2019: Agbakoba, Tafawa Balewa lead NIM to adopt Alliance for New Nigeria as political platform

The Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM), one of the new political movements, comprising of Nigeria professionals determined to rescue the nation from its present political leadership, has adopted the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) as the political platform that it intends to use to pursue its political agenda come 2019.

The group at a media parley jointly addressed by Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, Dr Abduljalil Tafawa Balewa, Co Chairmen of Nigeria Intervention Movement, (NIM) and Dr Jay Osi Samuels, Chairman of Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), the group noted that majority of Nigerians were overwhelmed by the reckless pursuit of self serving, exploitative political class which has continued to ensure that little or no governance, properly so called, is going on in Nigeria.

“What we continued to have instead is that recycled and spent forces who form the entrench power in Nigeria continue to massage their over bloated ego and greed for our common resources. But for us in NIM, the whole essence of political leadership is the welfare and wellbeing of the citizenry.”

According to the group, what has become notoriously evident in the nation today is the increasing impoverishment and pauperisation of the generality of the citizenry, compounded by general insecurity, deepening ethno-religious animosity which has continued to push the fragile unity of the nation to a dangerous edge, thereby endangering the national resources and beneficial commonality.

“it is against this debilitating background and the need to restore hope back to Nigerians that the Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM), was birthed on 28th November, 2017 by a new breed leaders of conscience towards breathing a new life of sustainable popular constitutional democracy and good governance trajectory that will engender a new Nigeria that works for all Nigerians.”

The group noted that its understanding of the importance of political parties’ roles in nurturing democracy and good governance and the role the leading political parties in the country have played in the nation’s quest for good governance and the delivery of good governance and also considering the time constraints in registering a new political platform, it decided to align with the ANN towards the 2019 elections.

“It is against this constrains that Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM) was compelled to scan the whole gamut of registered political parties in Nigeria, held very serious consultations and negotiating sessions with 17 political parties and found the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) to be the appropriate vehicle to actualize the political vision and agenda of NIM on a credible democratic alternative for fresh breed political leaders,” they said.

Also speaking at the sideline of the event which was attended by many of the new breed presidential aspirants including Dr. Thomas-Wilson Ikubese, Dr. ShinaTagbenro Byron of Kowa Party, Fela Durotoye, Elishama Ideh among others, the Son of former Biafra warlord, Ikembe Odumegwu Ojukwu, Debe Ojukwu, said the determination of the new Nigeria movement to unseat President Muhammadu Buhari from office in 2019 is achievable and the President will indeed be defeated by the new youth movement.

Ojukwu said however, that to achieve that the set of young presidential aspirants jostling to contest the election must be ready to work as a team with a unity of purpose and a focus towards changing the old order in 2019.

According to him, victory in 2019 is achievable, “It is achievable. It can be achieved. It depends. Because what I have noticed; I have gone round the registration centres.

The youths, they have been given the verve to register, which shows that a lot of people are keying into it.
“It is progressive.

I am so much keyed in on it. What we need to do is that at this point we must make sure; because it is after this event that disparity sets in, when the different presidential aspirants start having different ideas.

We must have a way of coalescing them, making them all accept. Like one of the speakers said: that the drive is for the nation and not for the individual. Those are the things.

“So, it is the youths. As they are telling you that about 70m Nigerians didn’t vote in the last elections. When you vote, the next problem is the umpire.

You will make sure that the umpire is straight, then that is all. We will get it done. But if we only emphasis on voting and leave a lacuna, we might not make it,” he said.