Ahead of the 2023 polls, a group, Diaspora Nigerians in New England, United States of America has vowed to mobilize for the victory of Mr Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate.

The coordinator, Alhaji Mohammed Ighile, who was home in Benin City, Edo State, recently said that the group is determined to support Obi because of his prudent management of Anambra State resources when he was governor.

The coordinator said that the LP presidential candidate is a better choice than his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Senator Bola Tinubu and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Ighile, a pro-democracy activist and close ally of the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, during the dark days of military dictatorship, remarked that his interest and that of his colleagues stems from a deep interest in the affairs of Nigeria and patriotism.

He said: “The interest of this group of Nigerians in the Diaspora in the United States is altruistic. We are not seeking for anything except good governance. After a careful X-ray of the candidates of the two major parties, we determined that Obi has the best qualities to steer Nigeria out of this present state of hopelessness.”

He added that the choice of the ex-Anambra State governor was also due to the fact that both the APC and the PDP had disappointed Nigerians since the country returned to civil rule in 1999.

Ighile noted that LP as a third force, represents a fresh breathe of air which should be given the opportunity to take over the reins of power in 2023.

Determined to actualize their ambition, he added that one Mr Ben Ekhator has been appointed by the group as the head of the contact and mobilization committee, adding that the association intends to embark on a fundraiser for Obi.

The PDP spokesman recalled how the opposition party had on various occasions alerted that the APC government had ceded sovereignty over a large portion of our country to terrorists, “many of whom were imported into our country by the APC.”

He further stated: “From the video, in a brazen manner, terrorists as non-state actors boldly showed their faces, boasting, admitting and confirming their participation in the Kuje Prison break, some of whom were former prison inmates who were either jailed or awaiting trial for their previous terrorism act against our country.

“Nigerians can equally recall the confession by the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai that the APC government knows the plans and whereabouts of the terrorists but failed to act.

According to Ologunagba, about 18,000 Nigerians have been killed by terrorists between 2020 and 2022 “as the criminals continue to be emboldened by the failures and obvious complicity of the APC and to which the PDP had always drawn attention.”

“This is not politics; this is about humanity and leadership, which leadership sadly and unfortunately is missing in our country at this time,” he said.

The PDP added that it is appalled by “the lame response by the apparently helpless, clueless and deflated Buhari Presidency, wherein it told an agonizing nation that President Buhari “has done all and even more than what was expected of him as Commander in Chief by way of morale, material and equipment support to the military…”

“This is a direct admission of incapacity and failure by the Buhari Presidency and the APC. At such a time, in other climes, the President directly leads the charge and takes drastic measures to rescue and protect his citizens.

“In time of adversity, the President transmutes into Consoler-in-Chief to give hope and succour to the citizens. Painfully, Nigeria does not have a President who cares and can stand as Consoler-in-Chief to the citizens.

“It has now become very imperative for Nigerians to take note and realize that the only solution to this unfortunate situation is to hold the APC government accountable. We must come together as a people, irrespective of our political, ethnic and religious affiliations to resist the fascist-leaning tendencies of the APC administration.

Ologunagba called for an urgent meeting of the National Council of State to advise on the way to go over the nation’s worsening insecurity.

“Our nation must not fall. The resilient Nigerian spirit and ‘can-do- attitude’ must be rekindled by all to prevail on the President to immediately and without further delay, accede to the demand by the PDP and other well-meaning Nigerians to convene a special session of the National Council of State to find a lasting solution since the President has, in his own admission, come to his wit’s end,” the PDP spokesman declared. (Nigerian Tribune)

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