The Coalition of Progressive Political Parties (COP3) has urged the recently deregistered political parties to look beyond the Independent National Electoral Commission’s deregistration and strategize on ways of moving the nation in the right political trajectory.
This was contained in a communique issued by the coalition, made up of 18 political parties, after its national caucus meeting in Abuja.
Recall that INEC recently deregistered 74 political parties for failing to satisfy the commission’s requirements. The move was in preparation for the coming 2023 general elections.
The communique advised the deregistered political parties not to spend too much on litigations as the legal process is long, tortuous, expensive, uncertain and not necessarily worth the effort.
It advised parties who wished to embark on the struggle for a better Nigeria to come together and work out strategies to make lasting impact by changing the nature of politics in Nigeria and re-channel it from the usual struggle for patronage and public office for personal gain to the struggle to free the nation from the bondage of corruption and bad governance at all levels.
“Our coalition has been very active in supporting the current administration at the electoral level and in its fight against insecurity, corruption and the restoration of economic growth. But we see the deregistration of some of our members as an opportunity to rethink our strategy and reposition our collective assets towards the search for a better Nigeria beyond the pursuit of public office.
“Politics is not just about power. It is, more importantly, about public service, empowering citizens in all facets of their lives and putting the interest of the nation above all personal, group and political considerations. Our support for President Muhammadu Buhari remains solid but we are thinking ahead and beyond the current dispensation towards a Nigeria that works for all Nigerians regardless of their position in life, political affiliations and geographical location.
“We want to dismantle the existing patronage system, which was created over the last 20 years and replace it with a merit-based system to enable every Nigerian access power, economic opportunity and social amenities regardless of any other consideration.
“As a coalition, we see ourselves as multi-partisan. We take the opinion of each and every member of the coalition into consideration before arriving at a decision. At our meeting, we agreed to endeavour to embark on a struggle for a better Nigeria and change the thinking of citizens from considering politics as a vehicle for self-fulfilment to one of collective fulfillment. No Nigerian should fulfill his or her aspirations at the expense of the aspirations of the rest of Nigerians. It is this attitude of the self above the nation that has brought us to this state of helplessness. We cannot get out of it without changing our foundational ideas about politics and service,” it added.
