The National Chairman of the
United Progressive Party (UPP), Chekwas Okorie, on Tuesday defended the party’s
adoption of President Muhammadu Buhari as its candidate in the 2019
presidential election.
He said the decision is to
preserve the zoning formula of the party, adding that the re-election of
President Buhari will enable power shift to the South in 2023.
Mr Okorie stated this in a
statement made available to journalists after a press briefing at the party’s
secretariat in Abuja.
The National Executive Committee
(NEC) of the UPP in August decided the party would not field a presidential
candidate in 2019 but back Mr Buhari.
After leading a South-east group
to a closed door meeting with Mr Buhari on Friday at the Presidential Villa, Mr
Okorie announced the party’s decision to adopt Mr Buhari as UPP presidential
candidate.
The unwritten power-sharing
agreement known as zoning aims to alternate the presidency between northern and
southern parts every eight years.
It was consolidated during
Nigeria’s first two democratic transfers of power — in 1999 and 2007.
It was however truncated in 2011
when former President Goodluck Jonathan, from the South-south, contested and
won the general elections.
Mr. Jonathan also contested in
2015 against the wish of political blocks who felt the presidency ought to have
been zoned to the North for eight years.
“Although the very desirable
rotation of power in Nigeria has not been provided for in the Nigerian
constitution, a noticeable convention of rotation of power between the North
and South has been operative for a while”, the party chairman explained.
“Since 1999 when Nigeria returned
to democratic rule, this pattern of rotation has assumed the status of a
convention rather than the rule. The expectation of shift of power from South
to North and North to the South has some soothing effect on the perennial
agitation for power shift, especially during each general election.
“It is therefore our position and
for the sake of national stability, cohesion and unity, that four more years of
President Muhammadu Buhari is far more reassuring and beneficial to most
Nigerians whether from the North or the South than a possible eight years of
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar government which will also foist on Nigerians the sad
memories of the 16 years of nightmare Nigerians lived under the PDP government
in Nigeria.”
Mr Abubakar, a former vice
president, became the main challenger of the incumbent president at next year’s
polls after clinching the presidential ticket of the main opposition party, the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Outlining how UPP will campaign
for Mr Buhari, Mr Okorie also aimed shots at the PDP.
“As Nigerians we feel the
difficult economic times the nation is facing. We are also aware of the
enormous challenges of having to rescue Nigeria from imminent collapse as a
result of the mindless and unconscionable looting of our common patrimony and
treasury by the PDP administration consistently for over 16 years that the
party held sway at the Federal and state governments including the outright
control of a criminally compliant and conniving National Assembly.
“There is no discerning Nigerian
or patriotic and rational political party that will have an objective
assessment of President Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that will
not come to a logical conclusion that President Buhari towers head and shoulder
above Mr Abubakar in integrity and all other consideration.
“As we hit the campaign train we
shall from time to time share with Nigerians the many sound and logical reasons
why president Buhari shall be returned to complete his second term in office and
why it shall be a tragedy of a monumental proportion to return the years of
profligacy, unbridled corruption, scandalous leakages and highly compromised
judiciary, to power.”
Mr Okorie said the core values of
his party remain unchanged but its main target from now is to “aggressively
campaign in a very robust, vibrant and civilized manner to ensure the victory
of President Buhari in the 2019 polls.”
Based on the official time table
of the electoral commission, campaigns for the presidential and National
Assembly elections commenced on Sunday, ahead of the elections on February 14,
2019.
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I’m glad, this people were not deceived by Atiku picking Peter Obi as his partner.. Buhari is the right choice
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