No automatic ticket for Buhari in 2019 – Okorocha

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has stated that President Muhammadu Buhari must go through party primaries if he wishes to be president in 2019.

Okorocha disclosed this on Thursday after a closed door meeting with the president in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not allow for imposition of candidates, and if Buhari wishes to be president for a second term, it must be democratically done. He said:

We don’t allow imposition of candidates. It must be democratically done. If President Buhari will lead the ship in 2019, it must be democratically done.

I said, democratically and transparently done to the amazement of the whole world, the way we do our things in APC and people will be happy.

He also announced that President Buhari will be embarking on a tour of the South-Eastern states.

The president will begin with Ebonyi, he said, to improve the relationship between the region and the APC-led Federal Government. He said:

The South East before now was not measuring in APC. But we have worked out strategies and modalities on how to improve relationship between the people of South East and APC government.

That was top on the agenda and the need for Mr President to come to South East as quickly as possible, to begin to show his presence.

Luckily, the President will be coming to Ebonyi state very soon and he will pass through Imo state to Anambra state. So, covering three states within this short time will be right step in the right direction.

We have come to realise in the south east that we are better off in APC than any other party in the federal republic of Nigeria.