Presidential candidate of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, ACPN, Oby Ezekwesili, has questioned the exclusion of some candidates and their political parties from the presidential debate soon to hold.
The excluded candidates include: Donald Duke of the Social Democratic Party, SDP; Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress, AAC; Byron Fagbemj of KOWA Party; and, John Gbor of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA.
Sharing on Twitter, Ezekwesili said:
“As a country with huge contingent of Parties fielding candidates for election, it does make sense to at least allow more than 5 such parties, at least 25 percent of those candidates, to participate in the most influential of Presidential Debates.
“I especially want to see a candidate like Omoyele Sowore whose AAC has been diligent in crisscrossing Universities to awaken our young to engage in our Politics.
“I also believe that candidates of APGA, KOWA Party & SDP should be part of an additional list of 5 candidates for the Presidential Debate of BON/NEDG, considering their assiduous efforts to galvanize a base of citizens to get involved in these crucial polls.
“I hope earnestly that this will be considered by the organizers.”
The political parties approved to participate in the debate organized by the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) are Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Young Progressives Party (YPP).