At PDP NEC meeting: Saraki, Tambuwal, others vow to rescue Nigeria from APC

…You’re wasting your time, there’s no vacancy in Aso Rock -APC spokesman
The presence of Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Governors Aminu Tambuwal and Samuel Ortom of Sokoto and Benue states respectively and former Nigerian envoy to South Africa, Ahmed Ibeto among other recent defectors lightened up the 81st National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja on Thursday afternoon.

They were joined by members of the party’s Board of Trustees, National Working Committee, serving and former governors, serving and former legislators, presidential aspirants and other NEC members to unanimously agree to wrestle power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in next year’s election.

The party’s national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, while welcoming the defectors, saluted the courage of Saraki for leaving the comfort of his office as the third highest political office holder in the land to stand by the Nigerian masses, stressing that the Senate president took a bold step in defence of democracy.

Secondus said: “Saraki is cardinal to the new freedom in Nigeria”, promising him that “your sacrifice would never be in vain. Not for our party but for the 200 million Nigerians languishing in abject poverty”.

According to Secondus, Nigeria is in crisis, and that the people are not happy.”It is time for men of courage to join hands to rescue Nigeria.

“The bold steps you took to return to the party where you truly belong is a sacrifice not for yourself but for Nigeria and history will be fair to you”

“Today is the beginning of the great journey to freedom, the great journey to free our people and rescue this country from the damage done to it by the APC in the last three years.”

He said that the country is sliding dangerously under the watch of APC-led Federal Government and rather than confront the challenges, the ruling party continue to feign ignorance of the situation as he predicted that the APC will remain in aloof until PDP takes over Aso Villa.

Secondus expressed regret that agencies of government established to protect the people have been deployed to assault institutions of democracy by the Federal Government, mentioning incidences involving security agencies in Ekiti, Benue states and the homes of the Senate President and his deputy.

The PDP chairman disclosed that a key member of Buhari’s cabal has indicated his readiness to dump APC presidency for the PDP, adding that “two or three more governors of the APC will join us in a matter of weeks while many more senators and House of Representatives members are also on their way to join us here”.

He promised the defectors of every privilege, full fledge opportunity, saying they are free to contest for any position.

“The PDP is repositioned and rebranded, there is no more imposition, impunity again in our party,” he added.

An elated Saraki said he was happy to be back in the party where he started, to be back among men of integrity who have laboured to keep the PDP together and make Nigeria work through effective opposition to the ineptitude APC administration.

He said, “Today, as we thank the almighty God for allowing us to be alive to witness this, for allowing those that are able to be here today, those of my colleagues who had a long journey, tough journey, tortuous journey to be here, those on the side of PDP who made it possible for it to happen, it was because of the intervention of the almighty God.

“I am happy to see some of my colleagues here who have given me faith in this country, who have made me believe there are still men of character, there are still men who are still ready to make sacrifices for this country. There are men and women and youths who are ready to leave their comfort zone because they want a better tomorrow”.

Committing himself to greater sacrifice, Saraki said: “This sacrifice that we are all making is just the first part because we are doing this for Nigerians and that exercise will not be complete until we make a better country for our people.

“It is only when we reach that Promised Land that this sacrifice we are making comes good, when we see a better tomorrow for our people.

“‘I offer myself to ensure I continue to play my part, to continue to ensure that we defend our democratic principles in this country, we provide security and good leadership and good governance for everybody. But that is only possible if we are all united because not any one man or two or three can do it alone.

“The message that I will like to leave here with is a message of – let all of us work together so that these sacrifices will really be worth it in the interest of our people”.

Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, who also spoke during the event, said true democrats cannot allow the country to drift further but to retrieve it, to reposition it and restructure for the benefit of Nigerians.

He berated the alleged attempt by some APC senators to reconvene the Senate.

Tambuwal said, “When I hear that some people were trying to break into the chambers of the Senate, to steal the Mace and instal a pseudo Senate President, I wondered whether they actually know the rules our democratic engagement.

“It is not a gestapo, we are in a democracy and the constitution of this country is very clear that members of the Senate and House of Representatives can chose from among themselves their own president of the Senate and Speaker.

It is a conference of members of the two chambers and if the members have confidence of the Senate President, they are free to retain him and so be it with Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

“Nobody should be afraid and we must respect due process and rule of law if we are in a democracy. Nigeria is not a banana republic and we will not take any illegal act from anybody.

If you try it, we will march out our own forces in the country and jam you. We cannot afford to allow anybody, no matter how highly placed to toy with the fate of more than 200 million Nigerian”.

The NEC among other matters resolved issues on election timetable especially the coming bye-elections in senatorial district of Katsina and Bauchi States, House of Representatives seat in Kogi State and Taraba and Cross River states assemblies’ seat.

The National Punlicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, told journalists that other issues discussed include sales of nomination forms and the adoption of the Not Too Young to Run principle to give leverage to aspiring youths in the party in conformity with the newly signed law in the electoral reformation process.

Earlier in the day, the PDP and its associates opened an operational office for its coalition forces, the Coalition of United Progressives Party (CUPP), and also inaugurated a national steering committee to oversee its affairs.

One of the arrowhead of the coalition and Chairman of the reformed- All Progressives Congress (r-APC), Engineer Buba Galadima, counseled members to brace up for tough times ahead, pointing that taking over power from a retired army general is not a small task.

Galadima told the CUPP members that they should be prepared for harassment, intimidation and name calling as well as several other divisive tendencies.

He said: “Trying to take over power from a retired military general is not a small task. It is a herculean task. But we will try.

Over 200 million Nigerians out there are waiting for us. The masses of this country have since shifted their support from the ruling All Progressives Congress.

“They will attempt to intimidate, harass as well as bribe and divide us. They have called our people all sorts of names. They will still call several people more names.

“We are not afraid of being arrested, intimidated or harassed by the EFCC and ICPC. General Buhari will not be the president to be sworn in, come May 29, 2019”.

Secondus, at the event, also decried the recent harassment of Saraki, his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Senator Dino Melaye among others.

The PDP National Chairman pointed out that it was time for the coalition to rescue Nigeria from the present misgovernance being witnessed in the country.

Speaking in the same vein, Chief Olu Falae advised that members of the coalition must be wary of those who will come to scatter them by trying to sow seeds of discord, spread fake news and adopt divisible measures to achieve their sinister motive.

He urged the members to always cross check any information they get properly before believing them, “because there may be fake news as the stakes are very high”.

Speaking at the ceremony, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Tom Ikimi, reiterated that the Coalition was born out of the peculiar circumstances the nation finds itself at this time.

He said, “The Coalition is in the quest for a return to a virile and durable democratic process that will assure respect for civil liberties and human rights and maintain a culture of sustained adherence to the rule of law”.

Members of the CUPP steering committee include Sen. Ben Obi, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinola, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Alhaji A. A. Salman, Peter Ameh, Chief Sam Eke, Hon. Jeff Ojinika and Barr. Godson Okoye.

Others are Barr. Igwe Emeka Benjamin, Hon. Razak Eyiowuawi. Amb. Odion Cederack Okpebholo, Abduljalili Tafabalewa, Dr. Tanko Yunusa, Barr. Georgina Dakpokpo and Buba Galadima.

Both Barr. lkenga Ugochinyere and Mark Adebayo are to serve as spokespersons for the CUPP.

Why we defected to PDP- Gov Ahmed
In a related development, Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has again given reasons why he and other former members of the APC in the state defected to the PDP

Addressing youths, under the auspices of Kwara Agenda, who staged a solidarity rally round major roads in the state, Governor Ahmed said the APC government at the centre has not met the wishes and aspirations of the people of the state and also engaged in political persecution and victimisation of the party leadership in the state.

Governor Ahmed enumerated some of the reasons as outright marginalisation in the scheme of things right from the inception of the APC federally controlled government since 2015 uptill date.

He said, “Most of the political appointments at the federal level were done without any input or consideration from the state party stakeholders and in flagrant neglect of established principles of federal character”.

Governor Ahmed, who noted that some party leaders who nursed private but personal agenda other than the party manifesto, using the instrumentalities of government, worked against all efforts and entreaties to amicably resolve the impasse.

“The problem became compounded with ceaseless litigations and harassment of himself and the Senate President with insinuation of complicity in the condemnable Offa Robbery”, Gov. Ahmed added.

In their addressed read by Yakub Haroon, the youths said”: “The APC has failed to deliver on its promises to Nigerians, especially the youths.

The party has also failed to carry the people of Kwara State along in the scheme of things at the federal level, but have been relegated to second class citizens by the APC.

“It is on this basis that we express our support for the Senate President and the governor for finding a new platform to actualise the dreams of our people”.

I talked to Tambuwal against defection- Gov Bello
Meanwhile, Niger State Governor Sani Abubakar Bello has said that he traveled to Sokoto to talk with his colleague, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, against defection.

Governor Bello stated this in Abuja on Thursday through his political associate and adviser on Strategy, Chief Ray Murphy, saying that the governor also dissociated himself from any defection story linked with him.

Some social media publications had linked the Niger State governor as one of the governors that would defect from APC to the opposition PDP.

Murphy also said that there was no iota of truth in the story as the governor is pleased with APC, adding that “Governor Bello is happy with the APC and his people are also happy with the APC and with President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration”.

Quoting the governor, Murphy said: “Those who are decamping are making mistake because where they are going would not be better than APC”.

According to Murphy, “the Governor as a member of the APC and his people are satisfied and he is concerned with the progress of the APC in Niger State. He has received cooperation from the people of the state, the party at the national level, Mr. President and has no reason whatsoever to leave the party.

“He has a good relationship with the President as a governor as he said those decamping are making mistake.

He said nobody should link him with any thought of decamping, though those decamping are his associates as governors and that is why he travelled to Sokoto to dissuade Tambuwal from decamping but Tambuwal decamped for his personal reason including his presidential ambition and this is his position”, he added.

You’re wasting your time, there’s no vacancy in Aso Rock – APC spokesman
When contacted, the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr Yekini Nabena, told one of our correspondents during a telephone interview last night that the defectors and other PDP chieftains were making empty vows.

He said, “ The PDP and their new members are wasting their time because Nigerians are more enlightened today than yesterday as no one will willingly vote for the PDP, having squandered the nation’s economy during its 16 years of reign.

The newly appointed Acting Publicity Secretary also said that all the defectors have betrayed the party that gave them credence in their political pursuits.