Political economist, Pat Utomi, has revealed plans by some opposition leaders to form a new mega party ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Utomi revealed that he held conversations with the presidential candidates of the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, respectively, about the possible merger.
Speaking during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Utomi said the mega party will challenge and possibly displace the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said that the motive is to save ordinary Nigerians from the clutches of the APC, which he described as a private enterprise of few individuals.
The LP chieftain added that Nigeria is degenerating because none of the political parties was ready to give the country a clear direction.
He said, “We are looking at a way Nigeria can work for everybody. Let us build a political party that can bring the issues to the forefront for all the Nigerian people to have a kind of consensus to solve problems.
“If we have that consensus, we would have Nigerians who can provide leadership positions. And the positions would not be about what they would get for themselves, because this narcissism is a cancer that is tearing Nigerian politics down.
“What we need are people who can sacrificially give up themselves to build a country and the possible reward is immortality. I talked to some presidential candidates in the last election.
“We had conversations with Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, among others as some of those who would probably constitute the mega party.
“I told them that it is not about you but Nigerians. It is about the ordinary person in the street. It is about moving from sharing oil proceeds to building the most productive economy.”