FORMER Minority Leader, House of Reps, Farouk Aliyu, has advised the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to put its act together, or merge with the All Democratic Congress (ADC).
Aliyu, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said this on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily monitored by News Point Nigeria.
“I call on my brothers and sisters in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) to put their acts together and, in my opinion, the Peoples Democratic Party should merge with the African Democratic Congress,” he said.
According to him, if the Peoples Democratic Party is “dying,” one way to revive it is for it to merge with the ADC.
“Those in the African Democratic Congress and Peoples Democratic Party are respected Nigerians; we respect them,” he said.
“The way things are going, either amongst themselves they don’t come together to concede, some concession is needed, if they truly want democracy in this country to thrive.”
Aliyu emphasized that some of them need to concede certain things so that the Peoples Democratic Party can come back.
“Honestly, it’s sad in this country that the Peoples Democratic Party looks to be dying, and I hope the African Democratic Congress gets its act together too, and we need vibrant opposition because we need to oppose the government so that the people will get the best of the system,” he said
Aliyu said it is not in the place of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to make the opposition parties come together.
“Remember the All Progressive Congress is a conglomeration of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress For Progressive Change(CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN), and so on,” Aliyu said on the breakfast show.
“However, they came together and formed the All Progressive Congress, so if the Peoples Democratic Party is dying, why can they go on my advice and join the African Democratic Congress?
“Those in the African Democratic Congress and Peoples Democratic Party are respected Nigerians; we respect them. These are people who have contributed in one way or the other for the growth of this country,” Aliyu said.
Despite his advice, he said that the APC is not afraid of any opposition because “the country belongs to all of us and not to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“It does not belong to him, not to you, but it belongs to all of us.”
His comment comes on the heels of defections of key persons like governors, National Assembly members, and others to the APC.
The main opposition party is also embroiled in a crisis, with two groups laying claims to the leadership of the PDP, which ruled Nigeria from 1999 to 2015.