Race for 2019 hots up as Ezekwesili picks running mate

As the 2019 presidential elections draw near, Oby Ezekwesili, presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), has named the national chairman of the party, Ganiyu Galadima as her running mate.

Ezekwesili who announced this on Wednesday in Illorin, Kwara state, described Galadima as a grassroot politician that will work with her in lifting 80 million Nigerians out of poverty.

Recall that Galadima contested the 2015 presidential election, where he garnered 40,311 votes to clinch the fourth position.

He was only behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Muhammadu Buhari; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Goodluck Jonathan; and Adebayo Ayeni of the African Peoples Alliance.

Speaking about her choice of a grassroot politician, Ezekwesili said Galadima will teach her to be a consummate politician.

“I am very delighted that my vice-presidential candidate, my colleague, the one that will embark on this very important fight for Naija, are you ready to fight for Naija?

“That I have a rugged grassroot fighter as the person who will supplement the things that I know. He will teach me how to be a consummate politician.

“Alhaji Abdulganiyu Galadima is definitely known for the work he has done at the grassroot level. As someone who started a strong career in local government, he is the kind of person I need, for us to lift 80 million people out of poverty.

“If we need competence, we can buy it; if we need capacity, we can buy it, but there is one thing we cannot buy, and that is character. For me, this gentleman represents that character.”

She said Galadima has been in politics for so long but has refused to be assimilated into the politics of failure, maintaining his character in politics.