Former governor of Kwara State and chairman, Senate Committee on Environment, Dr Bukola Saraki, has described the newly registered All Progressives Congress (APC) as a real national opposition party and an alternative to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Thursday after observing the Eid-el-fitri prayers, Senator Saraki said the registration of APC is good for the nation’s democracy “because it makes it more competitive and the electorate will not be taken for granted.
“At least for now, you have a national opposition. We have been saying that the issue with the opposition parties was that they were regional and they were not national. And I think for once, we truly have a national opposition party which I think is good.”
Saraki, who posited that the APC registration went beyond getting an INEC certificate, added that there were still a lot of challenges.
“There are challenges because for those of us that are practically in politics, we know what it takes to run a party with people of similar minds let alone where you have a merger. So, there are challenges ahead.
“Let us see how they will manage those challenges and we will be in a better position to say whether they are a threat to PDP or not. What I believe is that they are good for now, it is good for the country’s democracy. I think it will make us in the PDP to sit up because there is a real alternative. Before, my view was that who will leave a national party to go to a regional party? But it is now another national party and they are people who are serious minded. The question is how cohesive are they?” he queried.
No comments:
Post a Comment