By Gabriel Olawale, LAGOS

A socio-political organisation, League of Patriots, comprising of civil rights activists, students, artisans and various professionals, has submitted a pre-registration application to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to be registered as a political party.

Submitting the application to the office of the Chairman of INEC at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, the group’s protem National Chairman, Mark Adebayo, stated that Nigerians are fed up with the two domineering political parties.

Adebayo said: “It is a new dawn on the political horizon of Nigeria as Nigerians will be given renewed hope and confidence that they have a political platform that everyone can relate with and be confident that it would bring about genuine change and positive redirection of the country from the current moribund trajectory.

“Nigerians are fed up with the two domineering political parties, the APC and PDP and are looking for a genuine people’s party.

“A party in which the people will be critical stakeholders devoid of godfatherism, candidate imposition, lack of internal party democracy, a party that will take the country out of the destructive conundrums of corruption, bad governance, poverty, aggravated insecurity, injustices and disunity.

“Those are the anomalies that this party is coming to correct and we have the capacity, integrity and determination to achieve our purpose.

“We will provide an all-encompassing platform for Nigerians, where everyone will give free expression to their political aspirations without discrimination.

“We will kick-start a sociopolitical revolution that will give Nigeria a new lease of life. Political party ownership should be for the people primarily and must never be left to moneybags alone.

“We must reject the notion that only the rich can start and run a political party. A real political party is owned by the mass of the people. This is what our party will be all about: a party of the people by the people.

“We need to provide alternative, workable responses to the country’s challenges. We don’t need violence to fix this country.

“What we need is a mass involvement of all Nigerians in the process of rebuilding Nigeria’s faulty structures.

“We must promote everything that can make us work together to make Nigeria work. Once Nigerians see a political platform that accommodates all their aspirations, addresses their concerns and is trustworthy, they will definitely be interested in participating in the sociopolitical processes of Nigeria’s rebirth and jettison any form of violent agitations.

“That’s what we have come to offer; a political party owned by Nigerians, a mass grassroots party for all that is sure to make Nigeria a true giant of Africa.

“We will reverse the retrogression, we will ensure progress, and we will activate economic development, societal reorientation and mass youth engagement by ensuring that 30 million youths are gainfully employed through sports alone.

“In concrete terms, we will ensure peace, progress, creative leadership, sophisticated education, revolutionary infrastructure development, prosperity for all and give Nigerians a true people’s Constitution when registered as a political party and we come into government.

“This is not a token, mushroom political party that will run out of steam in the first two or 10 years of formation. We mean business.

“We already have structures in 25 states and actively mobilising members into the political association pending our registration.

“We want to hit the ground running and will leave no stone unturned in our determination to birth a new sociopolitical vision for our dear country, Nigeria.

“Membership is open to all Nigerians without discrimination. Only convicted criminals and past rulers who have mismanaged the country are not welcome.

“Come and join us to build a formidable political movement that will birth a country that we all can be proud of.”

Vanguard News Nigeria