Political bigwigs in both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are intensifying plans to form a
broad based political platform to displace the two big parties in the
country.
Talks to form what is called a “third force” in
political circles, according to findings, centre around whittling down
the influence of the ruling APC and the opposition PDP. The plan is
expected to fully mature next year.
Moves towards that goal were
said to have intensified during the disputed National Convention of the
PDP which just ended in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, this week.
Sources
close to the PDP told Saturday Tribune on Friday that the discussions
that certain leaders of the party had expressed the sentiment that they
should move out en masse from the PDP and go ahead to form the ‘third
force’ with others in the ruling party a move which they reasoned, would
ensure that the PDP is left to the Ali Modu Sheriff faction.
Some
of those who spoke at a closed doors session in the Government House,
Port Harcourt, were said to have declared that “in view of the
continuous troubles emanating from the Sheriff-led faction and in view
of the official backing now being enjoyed by the faction, the time has
come for the soul of the party to move out en masse and ensure the
formation of another strong political party.”
One of the speakers
at the meeting was quoted as saying that those behind Sheriff are “not
up to the size of a local government” and that if the PDP is abandoned
for them it would become a hollow structure.
“With a united front
at the National Assembly and the polity generally, it shouldn’t be a
difficult thing growing another party,” a source quoted one of the party
leaders as saying.
But it was learnt that some other speakers
believed that the time was not ripe for the soul of the PDP to abandon
the party and that things could still be salvaged.
It was,
however, learnt that an understanding had been reached at the closed
parley that efforts aimed at forming another party with likeminded
politicians from within the PDP and the APC should intensify quietly.
A
source close to the two parties indicated that “a working agreement is
already in place to ensure that the aggrieved members of the APC and the
PDP are brought together in a way that would decimate the ruling party
and supplant it in 2019.”
Sources confirmed to Saturday Tribune
that some political bigwigs within the APC are already getting excited
at the prospect of joining up with like minds to form a party in which
they would have equal stakes.
Some of such bigwigs are said to be
uncomfortable with the lopsided nature of federal appointments in the
current setting, where it is alleged that loyalists of the defunct
Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), founded by President Muhammadu
Buhari, have taken over key positions in the government.
“There
are two views on the line right now. There are those who believe that
the crisis in the PDP could be managed. And that the party could still
be hijacked from Sheriff. If that happens, the PDP would still remain
the point of convergence. But there are others who are of the view that
the APC would soon experience its own version of crisis and that either
way, the formation of another strong platform would ensure a united
front against the ruling party. The decision on the ground is that both
views continue to prepare the way for the eventual decision which should
be ratified early next year,” a source close to the plan said.
All
efforts made to get gladiators in both the PDP and the APC said to be
involved in the moves to speak with Saturday Tribune on the plans were
not successful. They all begged to be excused, saying it was too early
to make any statement and draw attention to themselves