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Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has entered the Presidential race of Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC).
The governor made the announcement on his verified social media accounts on Thursday night.
The governor also showed the receipt he received after paying N100 million for the expression of interest and nomination forms.
After a visit to President Buhari at the State House in Abuja in January, Mr Umahi announced his intention to run for president.
He switched from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in November 2020, after winning two governorship elections on its platform.
He had previously served as the state’s deputy governor and chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Appeal for support
The governor in the statement announcing the purchase of the form urged Nigerians to support him.
He said he will replicate the prudent management of the state’s resources which enabled him to transform the state into the administration of the country if elected as president.
“Dear Nigerians, I will not disappoint you.
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“With the meagre resources at our disposal in Ebonyi State, we were able to transform the state from the dust of the Nation to the Dubai of Nigeria.
“We can do even better in Nigeria and with your support, we shall achieve imagination forms”, he said.
His media aide, Nwaze Francis, also confirmed the development in a statement.
Mr Nwaze said: “The Governor of Ebonyi State, and All Progressives Congress Presidential Aspirant Engr David Umahi, has purchased his Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to contest for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Nigerians, the time is now. Let all hands be on deck to ensure that Governor David Umahi gets the APC ticket.
“He is the man that the cap fits and he has ticked all positive boxes right. The time is now.”
Mr Umahi had last week urged political parties to zone the presidency to the South-east for the sake of equity and fairness.
“Let the next president come from South for equity, justice, and fairness, if the Presidency is not zoned to the southeast by PDP and APC, they should tell the people why”, he reportedly said.
Mr Umahi will contend for the APC ticket with other aspirants at the party’s convention in May.
Some of them are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Lagos Governor, Bola Tinubu, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, Labour and Employment Minister, Chris Ngige, Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba and former Ogun governor and serving senator, Ibikunle Amosun.
