Joseph Bakare
The former presidential candidate of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, ACPN, Oby Ezekwesili has again expressed her determination to work with a credible Coalition to defeat the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
She said that nothing in the two major political parties is appealing to any patriotic Nigerian just as she apologized to her supporters for pulling out of the race.
Ezekwesili , at a world press conference, asked her supporters not to be heartbroken by her decision to quit the presidential race and not to lose faith in the promise of change she made during her campaign.
“I ask all those who are disappointed that we could not go all the way this time in our quest not to lose faith. We will work hard together for the coalition candidate when they emerge. Whoever that might that emerges from the alternative candidates. Nothing of APC or PDP is appealing to anyone who desires good for our country”
She disclosed that a credible coalition is a guaranteed way to defeat the APC and PDP in the country.
On her decision to quit the presidential race, Ezekwesili disclosed that: “My stepping down to work for a consensus candidate is not an afterthought. I’ve always believed in it. It is my sincere hope that the credible alternatives left in the race are willing to sacrifice for Nigeria’s common good which is a new order of politics of character competence and capacity. As I could have just decided to ignore all that was going on with the party and then satisfy them just so I will be there, but a coalition is a guaranteed way for us to defeat the activities of APC/PDP in this country. My immediate commitment is to help in every way possible to build this coalition.
“Since the suspension of my campaign I have taken actions to reach out to six of the key alternative candidates and sought the involvement of one of the most respected leaders in our country to get them to the place of sacrificial leadership that is required for us to have them emerge with a workable consensus from amongst them. Citizens wish to see them make them make this sacrifice and my sincere charge to the alternatives is to do all that it takes to form that coalition of the willing with a strong candidate that will bear the mandate of all those who seek good governance for Nigeria. All of those who joined me to focus on Project Rescue Nigeria are waiting to line up behind such a candidate. There is a strong reason why you all must do this. Looking ahead, for I will get some needed rest along with my campaign team. Amazing people. This was a real campaign team. The quality of campaign team I had God bless you. Thank you. For me and the campaign team, we will get some needed rest and go back to our professional work.
“As a citizen I have two big priorities going forward. The first is fixpolitics.org. This is a value based movement to disrupt our politics and reconstruct this country. In a way this is what I sought to achieve by joining politics. I realized that it would not be a quick fix. It is a marathon but the best time to set out on it is now. We must drive a citizens’ movement built from the bottom up and which possesses a clear definition and identifiable philosophy. You will hear more about this agenda soon. The second big priority for me is the establishment of a multi partisan school of politics and governance. A leadership school that helps us grow a pipeline of political leaders from the base.
Nigeria has not been deliberate in raising the next generation of leaders as some other countries like even south Africa. We must change that otherwise we will continue to repeat this cycle where there are not enough people with the character competency and capacity to lead the country. We will focus from all down the council level, that is the local government, houses of assembly up to the presidency. 2023 must not find us only trying to make change happen from the presidential level. We have business schools, like the Lagos business school, training private sector leaders for the country. There is no reason why we cannot have an equivalent school for our political leadership. It can be done and it will be done.”