Our attention has been drawn to the press briefing of a factional group of the Kwara ACN reportedly led by the duo of the very esteemed Dr. Saad Omoiya and Engr. Jide Usman. It is refreshing to know that public spirited individuals from across party lines and beyond are boldly and timeously identifying with this rescue mission.

We however wish to state categorically that the abiding principle for our coming together under the APC mega platform is that of mutual camaraderie that does not transcend the thin line of individual party's independence or meddling in our respective internal affairs. Therefore, the CPC and the ANPP do not wish to be dragged into the internal squabbles of any of the other two merger parties, the ACN and the APGA. Our effort so far, in rallying the merger parties is in absolute good faith and essentially based on the prevailing circumstances. We posit, without any fear of contradiction, that the modest effort we have recorded so far is not targeted at taking sides with any persons or factional group within the ACN or any other party for that matter.  

It however bears repeating, in the light of the statements credited to certain stakeholders of the ACN in their press briefing yesterday, that our coming together under the single platform of the APC is unconditional. Therefore, since we have mutually resolved to work together as a team without preconditions, we make bold to say that any rumour, suggestions or innuendoes that might be consciously or unconsciously promoted to mean that a particular former aspirant from any of the merging parties has a leverage over and above the rest is bound to fall flat in the faces of its initiator. The essence of this brand new arrangement is to bury the ugly past where ego prevailed over reason in our previous attempts to forge a joint political front. We all must therefore be ready to bury the past with all its debilitating relics. So, the idea of who becomes what does not arise now, and when it eventually does, it must be mutually agreed by all. We hasten to add that much as we pledged to make sacrifices with a view to making the merger become fruition, we will nonetheless vehemently oppose any scheme that has the slightest element of relegating or whittling down the equal standing of any of the merging parties to the background, on the basis of any concocted 'sharing formula'.

Therefore, the grand plot to surreptitiously conscientise the impressionable public into erroneously believing that one Party is the 'husband' while the others are disingenuously tagged the 'wives' should forever remain in the imagination of its progenitor, because it is only meant but for the trash bin of the past. We have come this far in our individual struggle, and we are sure going to resist any plot to either subjugate our platform or make it play the second fiddle under the alter of a speculative yet outrightly objectionable political arrangement.

As long as there is yet no official communication of the scheme of re-alignment from our national leadership, any bogus assertion from any quarters now, no matter how highly placed, is of no moment.

But assuming without conceding that there was actually a scheme of engagement, the peculiarity of the Kwara political configuration does not give room for any political subjugation of any of the other merging partners over and above the other by a so-called senior partner. Thus, the grandstanding of a certain section in the merger coalition, whereby the unsubstantiated and unsustainable kite of a purported past electoral victory is being flown is not only immoral but capable of derailing us in our avowed bid. Our goal now is to be guided not by the vestige of the past but by the reality of the present while holding tenaciously to what the future holds for all of us. Therefore, exhuming past relics that have effectively been overtaken by obvious political events, is downright unacceptable to us. Even at that, as it might be fairly strategic to concede to a Party that posted a fair showing in the previous elections, so shall it smacks of a downright political miscalculation if the post-electoral fortune of the respective parties is not equally taken into consideration in arriving at a just and equitable scheme that will be acceptable to all.

To us as progressive parties, we hereby reiterate our commitment to the merger and state with all sense of responsibility that there no amount of sacrifice that is too big to make to ensure that the merger works. All stakeholders in this coalition and beyond must therefore make it a moral point of duty to make the merger a reality in order to rescue whatever is remaining of our collective humanity in the state. We must be ready to eschew all form of arrogance and egoistic posture that is capable of undermining the modest achievement we have made so far. We urge all persons of good conscience to be circumvent and guarded in their public outings in order not to give a wrong impression of false and shaky start in the rainbow coalition bid. We assert that we have come a long way, and as parties committed to the merger, we will not allow fifth columnists to pull any upset at this critical time. We must make sure that first thing comes first. We all should be more concerned about making the merger a reality rather than fighting dirty over spoilt of offices. It is blatantly disingenuous to put the cart of party slots before the horse of the all-important merger. Writing the glossary and footnotes of the merger history now while jettisoning even the preface is way off the cuff.   

Thank you.

Alhaji Suleiman Buhari
CPC State Chairman

Alhaji Taiwo Eleje
ANPP State Chairman