By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
LAGOS — The Congress for Progressive Change, CPC has denied speculations of the endorsement of erstwhile Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai as the party’s candidate in the 2015 presidential election.

The party in a statement, yesterday, said the speculations were being fuelled by elements in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who were bent on derailing ongoing merger talks by opposition parties in the country.

The party in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashikin, followed media reports that El-Rufai was being proposed as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2015 election.

The insinuation is upon uncertainties that the party’s national leader and 2011 presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari would not make himself available for the 2015 election.

The CPC’ statement read: “We are aware that the piece of misinformation had its roots in PDP, with its large array of paid agents and proxies to castigate notable CPC members ahead of 2015 elections.

“It is quite asinine to insinuate that a party, in possible merger talks with other coalition partners, will have a candidate already anointed for the presidential election. Furthermore, being a political party with deeply entrenched democratic values, we believe our preferred candidate shall emerge from transparent electoral process and not from selection by anointment.

“We wish to make it abundantly clear that the party leadership has not made any decision on its preferred candidacy for the 2015 elections. It is vitally important to use this forum to disabuse the minds of our members and teeming supporters from the noxious effect of that publication.

“For the umpteenth time, we restate our avowed commitment to our charted course and no amount of sponsored innuendos and deliberate mendacity can derail our set objectives.”