Thu Dec 8, 2005 6:01 PM GMT

By Estelle Shirbon

The new group accused Obasanjo of leading an assault on democracy by trying to extend his tenure illegally, and listed other examples of what it said was a "drift towards tyranny and dictatorship".

"We came into being as a direct response to the flagrantly anti-democratic tendencies of the present administration," the group said, citing unethical use of security forces, opacity in the oil sector and alleged corruption.

Members said they would welcome Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who has become a political foe of Obasanjo, if he chose to leave the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).

"We are not fronting for the vice president ... He is a good politician who can look after his own affairs. If he decides to work with us, he will find enough room here," said Tom Ikimi, who was a minister under late dictator Sani Abacha.

Obasanjo's second term as president of Africa's most populous country and top oil producer expires on May 29, 2007 and under the constitution he cannot stand for a third one.

He has said he intends to leave and would uphold the constitution, but his allies have launched a vociferous campaign for an amendment allowing him to run again.

A power struggle within the PDP, in which Obasanjo allies have systematically purged those who support Atiku's ambition to become president in 2007, has led many Nigerians to believe Obasanjo harbours a "third-term agenda".

"STRANGE BEDFELLOWS"

"The president himself is leading this assault," said Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta, one of the leaders of the emerging party. He was police chief under the transitional military government between Abacha and the return to civilian rule.

The PDP is essentially a vehicle for winning elections in the fledgling democracy, which emerged from 15 years of military rule in 1999.

Critics of the dissident factions, the Movement for the Defense of Democracy (MDD) and the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD), say they are made up of political has-beens who have no project apart from opposing the third term.

"What if Obasanjo has no third term agenda? They have not addressed Nigerians on any other substantive issue of national interest," said political columnist Pini Jason.

"They don't have any democratic credentials to write home about," he said in a reference to the fact that several prominent members had jobs in former military governments.

The PDP itself on Wednesday described the MDD and MRD as "an alliance of failed politicians" and "strange bedfellows".

Gambo Jimeta said a plan was afoot to discredit MDD and MRD members by accusing them of coup plotting.

His words echoed the vice president, who denied on Monday he was involved in any coup plot. No such accusation has been levelled at Atiku, who made the statement after a newspaper reported that Obasanjo was poised to accuse him of coup plotting as a precursor to impeaching him.

The PDP said on Wednesday it had no intention of victimising any opposition politician, "especially on trumped-up charges of coup plotting".