Text of the press conference addressed by the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the National Convention of the party. Ladies and gentlemen of the Press, It is my delight to address you this afternoon on the national convention of our party billed for December 10 and 11, 2014 in Lagos. As you are all aware, our dear country is in a dire need of change. The All Progressives Congress (APC) is determined to bring that change. The process of effecting that change has commenced with the effective mobilisation of Nigerians to demand the change in the 2015 general elections. The APC as a party that is committed to seeing Nigeria leave its present sorry state and take its rightful position in the comity of nations, is set to ensure this change by presenting for election, credible and purpose-driven candidates that would drive the change at various levels of government. The party’s congresses and election of candidates for the various positions that commenced earlier in the month will climax in the election of the APC presidential flag bearer in the February 2015 presidential election. The National convention of the party is scheduled to hold at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere , Lagos between December 10 and 11, 2014. No fewer than 8,000 delegates drawn from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are expected to participate in the convention and the presidential primaries that would elect the party’s flag bearer out of the five presidential aspirants of the party. The five aspirants of the party are eminent citizens with proven credentials. It is our belief that at the exercise one of them would emerge the presidential flag bearer of our dear party in the coming election. The aspirants include: a former head of state, General Mohammadu Buhari; a former Vice President of the country, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Kano State; Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and Publisher of Leadership Newspaper Group, Sam Nda-Isaiah. The five aspirants would address the delegates, stressing their programmes before the commencement of voting, which will be by secret ballot. Adequate arrangements have been made by the National Convention Committee (NCC), headed by former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi for a hitch-free convention. The various sub-committees are working round the clock to ensure that the convention succeeds and become a reference point in the political history of the country. We are also collaborating with relevant agencies to ensure effective security, crowd control, traffic management, medical attention among others. And for the millions of Nigerians who may not be opportune to be at the venue of the convention , arrangements have been made for effective live coverage of the entire process by some radio and TV stations. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, you are cordially invited to join us to witness and be part of history. You remain our invaluable partners in this drive for a change in our dear country. I thank you all for coming. Signed: Alhaji Lai Mohammed Chairman, media and publicity sub -committee. SHORT PROFILE OF THE ASPIRANTS Atiku Abubakar Businessman, administrator and former Vice President , Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was born on the 25th of November 1946 in Jada village, Adamawa State He was admitted to Adamawa Provincial Secondary School in Yola in 1960. He graduated from secondary school in 1965. He worked briefly as a Tax Officer in the regional Ministry of Finance, from where he gained admission to the School of Hygiene in Kano in 1966. He graduated with a Diploma in 1967. In 1967, he enrolled for a Law Diploma at the Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration, on a scholarship from the regional government. After graduation in 1969, he was employed by the Nigerian Customs Service. His assignments at the Customs included Idi-Iroko, Apapa Ports (1974), Ibadan Customs Command (1975), Kano Command (1976), Maiduguri (Area Comptroller, 1977), Kaduna (1980) the Apapa Ports in 1982 and Murtala Muhammed International Airport He won the Adamawa State governorship elections in December 1998, but before the inauguration date, he was named the vice-presidential candidate to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He served as the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007. Alhaji Abubakar contested the 2007 presidential election on the platform of the then Action Congress. He is married with children. Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso Alhaji Mohammed Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, politician, administrator and currently governor of Kano State was born in Kwankwaso village in Madobi Local Government Area of Kano State in 1956. He attended Kwankwaso Primary School, Gwarzo; Wudil Craft School and Kano Technical College before proceeding to Kaduna Polytechnic for his tertiary education. He also did his post-graduate studies in the United Kingdom. He started work in 1975 with WRECA. He joined partisan politics in the aborted Third Republic where he contested elections to the House of Representatives. He became the Deputy Speaker. Kwankwaso was elected Governor of Kano State in 1999 and led the state between 1999 and 2003 with a massive focus on educational development of the state. He lost his re-election bid in 2003. He was however re- elected as Kano state governor on 27 April 2011 and sworn in on 29 May 2011 for a second term in office. Prior to his second coming as Governor of kano state, Alhaji Kwankwaso served as Minister of Defence in President Olusegun Obasanjos cabinet in 2003. In 2007, he was appointed as the Presidential Special Envoy to Somalia and Darfur by the federal government. He is married with children. Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari Former head of State, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was born December 17, 1942 in Daura, Katsina State. He joined the Nigerian Army in 1962. Buhari first came to widespread public attention in 1976 when he became the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources. He had earlier served as Governor of the then North-Eastern State. Buhari served as the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), a body created by the government of General Abacha, and funded from the revenue generated by the increase in price of petroleum products, to pursue developmental projects around the country. He contested the presidential election in 2003 and 2007 (under the platform of the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP). He also contested the 2011 presidential election under the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Gen Buhari is well regarded as a highly disciplined leader and statesman who abhors corruption. His politics is defined by integrity. He is married with children. Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha Businessman, administrator and philanthropist, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, currently the Governor of Imo State was born on September 22, 1962, in Ogboko, Ideato South, Imo State. He attended Juladaco High School, Jos (1976-1981). He studied at the University of Jos (1990-1991), obtaining a diploma in Public Administration. He returned to the University of Jos (1993-1994) to obtain an Advanced Diploma in Public Administration. He has held position as President, Nigeria Red Cross Society, President/Founder, Rochas Foundation Inc, President, Rochas Group of Companies Limited, Pro Chancellor, African Business School among others. Okorocha left the PDP for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on whose platform he contested the 2011 governorship election. He defeated the then incumbent Governor Ikedia Ohakim to emerge winner. His pragmatic leadership style and huge investment in infrastructure and education has endeared his administration to the people of Imo State. In 2013, his colleague governors in the APC elected him as the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum. He is married with children. Sam Nda-Isaiah Pharmacist, Newspaper Publisher and entrepreneur, Sam Nda-Isaiah was born in Minna, Niger State, on May 1, 1962. He attended Christ Church School, Katsina Road, Kaduna, between 1968 and 1974; Government College, Kaduna, 1974–1979; and the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, 1979-1983, where he studied Pharmacy. On graduation, Sam worked at the Minna General Hospital, after a stint at the Kano Specialist Hospital. He did his NYSC at the General Hospital, Ilawe Ekiti, and the State Hospital, Ikere Ekiti, both in Ekiti State, in 1984. In 1985, he joined Pfizer Products Limited where he worked until 1989. He resigned and launched into serial entrepreneurship. Sam’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to establish the LEADERSHIP Group in 2003 with less than N1million. He is highly respected for his Monday column in the LEADERSHIP Newspaper, through which he has established himself as a pro-good governance exponent. Sam is an alumnus of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore and also of the School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University, New York. The proprietor of LEADERSHIP Newspapers is a member of the Institute of Directors, member of the Vienna-based International Press Institute; World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and an executive member of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN). He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Edusoko University, Bida, and of the newly reconstituted Heritage University in Kaduna. Sam is married to Zainab and they are blessed with four children . Alhaji Lai Mohammed Chairman Media and Publicity sub-committee of the National Convention Committee All Progressives Congress (APC) Lagos, Dec 7th 2014
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 05:34:39 +0000