A group of seven opposition political parties on Wednesday formed a new coalition in a bid to strengthen democracy in the country. The movement tagged the Coalition of Concerned Political Parties was formed in Abuja at a meeting attended by leaders of the political parties at the National Secretariat of the Social Democratic Party.
The coalition comprised the Peoples Democratic Party, African Democratic Congress, Social Democratic Party, Peoples Allied Movement, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Young Progressives Party, and Zenith Labour Party. The PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, while hosting a delegation of the Inter-party Advisory Council in November, expressed fears of the country falling into a one-state party, urging the opposition to see the need for unity.
The coalition while expressing worry about the level of instability the country is going through, urged the judicial system to save Nigeria’s democracy and rid itself of political and executive interference. Speaking on the essence of the coalition, the National Chairman of the SDP, Shehu Gabam said, “We looked into the issue of the judiciary.
The judiciary is the last hope of the common man if it still stands. “We are worried about the level of instability the country is going through. If you look at recent developments in Zamfara, Nasarawa, Kano, and Plateau states, it is very clear that the judiciary must exercise extreme caution with some of its decisions.
“The judiciary should strengthen their conviction towards delivering judgments that can stand the test of time. They should not allow we politicians to infiltrate their rank, sanity, and capacity to deliver judgments that are internationally sound and can be recognised.” The SDP Chairman, however, said that the coalition is not for a merger or against the Inter-Party Advisory Council.
Also speaking at the meeting, the acting National Secretary of the PDP, Setonji Koshoedo, who represented the acting party’s national chairman, Umar Damagum, stated that the coalition will offer a strong opposition. On his part, the national chairman of the ADC, Chief Ralph Nwosu, said the idea behind the coalition “is to strengthen our democracy. We have seen that people in government are trying to stiffen viable opposition.
