Three political parties form alliance, adopt Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as Presidential Candidate
Top political parties on the platform of the third force movement such as Peoples Trust (PT), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) have jointly formed a formidle pact to contest and possibly take power from President Muhammadu Buhari, Punch reports.
With the new arrangement, the political parties involved have adopted the Alliance for Peoples Trust as their new name.
The resolve was taken at a national convention set up by the group in Lagos on Saturday, October 6. In a statement which contained the agreement, the national secretary of the APT, Mallam Nasser Kura, said that Lady Funke Awolowo stepped down for Olawepo-Hashim, a presidential aspirant.
Moreover, a high profile lawyer, who is also a pro-democracy activist, Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), was elected as the national chairman and an energy expert and political strategist, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as a presidential candidate.
Describing himself as a detribalised Nigerian, Olawepo-Hashim said that he was prepared to lead the new ballot driven– Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) revolution of the third force movement in an effort to create a new democratic Nigeria in 2019.
Added to the new arrangement, the party’s logo was changed from a pyramid to a hand of victory sign in green, white and yellow flag. APT flag was handed over to Olawepo-Hashim to represent the third force in the 2019 polls.
The APT’s national convention was attended by leaders of other allied political parties and movement, namely Jay Samuels, founding chairman of ANN; Mallam Nasser Kura, National Secretary of APT; Comrade Isa Tijani, deputy national chairman of ANN; Lady Funke Awolowo, who was later elected the treasurer of APT, and Olawale Okunniyi, the director general of Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM).
Others include Olivia Agbajoh, a second republic federal legislator and senatorial candidate of APT in Delta state and Musibahu Jarfaru from Kano among others.
