Ohanaeze, Afenifere, Southsouth groups endorse Buhari

LEADERS of ethnic socio-cultural groups yesterday endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term, urging Nigerians to vote for him in the Saturday election.

“We hereby endorse President Muhammadu Buhari as the consensus candidate of our coalition and without any fear of contradiction, we state that he will win the presidential election overwhelmingly on February 16,” the group said.

The groups are Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere, Middle Belt Coalition of Progressives (MCOP), Oodua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC) and Niger Delta Alliance for Justice.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Secretary Uche Okwukwu, a lawyer, who addressed reporters in Lagos on behalf of the coalition, called on the international community to respect the will of Nigerians as they exercise their freewill.

He said the outcome of the poll is important to Nigeria and the rest of the world, adding that it has a particular implication for the stability of Africa.

Okwukwu said the importance has made it compelling for the country to organise a peaceful, free, transparent, credible and violence-free election.

Lamenting that the conservative People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ruined the economy through corrupt practices for 16 years, he said its legacies are the widening gap between the rich and the poor, frustration, social dislocation and unemployment.

He said: “We must prevent the return of our country to the inglorious years of reckless corruption and unbridled rape of public resources. Nigeria should not return to the dark era of brigandage.”

Okwukwu described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the party of change, adding that its leaders, including President Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, have exhibited courage in the face of political tribulations.