and development strategy in APC and PDP who have significant following and believe there is a better way and have reached out to us,” he said.