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The Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC) says Muhammadu Buhari’s candidature is still
treated as a rumour until party officials adopt him during its national
convention.

Dennis Aghanya, the
spokesman of the CPC, who disclosed this yesterday, said other members
of the newly registered party might show interest in the race, adding
that it would be against its constitution to impose anybody on the
party without following due process.

He said the party
is not only trying to consolidate in all the states of the federation
but also engaging in talks with other political stakeholders ahead of
the 2011 general elections. “We have not officially adopted Buhari as
being speculated as our presidential candidate. I am not also aware
that we have officially adopted any other person as our candidate. So,
his (Buhari) candidacy is still a rumour,” Mr Aghanya said during a
telephone interview. “We are a party that respects the law and follows
due process. We don’t want to be seen as imposing anybody. Our party is
spreading in all the states and other members may be interested in the
position.

We are still
consolidating in the states and we are talking with other political
stakeholders. But now that INEC has released timetable, we will move on
quickly.”

Mr Aghanya,
however, said that in the choice of its flag bearer, the party will
consider a man or woman who has uncommon integrity like Mr Buhari, its
founder. He confirmed that if the party eventually picks Mr Buhari as
its candidate for the presidential polls, his running mate who would
come from the Southern part of the country, would be expected to
possess similar attributes as the former military head of state.

“We are not just
going for anybody,” he said. “There are some basic attributes we want
in our vice presidential candidate considering our ideology. Such a
person has to be credible like Buhari. He should be somebody you can
beat your chest and say yes, this person has integrity. He should also
be somebody that is a bridge builder between the north and the south.
So, we want somebody of Buhari’s stature.”

Planning the convention

The CPC spokesman
said with the release of the election timetable by the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), the party’s will soon organize
its launching/national convention.

According to him, the agenda of the programme would have been concluded by next week.

Meanwhile, the CPC
has condemned plan by the federal government to raise the pump price of
petroleum products within the next six months.

Mr Aghanya, said in
a statement on Sunday, that if the government goes ahead with the plan
as revealed recently by the finance minister, Olusegun Aganga, it will
worsen the already difficult situation the common man is facing. “This,
if implemented, will be adding to the pains the masses are already
going through as a result of the non availability of the basic
infrastructures due to bad and corrupt leadership of the PDP,” he said.

“On what basis does the government intend to carry out this new policy?

Petroleum is the
pillar of virtually all the economic and social activities in any
developed, developing and static society. Ours, being a static one,
mostly depends on this God’s free gift to sustain life.

We should learn to think before we act than acting before we think.”