President Muhammadu Buhari was early on Sunday morning overwhelmingly endorsed as presidential candidate by 14,842,072 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Taunting the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had governed Nigeria for 16 years up till May 2015, President Buhari asked the party, also holding its convention simultaneously in Port Harcourt, what it did with all the money earned under its watch.
“Fellow Nigerians, think how much PDP governments earned between 1999 to 2015. Think what they did with it.
“Infrastructure down! Security down. Eighteen local governments of Nigeria under control of a hostile army of insurgents. Reserves depleted. Bankruptcy around the corner.
“What did they do with your money?” Buhari asked in a tone indicative of fireworks to be expected in the weeks ahead for the electioneering campaign.
The President thanked all eligible members of the party who stepped down their ambition to allow him emerge as the party’s sole aspirant and now its candidate.
“I thank you all for your encouragement and support, and I will not disappoint the people of Nigeria,” he said.
Buhari paid special tribute to the party’s national leadership and its founding fathers and the national presidential convention committee for organising what he called a perfect convention.
The 14.8 million votes that Buhari received from APC members in a direct primary was announced early Sunday morning by the Ekiti State Governor-elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who was the chairman APC Presidential Primary Election Committee. Fayemi had also chaired the APC convention in Lagos in 2014 that elected Buhari as the party’s candidate.
The result was later affirmed by no fewer than 7,000 delegates from across the federation and the FCT through a yes vote.
