So let us focus on the issues and how to adequately address them to improve our collective lot”, Mr Donald Duke, one of the associates who spoke on behalf of the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), spearheaded by Obasanjo, said. Duke, one of the high profile politicians present at the launch of the CNM in Abuja, last week, lashed out at the critics of the Obasanjo-led coalition.
When asked whether the claim by the critics of the CNM that the former President was self-serving in floating the body, Duke, a former governor of Cross River State, said: “I don’t think so; moreso the issues raised in his (Obasanjo) letter are real”.
Obasanjo had, in an open letter to Buhari, penultimate Tuesday, called for the CNM on the grounds that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the federal level and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had failed the nation. He told Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019 as events of the past two and a half years had shown that he is incapable of resolving the problems facing the nation. Both political parties rejected the former President’s claim.
Specifically, some leaders of the APC, including the National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and a former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, joined issues with Obasanjo. Whereas Tinubu said the former President was politicising issues ahead of the 2019 election, Oshiomhole pointed out that Obasanjo had no right to advise Buhari. Meanwhile, CNM was launched in Abuja last Wednesday. Duke spoke on the public presentation in an interview with Sunday Vanguard at the weekend, dismissing the claims by critics against the Movement.
Excerpts of the interview:
People were surprised to see you at the Third Force rally. What informed your decision to be part of it? The event was the launch of the Coalition Nigeria Movement not a third force rally and I chose to be a part of it for very obvious reasons. Nigeria is in dire straits and Nigerians need to come together and chart the way forward for the Country. Nigeria is not going to get better except we come together to change the narrative and the situation.
In some quarters, it is believed that the proposition by OBJ is self-serving. How do you react to that? I don’t think so, moreso the issues raised in his letter are real. We all know we can do better than we currently are, so let’s focus on the issues and how to adequately address them to improve our collective lot. It is believed OBJ is not liked even in the South-West, many can’t trust him not to talk of Northerners or South Easterners.
Many say this may rub off negatively on the coalition. Do you agree? As stated, the issues reverberate with all of us irrespective of our geopolitical zones and I think that should be the focus. The coalition as the name connotes, is meant to create a platform to enable us come together regardless of our political leanings or ethnicity to properly articulate our issues, we won’t achieve that by dwelling on who likes what or whom.
How widespread are the coalition’s mobilization efforts to ensure national outlook & do you think the coalition can muster enough strength to face PMB? The focus is to bring everyone on board so we intend to reach every Nigerian. On your second question, the plan is to push for a better standard of living for all Nigerians through a leadership that puts in place a social safety net for all Nigerians. You have indicated interest in 2019.
How do you achieve this vis a vis Presidency zoned to the North? Well, I have indicated interest and not formally declared my intention to run for President, but as I have always stated, we should always put our best foot forward and meritocracy should be the basis of recruiting leadership at all levels of governance. Besides, there’s no provision for zoning in the Nigerian Constitution which is the fundamental law of the land from which all other laws or rules should draw legitimacy.
Buhari campaign materials at FEC meeting
In a related development, the Minister of Communication, Alhaji Abdulraheem Adebayo Shittu, has explained why he distributed Buhari’s re-election campaign at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting penultimate week. “I am not the South West Coordinator. I am the Chairman of the Board of Trustees MBO support group. What we did was to open the South West Zone. What we did with the caps was to say this man must possibly be contest.
We must start preparing for the campaign. We need samples of campaign materials like face caps, for all potential supporters and the samples were what we brought to the meeting. It is to prepare for the future”, Shittu said in an interview at the weekend. He went on: “Again, we tried to use that occasion to publicise some of the achievements of Mr. President. Over the last one or two years, a number of PDP apologists continue to engage in misrepresentations and falsehood against the government, especially in the area of performance and achievements.
And we thought it was fit for us to itemize the achievements of the government, which is what we said and we continue to say it that what the Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government has done in two years, the PDP governments never achieved it in 16 years. And that is what we are opening up the South West Zone for and that is what we publicized”. “The Minister speaks on his position on the President’s second term bid in the full interview to be published next Sunday.
