At the launch, Chief Obasanjo officially registered as a member of the movement. However, the group which claimed the former president used its name for his political movement, however asked Chief Obasanjo to stop using its name for his political movement. The group also urged the public not to associate with the Obasanjo’s movement, claiming it(the group) is the authentic bearer of the name.
The group said Obasanjo’s movement is made up of politicians it described as failed and said such group with such persons is not what the country needs at present. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Sabo Odeh, the national president of the said group said the authentic Coalition for Nigeria has noble intentions centred around galvanising Nigerians for nation building around tenets that are long term without pandering to unnecessary drama and media hype.
According to him, “Our Coalition is not limited to creating a backdoor for retired and tired politicians to install puppets in government.” It said Obasanjo’s Coalition Movement is “leveraging on our credible name to sell its lies to Nigerians.”
“The Coalition for Nigeria, having the best intentions of our dear nation at heart, is careful to go about effecting change in a way that does not jeopardize the stability and safety of Nigeria. There is nothing to be gained in burning our country in the name of seeking improvement; the reforms we all desire are achievable through persuasion, consensus building and collaboration without resorting to inflammatory acts and utterances as we have seen with some people.”
“Our Coalition is made up of Nigerians that yearn for a better country with the firm belief that the dismantling of the infrastructure for corruption is a necessary first step that ensure that we can then build the country on a solid foundation that provides level playing field to all citizens. “ The group said it is in doubt if Obasanjo’s Coalition Movement is in line with “this noble and laudable assembly.”
“The authentic Coalition for Nigeria will continue to pursue the noble objective of having credible persons to drive the Nigeria Project irrespective of differences pertaining to class, ethnicity, religious or political affiliation. Our belief is that such melding is important for building prosperous nations and that Nigeria should not be left behind.”
“The outcomes that the Coalition of Nigeria desire is a Nigeria that works for us all, the outcomes we have in mind are such that would persist from one administration to the other, an enduring legacy.” “We want Nigerians to take note today that we have distanced ourselves from Obasanjo’s movement.”
