The United People’s Party (UPP) endorsed President Mohammadu Buhari for a second term in office to allow him complete several ongoing projects abandoned in the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The National Chairman of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie, disclosed this in an interview in Abuja on Wednesday.
Okorie said Buhari’s emergence in 2019 election would also help stabilise the country, adding that Buhari`s endorsement was something the party thought out very carefully.
“Precisely on Aug. 17, the National Executive Committee (NEC), the highest decision-making organ of our party met and resolved that we would not present a presidential candidate for the 2019 election.
“In terms of rotation of power, an unwritten convention seems to have been agreed upon to rotate power between the North and the South since 1999.
“To underscore this, we felt that any party from the South fielding a candidate now is swimming against the tide.
“From there, we engaged constructively to work with the candidate of the APC who is from the North and who has the capacity to take this country to a higher height. And that is in the person of President Muhammadu Buhari
“Again, knowing that corruption is the bane of development in this country, Buhari has been tackling the issue of corruption headlong.We are all aware of ongoing high profile cases, even against some members of APC,“ he said
Okorie listed agricultural revolution, security, completion of all abandoned federal projects, the fight against corruption and economic growth as part of the landmark achievements of the Buhari administration.
The former presidential aspirant of the UPP in 2015 added that there were also policies that the Jonathan administration started, though very sound but lacked moral gumption which the present administration decided to implement.
Okorie, who identified such policies as the Treasury Single Account, TSA and BVN, however, noted that “under the present administration had started to implement them fully without minding whose ox was gored.
The national chairman said the Buhari government also came up with revolutionary approach to tax revenue which had yielded a lot of gains.
“We can safely say that it is under this government that Nigeria has tax revenue that can be compared with those of developed nations where taxation is the main source of national income.
“Equally, there is a near revolution in the agricultural sector.“
He said the massive migration of Nigerians from the rural areas to urban cities was beginning to reduce since Buhari came to office, adding that people now ventured into agriculture.
“I can confidently say that more and more Nigerians, especially young graduates, who would not touch the soil before are now taking interest in agriculture because of what the government is doing to encourage them.’’
“I urge Nigerians to look beyond the ordinary campaign gimmicks on the streets and drum support for the incumbent president.`
This is he said was necessary so that the ongoing water, road, power, rail transport projects, abandoned by the PDP in every corner of Nigeria would be completed. With reports by NAN
