APC Erred Not Choosing Amaechi - Momodu

A former presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party, Chief Dele Momodu, has said that Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State deserves to be the running mate of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Commenting on the candidature of a former Attorney-General of Lagos State, Prof. Yemi Osibajo, the Ovation Magazine publisher argued that the emergence of the academic would not “guarantee victory for the APC in 2015.”

Momodu, who claimed to be a staunch supporter of Buhari’s presidential ambition, stated that his preference for the South-South over other geo-political zones to produce the next Vice President was to give the people a “sense of belonging and compensation for oil,” with a view to securing more votes from the region.

He said Amaechi’s experience, as a two-term Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and his seven-and-half-year tenure as the governor of the state, had singled him out as the most qualified from the region.

“Normally the right to pick a vice-presidential candidate belongs to the principal (presidential candidate) and/or party, which may recommend names for one to be approved.

“Even in America, no one ever ignores state governors or members of the Congress in picking presidential or vice-presidential candidates! Both Yar’Adua and Jonathan were governors.

“Obasanjo picked Atiku as running mate when he was Governor of Adamawa! Governors are the most powerful blocks of any party.

“My choice remains Amaechi because of his unmatched profile as two-term Speaker and two-term Governor of Rivers State plus his uncommon courage! He is a dogged fighter and the most experienced in both legislative and executive matters.

“But I’m not a member of APC. An outsider can’t cry louder than the bereaved. APC is free to make its own decision. We will all live with its fallout,” Momodu wrote in a series of messages posted on Twitter on Tuesday.

Ahead of the 2015 general election, the publisher urged the APC to learn from its past mistakes, adding that leading members of the opposition party needed to put aside selfish interests.

“APC should learn from its most recent history and avoid the pitfalls of the elections in Ondo and Ekiti States, which were as a result of too much bickering and ambition!

“All the ambitious politicians should note that the party must win first before being President, Vice President, Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives,” he said.

Credit: The Punch