Says Nigeria needs purposeful, inclusive, unifying leadership
A former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, yesterday, intensified his consultations ahead of the 2027 general elections, holding separate high-level meetings with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd).
The closed-door meetings are part of Olawepo-Hashim’s ongoing nationwide engagements with elder statesmen and key national figures on the future direction of Nigeria.
Sources familiar with the consultations said Olawepo-Hashim assured both former leaders of his capacity to tackle Nigeria’s security challenges, rebuild national unity, stabilise the polity, and restore economic prosperity.
He reportedly stressed that the country urgently requires purposeful, inclusive, and unifying leadership to avert deeper national fractures.
Olawepo-Hashim arrived at Obasanjo’s residence in Abeokuta at about 11:00 a.m. and departed an hour later.
He subsequently travelled to Minna, where he met with Babangida and reportedly appealed to Babangida’s historic role in preserving Nigeria’s unity, referencing the sacrifices made during the Nigerian Civil War.
“General, you still carry in your body the wounds of the war fought to keep Nigeria one.
“Many of your colleagues were not fortunate to survive that struggle. If Nigeria is allowed to disintegrate today through incompetent leadership, then the sacrifices of patriots like you would have been wasted,” Olawepo-Hashim was quoted as saying.
He emphasised that the 2027 election must be centred on national rescue, warning that continued leadership failure could further endanger the country’s cohesion and stability.
