Opposition parties can defeat PDP – Utomi, Ewuga

BY GBENGA OKE

FORMER presidential candidate of African Democratic Party, Professor Pat Utomi and Senator Solomon Ewuga representing Nasarawa North, yesterday, maintained that if opposition parties in Nigeria closed ranks and presented a viable alternative they could defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) come 2015.

Utomi in a chat with Vanguard said though merger among opposition parties in Nigeria in the past seemed not to have worked, the present merger plans would sail through.

He said: “Let me state here that what we are seeing presently in terms of merger cannot be ruled out as it seems opposition parties are getting serious and prepared towards wresting power from the PDP. What we are seeing today in terms of merger has happened in some other African countries where opposition parties wrested power from the ruling parties, so such cannot be ruled out in Nigeria at the forthcoming polls.

“We saw such mergers work in Senegal where opposition candidate, Macky Sall, defeated the sitting President, Abdoulaye Wade in a run-off elections signalling an end to Abdoulaye Wade’s 12 years reign in government. We have seen such example in Zimbabwe as well where Morgan Tsvangirai tackled the government headed by Robert Mugabe.”

Sen. Ewuga, a member of the Congress for Progressive Change, (CPC), however, maintained that opposition parties can defeat the ruling PDP only if they joined forces ahead of the forthcoming polls.

He said: “Let me state unequivocally that the process is on right now and I believe strongly that the feat is achievable only if all the parties involved in the merger talks can present themselves to Nigerians as the alternative and a credible opposition at the forthcoming polls”.