With less than a year to the 2019 general elections, Nigerians have been urged to discard the recently launched Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) spearheaded by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Chairman, Partners for Electoral Reform, Nwagwu Ezenwa, argued that any of the over 60 political parties currently existing, could serve as alternative platforms to displace the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the next polls.
Recall that the ex-President had recommended the coalition in a letter he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari last month.
The elder statesman had asked Nigerians to rally round the movement, saying neither the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) nor the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could give Nigeria the leadership it deserved.
But in a chat with BusinessDay, Nwagwu dismissed the former president’s call, insisting that Nigerian voters are the ones to determine the usefulness of a political party.
According to him, “In 2015, did we only have APC and PDP on the ballot paper? We had Professor Remi Sonaya who was a presidential candidate, a credible person in KOWA Party. Did Nigerians vote for her? So why are we stuck with APC and PDP in our mentality? And we need one 80-year-old Obasanjo to come and give us a panacea that means absolutely nothing in terms of practical politicking.
“So, if you want to join the political parties, there are 68 of them including credible political parties who had a history in fighting military adventurism. The National Conscience Party (NCP) is there. Other political parties that have credible people are all existing. Obasanjo likes to put himself in the face of the country. And he is very excited about current happenings but let’s be clear that in a country where you have 68 political parties, the conversation about Third Force does not respond to the reality of multi-party democracy. Citizens are the ones to say a political party is useless or useful”.
The coalition was formally unveiled in Abuja early this month, with Olagunsoye Oyinlola, ex-governor of Osun State as acting chairman.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
