NCP rejects Atiku as CUPP consensus candidate

Atiku Abubakar
Atiku

The National Conscience Party (NCP) has rejected the endorsement of former vice president Atiku Abubakar by Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) as consensus candidate for 2019 election.

NCP Spokesperson Emmanuel Okereke in a statement on Friday called it an affront to the spirit of the alliance.

“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,” Mr Okereke said.

NCPP is in partnership with other political parties including the major opposition party the PDP to unseat incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

CUPP had on Wednesday announced its endorsement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate as consensus candidate for the election.

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

“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,” Okereke said.

NAN reported that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who have former Cross River State governor Donald Duke as presidential candidate had on Thursday distanced itself from the endorsement.