Former military Head of State,Gen Muhammadu Buhari rtd is favored to win
as the All Progressives Congress (APC) elects its Presidential candidate in Lagos
today.
Delegates have been arriving the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria
since yesterday for the all important event that will feature five candidates.
More than 8,000 accredited delegates are expected to elect the party’s
presidential flag bearer who is to face President Goodluck Jonathan, the sole
candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, in the 2015 general
elections.
Five aspirants are ex-Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; a
former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso;
Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, and the Publisher of Leadership Newspaper,
Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah. They are all vying for the party’s sole ticket.
Already, supporters of Buhari and Atiku, the two leading aspirants, have
appealed to the APC delegates to vote wisely.
Buhari’s supporters, under the aegis of Buhari Friends Organisation
Network, at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, said today’s (Wednesday’s)
APC’s primaries offered a unique opportunity for party delegates to vote for
change.
The spokesman for the group, St. Athanasius Okon, said Nigerians have
not had it so bad since the return of democracy in 1999.
According to him, the nation’s economy is in a shambles while the ruling
party carries on as if nothing is amiss.
He explained that “the race to Aso Rock begins from the party’s
presidential primaries because the choice of the right candidate will pave the
way for APC’s success in the forthcoming polls.”
member-of-Newspapers-Proprietors-Association-of-Nigeria-Mr.-Sam-Nda-Isaiah.jpgOkon
added, “We want to use this medium to call on the All Progressives Congress’
delegates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory that would be
in Lagos on December 10, 2014, for the presidential primaries, to consider a
lot of factors before they cast their vote, as there can be no better time than
now for us to use the opportunity God has given us to redeem this country from
the shackles of the political class, especially those in the ruling party, the
PDP.”
Speaking in a similar vein, Atiku’s supporters urged the party’s delegates
to consider his track record of public service and his democratic credentials
as they cast their votes.
The spokesman for the group, Alhaji Abdullahi Sugar, while speaking in
Abuja, on Tuesday, said Atiku had proven over the years to be a detribalised Nigerian
who is determined to change the nation for the better.
He noted that the former Vice President had proven himself as a
visionary leader who when given the opportunity would transform Nigeria.
Sugar said, “The Turaki is the leader we need at this time, we urge the
APC delegates to give him the chance to lead the party to victory come 2015.”