Pan Nigeria Group Hails Afenifere For Endorsing Peter Obi

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*invites other groups, stakeholders to emulate apex Yoruba organisation

*says only LP candidate can berth New Nigeria

By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON

The Coalition of Professionals for Peter Obi (CPPO), has saluted the apex Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, for endorsing the candidature of the Labour Party (LP) in next year’s presidential election, saying the organisation has secured a positive place in history.

The professionals’ commendation came barely twenty-four hours shortly after another group, the Coalition of South-East Professional Network in Nigeria and Diaspora, issued a statement thanking the Pa Ayo Adebanjo-led Afenifere for the courage to endorse the former Governor of Anambra State,as their choice for the 2023 presidency.

In a statement jointly signed by Dr. Hakeem Mohammed (National Coordinator), Dr (Mrs) Iyabode Aganga (National Secretary), and Mazi (Engr) Christopher Obasi (Public Relations Officer), the coalition said the fact that a Yoruba son, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is also contesting the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is a clear demonstration of the pan-Nigerian nature of Afenifere.

The group, therefore, invited other well-meaning groups, opinion leaders, and stakeholders across the country, to take a cue from the apex Yoruba body, submitting that the time for a New Nigeria has come.

To achieve this, however, the professionals said all hands must be on deck, as the task of enthroning a new order, is one that requires unity of purpose.

“As a professional group, we maintain that only Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), possesses the capacity, mental alertness, competence, as well as suitability for the presidency in 2023.

“We arrived at this conclusion after a careful evaluation of all other presidential candidates, amidst the myriad of challenges assailing our dear country.

“With due respect to other contenders, we hold the view that only Peter Obi has demonstrated the capacity and readiness to tackle insecurity, excruciating poverty, youth unemployment, dwindling revenue, rising debt profile, and other misgovernance-occasioned challenges.

“We are confident that a New Nigeria is possible, and Peter Obi is the veritable medium towards that realization.

“We call on Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora, especially those with their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), to jettison all primordial considerations, including party,religion, and ethnicity, and vote the dynamic candidate of the Labour Party, Obi”, the group said 

The statement continued: “The decision to endorse Obi by Afenifere  did not come to us as a surprise, in view of the organisation’s stance on issues of equity, justice, fair play, restructuring, devolution of power, among other nation-building efforts.

“When the history of a New Nigeria is written, we are positive that Afenifere and the entire yoruba nation will occupy a pride of place, for refusing to maintain silence in the face of injustice, exclusion, and tortuous alienation.

“Notwithstanding Ndigbo’s commitment to a unified, prosperous, and progressive nation, the people still suffer deprivation, alienation, exclusion and the like.

“We feel strongly that the much-touted “no-victor-no-vanquished” declaration has not been taken seriously, over forty years after its declaration.

“Once again, we commend Afenifere, for keeping a date with history,  while appealing to Nigerians, especially the voting population, to queue behind the LP presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.

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