Labour Party Denies Merger Talks With PDP, NNPP, Others

The Labour Party (LP) has denied media reports claiming it is in merger talks with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other opposition parties.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, made this known in a statement on Friday while reacting to reports that the LP is in talks with other opposition parties to oust the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

Ifoh said the party has just concluded the 2023 general election episode and has not held a post-mortem, stating that the way forward for the party has not been discussed.

The LP spokesman stated that the reports making rounds are twisted and sensationalized by a section of the media to embarrass the party, asking the general public to disregard the news.

Ifoh, however, said the party is not in merger talks with any of the opposition parties.

He said: “Kindly disregard the sensational news making the round which suggests that the Labour Party is working out a merger arrangement with any other political party.

“It is purely a news item twisted and sensationalized by a section of the media to embarrass the Labour Party.

“A news organisation called for a reaction as regards Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s proposal for opposition political parties to work together to fight against the one-party system in Nigeria being planned by the APC.

“In my reaction, I said that it was only a proposal and every Nigerian should be interested in making democracy work in Nigeria and that what we have presently is an autocracy.

“There was nowhere in the response that the purported merger between LP and PDP was mentioned.

“The Labour Party has just concluded the 2023 general election episode, and a post-mortem is yet to hold. Therefore, the way forward for the party has not been discussed. When we do, Nigerians will be properly informed.

“I therefore urge Nigerians to disregard such and many other twisted and sensational stories purported to emanate from the Labour Party. The party has its official platform used to disseminate its information.”