By Francis Ekeh Abuja

The support base of the Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi is enlarging by the day as former Military Head of State Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom and former Minister of Information, Elder Edwin Clark has publicly queued behind his aspiration.

The former Head of State in series of tweet in his official Twitter handle on Tuesday, said that he is in support of the view of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who had on Sunday openly endorsed Obi as his preferred Presidential candidate.

“General Olusegun Obasanjo” he twitted, “will forever be a true elder statesman and a boss in the military. No serving General in the Nigerian army today, joined the Military earlier than 1982. By then Obasanjo had already finished his Military career.  I respect him a lot with his endorsement”.

This is even as Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has thrown his weight behind Obi, describing him as the right candidate with the requisite capacity to provide Nigerians with the right leadership.

He said that if not that he is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) he would have personally led Obi’s campaign across the country.
 
The Governor in a statement issued Tuesday in Makurdi by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Terver Akase described Obi  “as the man who has the capacity to effectively tackle the economic, security and other challenges facing the country.”
 
According to the statement, “the Governor is convinced that Obi possesses the qualities of a leader who will be a true President of this country by guaranteeing justice, equity and fairness for all Nigerians.
 
“The Governor stresses that for some years, the country has been tottering on the verge of collapse, owing to leadership failure and its attendant consequences of poverty, heightened insecurity with banditry, kidnappings and other acts of terrorism threatening the very foundations of the nation.
 
“He says the President that Nigeria needs at this challenging time in the country’s history is one who understands the urgent need to unite the people and speedily initiate policies and actions to redirect the ship of the nation on the path of growth and development, and emphasizes that Peter Obi has all such qualities.
 
“Governor Ortom lauds Chief Obasanjo for once again demonstrating objectivity, truth and patriotism as a statesman whose views on national issues must be taken seriously.”
On the same note, former commissioner for Information and South South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark has endorsed the Presidential ambition of Peter Obi.
 
Clark in a Press Conference on Tuesday at his Asokoro Residence in Abuja said that with Obi as President, the country will be reunified and on a progressive path.
 
He said that next President of the country must be educated and experienced and further made case that the South East should produce the next President because the zone has resourced and educated people to govern the country.
 
Clark said “I  have since been fully briefed on the successful outcome of the interaction held at that occasion. Amongst other things, I have taken note of the following observations which came out of the meeting: That PANDEF presented the expectations and demands of the peoples of the Niger Delta, comprising infrastructural development, devolution of power, resource control, effective and inclusive participation in the oil and gas sector, amongst other things, to the Presidential Candidate.
 
“That the vision statement shared by His Excellency Peter Obi at the occasion, as it relates to making Nigeria more productive, using the rich resource endowment in every part of the country; curbing waste and  fighting corruption; and creating jobs for our teeming youths through innovative initiatives is very commendable.
 
“That his restated commitment to restructuring and devolution of power, will promote harmony, peaceful coexistence amongst the states and constituent parts of the country.
 
“That his vision for more equity and justice as it pertains to the South-South region, which  in the past sixty years has produced much of the revenue for the national economy, but has been neglected with little impact in terms of infrastructure and social development, is convincing and commendable.
 
“Peter Obi’s commitment to environmental justice to the clean up of the Niger Delta polluted communities is most welcomed, given that even the ongoing Ogoni clean-up has been rather slow.
 
“His commitment to inclusion of qualified persons from the Niger Delta in the national governance process in the future government if elected into power is very reassuring.”
Meanwhile, The Presidential Campaign Council of the Labour Party has welcomed the decision of foremost Ijaw leader and Nigerian statesman Chief Edwin Clark.
 
 
Chief Spokesman for the LP PCC, Dr. Yunusa Tanko said this in a telephone interview with Vanguard in Abuja, on Tuesday.
 
He said the LP campaign was delighted that statesmen were speaking up for a better United Nigeria devoid of sentiments.
 
Yunusa said, “We welcome this endorsement like we welcomed that of our former President,Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
 
 
“What our great leader Chief Edwin K. Clark said is consistent with the growing confidence among statesmen as well as the generality of Nigerians that we have a golden opportunity to save Nigeria and set it on the path of growth.
 
“This endorsement like the one before it shows clearly that Nigerians young and old are convinced that our candidate, Mr. Peter Obi and his running mate, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed have the competence and track record of performance to put Nigeria where it rightly belongs in the comity of nations.
 
“The both possess the track record, commitment and zeal to confront the monster that has held this giant nation down for decades.
 
“We look forward to more endorsements just as we expect the ultimate endorsement of the generality of Nigerians come February.”