The Rise of The Opposition Political Party in Nigeria: Case Study of The All Progressives Congress

Right from the 1960s, both the ruling parties and the opposition parties are always at loggerheads. The opposition parties are treated with great contempt by the ruling parties and vice versa. Members of opposition parties that join forces with the ruling parties are labeled as traitors and can even be demonized. Nigeria is a heterogeneous country made up of diverse ethnic groups with Christianity and Islam as dominant religions. Additionally, Nigeria was under military dictatorship for almost thirty years at different intervals. These underlying factors seem to have affected the psyche of politicians in Nigeria. Prior to the 2015 General Elections, opposition parties have never upstaged the incumbent .The alliance of prominent political parties such as Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) into a formidable opposition called All Progressives Change (APC) marked a new era in Nigeria’s democracy. The 2015 presidential polls will be the fifth in succession since the military establishment relinquished power. This paper will examine the factors that necessitated the emergence of APC as a formidable opposition party. Questions such as; Will APC become a model party in Nigeria? Will the APC tolerate opposition parties? Is Nigeria witnessing democratic consolidation with the rise of APC to power? All these questions will be the focus of this study. Keywords: Opposition Party, Elite Theory, Elections