A former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Katsina State, Alhaji Muhammed Mustapha Inuwa, has said a “mega” political party is in the offing as part of measures to end the APC leadership in 2027 and the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government.
“The question is whether the PDP or any other political parties can defeat the APC in 2027 and the answer is, no. So, there must be a mega political party and Nigerians are already talking and working towards that,” Inuwa said in an interview in Katsina at the weekend.
Inuwa was at various times Secretary to the Katsina State Government but dumped the APC for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the wake of the 2023 general elections. He contested the PDP governorship primaries but lost.
“There is still time and we are part of the nationwide discussions for a mega party which is the only answer to defeat the APC in 2027,” he said, adding: “We should stop deceiving ourselves and people should be more committed to the success of the project and not projecting their personal interests.”
“In 2023, if the Labour Party (LP) and the PDP had collaborated, they would have defeated the APC. With the votes Kwankwaso got in Kano, the votes Atiku got from across the country and the votes the LP got, all combined, the APC would have been nowhere.
“And all these people were actually originally in the PDP. Obi was at a time a PDP Vice presidential candidate and Kwankwaso was a PDP governor.
“So, it’s a matter of these people teeming together, along with the other political parties. Nigerians are clamouring for an alternative because nobody likes the current situation in the country.
“The way out is to have a strong political party and none of the political parties as presently constituted can single handedly defeat the APC in 2027.
“In 2015, a ruling political party (PDP) was defeated, so there is nothing new in defeating a sitting government. In the past, this zone (North) used to be PDP but now only one state (Zamfara) is PDP. There is nothing new in defeating the incumbent, whether at the national or state level. That is what we are struggling to do, to remove power from the APC and I believe we will succeed.
“There is nothing wrong for an individual to have ambition to rule the country or occupy any positions because that is politics, where you feel you have what it takes and programmes that may be better than what the others have.
“But when it comes to making a choice for a particular position, people go into negotiations. We have to consider what is in the best interest of the nation.
“Look at what happened in the US. Within a few days, the US President decided to step down because his political party was worried that they may lose the elections if President Biden continues in the race.
“They considered what should be in the best interest of the US and Biden stepped down from the race. That is what real leaders should do. I believe that with time, the Nigerian people will begin to understand that.
“The people are tired and they are demanding an alternative. I don’t regret leaving the APC. If I had remained, I would have been part of the mess currently going on in that party. The APC is certainly in a mess.”
