“Our party strongly believes that four more years of Buhari is far more reassuring than a possible eight years of Atiku.”
Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The United Progressive Party (UPP) on Tuesday said that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) forced it to endorse President Muhammadu Buhari in forthcoming general elections.
The party said its trust and confidence in the capacity of the APC-led Buhari administration to consolidate on its achievements remain strong and unshaken.
UPP National Chairman Chekwas Okorie told journalists at a press conference in Abuja that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) took the decision of endorsing the President after extensive deliberation of the political situation in the country, particularly as it concerns the 2019 elections.
“No discerning Nigerian or patriotic political party that would have [sic] objective assessment of the President Buhari and Atiku Abubakar that would not come to a logical conclusion that the former towers head and shoulder above the latter in integrity and other considerations,” Okorie stated.
“Our party strongly believes that four more years of Buhari is far more reassuring than a possible eight years of Atiku.”
He said that Nigeria in the past three years has received positive attention from world economic powers, as well as hands of friendship extended in the areas of foreign direct investment and strategic support in addressing the country’s security challenges.
Another reason for UPP support of Buhari, according to Okories, is the possible shift of political power to the South which he said has been the unwritten political arrangement since 1999.
“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 of Nigeria has been operative for a while,” he stated.
“Since 1999, when Nigeria returned to democratic rule, the pattern of rotation has assumed the status of a convention rather than rule. The expectation of shift of political power has had some soothing effect on the perennial agitation for power shift, especially during general elections.
“In this regard, UPP is strongly convinced that the re-election of President Buhari to complete his second term in office shall simply pave the way for shift of political power to the South in 2023.”