I See A New Nigeria - Obasanjo says As He Joins Coalition For Nigeria Ahead 2019 Elections

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday registered as a member of his much-talked-about Coalition for Nigeria Movement in Abeokuta, Ogun state. The elder statesman joined the coalition a day after the new movement was launched in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Obasanjo was accompanied by former governors of Cross River and Osun states, Donald Duke and Olagunsoye Oyinlola, to the Secretariat of the Ogun state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Oke-Ilewo. He was welcomed to the secretariat by the chairman of the Council, Wole Sokunbi.

“I am happy to be a member of the Coalition for Nigeria  Movement. The movement is a pressure point towards good governance. This is the commencement of our popular and grassroots association,” Obasanjo, who was president from 1999 to 2007, said.

“It is necessary to make clear that this movement does not regard itself as a third force. It sees itself as a popular movement that can accommodate all Nigeria irrespective of their political interest or afflictions and will propel Nigeria forward.”

Meanwhile, the Ex-president has says he sees a new nation in the “hands of God” where everyone will be accommodated, irrespective of differences. Obasanjo stated this on Thursday while registering as a member of the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) in Abeokuta.

“Coalition for Nigeria Movement is proposed as the new direction to mobilise the country’s population for unity, cooperation, development, rule of law, employment, law and order, justice, integration, peace, security, welfare and well-begin,” the former president said.

Obasanjo had released a statement on 23 January, in which he advised President Muhammadu Buhari against seeking re-election in 2019. He said the Buhari administration had failed to deliver on its promises to Nigerians.

The former president also said there was no difference between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), urging Nigerians to immediately join forces to bring about a coalition for the country.