YEMI OSINBAJO DECLARATION: Support Group throng streets of Calabar in solidarity for OSINBAJO hours after declaration

YEMI OSINBAJO declaration: Support Group throng streets of Calabar in solidarity for Osinbajo hours after declaration

By Kingsley Agim

Barely few hours after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s declaration for the presidential race, a gamut of support groups have been swelling across Nigeria and the diaspora, with the OSINBAJO Grassroot Organization, the latest to throng the streets of the ancient city of Calabar in solidarity for the Vice President’s aspiration.

Speaking at the solidarity rally, Monday, the convener, Mr. PHILIP OBIN said Cross Riverians and residents of Cross River State had come out en masse to register their support for a man (Osinbajo) they feel is tested and trusted to take Nigeria to the next level.

MR. PHILIP OBIN, who is the Technical Adviser to the Vice President, described his boss as a man who has proven his mettle in various capacities in the public service starting from his stint as the Attorney General of Lagos State, to presently his two-term spell on the reins as Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Prof. Osinbajo has had the opportunity to demonstrated his capacity overtime as a professor by all standards. And I can tell you without doubt that if given the opportunity to become president, he will take this country to her pride of place as the giant of Africa,” Obin reiterated.

The convener also pointed out that in the last one year, there has been an unimaginable number of support groups imploring Prof. Osinbajo to vie for president, while describing his declaration as “hearkening to the voices of the people and accepting the call to take the lead.”

Mr. Obin urged Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora to throw their weight behind Prof. Osinbajo, given his sterling leadership qualities and experience, attributes he highlighted as putting Vice President ahead of the rest in the race for who becomes Nigeria’s President.

Also speaking, the former chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Cross River State, Mr. John Ochala cited Prof. Osinbajo’s integrity and sense of purpose as his reasons for him to become president.

“Nigeria is in turmoil and we need somebody of Prof. Osinbajo’s character to take this country out of the woods,” he added.

Articulating her views, Mrs. Diana-Mary Owan, who described herself as a die-heart supporter of Prof. Osinbajo, said: “Nigeria, beyond having someone who has the credentials, we need one with impeccable character to follow through the promises made. We need a personality with the finesse of staying true to his words, a code of conduct so to speak; and somebody who knows the loopholes, understands the vicissitudes of what the nation is being through, as well as one who can consolidate on the gains already recorded.

“We do not have time for experiments. We do not have time for people who are yet to understand the peculiar problems that we have as a country. We need someone who is already there. And of course, he is the most qualified.”

Another supporter, Prof. Francisca Bassey said Osinbajo’s pedigree, fear of God, humility, humane and compassionate disposition; and a man who has taken time to understand the situation with Nigeria and manifested ability to bring solutions. We cannot afford to do trials anymore. So we asking him, like the biblical messiah, to come for the salvation of our nation, Nigeria.

Among the multitude of people that trooped out for the solidarity rally, the solemn promise was to take the “Yemi Osinbajo for President” to the nooks and crannies of the State.