The Chief Spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council (LP-PCC), Yunusa Tanko, has cleared the air about rumours of the party’s possible merger with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP).
Tanko dismissed the ongoing speculation about merger plans for the three opposition parties, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP), and the Labour Party (LP)
He, however, revealed that talks about a possible alliance were ongoing before the election, noting that discussions with political parties of like minds who believe in the ideology and the principles of the Labour Party is a welcome development.
While fielding questions on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, hours after the rumour went wild, OsunDailyNG learned that Tanko said a merger means that the parties would be validated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as one.
“When you talk about merger, it means that political party from different parts of the country submit their document to INEC, and then they will be pronounced as a new political party, and that isn’t obtainable at the moment.
“So, the merger is out of the question technically. But, when you talk about the discussion of the possible working alliance with the political party – very true, that is very possible.
“Even before elections, there were discussions. I will not say ABC is right on the table at the moment because we need to have this particular fact before we can go public about it.
“At the moment, we are having a discussion with ourselves.
“And so most of the political parties who are progressively minded would not allow that particular situation to happen in Nigeria.
“Therefore, there is a need for a lot of people, not even the political party alone but those in the civil society, those who believe in Nigeria’s emancipation of people from the shackles of poverty, would definitely come together and see how we can restore power to the interest of the Nigeria people, that is very possible,” he explained.
Tanko maintained that there is no “foreclosure on the matter,” but “all I know is that we’ve had discussions.”
Recall that both Atiku and Obi are challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu at the court.
