Former Kwara state governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki has warned the leadership of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) that the newly-registered All Progressive Congress (APC) could pose a threat to the ruling party’s political dominance.
Senator Saraki said Thursday that the APC is now a real alternative to the ruling PDP, arguing that with the formation of the new party, no politician will take elections for granted again.
But Saraki said there are still practical challenges ahead of the new party before it can wrest power from the PDP.
The federal lawmaker, who spoke with newsmen after taking part in the Eid-il-Fitri prayer at the Eid Praying Ground in Ilorin, the state capital, said the new party will make those in the PDP to now sit tight.
His words: “It is good for our democracy. At least now, you have a national opposition. We have been saying that the issue with the opposition parties was that they were regional and they were not national. And I think for once, we really truly have a national opposition party which I think is good because it makes it more competitive and the electorate will not be taken for granted.
“I think it goes just beyond getting an INEC certificate. There are still a lot of challenges. There are challenges because those of us that are practically in politics, we know what it takes to even run a party with people with similar minds than talk of where you have a merger. So the challenges are ahead.
“Let us see how they manage those challenges and we will be in a better position to say whether they are a threat to PDP. What I believe is that they are good for now, it is good for democracy of the country. I think it will make us in the PDP to sit up because there is a real alternative. Before, my view was that who will leave a national party to go to a regional party but now it is now another national party and they are people who are serious minded.
“The question is how cohesive are they. When you address how cohesive they are, then you address how would they be able to work together. It is when you have crossed those two hurdles, then you will be able to say whether they are a threat or not. But there is no serious minded politician that will not say that a national party is more serious organisation than a regional party.
” I think as such we all need to sit up and address those issues and we should not take anybody for granted. But again, a party as large as PDP, it will take a lot to be able to dislodge it. APC have a lot of work ahead of them.”
