The United Progressive Party (UPP), has endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari as its candidate in the forthcoming 2019 presidential elections. The National Chairman of the Party, Chief Chekwas Okorie made the assertion while speaking with State House correspondents after leading a South-East group to a closed-door meeting with Buhari on Friday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He disclosed that the visit was aimed at intimating the President on their intentions to be involved in his re-election bid, adding that the party will formally endorse Buhari during the scheduled world press conference on Tuesday.
Other members of the delegation were Chief Azuka Okwuosa, an APC Chieftain from Anambra South Senatorial Zone, Dr Ugochukwu Okafor, National Publicity Secretary, Igboezue Cultural Organisation and Sadiq Masara, National Secretary, UPP.
Okorie said: “It will be recalled that UPP in August this year, took a decision by its National Executive Committee (NEC) that we will not present a candidate for the 2019 presidential election and we therefore resolved after due consultations and consideration of every factor to adopt President Buhari as UPP Presidential Candidate for the 2019 presidential election.
“This, we shall formally unfold on Tuesday when our NEC will meet and address a world press conference to that effect.
“In doing that, we are going to deploy all our ward, local governments and state/national structures to be actively involved in the campaign to make a pronouncement and go to sleep and wait for result to make itself.
“We will be part of that result; Igboezue Cultural Association is coordinating all the extant Igbo groups across the country for this same purpose.’’
He further averred that the Igbo people almost went off the political radar as a result of the support they gave PDP for 16 years. He also noted that out of the President's benevolence, some infrastructural activities in the southeast were ongoing, and funded without having to change the contractors.
He urged the public to make Buhari’s re-election bid a national consensus to enable the inclusion of every region in key political positions.
Okorie debunked the reported endorsement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, by the Igbo people, saying it was a fluke.
“ I joined Ohaneze in 1976 as an undergraduate. Ohaneze is 42 years and I am 42 years old in the organisation.
“ The original members that founded Ohaneze, they are only four living today including myself.
“All others, including those who lead Ohaneze now, came after that formation and I have been a member of the elders council; there was no where we met and agreed on the event that took place yesterday,’’ he said.
Okorie said Ohaneze had issued a statement to say it did not, as a body, endorse Alhaji Atiku Abukakar, reiterating that Ohanze was a non-partisan pan-Igbo organisation and could not have endorsed Atiku.
He said that he and other stakeholders were working towards changing the narrative so that Igbo people would be more involved instead of being out of government.
