- Olisa Agbakoba, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, reveals plans for a consensus candidate to tackle Buhari and Atiku in 2019
- Agbakoba described the current administration as the worst in the history of governance in Nigeria
- He expresses fear that President Muhammadu Buhari may not want to relinquish power if he loses at the poll
A senior lawyer and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, a coalition of forces will officially unveil its consensus presidential candidate by January, 2019 ahead of the general elections that year.
Agbakoba also described the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the worst in the history of Nigeria.
The former NBA boss who is also a leader of the National Intervention Movement (NIM), disclosed that the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) is passionate about saving Nigeria by bringing Buhari’s reign to an end.
“We are all united in the mantra and the strong song around our campaign; that is: Anybody but Buhari. That’s the campaign - Anybody but Buhari.
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“We are making sure that the four locust years from 2015 to 2019 will never repeat themselves in Nigeria. This has been the worst government in Nigeria’s history.
“Unemployment rate at 20 million, youth unemployment is so high, inflation at about 18 percent, borrowing requirement or interest rate at about 22 percent; nothing is working. So, we need to do something to reclaim it,” he said.
The lawyer added: “We clearly understand that to win the forthcoming elections, we require a united opposition. So, all the parties are simply presenting their presidential candidates. By January, CUPP will formalise its consensus candidate.
“It may well be Atiku or it may not, but the person who will be chosen must be one who has the heavy-lifting, who can get the job done.
“Personally, I’m pro-Atiku because I think he has the heavy-lifting, but I will not pre-empt anything.
“So, that’s the message; we are working with the United Opposition Party, which we now have. Obasanjo’s own is called ADC, I am affiliated to the Peoples Trust and all of these come under the umbrella of the third force.”
Agbakoba condemned the presence of the service chiefs at the launch of Buhari’s re-election campaign recently saying this poses fear that the president may not relinquish power easily.
“Clearly, the signal and the obvious determination on the part of this government is to potentially rig the election and or refuse to leave if beaten and we are staring a potential legitimacy crisis next year because President Buhari isn’t former President Jonathan.
“Jonathan left quietly, peacefully. I still hope that those around President Buhari will say to him, ‘you have lost, go.’ On the other hand, if President Buhari wins the election in a fair, credible, transparent election, then that’s what the people say because the people are the final arbiter.
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“So, what we want is credibility. But can you believe that the service chiefs with all their medal-bedecked chests attended President Buhari’s declaration on Sunday. How do I have confidence?
“That is very worrying. So, there is time for Nigeria’s institutions, the army, police and INEC to conduct for us free and fair elections,” he said.
Meanwhile, the works, housing and power minister, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday, November 21, said in 2015, the government of Buhari never promised to transform Nigeria in four years if given the mandate.
Fashola, who inaugurated the President Muhammmadu Buhari–Osinbajo 2019 campaign group comprising of about 5,000 political foot soldiers in Lagos state, argued that the administration did not promise to bring about change in different sectors of the country in four years.
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