Former governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki, has been urged to join the 2015 Presidential race now to provide dynamic leadership for the country.

The call was made in Lagos on Wednesday by the leaders of a socio-political group, New Nigeria Movement (NNM), in a statement signed by Dr. Lekan Akinwunmi,  Uche Ogbonna and Mallam Musa Abubakar who are the National President, Secretary and Director of Publicity of the body respectively.

“This call has become necessary following our rigorous assessment of Nigeria’s leaders across the country and party affiliations.

“Our conclusion is that Dr. Bukola Saraki who has successfully served as a state Governor for eight years and now a Senator of the Federal Republic best suits our search criteria.

“That is, he is a bridge between the old and the new generation of politicians; he is a bridge between the North and the South, he is a bridge between the Executive and the Legislature, he is a bridge between the private and public sectors and above all, he controls a large political network that cuts across the country with a generational foundation,” the NNM said in its statement.

The group also said it was determined to encourage Saraki to join the race, hence the need to go public with its call.

The NNM leaders said they were convinced Saraki would heed their call because of his love for Nigeria.

“We recall that Senator Saraki today represents the face of the young generation of Nigerian leaders asking for generational change in leadership because of his age.

“We are bold to say that he has been an influential state governor for eight years, Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum with an enviable foundation in the private sector and today a serving Senator.

“He’s been a dominant factor in the ruling PDP and he’s now a formidable force in the major opposition party, the APC that stands a good chance to form the next federal government.

“When we put all this together, we can’t but narrow down the search on this young dynamic Nigerian in whose hands providence has entrusted so much within this short time,” the NNM leaders stated.

The group urged the leadership of the APC not to see last weekend’s defeat of Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State as a setback for progressive politics but as a challenge to stand firm against the forces of oppression, intimidation and retrogression ahead of the general elections in 2015.

“We believe that what happened in Ekiti was a scientific rigging. An election whose outcome has been determined with the unbridled use of federal force even before the election proper cannot be a good sign of what is to come.

“We encourage the leaders and members of APC not to see what happened in Ekiti as a setback but as a stepping-stone to greater heights in the 2015 general elections.

“This is the more reason why the APC has to make a good choice of its candidates in the next general elections and what we have done is part of our efforts to help the political parties give good leadership to the nation and her citizens yearning for something different and better,” the group added.