The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, has congratulated the “membership, supporters, leadership, legislators and governors” of the four parties that announced their merger on Wednesday to form a new party.

The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN; All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP; All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA; and Congress for Progressive Change, CPC; announced a merger to form the
All Progressives Congress, APC.

The CNPP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu, said it congratulated the leaders “for their patriotism, fortitude, for setting aside their ego and for their uncommon resolve.”

“For us, the consummation of the merger is a milestone in our march towards true democracy and we salute those who made it possible,” the conference said.

The group said liberal democracies throughout history underscore the importance of two major political parties. It said it is “relieved that the birth of APC will no doubt return Nigeria to true democracy, put paid to the inordinate ambition of the leaderless Peoples Democratic Party {PDP} to foist a one party state in our political landscape and rule Nigeria for 60 years, without commensurate performance and fresh ideas, benched only on Do-or-Die tactics.”

The CNPP said it believes the merger has set the stage for the 2015 elections between the new APC and the PDP. It asked other “progressive political parties to join the APC in their resolve to halt the dangerous drift of Nigeria into a failed state.”

“We challenges the Professor Attahiru Jega led Independent National Electoral Commission to set forth at dawn, by jump starting concrete preparations for the 2015 general election; for we will frown at cancellation of elections for the inability of the printer to submit election materials as was the case in the 2011 National Assembly election,” it said.