A presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Mr Kola Abiola, says he drew inspiration from his deceased father, Chief MKO Abiola to take interest in the 2023 presidential election.
Chief MKO Abiola was the presidential candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party at the 1992 presidential election.
He was the acclaimed winner of the election, adjudged to be the most credible in Nigeria’s history. The election was, however, annulled by the head of the then military junta, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.
MKO Abiola died in detention on July 7, 1998, the day he was due to be released. The military detained him for declaring himself Nigeria’s president in spite of the annulment.
His son, Kola Abiola, said on Thursday in Enugu at a meeting with the party’s delegates that his deceased father’s foray into politics was an encouragement for him.
The PRP is scheduled to hold its presidential primary election on June 5.
The aspirant said that he would leverage on the ideals of the PRP to change the dynamics of politics in Nigeria and breathe fresh air into Nigerians.
“PRP is the oldest party in Nigeria today and I am in the party for the right reasons. We want to prove that things can still be done rightly. We represent a fresh idea,’’ he said.
Abiola said that if voted as the president, he would ensure the full participation of youths in governance.
“I will like to see a repeat of the June 12, 1992 presidential election and the only way to do this is to reach out to youths.
“I will mobilise our youths to come out and vote because they constitute more than 60 per cent of Nigeria’s population,’’ he said.
He said that his decision to contest on the platform of the PRP was a way of showing the youths that things were done rightly in Nigeria in the past.
“I joined PRP because it will deliver a lot more than me. I will do my best to get more Nigerians involved in running the country.
“My personal target is to make sure that 40 per cent of elective positions at the 2023 elections are won by PRP candidates, he added.
Abiola said that if elected as the presidential flag bearer of the PRP, he would campaign with every PRP candidate across the country.
“We will not do it by throwing money around, but by mobilising those at the grassroots,’’ Abiola said.
Earlier, the PRP Southeast Zonal Chairman, Mr Peter Okafor, described Abiola as one of the best brains in the presidential contest.
Okafor said that Nigerians needed a president that would correct the mis-governance of the past, adding that the aspirant would deliver if given the mandate.
In a vote of thanks, one of the gubernatorial aspirants of the party in Enugu State, Mr Chukwunonye Ogbe, said that Nigeria needed a leader that would redeem the country.