The Coalition for Nigeria, a third force political group being championed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, appears to be a major platform that has continued to attract prominent and other members of the National Assembly, Aggrieved members of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in both the Senate and House of Representatives are said to be considering Obasanjo’s platform to achieve their political goals in the 2019 general elections.
According to an aggrieved lawmaker, who spoke to Punch on condition of anonymity, said it was becoming clear that many of them would be denied electoral tickets by their parties and the option was to consider Obasanjo’s offer. The APC members, according to the source, include serving and former governors and members of the National Assembly.
The APC senator from the North confirmed that the ex-President had reached out to some of the lawmakers, who are now lobbying their colleagues to embrace the CN. “It is true that he has reached out to us and I can tell you that 80 per cent of National Assembly members are with him. It is very huge,” the legislator added.
When asked if the lawmakers, who are interested in the Coalition of Nigeria, would remain in their parties but shift their loyalty to the new pro political group, or they dump their parties outright, the source said a new party was under consideration. “Registration of a political party cannot take more than two weeks . I can tell you that out of the parties that were registered, there is one at hand somewhere which will likely be the focus”. the lawmaker said.
While refusing to name the party, the source confirmed that the unnamed party would be used to execute the agenda of the coalition. The senator said mass defection from the APC and the PDP loomed , especially at the National Assembly. He added, “I can confirm to you that there is most likely to be defections from the APC in the next one month.