- President Muhammadu Buhari has given a message of encouragement to senior members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in preparation for 2019 elections
- He said that unity in the ruling party is the key factor responsible for the successes the party has recorded and enjoyed so far
- He admonished them to uphold internal democracy and avoid short cuts that can mar the reputation of the party ahead of the elections
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to get themselves prepared for the 2019 elections. He said this on Monday, February 26, when he hosted senior party members at the presidential villa in Abuja.
President Buhari thanked his party men for standing by him despite the “antics of the opposition”. He said: "I must heartily thank the party officials and members for the successes we have achieved in the 2015 elections in securing majority of the states, majority in the national assembly and majority in the state assemblies, The Cable reports.
“We must remember that this resounding success would not have been achieved without the unity of purpose we exhibited in challenging and defeating an incumbent government.
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“Those outstanding successes would not have been possible without your hard work, dedication, and above all, sacrifice. I wish to individually and collectively thank you all sincerely for believing in me and remaining steadfast party members despite distractions and antics of the opposition. This unity and success are needed now more than ever, because elections are now looming.
“Now that INEC has come out with the timetable for elections in 2019, the party should prepare itself for congresses at A. Wards, B. Local Governments, C. States and D. Centre.
“We should strictly follow the constitution of the Party in undertaking these party elections. We should ensure internal democracy and avoid shortcuts and illegal maneuvers which have characterized the opposition party with the consequences that they are now divided.
“The APC has a history of conducting free and fair primaries whenever consensus about any candidacy is not reached. Regardless of the outcomes of the primary processes, it is imperative that we all work together to ensure the victory of our party.
Buhari stated that his government had lunched some reforms into the country. He accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of mismanaging the country's wealth.
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He remarked: “I must state at the outset that to succeed we must in all our actions and decisions follow strictly the constitution of our party. It is easy to forget that we succeeded a government with a record of unprecedented theft and systematic mismanagement,”
“Nigeria was fast heading for a state of collapse. It is easy to forget the fuel subsidy fraud, arms fund diversion, depleted excess savings, depleted foreign reserves, massive unpaid debts to contractors and suppliers amidst failure to invest or even maintain our infrastructure namely railways, roads, electricity, inspite of having earned over US$500 billion from Oil & Gas alone, during the 16 years of PDP rule. Lest we forget, we must always remind ourselves of the dire situation in which we came to office.
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“Therefore we must not be shy in projecting our tremendous achievements from 2015 to date. The territorial integrity of Nigeria longer under threat. A number of security challenges still exist, but they exist in even the most well policed and well-secured countries. I am confident that the measures we are taking will tackle the acts of rural banditry, herdsmen/farmers conflicts, communal clashes, kidnappings and other crimes.”
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com reported that in preparation for the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC on Tuesday, February 27, the party’s caucus met on Monday, February 26 with President Muhammadu Buhari in attendance.
The party had earlier released a statement saying the national caucus meeting would be held at the presidential banquet hall, Aso Villa Abuja followed by the NEC at the party’s national secretariat.
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Source: Naija.ng
ROSY CREST
Tuesday, 27 February 2018