Rochas rules himself out of 2019 presidential race saying Buhari is doing a great job

IMO State governor Rochas Okorocha has ruled himself out of the 2019 presidential race saying that he will not be seeking the nomination of his party the All Progressives Congress (APC) as President Muhammadu Buhari is doing a good job and should continue.

 

During the last elections, Governor Okorocha was one of the five APC candidates who sought the party's presidential nomination which was eventually won by President Buhari. Since then, there has been a lot of speculation as to whether President Buhari will seek a second term in 2019 and if he does not, who will be his replacement.

 

Under Nigeria's zoning arrangement, the presidency rotates among its six geo-political zones and with many commentators of the belief that the next president should come from the southeast, Governor Okorocha is seen as the APC's best bet. Regarded as the highest ranking Igbo member of the APC, Governor Okorocha is regarded as the frontrunner when it is the turn of the southeast to produce the next president.

 

However, speaking yesterday, Governor Okorocha, who is the chairman of the APC Governors Forum, said will not contest the 2019 presidential elections because the president had so far displayed leadership and should be encouraged. His pronouncement is the closest the APC has come to confirming that President Buhari will seek a second term come 2019.

 

Governor Okorocha said: “I have been running for the presidency until God said I should settle for the Imo governorship. That passion to become the president of the country is not just borne out of the thirst for the position but had arisen out of the eagerness to offer the nation and her people a strong leadership, the essence would be to build a nation of our collective dreams and aspirations.

 

"President Buhari came in and within one year, Nigeria has once again got the doors, the rest of the world opened for her. He has shown courage, confidence, maturity and strong leadership and there is now high feelings of leadership in the country, so what he therefore, needs is to be supported and encouraged.”

 

Since the return to democracy in 1999, Nigeria's southwest and south-south geo-political zones have each produced a president in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr Goodluck Jonathan. With President Muhammadu Buhari being a northerner and the presidency due to come to the south after his tenure ends, the southeast is the natural choice but if he seeks a second term, the contest will not begin until the 2023 elections.