Ten more opposition political parties, Monday, joined about 45 others operating under the aegis of Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, to work together towards removing President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress, ACP, led government in next year’s general election.
This came as CUPP announced that six more political parties had tendered applications to join the grand alliance.
The action of the 10 new parties came barely one week after the 45 political parties signed the pact to work together.
The 10 new entrants in the opposition grand alliance aare Save Nigeria Congress, SNC; United Patriots,UP; Reformed and Advancement Party, RAP; Alliance for Social Democrats, ASD; We the People Nigeria, WPP among others.
Former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who spoke at the event in Abuja, asked President Buhari and the APC to immediately throw in the towel before they were disgraced at the polls.
He said, “If the people in government are honourable people, they will read the hand writing on the wall and throw in the towel before the elections. It’s not too late for them to surrender because the defeat that awaits them in the coming election will be comprehensive and decisive.”
“We all remember that a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, was signed by more than 40 parties to work together and rescue Nigeria from misrule, insecurity and misery. Since that pact was signed several months ago, the coalition has grown steadily in membership, this event is a pointer that we are on the side of the people in this movement of national redemption.
“We wish to reiterate that CUPP is an equal opportunity coalition, there’s no seniority in CUPP. We are a close knit coalition where every member is carried along and decisions are taken by consensus. This fact was demonstrated in the ultimate decision to adopt a political party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and its candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for the 2019 presidential election.”
He assured the new members that their coming in will not in any way be a disadvantage rather it will strengthen the patriotic zeal of everyone to achieve the common objective of ridding the nation of common affliction which he said the APC represents.
He added:”There have been open and closet moves to destroy this coalition, there have been sponsored reports and predictions that the coalition will collapse before the February election.
“The fact is that, instead of this happening, we have been having our hands swollen with increased membership and a clear red card to the incumbent.
“The Nigerian people are suffering, centrally from the arrogant ineptitude of APC government. The APC is bereft of ideas but is conceited to admit its lack of knowledge and seek help, rather the APC government spent the last four years blaming almost everyone else apart from themselves for their failure.
“They started first by denouncing all their 2015 promises and then proceeded on a systematic and mindless destruction of every facet of our national lives.
“UNICEF has just announced that we have the number of highest out-of-school children in the whole world at 13.5 million people. We should expect that given the levity which the clueless APC government has taken education since it came to power. This government allocated a miserable 7 percent of 2018 budget to education.”
