Nigeria's leading opposition parties agreed Saturday to merge into an electoral behemoth they vowed would defeat President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 polls. Two parties - the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) - approved the move in separate conventions aired live on television. A third, the Action Congress of Nigeria, okayed the mega party project last month.
The result of the merger between Nigeria's top three opposition movements will be called the All Progressive Congress (APC) if its registration is approved by the electoral body. "This merger will make us too strong for the PDP to resist," said CPC leader Mohammadu Buhari during a convention attended by 3,000 delegates in Abuja.
"We must explore all opportunities to save our country," said Buhari, a retired general and former military ruler who has contested all presidential elections in recent years. Buhari, a Muslim who was ousted in 1985 after two years in power, is seen as a possible candidate for the new mega party in the 2015 vote.