By Agency Report
The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) says it is open to opposition coalition talks but will not compromise its ideology, identity and core principles.
The National Chairman of PRP, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.
Baba Ahmed said the party was already part of the coalition in principle, stressing the need for opposition parties to pool their strengths and resources.
He said the emerging coalition must develop a clear identity and tell Nigerians what it would offer beyond replacing the APC led administration.
“We need to tell Nigerians what the coalition is about beyond just replacing the APC government,” he said.
The chairman said the coalition must present clear solutions to insecurity, poverty and divisions affecting the country.
He said such a programme would help convince Nigerians that the coalition represented a different political direction.
Baba-Ahmed said about six or seven active opposition parties were currently collaborating within the coalition, with possibilities of additional parties joining.
He described the arrangement as a “coalition of the willing and the able,” based on trust and caution.
The PRP chairman said the party would not support any arrangement that carried burdens capable of compromising the coalition’s quality and sincerity.
He said PRP would withdraw if the coalition became a worse alternative to continuation of the Tinubu administration.
“We will walk away if the coalition were to adopt policy, principles, identity or strategy that offends the core values of the PRP,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed acknowledged Nigerians’ scepticism towards opposition coalitions, noting that previous arrangements had produced different outcomes.
He said the party had studied previous coalitions and recognised that each was shaped by the circumstances surrounding its formation.
According to him, the 2015 political coalition demonstrated that collaboration among political parties could succeed under certain circumstances.
He said the current coalition was being developed with lessons from previous experiences and existing political realities.
Baba-Ahmed said PRP remained an electoral force despite lacking access to resources associated with controlling federal or state governments.
He said the party’s strength was based on its ideology, principles and commitment to serving poor Nigerians.
“We may not have money to give you to vote for us, and we don’t even want to give you money to vote for us,” he said.
He said the party would instead seek Nigerians’ trust through its commitment to changing the country’s development trajectory.
Baba Ahmed said PRP wanted to play a frontline role in rebuilding Nigeria and creating a safer and more secure future.
He said PRP was prepared to consider sacrificing its presidential ambition if necessary for a stronger opposition platform.
He, however, said such a decision would have to be based on an arrangement that satisfied the party that the sacrifice was worthwhile.
The chairman said PRP had an “excellent” presidential candidate in former Cross River Governor Donald Duke.
He added that the party would consider supporting another candidate if such an arrangement offered an opportunity for stronger opposition collaboration.
NAN
