2019 Elections: I Have No Candidates For Political Offices- Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday said he has no candidates for political positions in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

Obasanjo disclosed this while receiving a youth group from Delta State led by a governorship aspirant, Frank Esanubi on a courtesy visit in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Obasanjo had suggested a Coalition for Nigeria Movement as an alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the letter he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari, last month, advising him not to seek re-election in 2019.

The former president said the coalition will not present candidates at the next general elections, explaining that he convened the movement to galvanise Nigerians to appreciate their interests and power, noting that the people at the grassroots have been neglected since independence.

Obasanjo emphasized that CNM would remain a socio-political movement, stressing that he would cease to be a member if the coalition becomes partisan.

He said, “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. I have no candidate, whatsoever, for any political office. I just believe that things must be done differently in Nigeria to get different result.

“If you study our transitions since the colonial era, they have all taken place without taking the people of the grassroots into consideration. So, CNM is about the people at the grassroots. It is a socio-economic movement where youth and women, especially, will be given opportunity to appreciate their interests and power. Unlike before, I believe we must put the horse before the cart.

“If the system and the platform sync, I believe Nigeria will get there. And like I said, the moment the coalition gets involved in candidate sponsoring or participates in partisan politics, I will opt out of it.”

The leader of the youth group, Esanubi said his group’s visit to the former president was to pay homage to him and keep him abreast on their decision to align with the CNM for a better Nigeria.