A former chief of Staff Imo State Government, Uche Nwosu, has said that the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari will enthrone his successor in 2023 without relying on the so-called power of incumbency.
Nwosu, who was the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in the 2019 election in Imo State, had recently returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC) after a Supreme Court judgment declared him the authentic governorship candidate of the party (APC) for the 2019 election.
While stating that Buhari’s performance will give whoever gets the party’s nod to fly the presidential ticket comparative advantage over other contenders, Nwosu said APC won’t be seeking to retain power in 2023 on the plank of power of incumbency but will ride on the sterling performance of the President.
According to him, it is based on the President’s legacies, which include top performance in the agricultural sector, anti-corruption crusade, security, and the rejuvenation of the economy.
Nwosu, who said that such performances would earn the party victory in the next general election, however, knocked the leadership of the party for not doing enough to sell the President’s achievements to Nigerians but is rather locked in an endless battle for pecuniary gains.
“The party’s leadership has not projected what President Buhari has done; the party is busy fighting each other, it is not for President Buhari to be shouting about his achievements, it is the duty of the foot soldiers, and that is the party.
“It is the party that will keep hammering on the President’s achievements, it is the party that will compare what the economy is now and what it has been before President Buhari came on board.
“Take, for instance, the issue of the rice revolution, before now nobody knows that Ebonyi can produce rice at commercial quantity.
“The party has not done well in telling the people what President Buhari has done since he came on board, they are just busy fighting, and this cannot help us.”
Speaking on his return to the APC after the perceived injustice he suffered during the governorship primaries, Nwosu said the APC governorship primary was conducted twice, and he won in all.
“The elections were monitored by INEC, and in their report, I was listed as the winner, but the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, denied me the candidacy of the party and submitted the name of a man that did not even contest for the primaries.
“But the recent judgment of the Supreme Court has confirmed that I was the candidate of the party, but I have decided to put all that behind me and moved on.
“I have forgiven Oshiomhole of all he has done to me, it is time to focus on rebuilding the APC in Imo state and the Southeast.
“I will remain grateful to President Buhari for standing behind me through the period because he knew what happened and didn’t take sides with Oshiomhole but urged Imolites to vote according to their conscience, it is only a man that is given to fairness and justice that can do such.”
