Presidential candidate of the National Interest Party, NIP Eunice Atuejide, has withdrawn from the race.
This came barely twenty eight days, when the former minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, announced her exit from the race.
In a statement she released early yesterday morning, Mrs. Atuejide said she stepped down from the election because her race for the presidency was programmed to end on February 16, “and it did.
“Therefore, the presidential election proposed to hold on February 23, due to the last-minute postponement by INEC, does not involve me,” Mrs Atuejide, founder and chairperson of the NIP said.
According to the lawyer, the race is now between President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Mrs. Atuejide said she is now committed to supporting Atiku whom she considers a better candidate.
“I choose to fight for the benefit of every Nigerian on the side of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. I cannot defend PDP for giving us bad leadership from 1999 to 2015, yet, I cannot help but blame the APC for doing a much worse job from 2015 to 2019.
“Plus, whether we call them PDP, APC, PPA, ANN, YPP, or NIP, we are all the same people moving from one political platform to the other; in search of a place to speak out and be heard.
“To my mind, the political party platform is not the real issue. Nonetheless, it’s either Alhaji Atiku Abubakar under the PDP or president Buhari; under the APC this time.
“I make bold to state unequivocally that I stand with Atiku, under the PDP, this time.”
She had never concealed her criticism of president Buhari and his government.
Last month, she declared president Buhari mentally and physically unfit to continue in office, saying she has commenced legal action to “stop” him.