Two parties merge to challenge for presidency

Nigeria’s second and third largest political parties have agreed to present a single candidate for presidential elections due in February, news organisations reported yesterday. “We have approved the plan for a working alliance,” Josiah Odunna, the national secretary of the centre-right All Peoples Party (APP) told AFP. He said an alliance with the centre-left Alliance for Democracy (AD) was necessary if they were to stop the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from making a sweep of the presidential poll. The PDP won the weekend state elections. The AD has approved the plan and the two party leaders are to meet soon, AFP reported, quoting an official. The agency said the electoral pact had been blocked by major differences between the parties. The AD, which is strong in the Yoruba southwest, proposes a populist programme and staunchly opposed the late military ruler, General Sani Abacha. The APP, which offers a conservative economic regime, includes many former Abacha supporters.