2019: APGA to field Northern presidential candidate, shuns Buhari

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, has said it would field a presidential candidate for the 2019 election.

The party, rising from a critical deliberation in Awka, Anambra State, announced the resolve, saying that the party has zoned the presidential candidacy to the north, while the vice presidential candidate would be of South-East extraction.

A communiqué drafted from the meeting which held at the Anambra State Governor’s Lodge stated that the meeting was held at the instance of Governor Willie Obiano who is the National Leader and BoT Chairman of the Party.

The communiqué stated that the Board members deliberated on the future of the party with specific attention given to the upcoming general election and the options facing the party.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Alhaji Sani Shinkafi revealed that, “After due considerations based on popular demand by party members, the Party has resolved to field a Presidential candidate with the ticket zoned to the North while the Vice Presidential Candidate will come from the Southeast.”

Shinkafi noted that with the goings on in the People’s Democratic Party, PDP and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, APGA, having been founded on sound political principles, values, and ideology, will present a viable option for Nigerians, and solution to the socio-political problems the nation is presently facing.

He emphasized that the party is not contesting the presidential election for sake of notice but aside its right to contest every political position, the party is set to field qualified candidates to fly its flag and will also evolve strategies that will enable the party achieve the ambition of forming a central government in 2019.

The party had besides 2003 and 2007 when it fielded the founder of the Party, late Biafra Warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu adopted former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 and 2015.

A source within the party however revealed that the party was targeting a particular presidential aspirant from the North, who he described as a heavy-weight politician.

“The aspirant is not in APGA for now, he is in another party, but it is hoped that he would move to APGA if he is unable to secure the ticket of his current party.”

The source added that APGA had made initial plans to adopt President Buhari as its candidate, and as payback for letting last year’s governorship election result which Obiano won to stand, despite attempts by APC stalwarts to rig their candidate in.

“The party however rescinded the decision after weighing the growing unpopularity of President Buhari, especially in the southeast, where APGA is mostly considered as an Igbo party,” the source said.