NCP endorses Bola Ahmed Tinubu, rejects Peter Obi

National Conscience Party (NCP) has endorsed the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

This was made known in a Communique signed by Comrade Adebola Lateef (National Secretary); Pastor Peters Omoragbon (NDC South South); and Comrade Waheed Lawal (Acting National Chairman) after the Emergency Meeting of the National Coordinating Council of the party which was held on Wednesday, February 22, 2023.

The NCC in session said it has reviewed the qualifications of all the Presidential candidates based on capacity, competence, consistency and commitment to deliver and perform and unanimously concluded that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was more qualified than the remaining Presidential Candidates.

On the purported endorsement of Mr Peter Obi as NCP Preferred presidential candidate, the NCC in session rejected the endorsement as the Party leadership were not consulted by the former chairman of the Party, Mallam Tanko Yunusa in promoting that decision. It said “As a result, the NCP preferred presidential candidate is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and we reject Peter Obi as the NCP candidate.”

The NCP’s National Coordinating Council disagreed with the argument that measures capacity for leadership on the basis of physical health and saw it as discrimination against people with disability or with one health challenge or the other. 

The group stated that history and records are replete of leaders with serious health conditions or disabilities that turned out to have performed well than those without, adding that the Nigerian Constitution provides for equality to aspire to any office in the land as along as one has not been adjudged of mental incapacity by competent medical professionals.

It also maintained that Competence is the ability to do the job, and said “Of all the four major presidential contenders, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu stood out by virtue of his track records as former governor and the leader of the largest political party today in Nigeria. He is a leader that is not tribalistic and run an all-inclusive government by surrounding himself with professionals and technocrats irrespective of tribe or religion and this is evident from verifiable testimonials all over the federation.”

Another issue that was considered was consistency. “Asiwaju Tinubu is the only one amongst the front-runners today that has remained in one Party and has not been oscillating from one party to the other out of desperation to run. On his slogan of emi lokan as considered by the NCC was not an act of an entitlement mentality to be made president by all means but that, as far as his party was/is concerned, it was his turn to run for the office of Presidency in Nigeria. Besides, he submitted to the Party primaries and was overwhelmingly elected by his party delegates.”

NCP also added to Tinubu’s credential by saying that Leadership comes with consistency, “Finally, to be committed requires that you stick to the ideals of the group you want to lead. You must be convinced before joining the group. Tinubu has remained committed to his group and ideals unlike the other three candidates. In view of the foregoing, the NCC in session unanimously adopted ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU as the NCP adopted Presidential Candidate for the 2023 General Elections.”

The group therefore directed that, “All the Leadership of the Party in the Zones and States of the Federation should go back and coordinate all our members to vote en masse for Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Saturday 25 February, 2023.