Akande, in January 28, 2011 letter to the CPC National Chairman, Prince Tony Momoh, recalled that the ACN was ready to adopt the name and logo of the All Nigeria Peoples Party when the CPC presidential candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was in the ANPP.
“The circumstance, precisely the urgent need to salvage the country from the cruel hands of the Peoples Democratic Party, gave birth to the National Democratic Movement,” he stated. The ACN chairman said Buhari left the NDM “to start building the CPC from the scratch.”
He added, “It is absolutely clear to us in the leadership of our party that the majority of our members, whose views we must respect, no longer see a merger as possible before the 2011 elections. There are too many technical hurdles in our way.”
Also, the National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement on Wednesday, said, “The main reason the alliance failed was the recalcitrance and unbending attitude of the CPC. We invited Buhari to run for the presidency on the platform of our party.
“That means we were willing to even sacrifice our own candidate for the good of all, but the CPC insisted that not only must the alliance field Buhari, he must run on the platform of the CPC. We thought this demand was quite unreasonable, considering the pedigree of the ACN. Yes, CPC may be a popular party but it is largely untested.
“On the other hand, ACN is not only popular but it is well tested. We have four state governors, many senators and House of Representatives members, a huge number in the state houses of assembly and many council chairmen. Going into the April elections, we have a Plus 3 Advantage, in that three of our governors will not contest and two will remain in office till 2014!”
He regretted that CPC leaders wanted the ACN to concede the presidency and lose its identity under the alliance.
“Of course, we rejected that demand, which will be akin to committing political suicide. It was difficult enough having to explain to our members why we are offering to sacrifice our own presidential candidate for Buhari.
“To even assure Buhari, who is apparently smarting from the backstabbing he suffered from his former party, ANPP, we said if and when he wins the presidency, we can go to congress and change the name, logo and other identities of the ACN to reflect the new reality brought forth by the alliance.
“Again the CPC refused. We were left wondering whether indeed the people in the CPC believe in their candidate and want him to become President. Well, we can tell Nigerians that we have made the biggest sacrifice by offering to bring Buhari on board at the expense of our own candidate - just to save Nigeria from the stranglehold of the PDP. The offer we made to him was a great risk,” he explained.
He also advised the PDP not to gloat over the failed alliance talks.
He said, “It is a mark of the idleness of the folks in charge of the PDP that they will resort to issuing a statement over the problems with the alliance between two opposition parties. From Kwara to Ogun, Kogi to Oyo, the PDP is in a big mess, having been unable to organise successful primaries.”
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the CPC Contact and Mobilisation Committee, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has assured that the talks will continue.
He said, “It was the Electoral Act that caused the confusion. According to the Electoral Act, parties can only merge about 90 days or three months before the elections. The merger would have been concluded a long time ago. So the cooperation is still ongoing.”
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