Atiku’s Merger Talk: Shehu Sani, Omokri Say Not Enough To Dethrone Ruling Party

By Ayodele Oni

Reactions have been trailing the call for a merger of opposition parties made by Atiku Abubakar to tackle the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in future elections.

Labour Party, (LP) has said a report which claimed that it welcomed the merger plan is false.

Former Lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, suggested that a merger between the opposition parties, Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), and Labour Party, LP, might not be suitable.

Sani made the suggestion on Thursday in a post on X.

He wrote, “Merging PDP with the young, agile and restless Labour supporters will be like fixing a Ferrari engine into a Peugeot.”

Reno Omokri on the issue of merger wrote  “It is incredibly unwise for the Labour Party to reject Waziri Atiku Abubakar’s call for a merger between them and the Peoples Democratic Party especially after the results of the Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa elections. Execute your politics with logic and strategic thinking, not emotion and erratic mentality.

“If a united opposition could not defeat the All Progressives Congress in 2019, it only follows that it will hardly pull it off in 2023 and 2027 if they are divided. That is just pure common sense.

“In Nigeria’s history, only a coalition or merger of parties has been able to take power from the colonialists, the military, or the party in power. So, learn from history or prepare to be history.

“Whichever party features Peter Obi in 2027, whether as a Presidential candidate or running mate, will lose. The leaked Yes Daddy audio has finished Peter Obi’s political career at the federal level forever.

“His religious war comments against the Muslim Ummah will not be forgotten. Core Northern Muslims are not as forgetful or have a short attention span as many Southerners.

“The fact that we had three major Muslim Presidential candidates, Atiku, Tinubu, and Kwankwaso, and only one major Christian candidate, Peter Obi, yet a Muslim won, and another Muslim came second, is proof positive that Muslims have a higher population than Christians in Nigeria. I know it is not what you want to hear. However, the truth is bitter but better.

“And if the Labour Party do not realize this, they will only play into the hands of the All Progressives Congress by dividing opposition votes in 2027.

“Trader sense is not the same as the intelligence of a leader. To succeed in politics, you must be willing to work with even those you do not like, for a goal you like.”

Publicity secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, in a statement said news making the rounds that the party is engaged in merger discussions is “twisted to embarrass the Labour Party.

“Kindly disregard the sensational news making the round which suggests that Labour Party is working out a merger arrangement with any other political party.

“It is purely a news item twisted and sensationalized by a section of the media to embarrass the Labour Party..

“In my reaction, I said that it was only a proposal and every Nigerian should be interested in making democracy work in Nigeria and that what we have presently is an autocracy.

“There was nowhere in the response that the purported merger between LP and PDP was mentioned.

“The Labour Party has just concluded the 2023 general election episode and a post mortem is yet to hold, therefore the way forward for the party has not been discussed. When we do, Nigerians will be properly informed.”