The National Chairman, Labour Party, Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, on Tuesday, said coming together of political parties to form coalition ahead of 2019 elections would not render smaller ones useless.
Mr Abdulsalam told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview in Abuja that every party in the alliance would maintain its identity.
Thirty-nine political parties under the aegis of Coalition of Political Parties (CUPP) on Monday formed an alliance to synergise and oust President Muhammadu Buhari and All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 election.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is acting as the rallying point for the alliance, which includes Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), a group that pulled out of APC.
The Labour Party is among the political parties that entered into the coalition.
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by all the parties in the alliance in Abuja, they also resolved to have common candidates for other elections in the 2019 polls.
The coalition also promised to form a government of national unity and usher in a well-structured economic and fiscal federalism.
The LP chairman said that there was no plan by all the parties involved to dissolve into any other party, hence, the issue of making smaller parties irrelevant, especially at the state level, would not arise.
”Go and read the MoU, nobody is dissolving into any other political party.
”Our intention is one – the presidency,” he said.
He said CUPP was formed with the sole aim of rescuing Nigeria from its present state.
”Nigerians should be assured that the people of goodwill are coming together now to salvage the situation from the way it is,” he said.
Mr Abdulsalam explained that the coming together of the parties differed from what took place prior to 2015 elections when the APC was formed.
“This one is totally different. That one was merger, this one is not merger.
”Why it will be different is that all of us who are coming together now have the basic interest at heart and we cut across every segment of Nigerian society,” he said.
Mr Abdulsalam said: “The coalition is meant for the presidency and not for any other position.
”Now Nigerians are suffering from poverty, penury and want. People can no longer feed themselves, children can no longer go to schools; hospitals are no longer functional.
”So, the change which APC said they are bringing to Nigeria, we have not been able to see it.
“The important thing now for us is to ensure that the centre is no longer what it is now.”
(NAN)