Presidential candidate of Accord Party, Professor Chris Imumolen, is headed for Lome, Togolese capital, on Monday, to meet with the Nigerian community as his campaigns for election into the office of Nigeria’s president gathers momentum.
The flagbearer of the Accord party is the first presidential candidate to visit the nation’s diasporans domiciled in the West African sub-region.
According to an itinerary of his tour released early on Monday, October 24, 2022, the Accord presidential candidate will visit Nigerians and Nigerian descendants in Lome (Togo), Cotonou (Benin Republic), Accra (Ghana) and Monrovia (Liberia), as he kicks off the first phase of his tour to some ECOWAS countries.
The initiative, according to him, is to engage, as well as interact with these diasporans about how to rescue the country from the suffocating grip of clueless leadership and redirect it on the path of prosperity.
Professor Imumolen is expected to kick-off his tour with an address to Nigerians and Nigerian descendants at the Salle Carre Kegue Stadium in Lome on Monday by 5pm.
He will also be speaking to a group of Christian and Muslim leaders in diaspora during a special dinner afterwards.
And perhaps going to be the highlight of his visits would be when he engages a mammoth crowd of Nigerian natives in Benin Republic after the Lome encounter.
Benin Republic, formerly known as Dahomey, is reputed to house about 6 million Nigerians, which statistics say is half of the overall estimated 12 million Beninoise population.
His latest move is seen by many political analysts as a masterstroke considering the fact that many of his colleagues in the presidential race have often preferred visiting more exotic destinations like the US, UK, UAE, and Canada, etc, to ventilate their political aspirations.
“I will prefer not to be drawn into arguments about why my co-aspirants for Nigeria’s presidential seat prefer to visit the US, UK, UAE and Canada to sell their manifestos,” he said in response to a question on the subject.
“It could be for different reasons. I have heard that some do it for the purpose of getting donations, or whatever. Anyhow, I’d prefer to talk about myself, my my manifesto and what I have for our people both within and outside Nigeria.
“What I am doing with these visits is consistent with my philosophy of engaging the people, feeling their pulse and fashioning ways to bring relief to their many areas of need.
“I am sure that at the end of this first phase, the exact objective of consistently demonstrating true sincerity and all- inclusiveness in governance will be all too glaring for everyone to see,” he said.
The Professor said he also plans to extend his visit to other countries before the elections scheduled for February next year.