The New Nigeria Peoples Party has said the crisis in some of the opposition political parties in the country was being sponsored by the ruling All Progressives Congress to retain power beyond 2027.  

The National Chairman of the NNPP, Ajuri Ahmed, disclosed this at the inauguration of the party’s Ondo State governorship candidate, Olugbenga Edema, in Akure, on Thursday.  

Mr Ahmed explained that the APC had been interfering in the internal affairs of the opposition parties by causing division among members to weaken the parties’ structures and take control. 

According to him, the development by the APC is coming amid plans by the opposition leaders to hold a “merger talk” to dislodge the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections. 

“The APC is doing everything it can in order to win the 2027 general election. Certainly, there is evidence everywhere that they are interfering in other parties’ affairs. But it is left to the other political party to maintain their integrity and ensure they remain one and viable opposition to the APC before and after the 2027 election,” the NNPP chairman said.

He declared that the ruling APC should be prepared to hand over power after President Bola Tinubu’s government, stressing that the NNPP had been in collaboration with opposition parties to form an alliance ahead of the 2027 poll. 

“So, we have our doors open in such a way that if there is going to be a coalition of all the political parties to go into the election, we are ready for that,” the NNPP chairman added.  

Stating that the party was ready to dislodge the APC in Ondo State, Mr Ahmed pleaded with the people to troop out en-masse and vote for its candidate in the November election. 

He described Mr Edema as a party loyalist whose programmes and policies for the people of the state would end the economic crisis and hardship caused by the government of the APC. 

Speaking at the campaign venue, Mr Edema, asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure a level-playing ground for all the political parties in the upcoming election, adding that people of the state were ready to stand by their votes to make them count.  

The NNPP governorship candidate also noted that the party was ready to spring surprises in the forthcoming election.  

“The last one that happened in Edo State was electoral fraud. They went to the collation centres and manipulated the poll results sent from the polling units. It was worrisome.  They took the result from collation centres to INEC headquarters, which is contrary to the Electoral Act which states that you should do your counting at the venue where the election was conducted. Therefore, we are saying Ondo State is not Edo State. Ondo is not Lagos State. The people of Ondo are one of the most enlightened in the whole country, and we are capable of protecting our votes, and we will protect it. We do not fear them. We will dare them,” he said. 

He also highlighted his programmes for the people of the state to include good health care, food security, better roads, youth empowerment, infrastructure, industrialisation, investment and free education from primary school to tertiary institutions under his administration if elected. 

Reacting to the NNPP’s allegation, the APC denied that it was creating a crisis in the opposition parties to retain power beyond 2027.

In a statement by the spokesperson for the party in Ondo State, Steve Otaloro, the party described the statement credited to the NNPP’s national chairman as “untrue and careless.”

The party said, “The APC government, led by President Bola Tinubu is focused on re-engineering the nation’s economy and has no time for politicking. It’s the opposition parties that are weakening themselves due to lack of cohesion. We appreciate the role of opposition parties in putting the ruling party on its toes through constructive criticism. However, before merging with other parties, they should resolve their internal crises. A divided house cannot discuss mergers. The 2027 presidential election is not our current focus, as President Tinubu’s mandate has just begun. It’s God who puts leaders in office, and at the appointed time, President Tinubu will consider contesting for a second term.’’