2011: CPC, LP, ACN, ADC OTHERS STRATEGISE TO TACKLE PDP

Motivated by the feat it attained in Ekiti State, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Pat Utomi led African Democratic Congress (ADC) as well as General Mohammadu Buhari's Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) are making bids to join the Coalition for New Nigeria (CNN), a group of 22 opposition parties rooting for a common presidential candidate in 2011 elections.

The CNN, being spearheaded by Labour Party(LP), National Conscience Party (NCP) and Alhaji Balarabe Musa's Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) was formed to forge an alliance to tackle the domineering electoral fortunes of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the next general elections.

Daily Sun gathered yesterday that the new move by ACN and others was consequent upon the realization that coming together of some of the opposition parties to jointly prosecute the next elections would go a long way in wrestling some of the states from the PDP in 2011.

The CNN which will formerly receive ACN and ADC today in its meeting at the National Secretariat of Labour Party in Abuja will deliberate on strategies of operation on strength and weakness, in which each of the parties in the fold will be allowed to present candidates for elections in any state where it has overwhelming acceptance and will then be given massive support by all the coalition.

National Chairman of Labour Party, Chief Dan Nwayanwu confirmed to Daily Sun that the meeting will hold today and that many other opposition parties would join in the boat as time went on having seen the strength of opposition parties in working together. He explained that the group would go into next elections in coalition with every party knowing where it would make a difference.

He would however, not confirm if the leading opposition party like the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) will be part of the new alliance. In his reaction, National Secretary of NCP, Dr. Tanko Yunusa explained that the CNN would be meeting other parties as well as a group of parties on the platform of Patriotic Electoral Alliance (PEA) to work together and ensure the elections weree free and fair and opposition parties were given level playing field with the ruling party.

According to him, Nigerians were waiting for a change. The people are expecting the opposition to form a united front to wrest power from the PDP and this cannot be achieved by one group, that is why the parties are coming together to dislodge the ruling party by working together.