A former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 election, Charles Udeogaranya, has sharply criticised the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and governors for publicly endorsing President Bola Tinubu as the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
In a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja on Friday, Udeogaranya expressed his disapproval of the lack of a primary election for the APC, claiming that bypassing this process would rob other potential candidates of the chance to introduce fresh ideas for a better Nigeria.
Udeogaranya contended that failure to allow other aspirants to contest the party’s ticket would undermine the democratic process and deprive the country of new leadership focused on creativity, nationalism, and prosperity.
He stated, “There is no room for consensus in continuous hunger, chronic poverty, economic quagmire, insecurity, nepotism, cluelessness, and in the leadership of Nigeria.
“Consensus is far from it. While I deeply and respectfully appreciate my fellow APC members on their Abuja summit, may I also respectfully inform you that this democracy was birthed by Thomas Jefferson in his declaration of the United States Independence in 1776.”
The former aspirant further emphasised that the founding principles of democracy, as expressed by global leaders such as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., should apply in Nigeria, especially as the country approaches the 2027 election.
“This democracy, which was entrenched by Abraham Lincoln at his speech in Gettysburg in 1863 and globally expressed by Martin Luther King Jr. in his Washington 1963 speech, will not fail in Nigeria, come 2027,” he asserted.
Naijaonpoint reports that Udeogaranya’s reaction follows the public endorsement of President Tinubu by 22 APC governors and the party’s leadership.
The endorsement, which took place at the APC National Summit on Thursday, was led by the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State.
Uzodimma moved the motion for Tinubu’s adoption as the APC’s sole candidate for the 2027 election, a motion seconded by the Vice Chairman of the PGF, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State.
In response to Udeogaranya’s criticisms, the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, in a chat with Punch, defended the party’s decision, stating that the President has a right of first refusal for re-election. He further explained that a primary election would only be considered if Tinubu declines the offer to run for a second term.
“The President has a right of first refusal. If he, however, declines the offer to run for a second term in office, we can then be talking about a primary,” Duru stated.