Governor Abba Yusuf has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to work on measures that would guarantee the survival of opposition parties in Nigeria.

Mr Yusuf gave the advice on Thursday in Abuja during the visit of INEC members to the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) office for routine party verification.

Mr Yusuf said virile opposition was important for the survival of any democracy.

“The opposition parties in this country are going through hell, politically. All these crises, left, right and centre, are artificial. They are being engineered and sponsored. So, INEC should come up with ways to checkmate any untoward excess of any national government in power towards opposition.

“I believe a vibrant opposition is the oxygen of democracy in any given situation. Without any oxygen in the democracy, opposition is weak and dead, and democracy will fail,” Mr Yusuf said.

He, however, expressed confidence that the NNPP would soon win more elections, including power in the central government.

In his remarks, NNPP’s national chairman, Ahmed Ajuji, pledged that NNPP would continue to play its role as the ruling party in Kano and be a viable opposition in other parts of the country.

He said the annual verification exercise had been laid to rest the falsehood by a group of expelled former members of NNPP claiming that the management of the party had been handed over to them.

“They claim that the management of the party has been handed over to them. The fact that the electoral umpire, the regulator of parties, INEC, have come here today to perform their statutory duty, shows that we have been, we are, and by God’s grace, shall continue to be the NNPP,” he said.

Mr Ajuji, however, warned members of the party against anti-party activities.

“This is a democratic party. However, we shall not tolerate members who engage in anti-party activities to do so with impunity. No matter how highly placed, all members are expected to remain disciplined and operate within the ambit of our constitution. The internal mechanisms of our party shall be guarded jealously,” he said.

The party’s national publicity secretary, Ladipo Johnson, also said the issue of party leadership was strictly constitutional and based on the extant statutes and regulations.

(NAN)