FEW days to the February 25 presidential election, a coalition of youth groups have urged the presidential candidate of Accord Party, Professor Christopher Imumolen, to drop his presidential bid and support the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The coalition said the counsel is coming after due consultations were made, stating that hence both party’s presidential candidates share the same vision for the development of the country, there was a need for them to join forces.
In a statement, signed by the president, Coalition of Youth and Student Societies in Nigeria, Khalifa Abbas, stated that the move is rather a smart one that would improve the chances for a southerner to emerge the winner of the presidential election.
He went further to explain that the Accord party, if left on its own, does not have the needed capacity to pull votes and win the presidential election.
He said: “We have keenly followed your well placed aspirations of seeking to become Nigeria’s next president, and we must admit that we admire your vision and courage in wanting to change the old narrative of uninspiring leadership that has since frustrated our country’s genuine desire to fulfill it’s much vaunted potential.
“Since what you seek is one of a selfless nature that is targeted at ushering in a leadership that will rekindle hope and engender mutual understanding and cooperation for a better and progressive Nigeria, we are constrained to make a demand on you that we know aligns with this very objective.
That is why we would, in the light of the foregoing, recommend that you join forces with equally progressive minds like yourself for the common good, particularly for the objective of winning the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for a week hence.
“Simply put, we wish to humbly recommend to you that you kindly step down for His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to increase his chances of winning the February 25, 2023 presidential elections.
“His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a father who is a visionary, mentor and pragmatic leader. The man that is capable to not only unite and offer this country leadership that all Nigerians would be proud of, but who has the political machinery, sagacity and experience to deliver the goods as far as democratic dividends is concerned.
“As the only youth in the presidential race, with a growing support base, you are an asset that can prove invaluable to the genuine quest of Tinubu, a man that has done a lot to advance the country’s democratic experience since the advent of the 4th Republic in 1999.
“It is in the realisation of this that we wish to plead to your conscience to support the candidacy of Ahmed Asiwaju Tinubu for the following reasons:
“Without doubt, by your emergence as the country’s youngest ever presidential candidate on the platform of the Accord party alone, you made history as no youth in the annals of the country’s democratic experience ever achieved the feat.
“And coming into the race loaded with a track record in academics, having established 3 universities in 3 different continents of the world, and with a CV detailing how a lot of youths have been blessed with educational scholarships, we cannot help but be profuse with praises for you on such remarkable feats at such a young age.
“We the youth community are so proud of your philanthropic works that has uplifted millions of the underprivileged whose lives have been given a meaning in different ways.
“This is the more reason we are convinced that aligning with a Tinubu-led APC will not only boost your chances of reaching that goal of using the instrumentality of the presidency to reach a larger segment of society, but to increase your chances of helping to form the next government in the event of a Tinubu victory.
“However, considering the machinery needed to win a typical presidential election in Nigeria, the Accord party of present is sadly ill-equipped to mobilise the needed wherewithal in terms of logistics, funding and the support base required to see it to it’s logical conclusion.
“We understand, as a body, that you have virtually exhausted yourself, prosecuting your campaigns without any external funding and this is a burden we are reluctant to further allow you to carry.
“As a christian candidate, we strongly believe stepping down for Asiwaju will equally have the interest of the Christian community protected. Peter Obi (of the Labour Party) who is also a christian candidate does not have the spread and financial capability to win the election, sadly said.
“Being a candidate from the south, it is pertinent that you look into supporting a southern candidate which Asiwaju represents. We have clearly analysed the chances of your party, Accord, and looking at it’s strengths in states like Oyo, Rivers, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Zamfara, Lagos, Abia, FCT, Plateau, Edo and Gombe, it is very likely that it will finish 3rd or 4th at the end of the day.
“But, we are convinced Accord will achieve more if your votes in those aforementioned states go to Tinubu to enhance his chances of winning, as well guarantee your political future.”
