Nonsochukwu Uwa, Owerri
The Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, on Wednesday said the endorsement of the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, among others indicated that they were interested in the well-being of Nigerians.
COSEYL’s President-General, Goodluck Ibem, stated this while reacting to Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi for the 2023 presidential election.
According to the group, it showed that Obasanjo, was against the anomalies in the country as caused by bad leadership.
The statement made available to Ikengaonline read in part: “The Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, the apex socio-political youth group in the South-East geopolitical zone supports the endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, by the Executive Governor of Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom; the foremost elder statesman and former President of Nigeria Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; Elder Statesman, Chief Edwin Clark; and other well-meaning Nigerians who have good intentions for the nation.
“The endorsement of Peter Obi by these patriotic Nigerians clearly shows that they mean well for our nation’s progress and development which is why they stepped forward to throw their weight behind Peter Obi, a man who has what it takes to move the nation forward.
“Anyone who is against these men of good conscience is just telling Nigerians that they are comfortable with the fuel that is sold at N600 per litre; the exchange rate of N720 for $1; insecurity and killings by terrorists and other social vices that have taken over the entire nation.
“A blind man can see and feel the level of decadence in our society today and those who mean well for our nation know very well that it is Mr Peter Obi that has what it takes to pull the nation out of its present quagmire.
“We commend the boldness of Governor Samuel Ortom, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and Chief Edwin Clark to say the minds of Nigerians who have no means of doing so. Nigerians are proud to identify with them and are very happy with them for their desire for a better nation that we can call our own.
“It is very unfortunate that the spokesman of the President, Garba Shehu will be running his mouth against an Elder Statesman like Chief Obasanjo who spoke the minds of the majority of Nigerians.
“Garba Shehu has always been on the side that is anti-people and he is always happy when Nigerians are suffering in pain and hardship. Anyone who speaks against the injustice meted out to Nigerians is an enemy of Shehu.
“When Fulani Jihadists and terrorists descended on Benue people killing them on daily basis, Garba Shehu attacked Governor Samuel Ortom for speaking out against the killings of Benue people. He has always been on the unpopular side and we are not surprised by his attack on Chief Obasanjo who is widely respected nationally and internationally.
“Governor Ortom, Chief Obasanjo and Chief Clark are heroes of our democracy and we are very happy to identify with them for speaking the truth. We, therefore, call our elder statesman Chief Obasanjo to ignore the rantings of Garba Shehu and concentrate on his God-given duties of helping to make our nation great again,” COSEYL said.
