Atiku’s endorsement an affront to the spirit of alliance – NCP

The National Conscience Party (NCP), a member of Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), has described as an affront, the endorsement of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar by CUPP as consensus candidate for 2019 election.

Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President of Nigeria, is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

NCP National Publicity Secretary and member, Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) Media/Publicity Committee, Dr Emmanuel Okereke, said in Lagos that the purported endorsement was an affront on the spirit and vision of CUPP.

He noted that NCP entered into alliance with some political parties with the aim of producing consensus presidential candidate that would be financially and structurally supported by CUPP.


“The NCP National Executive Committee and National Coordinating Council unanimous resolve to fully go into alliance with the CUPP) for credence.

“Disappointedly today in CUPP, same poor Nigerian masses we all came together to rescue are alarmed as just few elements against the letter and spirit of CUPP purportedly adopted the PDP’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar as a consensus candidate for the February 2019 presidential election.

“This is a rape to the ethos of political alliance viz social re-engineering; an affront not only to the NCP which gave the alliance credence but also to CUPP, therefore must be unfalteringly resisted.

“NCP dissociates itself from this macabre dance of shame,” he said.

Okereke, also frowned at the CUPP steering committee chairman, Mr Olagunsoye Oyinlola, for not following the guidelines for selecting a consensus candidate.

He said the Oyinlola’s committee invited all political parties in the coalition to forward intelligent memoranda.

“The same persons changed the goal post now, right in the middle of the match, no, and never, this is unacceptable!

“NCP resists this shenanigan in totality, hence CUPP initial procedures for this exercise is not only dubiously jettisoned but clandestinely emasculated,” he said.

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) had also on Thursday distanced itself from the endorsement.

SDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Mohammed Alfa who disclosed this said the party already had a candidate, Mr Donald Duke whose name was submitted to INEC as its presidential candidate for the 2019 election.