Merger with Atiku puts Obi’s credibility at stake – YPP chieftain

A chieftain of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Pastor Sunday Emmanuel Abbah, has warned that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, risks losing his credibility if he executes the merger plan with former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Abbah, who is also the convener of the New Nigeria Network (NNN), said this on Wednesday in Abuja at a media briefing and public presentation of two books, ‘The New Nigeria Project’ and ‘The Privatised Presidency of Nigeria’.

Daily Trust reports that Obi has spoken about the possibility of a merger between the LP and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“Nigerians were looking for something different from PDP and APC, and the basis for the Obidient movement was not even the Labour Party. I believe that if Peter Obi really stands for a New Nigeria, he should leave Atiku out of the equation and go back to the people,” Abbah, a YPP aspirant for the Kogi East Senatorial seat, said.

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He also said that one of the bases for good governance is when the incumbent president or governor during elections in Nigeria does not participate in organising the elections in which they are also contestants.

“This is a global practice that we should correct from Nigeria, and I am sure that the rest of the world will realize that something is wrong with any democracy that permits someone to hold onto a title or trophy while contesting for the same,” he said.

“There can never be true sportsmanship in that kind of contest. We complain about advantage of incumbency because we have a law that deny opposition a level playing field. In the New Nigeria Project Document, we provide that a president or governor should spend their four years to the last day and hand over power to the Chief Justice of the Federation (in case of a president) and Chief Judge of the state (in case of governor) who shall hold onto power on the interim during election.

“All the fear that governors may abuse state police which we express today is because, we allow them to stay in power and contest for the same power. There can never be a free and fair election in that kind of setting. So, to us, we provided that there should be no incumbent president or governor during elections,” Abbah said.