Why Buhari, Atiku should forget 2019 – Youth Coalition

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, a coalition of youths championing system change, Sunday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar to jettison their presidential ambition.

The group said the advice became imperative as the duo, among others would be rejected at the polls.

In a communique made available to journalists in Enugu, which was signed by Mr. Bello Olanrewaju, Aliyu Abdulrahaman and Tina Inyamah, they advised Buhari, Atiku and others to drop their presidential ambitions to avoid being disgraced by the outcome of the election.

They said the decision is the fallout of their just concluded summits in Enugu, Lagos and Abuja, at the instance of Mr. Iheanacho Ezeakor.

The youths said apart from Buhari and Atiku, any other candidate beyond 50 years would also be rejected.

According to them, “having successfully concluded our summit in three major cities in Nigeria- Enugu, Lagos and Abuja, we have come to the conclusion that the major problem facing Nigeria is bad leadership.

“We are being faced with a situation where people who are now lacking in new ideas are running the affairs of the country. Although some of them have good vision for the country, they lack the capacity to drive the process owing to their age and lack of new ideas.

“We are, therefore, advising President Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Sule Lamido, Ahmed Makarfi, among several others, who are beyond 50 years, to drop their ambition and support a younger Nigerian. The youths are going to give them a shocker by stoutly rejecting them at the polls.

“We believe that these men and many others have contributed their quota at their ripe age and what we are having now is recession in leadership. They should therefore, step aside and support a youth presidency.

“Nigeria is blessed but grappling with youth restiveness, unemployment and collapsed infrastructure simply because those at the helm of affairs are bereft of ideas. The time for real change has come and the Nigerian youths across the country have pledged their readiness to ensure that in 2019, a youth will become the President of Nigeria.”

On the way forward, the group said, “we need youths in the likes of Iheanacho Ezeakor, who is sacrificing all his personal comfort towards the emergence of Nigeria of our forefathers’ dream. Without mincing words, we are backing him as the next President of Nigeria come 2019.

“Buhari, Atiku and others will write their names in gold if they toe same line and support him with their political structure. From what we have seen in him, Nigeria will be transformed in no time.”