The former Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, was conspicuously absent at the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential primary following the possibility of monetisation of the process, according to a family source.
Nwajiuba was nowhere to be found when the 22 other aspirants of the party were delivering their manifestoes to delegates who had converged on the Eagle Square, Abuja, overnight.
Speaking on his absence, the ex-minister’s family in a statement issued by his brother, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, stated that he entered the race for the presidency with the belief that the ticket would be zoned to the South-East.
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“Many friends are calling to find out why my brother, Dr. Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba did not come out to address the APC convention.
“Simple: The understanding from the highest levels prior to his involvement, and considering his role in the founding of the APC, was that of consensus as was with the National Chairmanship a few months ago.
“With that understanding, the Presidential ticket was to come to the South, and the southeast.
“This has been the hope till the end of the negotiations.
“He (Nwajiuba), not wanting to be part of the Dollar and Naira bazaar, is convinced that what Nigeria needs now is no more of the same thing that has kept Nigeria at the low level it has been.
“Our challenges as a country cannot be addressed at the same energy level by which they were created,” the statement read.