The All Progressives Congress has issued a response to Professor Pat Utomi’s recent proposition for a merger of opposition political parties, dismissing it as nothing more than a “delusion of grandeur.” 

In a statement delivered by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the APC expressed skepticism about Utomi’s credibility, citing his track record as a “serial promoter of mega parties.”

Morka highlighted Utomi’s previous attempt in 2021 to launch a people-centered ideological mega party under the National Consultative Front, a venture that failed to materialize beyond the realm of news headlines. 

Morka’s statement reads, “In 2021, Prof Utomi and his collaborators disturbed the airwaves with plans to launch a people-centered ideological mega party under the auspices of the National Consultative Front (NCFront) to dislodge @OfficialAPCNg and @OfficialPDPNig. That plan did not go past the news headlines.”

The APC’s skepticism deepened as Utomi, a political economist, proposed a collaboration among three presidential candidates from the last election: Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party. Utomi envisions this collaboration forming a formidable party to challenge and potentially overthrow the APC in 2027.

Morka questioned Utomi’s assessment of the proposed alliance, stating, “Now in 2024, Prof. Utomi is touting a possible collaboration among LP, NNPP and PDP, vastly political parties, according to him, that are bereft of any ideological orientation or did not manage to create an alignment with the Nigerian People to improve the quality of their lives.”

The APC’s National Publicity Secretary cast doubt on Utomi’s transformative vision for the opposition parties involved, characterizing it as an “unmitigated delusion of grandeur.”