We’ll End The Politics of Godfatherism In Nigeria – ANN

Newly registered political party, Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) has promised to put an end to politics of godfatherism in the country.

ANN is one of the 21 political parties newly registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last week.

The party added that Nigerians are on the verge of seeing a new dawn in terms of party organisation and management. It also added that the core philosophy of the party remains to galvanise professionals and technocrats to become more involved in the political process; ending godfatherism in Nigerian politics and propagating the concept of ‘technoticianism’.

In a special message to members of the party on Tuesday after the announcement of the registration of the party by INEC, a copy of which was made available to newsmen, Dr. Jay Osi Samuels, the Interim National Coordinator of the party, said ANN is bringing to the table that which has been missing in the country since the return of democracy in 1999.

He added that because of the negative mentality of many Nigerians, especially as it has to do with party politics, Samuels said many were still of the opinion that the party must have had a godfather to have been able to come this far. He said nothing could be farther from the truth.

“I have been asked several times who our godfathers are,” Samuels declared in the message. “They ask this question because they believe that one needs tons of money or that you need the backing of some of the usual suspects to conduct the sort of mission we have set for ourselves. The truth of the matter is that we have no godfathers.”

He said it was as a result of this mentality that ANN wants to be different in whatever it does. According to the Havard-trained medical doctor, Nigerians’ minds have to be disabused so that some of the things they considered impossible are actually possible as long as one applies his or her mind to it.

“ANN was a movement that has now become a party that is divinely orchestrated to cause a generational leadership change in Nigeria that will lead the country on the path of prosperity and progress,” Samuels stated in the message, adding that the party was formed on the basis of equal joiners and equal ownership.

He explained that through hard work and commitment of members of the party, the membership cuts across all the 36 states of the federation.