A coalition of young Nigerians, the Young Professionals For Progress, has called on Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, a presidential candidate in the Labour Party and immediate past governor of Ondo State, to “step away from the on-going unproductive drama” in the Labour Party and lead the movement towards victory in the 2019 General elections.
In a statement published on Wednesday, September 26, 2018, co-signed by Brian Dennis, the President of the young professionals, Ephraim Adiele, the National Spokesperson, and Boma Williams, the Director of Grassroots Mobilisation, the group said that it was forced to make this call because they have a strong belief that the strife between Ayuba Wabba, the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and Labour Party leaders is being fuelled by a former national president of the NLC.
“We, the Young Professionals For Progress (YPP), a coalition of 23 groups of young Nigerian professionals hereby call on our mentor and leader, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko to step away from the on-going unproductive drama between president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Ayuba Wabba and the leadership of the Labour Party, LP, so we, can all focus on the task of ushering Nigeria into a new dawn,” the group said in the statement.
The coalition, which said it has a documented 50,000 grassroots membership, revealed that many of them were inspired to join active politics after they had witnessed the remarkable leadership and performance of Dr. Mimiko as Governor of Ondo State.
“Young Professionals for Progress, YPP, consists of zealous young Nigerians, hoping to actualize the dream of a peaceful, working Nigeria,” the group wrote.
“Many members of YPP had little or no interest and experience in active politics, but inspired by the exemplary performance of Dr. Mimiko during his two terms as governor of Ondo State, we have made the decision to become open and vocal vessels for the positive transformation of our dear country.
“With a track record of visible projects which have had lasting impact on the masses, with emphasis on universal healthcare, education, poverty alleviation and youth empowerment, most members of YPP were inspired to take a stand and come out publicly for the first time and lend our voices to issues concerning politics and governance.
“One thing we have valued over time is your ability to make the best of every situation, produce quality results without losing focus of the goal – which is service to the masses,” the group said.
The coalition condemned, in strong terms, the battle for the control of the Labour Party by Ayuba Wabba, the NLC president and called it is a distraction.
