Prof Pat Utomi says a 3rd political force that will give the PDP and APC a run for their money, is in the works.
The former presidential candidate adds that renowned Nigerians, civil society organisations and labour unions, will all be a part of this 3rd force that will bring the dominance of the two big political parties to an end.
“There are these two juggernauts (APC and PDP) and there is a third one coming,” Utomi said on ChannelsTV’s ‘Politics Today’.
“They are actually not two juggernauts but one people who call themselves different names.
“Now, we want to create another group that is more authentic, more focused on the people. This is the group that we are putting together.
“The so-called major parties that exist currently are two sides to the same coin. Let us call that one-party, it is meant for personal wrangling. If you are tired of what is given in this group, move to the other group.”
He adds that Nigerians have had enough of the PDP and APC–the two political parties that have governed Nigeria since 1999.
“I think Nigerians have had enough of that. We need another real political movement driven by ideas. So, the conversation has been how to bring together a number of people to front what I call the ‘Coalition of the Willing and the Dispossessed’.
“It is an amazing array of Nigerians. By the way, for the first time, civil societies are ready to be inside of the arena. They played as civil society in the past but civil society is coming in. Think of all the major leaders of the civil society, whether it is Femi Falana, Oby Ezekwesili — they are all part of this arrangement.
“The labour as I told you, the NLC president made a full and total commitment that they would bring the labour movement into what we are founding. People like Dr Usman Bugaje, former Governor (of Kano State) Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, and on and on. We are fully committed to this process.”
In 2020, Utomi alongside former Speaker of the House of Representatives Ghali Na’abba; renown lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Olisa Agbakoba; human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN); and ex-Minister Oby Ezekwesili among others, launched a political movement named National Consultative Front.
