Popular Nollywood actors, Patience Ozokwor and Mr Ibu have joined efforts to ensure that the former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, emerges the next president of Nigeria.
‘Patience Ozokwor’ was trending as the number one topic on Twitter at the time of writing this report as many young Nigerians celebrated the famous actress for publicly supporting the Labour Party Presidential candidate.
The actress and Mr Ibu were physically present at an event by a political group, 40Million Ballots Movement, to unveil the ‘Fund40MB Donation Campaign’ to support the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
The event which took place in Lagos on Monday also featured several support groups for Obi.
The Convener of the group, Mr Kennedy Iyere, described the initiative as a youth-driven 2023 ballot revolution.
He said it was meant to raise funds for the actualisation of Obi’s presidency.
Iyere noted that the fundraising was to sustain the momentum and mobilise campaigns in support of Obi in the forthcoming general elections.
The convener said: “We don’t want money to be an issue. The determination is in young people to take back their country and rescue Nigeria from the precipice.
“This is what Fund40MB is all about. An account has been created for the donation for campaigns to raise money worldwide for the various support groups of Peter Obi to carry out rural sensitisation, door-to-door campaigns and other programmes.
“This is independent of Peter Obi and the Labour Party. We are financing every interest group that will work for democracy and a democratic transition in favour of Peter Obi.
“The funds we are also going to raise through this medium shall be used to fight rigging, violence and all forms of malpractice. That’s why the FUND40MB Donation Campaign has been kicked started today.”
He said that the fundraising was to confront politicians who might want to use money as strength, to fight the will of the people.
According to him, the step has become imperative for the survival of the nation, as the youth are now rising from their sleep to take back their nation in 2023.
He said that political elites had weaponised poverty to remain relevant and perpetuate their continuous stay in power.
“When youths have risen up, anything is possible. The youth are ready to take back their nation. The time for Nigeria’s political redemption is now.
According to him, Nigerians and non-Nigerians would contribute to the funding of Obi’s campaigns, saying the former Anambra governor deserved assistance for his campaign to be the most celebrated.
Actress Patience Ozokwor, on her part, said that if Nigeria had got leadership right, her material resources and endowment would have made the country stand out in the comity of nations.
Ozokwor, popularly known as Mama G, said that celebrities were solidly behind Obi to provide the right leadership for the nation.
She said that any donation for his campaign remained an investment Nigerian children and unborn children would later reap.
“We want anybody that loves Nigeria and wants everything good for Nigeria to please donate no matter how small. Children, youths and God want Obi.
“We have seen that Obi as a former governor is prudent with public funds and used same judiciously. He has credibility. We want him to come and change things and mend things.”
The President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Ejezie Rollas, also spoke in his personal capacity and not for the AGN.
He said that many celebrities had stood aloof for long, unconcerned about politics.
Rollas said that this had led to many challenges facing the industry and complaints by practitioners.
He threw his weight behind Obi’s presidential ambition and said that celebrities must be interested in making the nation work well for all and sundry.
Other celebrities in attendance include Klint De Drunk, John Okafor (Mr Ibu), Jerry Williams, Paul Obazele, Rita Arum, Joyce Kalu, Bishop Ime and Alex Osifo.
