A civil society organisation, Identify the Right Leader Initiative, has called on Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to declare his intention to run for the Presidency in the forthcoming general elections.

According to the group, the future of the country depends on whether Osinbajo decides to run or not as he “ticks all the boxes.”

The group also launched a book titled, ‘The Unveiling: Osinbajo …If empowered’, which highlights his achievements as Attorney-General of Lagos State under the Bola Tinubu-led administration, Vice-President, and on a few occasions, acting President, under the present regime.

The National Coordinator of the group, Princess Temilade Okesanjo, while unveiling the book, said it was now out of the VP’s call to decide whether or not he wanted to run for the exalted seat as “most Nigerians touched by his moves, while he was in different political capacities” wanted him as President of the country to “turn things around for the nation.”

At the event held in Lagos on Friday, Okesanjo said, “It is no longer whether or not he would want to be President. It is out of his call at this moment. Nigeria needs a proactive leader and we have found Osinbanjo to be the best fit for the job at this time, considering his track records and political antecedents. Whether or not he wants to run, he is the next President of Nigeria.

“Interestingly, when we launched this a few days ago, we got on the front pages of newspapers. That was an indication that some people believe in what we are doing. So far, it has been positive. Reading through the comments made by Nigerians, we see that we have a lot of Nigerians, who support us and believe in the vision and have begun to ask how they can be a part of this movement.

“We are tired of recycling the same set of people that we cannot read exactly what they have done. What sort of impact have they made? It is time that I think that people are really tired. We need something different. There is a lot going on and we cannot pretend that the country is what we would have wanted it to be. We need Nigerians to be transparent enough to help this conversation.”

On what the aim of the group was, the Director-General, Mr Dayo Akutobi, said, “We are a civil organisation seeking the wellbeing of the country. We are not a political group. We are non-partisan, not-for-profit, civil-minded, patriotic and unbiased Nigerians, who have taken out time to look at the process of identifying individuals, who are fit for political offices across the country, starting from the seat of the President.”

The group’s Director of Strategy and spokesman, Dr Abimbola Oyarinu, urged Nigerians to look beyond campaign promises made by politicians and consider their track records so that they could identify those fit for particular offices.

In the group’s pamphlet titled, ‘60 Points from Osinbajo’s Project Assessment Report’, the Vice-President was described as “emotionally intelligent, detribalised, highly cerebral, staunch believer of the rule of law and the most active VP since 1979.”

Reacting, the Director, Media, Publicity and ICT, Tinubu Support Organisation, Ekiti State, Abiodun Alonge, dismissed such insinuations, saying the authors were only day-dreaming, as he said Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was “the most acceptable and popular politician in Nigeria wanted by people as next president”.

Alonge said, “From all indications, from all the supports we have been getting from over 200 groups across Nigeria and even overseas, it is crystal clear that Tinubu towers above all politicians in Nigeria”.

The TSO spokesperson, who said the unparalleled receptions accorded Tinubu in all parts of the country was clear attestation of his acceptability above any other politicians, described the former Lagos State Governor as “a towering individual in the country’s political space and an iconic colossus”.

Also, irked by what he described as the silence and tacitly prompting a subtle orchestrated campaign for his 2023 presidential ambition, the National Coordinator of the National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators, NCNDE-A, Eshanekpe Israel, a.k.a Akpodoro has called on the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, to openly declare his ambition for presidency like others have done, saying enough of grandstanding and deceit.

The call was contained in a release made available Friday, January 22, 2022 in Abuja, Nigeria after a well-attended stakeholders meeting of the leaders of the Coalition.

Akpodoro noted that the Vice President is confusing the people to believe that he is not interested in the presidency, keeping mum as his aides junket all over the place consulting for him, maintaining that there’s nothing wrong in aspiration even though it runs against the ambition of his political mentor and godfather, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Urhobo-born ex-agitator noted that, ambition is as old as man, stressing that, the Vice president shouldn’t be ashamed to announce his presidential ambition to the world or at best renounce it to clear the air on his candidacy wondering why Professor Osinbajo, who is supposedly a Pastor has chosen to keep Nigerians in avoidable suspense, noting that no amount of subterfuge will make Nigerians believe that Osinbajo is not working against the interest of mentor.

“In as much the Coalition has not endorsed any aspirant as its candidate,” Akpodoro said that it is in the best interest of the All Progressives Congress, APC in particular, and Nigerians at large, that Osinbajo, who he described as an integral member of the Asiwaju Tinubu political family should rather than engaging in alleged subterranean moves, make open his intention to run against the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju, who the entire world knows is behind Professor Osinbajo’s ascendancy to power.

Akpdoro, who doubles as the President of Urhobo Youth Forum for Change, UYFC added that if contesting against his political godfather is wrong and against his conscience, the VP should make it open to the world, but, if he chooses to explore his fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he should also be man enough to throw his hat in the ring rather than attacking the man who thrust him up to the office of VP through those he described as mendacious principled aides of his.

He stated that the world was awake when the today’s National Leader of the APC, as a governor appointed Prof. Osinbajo from amongst millions into his cabinet and made him prominent among his peers then, and from there catapulted him to the office of the vice president of Nigeria in what he described as grace and favour of God using Tinubu as a vessel.

He challenged Osinbajo to name few persons he has so empowered and made prominent in his political sojourn, noting that as a Pastor, he must live up to heavenly expectations by showing absolute gratitude to the man who made him in politics without who he said, the VP would have been “languishing in one of the universities in the country.”

According to him, Osinbajo is going through a moral test in the present circumstance as he pointedly called on him not to sabotage his world-renowned mentor and godfather, saying he should in his best interest ignore those urging him on to challenge a man he can never defeat under any circumstances appealing to him ” not to “play Akintola in 2023 presidential contest, whose history is replete with perfidy and betrayal of his mentor.”

Akpodoro urged the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, who is the spiritual leader of the VP to advise him rightly not to stand in the way of the man who brought him into political limelight and also to eschew any demonstration of betrayal, warning him against biting the fingers that fed adding the world expects Osinbajo to lead campaign for Tinubu’s presidency.

Earlier, Yemi Osinbajo warned his supporters against insulting or abusing Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Sources close the VP, said Osinbajo is against any one abusing Tinubu and has therefore warned his supporters: “Even if his supporters abuse my mother, don’t retaliate. On no account must he be insulted or denigrated.”

Also, sources have revealed that a major plank of Osinbajo’s support base is the northern emirs, who consider Osinbajo to have demonstrated uncommon loyalty to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Apart from the emirs, four Northern Governors, two from the North-West and two from the North-Central, are also said to be rooting for the Vice President. But Tinubu is said to be more popular in the north.