The United Progressive Party (UPP) said its decision not field any presidential candidate for the 2019 election was driven by the need to see the emergence of an Igbo as President of Nigeria in 2023.
The party national chairman, Dr. Chekwas Okorie, who stated this also said that it would amounted to running against the tide had the party fielded a candidate to contest against President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration he said has favoured the South east region.
Okorie, who announced Tuesday that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) acting on behalf of the National Executive Committee had after consultation with stakeholders adopted and endorsed President Buhari, it was guided by the need to see the Igbo nation produce Nigeria’s president come 2023.
The party said the UPP/APC coalition was mutually inclusive as it allows the party to work with the ruling party to realise common purpose: return Buhari in 2019 and correspondently the APC would endeavour to support the Igbos to produce Nigeria’s next leader after Buhari in 2023.
“Coalition is a worldwide phenomenon. It allows two or political parties to collaborate for a common purpose. The core value of each party in the coalition remains sacrosanct. All you need is for each party to retain its identity.
“Our party manifesto and objective principles as registered in our constitution which is before INEC especially in the area of restructuring, self-determination of all ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, devolution of power, referendum, state police and community policing, are non-negotiable”, he said.
He insisted despite the President Buhari’s opposition to state police and restructuring, the Nasir El-Rufai Committee on Restructuring clearly states the party’s position on these issues, adding that it was therefore encouraging to collaborate with us the APC in this regard.
“It is about constructive engagement and this was made easier for us by the submission of the El-Rufai Restructuring panel. These submissions are in agreement with our core value. We feel our region’s interest will best be accommodated by the APC”, he said.
