The Director-General of the #iStandWithBuhari campaign, Engr. Chinedu<\/p>\n
Okpalanma, has responded to Kayode Ogundamisi, the journalist and
\npolitical commentator who accused him of being a fraud because of his past
\nrole as co-founder of the #BringBackGoodluck2015 initiative.<\/p>\n
He said he was dismayed by Ogundamisi\u2019s \u201cvicious campaign\u201d against his
\ncharacter and person just so he could pull down a \u201cnationalistic movement
\nto which I and millions of well-meaning Nigerians have freely subscribed
\nto via the affirmative statement #istandwithbuhari.\u201d<\/p>\n
Okpalanma has also resigned as the DG of the campaign, saying that he took
\nthe step to show that the initiative is sincere and not about him. He said
\nthat following the backlash which greeted the news that he was the DG of
\nthe organisation, he felt the need to resign so that the group can achieve
\nits lofty ideals without being bogged by distractions about his
\npersonality.<\/p>\n
Admitting that he was one of the founders of the group, he said he was not
\nalone as the campaign is a \u201ccollection of young Nigerians from all works
\nof life and different religious beliefs & political inclinations who came
\ntogether with one ideal in mind: that it is time for us as individuals to
\nsee ourselves as Nigeria and seize this golden opportunity towards
\nensuring that Project Nigeria does not fail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the time Goodluck Jonathan won the 2011 election, I was one of his
\nbiggest critics. I was vocal and marched on the streets during the
\n#OccupyNigeria protests, I wrote open letters to the Presidency in anger
\nat some of the names his government found worthy of national merit awards,
\nI also wrote on various public platforms on my disappointment at the then
\nPresident\u2019s seeming inability to act even when it seemed there was
\noverwhelming evidence of impunity against his cabinet members. In all of
\nthis though, I remained steadfast in the belief that things would change,\u201d
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
However, Okpalanma stated that as the 2015 elections approached, he began
\nto be convinced that the Jonathan administration was \u201cmore under siege for
\npolitical reasons and that sabotage was a scheme being used to oust him by
\nany means necessary. Coupled with the revolution I was witnessing in the
\nagricultural sector & seeming revival of our railway system, I felt he was
\nmy best candidate to continue and thus I put in my whole support for his
\ncandidacy without coercion.\u201d<\/p>\n
He however insisted that he never met the former president in person, was
\nnot sponsored by the presidency as he went about expending resources in
\ntrying to sensitize Nigerians to vote for Jonathan, and was never given a
\npenny or contract by former ministers, agencies of government, friends of
\nthe President or even the embattled NSA Sambo Dasuki.<\/p>\n
Okpalanma insisted in his statement that he withdrew support for Goodluck
\nJonathan along with his group long before the 2015 elections. \u201cMy reasons
\nthen were simple. By November 2014, I was no longer comfortable with the
\ninformation filtering out on how huge monies were moved from person to
\nperson in government circles\u2026 I concluded then that Nigeria was being sold
\noff to the highest bidder without our knowledge, and I believed that even
\nif Goodluck Jonathan won the elections, there were facts to suggest this
\nsame people around him fingered in various illicit transactions would
\ncontinue in office with him, as it seemed he was incapable of acting to
\nchange things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As a result, Okpalanma said by December 2014, he started a process of
\nmoving his support with that of 1.9 million Nigerians who had signed up to
\nhis campaign, to supporting the candidacy of President Muhammadu Buhari.
\nHe said there are people currently in government who can attest to the
\nfact that he stood with Buhari even before the elections.<\/p>\n
He took exception with the attempts by some people to make it seem as
\nthough only those who supported President Buhari before can participate in
\nany cause to support his policies now. \u201cAre these advocates now saying
\nthat President Muhammadu Buhari & his political party should not work with
\nother well-meaning Nigerians who believe in this administration and are
\nready to sacrifice all to ensure things change for our collective good?\u201d
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Speaking on why he supported Buhari, Okpalanma said his turning point was
\n#DasukiGate. He lamented that such huge amount of money could have been
\ndiverted by one individual under our noses, and even though he thought at
\nfirst that it was a witchhunt, he now believes it is true due to the
\nconfessions by those who received cash. Furthermore, he said he understood
\nthat the fight against corruption needed to be more people oriented than
\ngovernment oriented when he saw some Nigerians defending #DasukiGate.
\n\u201cThat was when I made up my mind to sign up with #istandwithbuhari,\u201d he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Okpalanma said it will be criminal to leave the task ahead to Buhari
\nalone. \u201cAs at this moment, everything I am seeing shows me that President
\nMuhammadu Buhari is not sleeping on the job, but doing everything within
\nlegal means to ensure Nigeria lives. To rejig a system that has completely
\ndecayed and failed needs courage, prayers and support. I am doing my bit
\nby supporting #istandwithbuhari, not trying to bring it down. If my stand
\nis giving certain individuals or group of individuals sleepless nights,
\nthen may they remain awake for eternity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He insisted that the #istandwithbuhari group has no endorsement from
\nPresident Buhari and has not sought any sort of financial support from the
\nPresident or by extension his government. \u201cI have never vied for any
\npolitical position in my life (and have no intentions of doing same), nor
\nhave I ever submitted my CV for consideration for political appointment to
\nany government, thus my involvement with #istandwithbuhari is not for
\npolitical favours. I am in this because I believe in this, period,\u201d he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Director-General of the #iStandWithBuhari campaign, Engr. Chinedu Okpalanma, has responded to Kayode Ogundamisi, the journalist and political commentator who accused him of being a fraud because of his past…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n