Barely twenty-four hours after a group of 38 political parties led by the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announced the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) to wrest power from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, another group of 20 political parties have aligned with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to form the Coalition of Progressives Political Parties (CPPP).

The political parties reportedly in the pro-Buhari CPPP which met in Abuja on Tuesday to finalize modalities towards tackling the CUPP are: All Progressives Congress (APC), Accord Party, Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), United Progressive Party (UPP), Advanced People’s Democratic Alliance (APDA), Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

Others are Freedom Justice Party (FJP), Fresh Party (FP), New Nigeria’s Peoples Party (NNPP), Nigeria’s Peoples Congress (NPC), Nigeria Peoples Movement (NPM), Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), National Action Congress (NAC) as well as the  National Democratic Liberty Party (NDLP).

The chairman of the coalition, Alhaji Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim told journalists shortly after the meeting which was held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja that the coalition was made up of like-minded political parties who believed in Nigeria’s unity and stability.

Ibrahim, who is also the National chairman of PDM noted that the coalition, which was formed in 2014 ahead of the 2015 presidential election aligned with the candidature of President Buhari, then the APC candidate.

While berating the PDP coalition, Ibrahim alleged that the parties that went into alliance with the PDP were driven by selfishness and hunger to capture power in 2019, adding that the coalition lacked the agenda to drive a new Nigeria.

He further alleged that most of the parties in the PDP coalition were fraudulently included to sign the MoU to deceive Nigerians, as according to him, the PDM and other parties who abstained from the meeting, were listed without their consent.

His words: “Yesterday (Monday) we woke up to a new development where PDP outside power has now managed to create another coalition. As facts continue to emerge, they listed 36 political parties.

“Our analysis of that coalition reveals that a number of political parties were included in that coalition fraudulently. Part of the 42 political parties they listed is Accord party and the chairman of the party is here with us.

“If you are creating a coalition, you need to be honest about it as to who and who are members of the coalition. As of today, the membership of that coalition is in doubt. Two members also listed at that coalition are here.

“We are not part of that coalition because we represent a political type of politics which is in total contradiction of what they are doing. We do not believe that our country should be governed by people whose only objective is to capture power.

“For what purpose is that coalition built? Is it for the purpose of taking Nigeria back to 1999 and 2015 or is it for the purpose of building a new Nigeria?

“That purpose has not been stated, even their in their memorandum. The only thing in their MoU is to agree to capture power in 2019. Their programme has not been made known to the Nigerian public. We will not be part of a coalition that does not have a programme for Nigeria.”

Ibrahim disclosed that the main objective of the CPPP was to mobilize Nigerians to play a greater role in political activities and ensure that they were given the right to elect their leaders in a free, fair and credible electoral process.

Also speaking with newsmen, secretary of the Coalition and National Chairman of the Advanced People’s Democratic Alliance (APDA), Shittu Muhammed Kabiru said the coalition would advance the course of democracy and stabilize the economy which was mismanaged by past PDP- led governments.