45 Political Parties endorse Atiku as consensus candidate, Festus Keyamo reacts.

The Coalition of United Political parties, CUPP , have endorsed former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of PDP, as the consensus candidate of the opposition in the 2019 election.

Chairman of CUPP, which consists of 45 political parties, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who made the disclosure while addressing a world press conference held at Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, said the former Vice President met the criteria used in the choice of a presidential candidate for the coalition.

Atiku Abubakar

Oyinlola said the CUPP arrived at the decision based on Atiku’s experience in administration, management of economy and politics.

According to the former Osun state Governor, other criteria include “financial strength of candidate and party, access to financial resources, capacity and readiness for the election in the about 120,000 polling units in the county, capability and credibility of the candidate as well as his acceptability locally and internationally”.

Oyinlola who was flanked by other chieftains of the coalition said, “After a painstaking assessment of what we have across the coalition parties and after processing the candidates’ suitability using these criteria, the steering committee hereby submits that a former Vice President and candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is the best and his party the most virile of all the options before us, we therefore chose ‘him as the CUPP candidate for the 2019 Presidential election.”

Meanwhile Spokesman for the Muhammadu Buhari campaign organisation, Festus Keyamo has berated the CUPP endorsement of the PDP candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Keyamo while speaking to PUNCH said most of the parties were the same ones that endorsed former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 but this did not stop Jonathan’s defeat at the polls.

Keyamo added that many of these political parties had been described as ‘husband and wife’ parties in the past due to their low membership.

He, therefore, said the All Progressives Congress would not lose sleep over the endorsement of Atiku.

Ademola Adejuwon

Written by BoomRadioNG