By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
The national chairman of United Progressive Party (UPP), Chekwas Okorie from Abia State, has emerged as the party’s Presidential candidate for the 2015 elections, while the national secretary, Bello Umar from Zamfara state, is his running mate.
A statement issued by the National Media Coordinator of the party, Orji Okorie, said this was announced at the National Convention of the Party held at Binez Hotel Aba, Abia State yesterday.
It said the UPP flags were also presented to the gubernatorial candidates of the party as follows, including: Osmond Ukanacho for Imo State, Chris Akomas for Abia State, Hajiya Binta Gwarzo Rufai for Kano State.
The statement further said the positions of all the National Working Committee (NWC) members of the party were also ratified at the party’s national convention, which was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), led by Jacobs Jatau, who is Abia State Resident Electoral Commissioner.
While delivering his speech at the National Convention of the party, the chairman of the convention committee, Ogbuehi Dike, said UPP is the voice of the voiceless and the agent of change in Nigeria after over 14 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) misrule.
“Today, we are at the threshold of democratic change in Nigeria and UPP is the party to beat. The wind of change triggered by UPP’s progressive manifesto and ideology will surely sweep away reactionary forces that have held the nation in bondage since 1999”, he said.
He said UPP is a mass movement party belonging to Nigerian masses without the claim of any known or unknown cabal to its origin, formation or ownership, adding that UPP is the product of the special circumstance in which Nigerian citizens found themselves having been alienated from the control and democratic choice of popular leadership and representation by the aging political parties that are in the firm grip of cabals of different conspiracies and gangs; suffering from leadership fatigue.
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