15 Parties to Field Joint Presidential Candidate in 2019

• Describe Lagos council poll as a charade
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
A new political group,  Coalition for a New Nigeria (CNN), has emerged with a common agenda to field a consensus candidate in the presidential election in 2019.

The coalition comprising of 15 registered political parties in the country, described the just concluded local council elections in Lagos State as a charade which was characterised by massive irregularities and voting fixing by the election umpire.

The political parties include Labour Party, Alliance for Democracy (AD), Democratic Peoples  Congress (DPC), Action Alliance (AA), Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA), Young Democratic Parry (YDP), Democratic Alternative (DA) and National Conscience Party (NCP).
Others are People for Democratic Change (PDC), United Democratic Party (UDP) and National Action Congress (NAC).

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday,  the Chairman of CNN and the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, said they would galvanise their energies and efforts to ensure that its common candidate emerge victorious at the election.

Regarding the coalition’s plan for the 2019 presidential election, Abdulsalam said they met and resolved to work together in order to chat a positive course for a new Nigeria.
“After several consultations and cordial discussions on the political and economic situation of the country, we the following political parties to be known and addressed as Coalition for a New Nigeria to chat a positive course for a new Nigeria,” he said.

Another member of the coalition and the National Chairman of the Democratic Peoples Congress (DPC), Mr. Olusegun Peters, said intention of the coalition is to field a consensus candidate for the next presidential election.

“This coalition have been working and strategising for three months to se how we can run a successful government in Nigeria to effect the real change in the country. We are working on how to present a credible presidential candidate for the 2019 general election. So we sure not working in collaboration with either the APC or the PDP but this coalition will present a credible presidential candidate for Nigerians in the next election, “ he said.

On whether the coalition would later metamorphose into a merger, Abdulsalam said: “It will remain a coalition and we are not contemplating a merger, each party remains independent and autonomous and like I they are to come together collectives to support a new government in 2019 at the centre.”

He said coalition is committed to pursuing economic, political and internal restructuring of Nigeria, empowerment of youths, women and persons with disability.
He also stated that the body would strive to respect the rule of law, protection of democratic institutions so as to build a nation of great dreams “where equity and justice shall be the guiding principle.”