SENATOR Ighoyota Amori, Political Adviser to National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) is “collective interest’’ of Nigerians.

Thirty-nine political parties, including the PDP and Social Democratic Party (SDP) on July 9, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to form the alliance and agreed to produce a common candidate for the presidential election in 2019.

They also agreed that the cooperation would extend to other contests in the general elections.

Amori told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja that the coalition was necessary following the current situation of the country.

“The situation we find ourselves today is not just affecting the PDP, but the entire country. There is no department of life that people are not feeling it.

“Even, members and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political parties as well as none-carrying members of political parties are also feeling the reality,’’ he said.

Amori said that in forming the alliance, the PDP felt the pulse of the people and consulted widely to be sure that the party was not alone in its perception and assessment of the situation in the country.

“What we did was not just PDP or political parties’ affairs. It was the resolve of the people, though somebody must champion it.

“The coalition is a rescue mission and the people came together and said `we cannot allow our country to slide down like this. We must recue our country’.

“It is not a matter of whether PDP can do it alone or not; it is the totality of Nigerians who believe that this is not the country that they knew.

“So, they found it important to come together to save the country for not just the present generation but for the future generation.’’

He said that the coalition had also expanded the political base of the country as it accommodated non-politicians, with the aim of forming a government of national unity where everybody would be a stakeholder.

The PDP chieftain explained that the coalition would help parties in the fold to explore their areas of strength and leverage on others in places where they are not strong.

“By the time we win in 2019, we will have a government of the people and for the people. That is the beauty of the MoU that was signed.’’

He disclosed that a committee was already working to set out the modalities that would ensure that every stakeholder in the group would be carried along in the government of national unity after 2019 elections.

“The idea behind the coalition goes beyond just winning elections. After winning election, you need a unity government that is acceptable to all.

“You bring everybody on board; that is democracy in action. You see it as your government and you want it to succeed; so, it is not just for or by political parties.’’

Amori explained that there was no need for the coalition to approach the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for any form of registration as each political party in the alliance still maintained its identity.

“It is not a merger. It is understanding and it is not new in politics.

“We don’t need to go to INEC because we are not registering a new political party. There are stakeholders who are not members of political parties and are involved in the march to rescue the nation,’’ he said.
On the emergence of Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), the PDP stalwart said that it was a signal that all was not well with the ruling party.

He said that the development was an indication that the alliance that gave birth to APC was never cemented, but hurriedly put together just for the purpose of winning the elections.

“By the time they had won, Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) monopolised everything and they could not blend. That was what started their problem,’’ he said. (NAN)

– Jul. 18, 2018 @ 14:35 GMT |