Chekwas Okorie Is Our Presidential Candidate, Not Buhari, UPP Tells Nigerians

Okorie

 

The United Progressive Party (UPP) has denied endorsement of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) General Muhammadu Buhari insisting that Chief Chekwas Okorie remains its presidential candidate for the forthcoming election in line with UPP’s zoning of its presidential ticket to the South East geopolitical zone.

The party in a statement signed by the director general of Chekwas Okorie Presidential Campaign Organisation (COPCO) Dr Ugorji Ugorji and made available to www.pauluwadima.blogspot.com yesterday, denied media reports that the UPP was part of the 12 political parties that have pledged their loyalty to the APC for the 2015 presidential election.

It noted that the “UPP in its inaugural National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of 13th November 2012 published in our communiqué that the party has zoned its presidential slot to the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. This policy statement was actualised on the 11th of December, 2014 at the party’s National Convention held at Aba where Chief Chekwas Okorie and Alhaji Bello Umar emerged as presidential and vice presidential candidates respectively.

“ Our party commenced campaign for the coveted office of president thereafter with as much commitment and diligence as it could muster. It is a common knowledge that our presidential candidate Chief (Dr) Chekwas Okorie has emerged as one of the three foremost contenders for the Office of President of Nigeria. The party’s strategy of grassroots mobilisation and strong and powerful message in the well-articulated Revolutionary Agenda of our presidential candidate has brightened our chances of winning the presidential election tremendously. The fact that UPP has restored the missing Third Leg of the Nigeria political tripod is now of common and public knowledge.”

The party said that it was therefore inconceivable, malicious and wicked political blackmail to drag the name of the party to a gang-up it knew nothing about.

The statement reads in part, “We have tried to the best of our ability to avoid hate-speeches, campaign of calumny, denigration of elder statesmen and public office holders and the use of acerbic language likely to heat up the polity in all our campaign up till this time. We wish to maintain this attitude of decorum and civility and plead with those misrepresenting us not to provoke us into joining the bandwagon of political desperadoes who create confusion and trouble where none exists. We doubt very much if the leadership of APC is party to this absurdity.

“We have nothing against any group or party wishing to support any of the foremost political parties including supporting the UPP, but it smacks of political misconduct and criminality to drag the name of a foremost political party like the United Progressive Party (UPP) into a conspiracy we know nothing about.”