In what could signal a significant move in the bid to unseat President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) from Aso Rock, the Coalition for Nigeria Movement, apparently being backed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo was launched in Abuja today.
In a special press statement released by former President Obasanjo on January 24 he had called for a new movement to chart a new political direction for Nigeria in 2019. He said this has become necessary because both the ruling APC led by Buhari and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians in delivering good governance.
He promised to lead the formation of a new non-political movement that will mobilise to rescue Nigerians from both APC and PDP. This movement has now been unveiled in Abuja on Wednesday at the Yar’ Adua center.
Former Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, ironically a former member of the PDP, who led others to unveil the movement, told newsmen that it has become incumbent on the political leaders in the country to chart a new cause and a new direction for effective and inclusive leadership in the country.
Oyinlola, who is a close associate of President Obasanjo, was joined by former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, also a former PDP member, among others who are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People Democratic Party (PDP)
Oyinlola disclosed that the movement may be transformed into a political party as it gains more support, expressing confidence that more Nigerians will be courted to strengthen the movement’s national agenda.
Former governor Donald Duke in his remarks said sincere politicians were few in the country.
“What we have are those who just want to get to power, and they need just any political party,” he said.
He called on the youths to join the movement and rescue the country.
He reiterated that the youths would be the leaders of the movement, not any old politician.
The son of a former Nigerian Prime Minister, Abduljalil Tafawa Balewa said youths are now waking up from their slumbers with the formation of the movement.
Tafawa Balewa, who is the co-chairman of the movement for North, added that new dawn had been born in the country.
“The coalition is a movement that seeks to promote and ensure socio-economic development, improvement, growth, social justice, egalitarianism, cohesion, cooperation, equity, equality of opportunity, transparency, societal order, rule of law, human security and human rights leading to national unity, good governance and general wellbeing and welfare of all citizens and inhabitant of Nigeria,” he said.
At a different venue, another political movement called on Nigerians to ensure that the APC is voted out in 2019. Coalition for a New Nigeria (CNN), which claims to have been formed by the merger of 30 political parties addressed the media yesterday calling on all Nigerians to unite and vote the Buhari and APC government out in 2019.
The CNN claims to be a coalition of about 30 political parties which include; National Conscience Party (NCP), Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA), Democratic People’s Congress (DPC) Labour Party (LP), People’s Party of Nigeria (PPN) and Action Alliance (AA). Others are; Alliance for Democracy (AD) Democratic People’s Party (DPP), People’s Democratic Change (PDC) and Better Nigeria People’s Party (BNPP).
The coalition also includes; National Action Council (NAC), United Democratic Party (UDP) and Democratic Alternative (DA) amongst others. The coalition was formed in June 2017.
The CNN, which has apparently been re-energized by the Obasanjo letter, told a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday through its National Chairman, AbdulKarim Abdulsalam, that despite all the promises of the Buhari-led APC government, the government is tormenting the citizens with “crass poverty and wealth erosion, massive and ravaging unemployment, internal insecurity and violence, occasioned by unabated attacks of the herdsmen and elements of Boko Haram in the north east, north central and south east parts of the country.”
Abdulsalam, who is also the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) told the news conference that it is disturbing also that Nigerians are being divided along ethnic, religious and regional lines even as the CNN bemoaned that the APC has hobbled the Nigerian economy by policy inertia adding that there is an urgent need to salvage Nigeria and restore hope to her citizens.
It was not clear yet if the CNN has a working strategy with the much touted Obasanjo’s Coalition for Nigeria (CN), but the CNN maintains that its major objective is to defend the unity of Nigeria while proffering solutions on the ways to move Nigeria in the right direction. It said that it welcomes any coalition with any group with similar agenda to oust Buhari and the APC even though it ruled out merger.
Chairman of the National Conscience Party Tanko Yunusa, who is also the spokesman of the coalition earlier told BusinessDay that Buhari has failed Nigerians because he lacks the strength, vigour and competence to run the country adding that another four years under Buhari will be a recipe for chaos in the country.
National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Abdulkarim Abdulsalam; National Chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Tanko Yunusa; National Chairman of United Democratic Party (UDP)Godson Okoye; National Chairman of the Democratic People’s Congress (DPC) Olusegun Peters; National Chairman of Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN),Eyiowawa Rasak; National Chairman of Democratic Alternative (DA) France Ukonga; National Chairman of the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), Raph Nwosu, amongst others were the notable faces at the conference.
The coalition noted with a high sense of disappointment that the Buhari government has embarked on “external borrowing in spite of the recoveries of the looted funds, new streams of income, generated internally, taxes duties which are not visibly applied anywhere in Nigeria.”
On the issue of order or schedule of National Elections, the coalition suggested that the States Assembly and National Assembly elections should be held on the 16th of February 2019 while the governorship and Presidential election should hold on the 2nd of March 2019 to forestall the negative influence of the bandwagon effect.
The CNN then suggested as a matter of urgency, the setting up of a Government of National Unity that will be inclusive of various shades of opinions and interests in the country adding that there is an urgent need to create a Ministry of National Integration.
The CNN said it has set up six committees to design a clear cut agenda for the new government that will enthusiastically and dutifully work towards and ensure the needed shift in the way Nigeria is governed.
Innocent Odoh & ESAN SUNDAY Abuja
