A group known as Fusion 774, a political support and socio-economic advocacy group which was known to have drummed up support for former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen (Amb) Tukur Buratai, has now thrown its weight behind the aspiration of the former Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, to become the president of Nigeria in 2023.
Amaechi who is a Presidential Aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been touring the country soliciting support from party stakeholders.
The National Coordinator of the group, Mr Sadiq Jikta yesterday revealed that consequent on Ambassador Buratai declining their call for him to contest the 2023 presidency for reasons best known to him, they are now supporting the former Transport minister.
While noting that Amaechi shared the same vision of taking Nigeria out of its present economic and security doldrum, Jikta noted that Amb. Buratai declined their call and urged them to support any candidate that shared their vision.
‘The choice of Amaechi is borne out of our conviction that his vision for Nigeria aligned with that of the group, coupled with his experience in governance and passion for Nigeria.
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Jikta pointed out that the concern of the group was to choose leaders with the requisite experience and track records, which according to him endeared Amaechi to the group as the right person to support.
He said the decision was in response to the resolve of Nigerians to advocate for leadership that would be responsive, trusted and deliberate in meeting the people’s yearning and aspiration.
‘We are using this opportunity to announce our support to the candidacy of Rotimi Amaechi, as we believe he has the capacity to salvage the country, both in security and economy as a whole.
‘We urge members of fusion 774 all over the country to lay their support to him.
‘At this stage, all members who are APC delegates to the presidential primaries to give him the full support and cooperation he may desire.
‘We at Fusion 774 will use all available resources within our means to ensure he comes out successful in the coming APC primary elections,’ he said.
The National Patron of the group, Dr Abubakar Sani, said the group looked out for aspirants from all political parties and evaluated their capacity and acceptability before declaring support for Amaechi.
Sani said the group would not only support anyone to become president but would set up machinery to hold him accountable to the people.
He said that Fusion 774 would form opposition against anyone that failed to align their vision, saying the group would not accept funding from any politician.
According to him, the group consulted with some eminent personalities in the country, like traditional rulers to be able to narrow their choice down to Amaechi as an alternative since Buratai rejected the call.
He added that it was time for citizens to be actively involved in choosing a better president in 2023.