Some other opposition parties in the country have protested their exclusion from the meeting President Muhammadu Buhari held with leaders of the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance party (APDA) said it was wrong for the Presidency to limit the invite to just two parties.

Tosin Adeyanju, Special Adviser to the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Mohammed Shittu, said the President has given an impression that there are only two political parties in the country.

He added, “We were surprised that there were just two political parties at the meeting.  There are more than 40 political parties in Nigeria, why would the Presidency invite just two political parties to a meeting? We hope that they would find time to correct the error.”

The Labour Party in its response said there was no difference between the APC and PDP.

National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Abdulkadir Salam said meeting with only two parties was ‘immaterial’.

He said, “We won’t beg them to invite us to the meeting. Anyway, what’s the difference between the APC and the PDP? They are children of the same mother and father.

“If the Federal Government is meeting with all political parties, then we would be there. But the meeting between the APC and PDP is immaterial.”

He added, “If they don’t invite us, good. But we have no business asking him (Buhari) to meet with us.

“If he is convinced that there are other political parties (in Nigeria), that is okay. But we won’t beg to attend any meeting.”

The  All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) said it was the third largest party in Nigeria, and was qualified to be invited to such an important national parley.

Former chairman of the party, Chief Victor Umeh said, “When I was the national chairman of the party, there was no important meeting that our party was not invited to. Those who organised the meeting should take note that what happened was very unfortunate. We control a state in Nigeria; we have our own views, we have our own opinions about the unfortunate challenges confronting the country. We take the issues in the polity as very important and we have a lot to contribute with a view to helping the President.

“Next time,  if we are left out of such an important meeting, we will protest because APGA has a lot of contribution to make to national discourse. Those who organised the meeting should take note that what they did was a huge and unfortunate oversight. I don’t know why it happened that the third largest party in Nigeria was left out of an important parley with the President at this critical time of our great nation,” he said.

Azeez