A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Ondo State, Mr. Saka Lawal, has said the newly- registered All Progressives Congress (APC) will give a solid foundation to the nation’s democracy. Lawal, the running mate of PDP’s governorship candidate in last year’s poll in the state, Chief Olusola Oke, spoke at the weekend when he celebrated his 50th birthday with over 120 widows at St. David’s Anglican Cathedral, Akure. The PDP stalwart said two-party system should be encouraged, adding that it is the best way to aid development. Lawal, who was a Special Adviser to Governor Olusegun Mimiko, noted that the merging of key opposition parties would keep the PDP on its toes. His words: “This is the best thing that can happen to Nigeria because if you look at the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) era, a solid foundation for democracy was laid, but the military did not allow it to last. Now that we are back to the two-party system, of course, there are other minor parties, but with time, they will fizzle out. This is the type of democracy we have been yearning for. Now we have political parties that cut across geo-political zones. PDP cuts across geo-political zones, APC also cuts across geo-political zones. Now you will see parties that will be selling ideas to the people. “If PDP is in power now, they have sold transformational ideas, may be in the next four years, Nigerians find out that they are not living up to expectation, APC will unseat them. Also, if APC is there and they roll out programmes and they are not living up to expectation, at the end of four years, of course PDP will unseat them. It is now two parties based on ideologies. Tell us what you want to do. After four years, Nigerians will come out and assess you based on your performance. “Two party system is the best for Nigeria. I am a political science student. All over the world, go and look at developed nations, you will see that they practise two-party system, which will make you to be either in the right or left. The middle position may be when you want to form a cabinet, you may need to go into an alliance. But again, if you look at it, two-party system is the best for Nigeria.”
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 09:04:29 +0000
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