My Coalition for Nigeria Movement will give women, youths a chance - Obasanjo

My Coalition for Nigeria Movement will give women, youths a chance - Obasanjo

Posted by admin on 08-02-18 (01:02) 287

- Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said his letter to the president was to advise him
- The former president said women and youths deserve opportunities in the country
- He said he would opt out of the Coalition for Nigeria Movement if it becomes a political party
Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the forward for the country was for youths and women to be put in positions were they can contribute to national development.
The Nation reports that the former president spoke at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Ogun state when a youth group from Delta State led a governorship aspirant, Frank Ufuoma Esanubi, to pay him a courtesy visit.
Obasanjo said he is focused on Nigeria’s future but clarified that he does not have a preferred candidate for 2019.
He said his Coalition for Nigeria Movement is geared towards galvanising a paradigm shift noting that people at the grassroot have been ignored by the government.
Obasanjo said his letter to President Muhammadu Buhari was not to belittle the positon or embarrass him but to offer advice.
He said: “In the year 2015, I said I would no longer participate in partisan politics. And I still stand by my decision. Everybody, irrespective of his or her political affiliation is free to come here for advice, I will gladly do that. I have no candidate, whatsoever, for any political office. I just believe that things must be done differently in Nigeria to get different result.
“If you study our transitions since the colonial era, they have all taken place without taking the people of the grassroots into consideration. So, CNM is about the people at the grassroots. It is a socio-economic movement where youth and women, especially, will be given opportunity to appreciate their interests and power. Unlike before, I believe we must put the horse before the cart.
“If the system and the platform sync, I believe Nigeria will get there. And like I said, the moment the Coalition gets involved in candidate sponsoring or participates in partisan politics, I will opt out of it.”
Meanwhile, 9jaloaded had reported that a chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta state, Kennedy Eyube, reportedly said the 2019 re-election moves of President Muhammadu Buhari have been boosted by the separate open letters from Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida.
Vanguard quoted Eyube as saying in a statement in Warri, Delta state, that Nigerians should avoid criticizing Obasanjo and Babangida or react negatively as the letters should be seen as a major boost for the president’s re- election bid.