The Labour Party (LP) has clarified that it does not have any intention to merge with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
In a statement on Thursday, LP’s spokesperson, Obiora Ifoh, mentioned that the party has recently concluded the 2023 presidential election, and a post-mortem analysis has yet to take place.
Ifoh explained that the party has not yet discussed the way forward, and “when we do, Nigerians will be properly informed”.
The LP responded to a suggestion by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was the PDP flag bearer in the February poll, proposing that opposition parties unite to challenge the ruling APC in the next presidential election.
On Tuesday, Atiku expressed concerns about Nigeria heading towards a “one-party dictatorship” state and urged other opposition parties to collaborate to overcome the ruling APC.
In a statement on Thursday, the LP addressed Atiku’s call “was only a proposal and every Nigerian should be interested in making democracy work in Nigeria and that what we have presently is an autocracy”.
“There was no where in the response that the purported merger between LP and PDP was mentioned.” Ifoh emphasised.
Furthermore, the ruling APC criticized Atiku’s proposal, asserting that the former Vice President and his party have been unsuccessful in the polls since 2015 and have not presented a credible opposition to Nigerians.