APC Primary Latest: Big Battle between Atiku & Buhari begins

It is almost like a battle between money versus integrity, sources told OluFamous.Com in Lagos. The two main political parties in Nigeria on Wednesday started the race to pick their presidential candidates for the February 2015 general elections from two locations - Abuja and Lagos.

Voting ended before 8:30am on Thursday at All Progressives Congress convention venue in Lagos with two men, General Muhammadu Buhari and ALhaji Abubakar Atiku standing tall from the rest; that is Rabiu Kwankwaso, Rochas Okorocha and Sam Nda-Isaiah.

A top source, who was present at the meeting where the agreement by 12 governors to support Buhari took place, said he was willing to bet his N10million car that Buhari would win.

He said, “All the governors have decided that Buhari is the man for the job. And we have agreed that this project is too big for us to destroy now. Even the PDP are afraid of Buhari. I can bet on my car that Buhari will win.

The accreditation of 8,000 delegates to determine the fate of the aspirants ended 6pm at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos.

The only APC governors who were not supporting Buhari are governors Rochas Okorocha (Imo) and Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), who are presidential aspirants themselves.

Before voting started, the National Convention Committee Chairman, Kayode Fayemi, described the special convention of the PDP as a coronation and not a convention.

He said among all the political parties in the country, only the APC was holding an open and transparent presidential primary. Fayemi, a former governor of Ekiti State, said, “You can see that our primary is very transparent and is offering every aspirant a level playing field unlike the PDP which is holding a coronation.

“Theirs is just an event to put a crown on Jonathan and that is not a convention.”

The Deputy Chairman of the committee, Kawu Baraje, who spoke with delegates of each of the aspirants, assured them of a level playing field. He said each of the aspirants would have 12 delegates to monitor the primary.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lai Mohammed, expressed the hope that the primary would be a success. “This is the moment Nigerians have been waiting for. We have 8,000 delegates participating,” he said.

Governors in solidarity walk
In what appears to be a demonstration of oneness, Governors Rotimi Amaechi, Abiola Ajimobi, Adams Oshiomhole, Babatunde Fashola, Abdulfatah Ahmed and Rauf Aregbesola took a walk on the tartan tracks of the stadium.

The walk elicited shouts among the crowd, who waved brooms painted in APC colours.

A delegate said, “You can see that the governors are in one accord. They have control of their delegates. The delegates from each state are all going to vote for the choice of their governors and the choice of the governors are obvious.”

A former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, and an ex- National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, sat side by side at the VIP section of the stadium. Tinubu was seen observing quietly.

Voting has ended and they are now in the sorting and counting phase. It's either Buhari or Atiku.