The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, on Friday dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chances of regaining power in 2023, IgbereTV reports
He also downplayed the threats posed by the Labour Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party and other smaller parties, saying the 2023 general elections would not be different from previous elections in Nigeria.
The minister, who stated this on his verified Twitter handle, stressed that the extension of the voter’s registration exercise canvassed by Nigerians would lead to greater political participation.
Keyamo slammed Nigerians for thinking the ongoing massive registration of voters would be to the detriment of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He wrote: “INEC should extend the timeframe for voter’s registration. Those who spin the tale to look like the mass registration is 100 percent revolt against the ruling party are living in la-la land. The new voters would be divided between the ruling party, the main opposition and the others.
“Despite multi-party systems in all major democracies of the world, only two dominant parties have emerged in over two centuries in nearly all these democracies. Young democracies in Africa have not been different. Power has always been oscillated between two dominant parties.
“I love the energy, but those who are hoping it would lead to something extraordinary beyond APC/PDP haven’t lived long enough to study the trajectory of elections in Nigeria. It will definitely lead to greater participation, but it will not substantially upset the apple cart.
“What we managed to do in 2015 was that the APC was able to design a platform where all forces against the ruling PDP were able to congregate as one. That’s not the case now. The PDP lacks the moral fibre to pull such a stunt with its own internal squabbles and contradictions
