“We commit to joining hands with all well-meaning Nigerians to draft Adesina into the 2023 presidential race.”

The Diaspora Support Group of North America and Europe have called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to endorse Akinwumi Adesina as the sole candidate for the 2023 presidential election.

The group made the call on Friday in a statement by Tony Bello, chairman and founder of Shine Bridge Global Inc., Chesapeake-Virginia U.S.

The group said of all the presidential aspirants, Mr Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) was the most qualified, better prepared and the best option.

It said that a coalition of the two leading political parties in Nigeria for Mr Adesina would birth a new dawn.

The group added that President Muhammadu Buhari and other prominent Nigerians like Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, among others, had at various times, acknowledged Mr Adesina’s capacity.

The group said just as parties came together to present Mr Buhari as the consensus candidate in 2015, the same should be for Mr Adesina to reposition the country ahead of 2023.

According to the group, Mr Adesina is more prepared to rebuild Nigeria and make it a better and stronger nation, politically, economically, culturally and globally.

According to the group, this is a reason they are excited about the extended deadline for sale of forms to May 10 by the leadership of the APC.

The group said its members were aware of the behind-the-scenes outreach to PDP by some members of the APC to request INEC to extend the deadline for presidential primaries as recently reported by a national newspaper.

They said that the move was good for Nigeria’s maturing democracy as it allows more aspirants to declare their interest to succeed Mr Buhari.

“Against this backdrop, the #Diaspora4AdesinaSupport Group of North America and Europe has not relented in her call on Adesina to run in the forthcoming presidential race. In our view, Adesina is perhaps the most qualified and best prepared to lead Nigeria in riding the wave of the pending perfect storm and to transform Nigeria’s multidimensional political ideologies and cultural diversity into socio-economic boom for the benefit of Nigerians at home and in the diaspora,” said the group.

It added, “Therefore, we commit to joining hands with all well-meaning Nigerians to draft Adesina into the 2023 presidential race. Adesina, our man of the hour, the proud and true son of Nigeria is our clear choice for the highest office in the land. We are calling on all Nigerians to help us engage Adesina in the 2023 presidential race under the APC or PDP platform.”

However, considering the power of incumbency, the said Mr Adesina might be better off running on the platform of APC.

“We are keenly aware of the interest in the presidential ambition of some fathers of the APC; but we are also believing that they too will see what we have seen in Adesina for him to ultimately win their converted support and that of PDP and other party leaders,” added the statement.
(NAN)