By Tolúlopé Olátúnjí
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, Celestine Chukwuneye, has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who was the 2023 presidential candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) over what he called his approach to opposition politics.
Speaking in Lagos on Monday evening, Chukwuneye accused Atiku of attacking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration without adequate factual support and without offering constructive solutions. He stressed that effective opposition should be based on fact-driven criticism and proposed viable alternatives.
Highlighting the lack of a robust opposition party or coalition in Nigeria, Chukwuneye stated, “We need a strong opposition. It helps to make the government perform to its optimum. It is my wish that the opposition should get their acts together. In politics, there is no need for undue rivalry. I don’t believe in that. It should be live and let live.”
He urged the opposition to foster national progress by recognizing government successes and highlighting its failures with concrete evidence.
Chukwuneye remarked:“If the ruling party gets it right, it is good for the country. The opposition could be in government tomorrow as it happened in 2015 and life continues. Whether in government or opposition, do your best for the country,” .
Commenting on the recent meeting between Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi and Atiku, Chukwuneye stated, “If it is about a merger, it is good. Let them merge. It is a good thing for the country. We should have two strong parties in the country. The others can pursue their agenda.”
Expressing concern over the disunity within all political parties, Chukwuneye argued that this fragmentation harms Nigeria’s nascent democracy.
“All of them are in crisis. This is not good for the country. They should be focused on delivering the dividends of democracy,” he noted.
He added; “It is not good also when one party gets 90% of the votes. This helps to ensure that democratic tenets are upheld. It helps to reduce centrifugal forces such as ethnicity and religion in our political system,”
