2019 election: Ezekwesili speaks on withdrawing from presidential race to negotiate ministerial slot

Obiageli Ezekwesili, the former presidential candidate of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, ACPN, on Thursday reacted to allegation by the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Galadima, that she withdrew from the presidential race to push for a ministerial slot.

Speaking through her Media Aide, Uzoma Ubabukoh, the former Minister of Education said Galadima’s claim was baseless. In a chat with News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Ezekwesili also rubbished Galadima’s claim that she was never serious about her presidential ambition.

Ezekwesili stated that claim of her withdrawing from the presidential race to negotiate for Minister of Finance was a figment of Galadima’s imagination.

The former Minister said that her decision to quit the race was informed by the need to help and build a coalition to stop the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from winning. She said neither APC nor PDP could provide the kind of governance needed to reposition the country.

Few hours after Ezekwesili’s withdrawal from the race, Galadima called a news conference, saying Ezekwesili had not shown the commitment to be a president from the beginning.

He alleged that the former minister was just in the race to negotiate to be Minister of Finance and that she had kept the party in the dark about her real intention.

Galadima added that the candidate had used the platform of the party to get funds from donors, which she had not spent to show commitment to her ambition.

The ACPN chairman said having realised that Ezekwesili did not represent the interest of the party; the party was endorsing President Muhammadu Buhari for re-election.

However, Ubabukoh said Galadima’s claims were baseless.

According to Ubabukoh, the candidate’s decision to withdraw from the race was taken to sacrifice her personal interests for the country’s interest.

“All these allegations are figment of his imagination. They are baseless. The decision to withdraw from the race is in the interest of the nation. It should be the nation first before anything,” Ubabukoh said.

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