Amidst criticisms and fears of trying to use his new Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), to impose a candidate in the 2019 presidential election, former President Olusegun Obasanjo says he has no candidates for political offices in 2019 but prefers to remain an elder statesman with passion for greater Nigeria.
Obasanjo, who launched the Coalition for Nigeria Movement as a a�?third forcea�? or an alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress and opposition Peoples Democratic Party had earlier advised President Muhammadu Buhari in a letter not to seek re-election in 2019, accusing the President of performing below expectation s.
But the former President said while receiving a youth group from Delta State led by a governorship aspirant, Frank Esanubi on a courtesy visit at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State yesterday that the coalition will not present candidates at the next general elections.
He said he convened the coalition to galvanise Nigerians to appreciate their interests and power, noting that transitions that had taken place in the country since independence neglected the people at the grassroots, adding that CNM will remain a non partisan socio political movement.
He insisted that his letter to President Buhari was not meant to disrespect the office of the president or embarrass the president but to articulate his views about the situation in the country and offer his candid advice.
a�?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.
a�?I have no candidate, whatsoever, for any political office. I just believe that things must be done differently in Nigeria to get different result,a�? Obasanjo said.
The leader of the team, Esanubi said his groupa��s visit to the former president was to pay homage to him and intimate him on their resolve to heed his clarion call for Nigerians to come together under the CNM for a better Nigeria.
2019: I have no preferred candidate –Obasanjo
