By Sunday Ani
An ardent supporter of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate for the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi and foremost champion of the struggle for the actualization of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2023, Comrade Kennedy Iyere has advised Obi to concentrate and harness his youths support base if he wants to win the 2023 election and stop fraternizing with the PDP elites.
Comrade Iyere, who gave the advice following Obi’s recent visit to the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi said the way and manner the visit was undertaken was very worrisome. He urged Obi to make known to the youths the purpose of the visit because they are the ones, who, in their millions have selflessly borne the costs of launching Obi into his present political fame.
“Today, I am one of the biggest mobilisers of youths for Peter Obi just the same way I had laboured in the past championing the selfless struggle for the actualisation of a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction in 2023. This is a cause to which I have dedicated the past three years of my life, and till date, I have invested my money in large chunks and also my time, strength and social capital among others, therefore, I won’t allow anyone’s reckless blunder to cost us the victory for which the youths of Nigeria have arduously labored. I won’t tolerate such mistakes from anyone, including Obi himself,” he said.
Iyere affirmed that the youths are currently making efforts to move Nigeria away from the old political order where the cabals handpick, impose and install their own selected candidates. He reiterated that in 2023, the youths are determined to reclaim their stolen government from the ruling cabals of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and that is why they have adopted Obi as their choice candidate. He noted that over the past four months, Nigerian youths have passionately and resiliently demonstrated that they have the force and the capacity to positively compel and enforce the political victory of Obi in 2023.
He, therefore, questioned the rationale behind Obi’s apparent alignment with Ugwuanyi, Okwesilieze Nwodo, Nnia Nwodo and other Enugu PDP cabals, warning that Obi’s association with the pro-Atiku PDP cabals and others like them was bound to derail him, even as he likened such such association to using a long spoon to eat with the devil. He stressed that such men were never to be trusted and for Obi, ignorance won’t be an excuse. “Peter Obi needs to explain to Nigerian youths the reason for his suspicious visit to Ugwuanyi in Enugu and also his close association with Okwesilieze Nwodo, Nnia Nwodo and other key PDP cabals, who are core Atiku’s loyalists,” he added.
Iyere advised the youths to open their eyes and ensure that Obi is protected from the deceptive political schemes of some elite in the APC and PDP, especially the political elite from Enugu and other states across the South East, who today are on the move to derail Obi’s presidential ambition. “This is not the time to keep quiet and trust blindly, unless we want either the APC or PDP to retain power in 2023,” he warned.
Noting that the youths control 71 percent of the country’s voting population, he reminded Obi that he could only become president in 2023 through the dedicated protest votes of young Nigerians who are already tired of the 23 years of fruitless political leadership of the APC and PDP combined. He advised the youths to stay with Obi as he still remained the best man for the job at the moment. He insisted that Obi should be careful the way and manner he franternizes with the PDP elite, whose intentions are to ensure that he loses the confidence of the youths, on whom lies his strength. “These PDP elites are 100 percent loyal to Atiku, and zero percent loyal to Obi. Peter Obi must realise that we are the ones spending our own hard earned money, time and other personal resources to push his political ambition, while those Enugu PDP cabals and others like them are being paid by Atiku to work for him. This is why Obi must be mindful of his alignment with the PDP cabals who are his so-called fake allies,” Iyere stated.
He warned Obi of the danger of ignoring his demand for caution as regards his romance with Governor Ugwuanyi, Okwesikieze Nwodo, Nnia Nwodo and other core PDP elite in Enugu State. He said that Okwesilieze Nwodo is a Board of Trustees member of the PDP and also a Deputy Director in the Atiku Presidential Campaign Council, warning that Obi alliance with them would only favour Atiku.
“Peter Obi should realise that we have chosen to support him because of our common determination to create a new Nigeria and that does not mean we should be taken for granted. Any attempts to further ignore my advice could push me to shift my support elsewhere and I hope he knows the consequences. I am very influential among the Nigerian youths and also among the elite. I have the capacity to take away more than half of his youth followers. He should listen to those of us who are his true heroes, else I shall be compelled to shift our loyalty elsewhere,” Iyere warned.