This is how the @apcnigeria primaries will go

by Godwin Akanfe

The All Progressives Congress, APC will start their two day presidential primaries, today, 10 December, 2014. For the five candidates vying for the party’s ticket, the prize is the opportunity of taking on President Goodluck Jonathan in February’s presidential elections.

The APC’s spokesman, Lai Mohammed, told YNaija that the convention will hold at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos and over 8,000 delegates drawn across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja would participate in the exercise.

“The five presidential aspirants  are expected to address the delegates to explain their programmes before the commencement of voting, which he disclosed would be by secret ballot,’’ he said.

The party’s National Convention Committee (NCC) headed by former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi has made arrangements for a hitch-free convention. Mohammed also said that the various sub-committees were also working round the clock to ensure success of the exercise.

He added that the party was also collaborating with relevant agencies to ensure effective security, crowd control, traffic management and medical attention among others.

The front runners for today’s convention are former military ruler, General Muhammadu Buhari, and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar.

72-year-old Buhari, is a retired Major General who became head of state on December 31, 1983 after a successful military coup d’etat that overthrew civilian President Shehu Shagari on December 31, 1983.

He joined the army in 1962 and was Governor of the newly created North-Eastern State during the regime of Murtala Mohammed. He was appointed the Minister (Federal Commissioner) for Petroleum and Natural Resources under then-Head of State General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1976. He was made head of the newly created Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in 1977.

The Buhari military government (Buharism) became feared after intiating a public campaign against indiscipline known as “War Against Indiscipline” (WAI).

Buhari was overthrown in a coup led by General Ibrahim Babangida and other members of the ruling Supreme Military Council (SMC) on August 27, 1985.

He has thrice run unsuccessfully for the office of the President of Nigeria in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections.

Atiku Abubakar, 68, served as Vice-President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. Atiku worked in the Nigeria Customs Service for twenty years, rising to become the Deputy Director, as the second highest position in the Service was then known. He retired in April 1989 and took up full-time business and politics.

He ran for the office of Governor in the Gongola State (now Adamawa and Taraba States) in 1991, and for the Presidency in 1993, placing third after MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) primaries.

In 1998 he was elected Governor of Adamawa State. While still Governor-Elect he was selected by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate Olusegun Obasanjo as his running mate. The duo went on to win elections in February 1999, and Abubakar was sworn-in as Nigeria’s second democratically elected Vice President on May 29, 1999.

In 2007, Abubakar ran for president on the platform of the Action Congress, but he lost the election, coming third behimd Umaru Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

Atiku is the founder of American University of Nigeria, INTELS and Adama Beverage company. He is also known for his philantrhopic works. In 2012 Atiku donated $750,000 to the National Peace Corps Association in the United States, to fund a new initiative featuring global leaders who will discuss Peace Corps’s impact. The donation was named the largest ever individual donation in the Association’s history.

The other contenders are Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha, Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwanso and the publisher of the Leadership newspaper, Samuel Nda-Isaiah.

Okorocha joined partisan politics in the aborted Third Republic where he contested elections to the House of Representatives. He became the Deputy Speaker. He belonged to the Peoples Front faction of the SDP Led by General Shehu Yar’adua.

On March 2, 2013 Rochas led an APGA faction to decamp to All Progressives Congress. He was later elected by his colleague governors in the opposition as Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum.

Kwankwaso had his first stint as Governor of Kano State from 1999 to 2003. After losing out in his re-election bid, he was then appointed as the Minister of Defence in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s cabinet in 2003.

In 2007, he was appointed as the Presidential Special Envoy to Somalia and Darfur by the Obasanjo administration after losing the bid from his party to contest the 2007 general governorship election.

He was re-elected as Kano state governor on 27 April 2011 and sworn in on 29 May 2011 for a second term in office.

Sam Nda-Isaiah is the founder of LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group and presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). His Monday column in Leadership under the combined titles of “Last Word” and “Earshot”, which he started in Daily Trust, is one of the most popular columns in Nigeria.

Through this column, Nda-Isaiah has positioned himself as a pro-good governance exponent. In 2004, he launched his compilation of articles, which have now been distilled into a book entitled “Nigeria: Full Disclosure”.

Nda-Isaiah was a member of the Daily Trust Editorial Board as well as a member of the committee appointed by the Kano State Government to revive The Triumph, the state-owned newspaper.

Atiku and Buhari have unsuccessfully contested the presidential elections on multiple occasions in past elections, while Sam Nda-Isaiah is having a first stab in this terrain.

Both Okorocha and Kwankwaso, also making their debut appearance at this stage, however, have fallback options just in case they don’t get the ticket. In Imo and Kano states, the APC governorship primaries, and senatorial primaries were inexplicably postponed last week.

If either man fails to get the presidential ticket, they will go back home, in Okorocha’s case he will run for a second term as governor, while Kwankwaso will run for senate.

YNaija will be with you for the entirety of the convention to bring you the events as they happen.

One comment

  1. My governor my governor my governor please the entire imo people still need you o. Unless u want d mba 5 people to kill ur ab le state. Come bk home

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