Any other presidential aspirant that picks up the Expression of Interest and Nomination (EIN) Forms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may just be wasting their time as the party has endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari as its candidate ahead of the 2019 general election.
The APC National Secretary, Maimala Buni, gave the hint on Tuesday while addressing reporters at the New Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where a group under the auspices of National Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN) presented the EIN forms to Buhari.
Recall that the group purchased the forms worth N45 million while Buhari was in China for the FOCAC meetings.
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Buni, who spoke in the presence of Director-General of Buhari’s Campaign Organisation and Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Director of Strategic Communications for the organisation, Festus Keyamo, said that the National Executive Committee (NEC) and “every APC member” had endorsed Buhari ahead of the polls.
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He said, “Once the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party passes a vote of confidence on the President, that President stands accepted because the NEC is the highest organ of the party and it met to take the decision, where every interest was represented so the National Executive Committee of the APC has passed a vote of confidence on our President and that means every APC member has endorsed him.”
However, he said any candidate interested in buying the EIN Forms to contest against Buhari was still free to do so.
Speaking on the endorsement of Buhari, Buni said it was no big deal as it also occurs in advanced democracies.
“In advance democracy, once the NEC of a party passes vote of confidence on the President, nobody contests against the President. The President has been accepted,” he insisted.
The party scribe said that Buhari enjoyed offer of first refusal and his acceptance of the forms indicated that he would be the party’s candidate in the 2019 general election.