₦airaland Forum

The Coalition of United Political Parties has described the declaration by the ruling All Progressives Congress that the race to its presidential ticket in 2027 is open to members of the party despite the endorsement of President Bola Tinubu as a “False open contest,” aimed at deceiving the people.

The National Secretary of CUPP, Mr Peter Ameh, made this known in an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Friday.

PUNCH Online reports that APC’s National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, had on Wednesday at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, said the party would not shut its doors against any member interested in vying for the sole ticket against Tinubu.

“We will definitely not close our doors (to other presidential aspirants). When the time comes, our timetable will be made known. Anybody who wants to aspire for the presidency under the APC will not be denied the opportunity to purchase the expression of interest and nomination forms to exercise their franchise.

“We never said we had locked the door. We are only telling people that we appreciate what the President is doing for the people of the country and that he deserves a second term in office when we roundly endorsed him recently,” Argungu was quoted as saying.

However, in a swift reaction, Ameh, described Argungu’s comment as “A calculated attempt to mislead unsuspecting aspirants and exploit their ambitions for financial gain.”

He added, “The public endorsement of President Tinubu by recognised party organs effectively signals that the outcome of the APC presidential primary is predetermined. Such actions cast doubt on the fairness and transparency of the party’s primary process, as the endorsement creates a significant bias in favour of the incumbent.

“Inviting other aspirants to purchase nomination forms under these circumstances risks deceiving them into investing resources in a contest where the outcome appears to be cast in stone.

“This approach not only undermines the principles of democracy but also portrays the APC as prioritising revenue generation over fostering a level playing field for all aspirants. It erodes public trust in the party’s commitment to a free and fair selection process and raises questions about its dedication to upholding democratic values.”

Also speaking with our correspondent in a telephone interview on Friday, the National Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, Mr Rufus Aiyenigba, said the ruling party, by its antics, is becoming notorious for imposition and godfatherism.

He said, “It’s not a surprise that internal democracy is being stifled within APC and members are deprived of the freedom of participation in the process of their primaries for their presidential ticket.

“Nigerians are familiar with the fact that imposition and godfatherism are the defining characteristics of the APC. But the good news is that the undemocratic value of the ruling party does not in any way define our democracy as a nation.

“The SDP, as the nation’s bastion of democracy and the party for the Nigerian people, is known for robust democratic processes in its operations.

“The party is reputed and highly loved by the people for its usual open contests for its presidential ticket, and will certainly demonstrate, once again, that fine quality in determining who flies its flag in 2027.”


Meanwhile, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Friday, a member of the National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, Timothy Osadolor, accused the ruling party of playing to the gallery.

According to him, urging APC members to feel free to join the presidential contest despite Tinubu’s endorsement by the various organs of the party is the height of deceit.

*”This is what you get when people engage their mouth before their head- the tendency is there to overshoot. That comment by that APC Organising Secretary is the most unfortunate statement to have been made.

“He (Argungu) is trying to mock the sensibilities of would-be APC aspirants whose fate has already been sealed. He is robbing it on their faces. This is the height of mischief and insincerity,” Osadolor stated.

Tenisam:
https://punchng.com/2027-pdp-cupp-sdp-slam-apcs-open-2027-presidential-ticket/

Tenisam:
https://punchng.com/2027-pdp-cupp-sdp-slam-apcs-open-2027-presidential-ticket/

givedemwotowoto:
Opposition needs to come together now so Nigerians can unite. It takes time to get people on board and coordinate efforts for 2027

givedemwotowoto:
Failures needs to come together now so Nigerians can unite. It takes time to get people on board and coordinate efforts for 2027

yorosstores:
We will definitely not close our doors (to other presidential aspirants). When the time comes, our timetable will be made known. Anybody who wants to aspire for the presidency under the APC will not be denied the opportunity to purchase the expression of interest and nomination forms to exercise their franchise.

Somebody tell me what is wrong in what APC has said.

Opposition should be about issues, no pettiness

creativejagaban:
Wasted effort . Wasted typing

Tinubu till 2031.

givedemwotowoto:
Amaechi gave 150 laptops out, but you people are not up to 150 hyping Tinubu on this forum which means even some of you have abandoned the propaganda. It’s now just a few people with hundreds of accounts. Hunger don wire the rest comot.

Peter Obi defeat Tinubu in 2027

1gbdata:
i see

A calculated attempt to mislead unsuspecting aspirants and exploit their ambitions for financial gain

1gbdata:
i see

A calculated attempt to mislead unsuspecting aspirants and exploit their ambitions for financial gain

creativejagaban:
I learnt your obi is now in the business of reacting

That's the job we gave him to do in addition to serving rice at party and he is doing it well.

He will do it till 2043. Nobody send am

As for you, continue to wail, but try and do medical checkup regularly

On a side note:

Negative Energy Takes You Nowhere - Bishop Kukah

Or you want to abuse Bishop Kukah join

Tinubu till 2031.

givedemwotowoto:
lol Tinubu supporter will come to your mention and cry about Peter Obi, on top the crying he'll still tell you Obi does not matter, he'll still preach to you about negative energy, he'll still tell you that you're wailing. I've never seen humans who project themselves on others like you guys. Tinubu supporters are a unique part of the human speicies, their DNA needs to be studied or something

creativejagaban:
You ended up confusing yourself with ranting

Obi does not matter in the equation.

But our strategy is in following the scriptures:

Proverbs 26:4–5 (KJV):

“Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit".

So it’s necessary at times to respond to the lamba lienus so he doesn’t think he’s right.

We know obi lie to the world like kilode.
So we need to call him out...
But he does not matter in any equation

givedemwotowoto:
I agree. With 7 million votes, Obi doesn’t matter. With 2 million votes, Tinubu does. Oya you win the math, stop crying

RoyalUc:
I think rational thinking is the problem here.

You are going to spend money on a nomination form for an elective position and the ELECO openly endorse the person you will contest against, will you consider the process fair?