Oshiomhole says nobody has challenged President for APC's ticket

National chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has disclosed that no one in the party has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari for the partys ticket to contest in the 2019 presidential election.

Oshiomhole made this revelation during the inauguration of Jones Erue as the new Delta APC chairman on Monday, July 16, 2018. According to him, the president has the first right of refusal of the ticket and has the party's support.

While addressing Erue, he said, "My plea to you is that once you have become the state chairman, you are not at liberty to be the agent of any of the aspirants, whether for House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate or governorship.

"The only partisan position you might be able to pursue within limits is, maybe, with regards to the presidential candidate because that, as far as we know today, no one has yet expressed interest to contest the presidential election and so, it appears that the party understands that the incumbent has the first right of refusal and even the governors have publicly kowtowed to that."

Buhari's battle for re-election

President Buhari announced his decision to seek re-election in the 2019 presidential election to the National Executive Committee of the APC on April 9, 2018. He said his descision was an answer to the calls by Nigerians to remain in office.

Despite Oshiomhole's disclosure that no one in the party has challenged for the ticket, 36-year-old Adamu Garba II, an IT entrepreneur, and oil tycoon, SKC Ogbonnia, have publicly expressed interest to battle Buhari for the APC's ticket.

President Buhari made history when he defeated then-president, Goodluck Jonathan, in the 2015 presidential election by more than 2.5 million votes, the first time a sitting president lost an election in Nigeria.

He is expected to face a tougher test this time around as he has had to battle health complications that resulted in him seeking treatment for an undisclosed ailment in London for a combined 154 days in 2017.