The former presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), has lashed out the party leaders for betraying her values and endorsing President Muhammadu Buhari in the forthcoming February 16th election.
On Thursday morning, Ezekwesili stepped down from the 2019 Presidential race to help build a coalition that would defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming February 16th presidential election.
Following her withdrawal from the presidential race, the national chairman of the ACPN, Ganiyu Galadima who was Ezekwesili’s running mate, said Ezekwesili only wanted to use the party platform to negotiate for the position of Finance Minister and that she did not inform the party that she was going to withdraw.
The ACPN chairman also announced the decision of the party to support President Muhammadu Buhari‘s reelection bid.
Ezekwesili in a statement issued by the spokesperson of her campaign organization, Ozioma Ubabukoh, hit back at the party leaders over allegations that she was using its platform to negotiate a ministerial position in the next political dispensation. She said:
“Fortunately, they have divinely helped me by making the Nigerian public now fully understand why I had to swiftly depart from their midst.
“How could I upon realizing the divergence of values and vision with the leadership of the Party continue to stand on such a political platform? My abiding vision has been to mobilize citizens to disrupt the old order politics of APCPDP.
“As for the defamatory statements made against my person by the ACPN leadership in their malicious statement, I want Nigerians to know that there is NO IOTA of truth in any of them. Everything ACPN wrote or said of the campaign donations is fabrication and outright lies. Our campaign was conducted with the highest level of transparency and accountability with impeccable evidence. I know and can guarantee that at all times because, these standards firmly underpin my commitment to lasting values and professionalism.
“Only those who desperately wish to believe falsehoods would lend any credence to such puerile accusations by the leadership of ACPN. Only those who pretend ignorance of my legendary and uncompromising passion for accountability would give heed to such baseless statement.
The former ACPN presidential candidate also attacked ACPN leaders over their decision to endorse President Buhari in next month’s general election. She said:
“The party’s decision to immediately today endorse the candidate of APC, which was announced by my erstwhile VP candidate who is also the Chairman of ACPN was their classic political entrepreneurship in full display for Nigerians to see. It is instructive.
“The party leadership’s transactional approach to politics began to manifest in their attitude following after the convention that adopted me as their presidential candidate. All who know me can attest that I detest transactional mindset. I would have none of such and therefore extremely delighted to part ways after a tumultuous three months of hoping that the ACPN leadership would elevate to the new values of disruptive politics that one had desired for and preached within the party.
Ezekwesili revealed she would hold a world press conference to clear up many issues when she returns to Nigeria from flung Cabo in Mexico where she attended the Albert Einstein’s Genius100 Visionaries meeting.