Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; the immediate past Governor
of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and some political parties
have been meeting as part of moves to strategise for the 2019
elections, The PUNCH reports.
In one of such meetings, which held at Protea Hotel, located at
42/44 Isaac John Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, Obasanjo was said to
have met with 35 political parties under the aegis of the Coalition
for New Nigeria.
Others at the meeting included the Co-Chairmen of the Nigerian
Intervention Movement, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), and Dr. Jhalil
Tafawa-Balewa, one of the children of Nigeria’s post-independence
first Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa.
A former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke; a former
Governor Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and a former
Special Adviser to Obasanjo, who is the spokesman for the CNM, Mr.
Akin Osuntokun, also attended the strategic meeting.
Some of the political parties represented at the meeting
included the Social Democratic Party, Labour Party, Alliance for
Democracy, Democratic People’s Congress, Action Alliance,
Progressives People’s Alliance, Democratic Alternative and National
Conscience Party.
Others, who attended the Lagos meeting, were Mr. Kenneth Udete,
who represented Action Alliance Party; and Mr. Okey Chukwuendu, who
represented the All Grand Alliance Party.
A source, who attended the meeting, told our correspondent that
Obasanjo emphasised the need to work together ahead of the 2019
general elections.
The source, who is close to Obasanjo, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the
coming together of the various interest groups and individuals had
become necessary as that was seen as the only way to defeat the
ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2019 elections.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said, “The
meeting was summoned by Obasanjo. He noted that both the APC and
the Peoples Democratic Party have failed Nigeria and there is a
need to come together. He said his association, Coalition for
Nigeria Movement, and the NIM should form a merger.”
When asked why Kwankwaso was invited to the meeting despite
being a member of the ruling APC, the source noted that Kwankwaso
had always been an Obasanjo loyalist.
“Have you forgotten that Kwankwaso was appointed the Minister of
Defence by President Obasanjo in 2003? The former governor was not
invited because of his ties with the APC but because he also has a
huge movement known as the Kwankwasiya in Kano and its environs.
Kano is a very strategic state,” the source, a top member of one of
the groups, stated.
“The meeting is not just a political one but an attempt to come
up with a unified ideology and strategy for 2019.”
The source explained that Obasanjo stressed the need for the
parties present to prove to Nigerians that they were different from
the APC and the PDP, saying Nigerians were tired of the two
parties.
When asked why the meeting was kept secret for so long, the
source said Obasanjo insisted that such strategic sessions remained
clandestine.
When contacted on the telephone on Saturday, Agbakoba confirmed
the meetings with Obasanjo.
Agbakoba, who is a co-chairman of the NIM, said the meetings
would continue to hold.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria stated, “What I can say is yes,
that is true. We are exploring the option of working together and
those conversations are still ongoing and we have a mutually-agreed
agenda that we will have to make an impact in 2019.
“And that we will not be supporting the APC or the PDP. We have
agreed on that but we have not agreed on who the candidate would be
and other minute details.”
When asked if the presence of old politicians like Kwankwaso and
Oyinlola in the meetings would not undermine the quest for change,
Agbakoba said NIM would be circumspect.
The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, added, “I
can confirm that Kwankwaso was there and Oyinlola was there, but
for us, our concern is that Nigerians need to see a new political
plan and we told them in clear terms that if we are to work
together, it would present a challenge if the Nigerian voting
population see the same old people and then there would be no
change. So, that’s where we are.
“It will be difficult in my view for us to be supporting the
same old people who left the PDP and went to the APC to come and
join us. It will be very difficult.”
Attempts to get a response from Kwankwaso about the meetings
were futile.
Calls to the mobile of his spokesperson, Rabiu Bichi, were not
returned while a response to a text message sent to him on the
subject was still being awaited as of the time of filing this
report on Saturday night.
Attempts to speak with Osuntokun proved abortive as he neither
returned calls to his mobile on Saturday nor responded to a text
message sent to his telephone.
Efforts to get Oyinlola to speak on this were unsuccessful.
Calls to the former governor’s phone rang out several times while
he had yet to respond to the text message sent to him on the same
issue as of the time of filing this report.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; the immediate past Governor
of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and some political parties
have been meeting as part of moves to strategise for the 2019
elections, The PUNCH reports.
In one of such meetings, which held at Protea Hotel, located at
42/44 Isaac John Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, Obasanjo was said to
have met with 35 political parties under the aegis of the Coalition
for New Nigeria.
Others at the meeting included the Co-Chairmen of the Nigerian
Intervention Movement, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), and Dr. Jhalil
Tafawa-Balewa, one of the children of Nigeria’s post-independence
first Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa.
A former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke; a former
Governor Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and a former
Special Adviser to Obasanjo, who is the spokesman for the CNM, Mr.
Akin Osuntokun, also attended the strategic meeting.
Some of the political parties represented at the meeting
included the Social Democratic Party, Labour Party, Alliance for
Democracy, Democratic People’s Congress, Action Alliance,
Progressives People’s Alliance, Democratic Alternative and National
Conscience Party.
Others, who attended the Lagos meeting, were Mr. Kenneth Udete,
who represented Action Alliance Party; and Mr. Okey Chukwuendu, who
represented the All Grand Alliance Party.
A source, who attended the meeting, told our correspondent that
Obasanjo emphasised the need to work together ahead of the 2019
general elections.
The source, who is close to Obasanjo, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the
coming together of the various interest groups and individuals had
become necessary as that was seen as the only way to defeat the
ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2019 elections.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said, “The
meeting was summoned by Obasanjo. He noted that both the APC and
the Peoples Democratic Party have failed Nigeria and there is a
need to come together. He said his association, Coalition for
Nigeria Movement, and the NIM should form a merger.”
When asked why Kwankwaso was invited to the meeting despite
being a member of the ruling APC, the source noted that Kwankwaso
had always been an Obasanjo loyalist.
“Have you forgotten that Kwankwaso was appointed the Minister of
Defence by President Obasanjo in 2003? The former governor was not
invited because of his ties with the APC but because he also has a
huge movement known as the Kwankwasiya in Kano and its environs.
Kano is a very strategic state,” the source, a top member of one of
the groups, stated.
“The meeting is not just a political one but an attempt to come
up with a unified ideology and strategy for 2019.”
The source explained that Obasanjo stressed the need for the
parties present to prove to Nigerians that they were different from
the APC and the PDP, saying Nigerians were tired of the two
parties.
When asked why the meeting was kept secret for so long, the
source said Obasanjo insisted that such strategic sessions remained
clandestine.
When contacted on the telephone on Saturday, Agbakoba confirmed
the meetings with Obasanjo.
Agbakoba, who is a co-chairman of the NIM, said the meetings
would continue to hold.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria stated, “What I can say is yes,
that is true. We are exploring the option of working together and
those conversations are still ongoing and we have a mutually-agreed
agenda that we will have to make an impact in 2019.
“And that we will not be supporting the APC or the PDP. We have
agreed on that but we have not agreed on who the candidate would be
and other minute details.”
When asked if the presence of old politicians like Kwankwaso and
Oyinlola in the meetings would not undermine the quest for change,
Agbakoba said NIM would be circumspect.
The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, added, “I
can confirm that Kwankwaso was there and Oyinlola was there, but
for us, our concern is that Nigerians need to see a new political
plan and we told them in clear terms that if we are to work
together, it would present a challenge if the Nigerian voting
population see the same old people and then there would be no
change. So, that’s where we are.
“It will be difficult in my view for us to be supporting the
same old people who left the PDP and went to the APC to come and
join us. It will be very difficult.”
Attempts to get a response from Kwankwaso about the meetings
were futile.
Calls to the mobile of his spokesperson, Rabiu Bichi, were not
returned while a response to a text message sent to him on the
subject was still being awaited as of the time of filing this
report on Saturday night.
Attempts to speak with Osuntokun proved abortive as he neither
returned calls to his mobile on Saturday nor responded to a text
message sent to his telephone.
Efforts to get Oyinlola to speak on this were unsuccessful.
Calls to the former governor’s phone rang out several times while
he had yet to respond to the text message sent to him on the same
issue as of the time of filing this report.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/obasanjo-meets-kwankwaso-duke-agbakoba-35-parties-in-lagos/