The spokesman of the Buhari Organisation (TBO), Chief Osita Okechukwu, has declared General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) de facto presidential candidate of mega opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Okechukwu said: “Given all the indices, APC already has a de facto presidential candidate in the person of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd). If you go through the constitution of APC, under Article 20, it says for nomination of candidates either for party offices or presidential election, you first explore consensus. If an agreement is reached through consensus, it has to be affirmed. If we go through that method, though we have a lot of good quality people in APC, I do not know of any person who the leadership of APC would tell Buhari to step down for.”

The decalrartion came as Buhari’s supporters moved to market his candidature against the background of the agitation by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Kano State Goernor Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso, for the APC presidential ticket.

On Saturday, the Buhari Vanguard held a rally in Lagos, urging Nigerians to support the one-time Head of State for President as the nation counts down to the 2015 ballot.

The road show, which began near the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) secretariat in Yaba, moved across the city and ended at the APC State Secretariat at Agidingbi, Ikeja.

“This is a road show and a rally and the theme is ‘Nigeria need Muhammadu Buhari,’ ” said Jasper Azuatalam, Chairman of Buhari Vanguard.

“We have seen it since 1999. After 1999, when General Buhari saw what was happening in Nigeria, he entered into politics. In 1999 you can remember General Buhari never said a thing about politics, but because those that came to do it did not do it he decided to enter politics,” Mr. Azuatalam further said.

“We know he is the only one that can end corruption in Nigeria; the only one that can make a promise and keep it. He has no oil well. This is the right time. Now that APC has come. It’s a party with political structure. And with APC, General Buhari will coast to victory,” he added.

The road show moved across Lagos in a convoy of vehicles beckoning on people to embrace change in the next elections; and chanting ‘No more bad luck o’, ‘No more there is God o’, ‘No more we go die if we dey find job o’, ‘No more darkness o’, ‘No more Boko Haram o’.

The organisers insisted that the rally was not a campaign ahead of the 2015 presidential poll.

“TAN (Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria) is going around telling people to vote for Goodluck Jonathan because Goodluck Jonathan is the presidential candidate of PDP,” said Mr. Azuatalam.

“In APC, we have no presidential candidate. We have respected gentlemen, like Atiku Abubakar, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, Rotimi Amaechi, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Bola Tinubu and others. We have not chosen our presidential candidate,” he said.

Mr. Azuatalam also denied that they were being sponsored by Mr. Buhari to hold the rally.

“We have no sponsor. I am the chairman of Buhari Vanguard; it’s a pro-Buhari group. It’s not being sponsored by Buhari,” he said. “It is a group of people who have come together and say they want Buhari.”

•Partly based on LEADERSHIP and Peoples Daily reports. Photo shows Gen. Buhari.

Update news