2019: PDP presidential aspirants will close ranks to sack APC, says Turaki

A presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), has called on others contesting the party’ presidential ticket not to loose focus of working conscientiously toward unseating the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 general election.

He said all aspirants should be conscious of the fact that the contest is not about individual but for PDP to regain its lost glory and to revamp the country from the brink of collapse as a result of maladministration of the APC -led government.

The party, he said, has the enormous responsibility of delivering Nigeria from imminent total collapse.

He said, this is the more reason why the PDP presidential aspirants need to work together with whoever that win the party’s ticket in a fairly contested primary for the sole aim of getting rid of the present administration.

Speaking with journalists after an interface with members of the forum of the PDP former states assemblies principal officers at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja on Monday, Turaki said the party had all it takes to “regain power and put Nigeria back on the path of prosperity, peace and unity”.

The former minister said the nation has found itself in an unfortunate situation of economic decay, insecurity, sectionalism and political victimisation which are hallmarks of the Buhari administration.

According to him, “the party has men and women of integrity, who are knowledgeable about the nation’s politics, those are bridge builders. They are experienced, they have done it before and are ready to do it again”

The PDP, he admitted, has done mistakes in the past, have learnt from its mistakes and is ready to correct those mistakes.

He was happy that within just three years, Nigerians have condemned the APC, “a platform that is driving the nation into poverty, penury, division along ethnic and religious line and grave instability occasioned by incessant killings on daily basis”

The chairman of the forum of former PDP principal officers, Hon Inuwa Garuba, who was a former speaker of Kebbi State House of Assembly called on all PDP aspirants to pose a common front and avoid divisive tendencies.

He urged them not to see the contest for the party’s presidential ticket as a do-or- die affair. He said they should accept the fact that “power belongs to God”.

Convinced that the party will wrest power from the APC in 2019, he said, the forum is meeting with the party’s presidential hopefuls as part of consensus building to ensure that the PDP come out of its presidential primaries unscathed.

He described the ruling APC as “full of confusion; there is confusion in the polity, there are myriad of socio-economic problems, the country is in disarray, everybody is worried and the government has no answer to all these.

“So, our party, the PDP has come as a rebranded and focused party to correct the wrongs and we know that Nigerians are going to give us another chance.

The group had earlier met with the national working committee of the party at PDP secretariat where the national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, allayed the fear of imposition not only for the presidential ticket contest but every other positions.

Secondus reiterated that the national leadership under his watch will provide level play ground for every aspirants.

He said, “PDP has been rebranded and we are repositioned as we walk along. And by the grace of God, we will regain the lost ground including the presidency that we lost in 2015.

“Nigerians can see better. Nigerians can now compare the newly rebranded PDP and the APC. No amount of lies, deceit, propaganda will change the mindset of Nigerians.

“NIgeria voted for the APC to allow them rule, but since they took over there have been one calamity before another. The unemployment rate is on unimaginable level, the worst in the history of our country and what are they talking about ?

Secondus also berated the current government as a threat to national unity. He said the APC government has continuously threatened democracy fought for by the nation’s forefathers and defended by the PDP and on which platform the APC based its administration.

Welcoming the forum, Secondus said, “the boldness that you have taking to come to the Secretariat shows clearly that the PDP is back and we are working hard with ordinary Nigerians to rescue this nation”.