The New Nigeria People’s Party, (NNPP), on Tuesday, described as a welcome development, a proposal mulled by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that opposition parties merge to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 presidential election.

At a press conference in Abuja, the Acting National Chairman of the party, Abba Ali, said the merger of opposition parties before the 2015 elections led to the defeat of the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the APC.

[READ ALSO] ‘One-Party Merger’: You Can’t Offer Credible Opposition, APC Slams Atiku

Ali said, “Just recently, the former Vice-President of the Federal Republic Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was reported to have called for a merger of opposition parties as a way of checkmating the inordinate drive of the ruling APC towards a one-party state and protecting our hard-earned democracy.

“The NNPP sees this call from Atiku Abubakar as patriotic and a welcome development for which we unreservedly commend him.”

ALSO READ: No Merger Plan With PDP, Says LP

“To that extent, the NNPP is reiterating its position that the former Vice President’s latest call is a proposal we applaud wholeheartedly.

“However, as we stated earlier, while we fully embrace this initiative and applaud it as a matter of necessity, the NNPP is looking at this issue from a much larger perspective and considering all factors inherent in it,” he added.