Oyinlola, Duke and and another politician

Ex Governors; Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Donald Duke, others launches “Third Force” Coalition for Nigeria Movement in Abuja (Photo: SaharaReporters)

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s proposed political movement, “Coalition for Nigeria Movement”, was launched this Wednesday at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, the nation’s capital.

According to PREMIUM Times, Obasanjo who had suggested the formation of the movement in his recent critical special statement on President Buhari and his administration, is not present at the ongoing launch in Abuja, but two former PDP governors, Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Donald Duke, were in attendance.

While speaking during the launch, Oyinlola, a former governor of Osun State, said the movement is not yet a political party. “If and when we come to an agreement that we must metaphose into a political party, then we will. We’re not a political party, at least, for now,” he said.

He acknowledged that for the movement to make electoral impact in the manner described by Mr. Obasanjo in his letter, its proponents would need to follow the Constitution and register it as a political party.

“We recognise the facts that by the dictates of the Constitution, you can only contest on the platform of a political party,” said Oyinlola, who was the national secretary of the PDP before joining the APC in 2014 after his controversial removal from his position in the then-ruling party.

Oyinlola also responded to critics who see the movement as an attempt to legitimise the legacy of Mr. Obasanjo who governed as a democratically elected president between 1999-2007. “To say that we are legitimising OBJ’s legacy is a bit off the mark,” he said.