Major supporters and kinsmen of former President Goodluck Jonathan at the weekend threw their weight behind the presidential standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The supporters and kinsmen under the auspices of Citizens Network For Peace and Development in Nigeria (CNPDN), at a briefing in Abuja said since Jonathan failed to join the 2023 presidential race despite their persistent prodding, the right thing to do was to support Tinubu, who they said, has the structures and capacity to win the elections, apart from being a southerner.
CNPDN was among the first Southern Coalition to openly call on former President Jonathan to run for office on the platform of the APC.
The Coalition had also involved prominent Southern leaders to prevail on Jonathan to throw his hat in the ring.
The ex-President, who promised to consult widely, declined participation in the race at the last minute before Tinubu won the presidential primary election of the APC.
The National secretary of the Coalition, Mr. Francis Okereke Wainwei, from Bayelsa State, told reporters at the briefing in Abuja that as patriotic citizens, they can’t sit back and not participate in the electoral process of the country.
Wainwei said: “As patriotic citizens under the auspices of the Citizens Network For Peace and Development in Nigeria, we took it up as a burning need for us to be actively involved in the process leading to the election of Nigeria’s next president, who shall be taking over from President Muhammadu Buhari next year.
“We consider it as very important and necessary because Nigeria needs a truly visionary, competent and detribalized leader to enthrone a more united, peaceful and prosperous nation.
“As patriotic citizens we feel obliged to take some proactive measures to ensure that the right president is elected, come 2023 by providing proper information and guidance that will enable the electorate elect the right candidate as president.
“We therefore, took it upon ourselves to do thorough investigations, opinion sampling and interviewing of major stakeholders from across the country to know the exact mood of the nation, to enable the electorate make the right choice for the 2023 presidential election.
