PDP primary: Secondus appreciates members, Atiku, says Buhari’s camp confused

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has appreciated members of the party across the country and in Diaspora for their support that made possible the conduct of peaceful and transparent Presidential primaries at the weekend in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

Prince Secondus said that by that singular action, the party’s journey to regaining power and ejecting All Progressives Congress (APC), from office has begun well and only a matter of time.

The National Chairman said that all the doomsday predictions that the party was going to emerge from their National convention swimming in crisis have been proved wrong as the party is not only more peaceful but more united and determined to execute the sole most important project of chasing out APC from the nation’s political life.

Prince Secondus said in a statement from his media office signed by his Media Adviser, Ike Abonyi that the pace setting convention was a clear demonstration that the rebranding and repositioning of the party with a view to regaining power was actually on course and in full gear.

“By the Port Harcourt successful outing, the party’s journey to Aso Rock villa has begun in earnest and I urge all hands to be on deck until the country is rescued”, he said.

He said the support from members and non members to the reform agenda of the party culminated in the successful primaries from ward to National levels which show clearly the determination of Nigerians to return PDP to power.

Prince Secondus noted that this would not have been possible without the support of critical stakeholders working on the same page to realize this common goal.

“Special recognition must be made of those whose yeoman roles made it possible, all those who participated either as a aspirants, or as facilitators and here special mention must be made of the Chairman of the National Convention Committee His Excellency Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and members of his committee

Prince Secondus appealed to members who contested for various positions and lost to emulate the Presidential aspirants and make the necessary sacrifices needed for the eventual success of the party, noting that PDP umbrella is big enough for all in victory.

Meanwhile, the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar has expressed indifference to the reaction of the campaign team of President Muhammadu Buhari over the PDP convention.

A statement from the Atiku campaign office said Buhari and his team has been thrown into confusion by Atiku’s emergence as PDP presidential candidate which translate to the coming to an end of Buhari’s reign.

“That much was admitted by the President’s former running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare when he praised the emergence of HE Atiku as an ‘Eagle’ and ‘a cosmopolitan wazobia’ politician. Obviously, Pastor Tunde Bakare has foreseen that the era of 97% versus 5% has come to an end with the emergence of the pan Nigerian Atiku Abubakar.

“We ask how can the Buhari Campaign Organisation disparage the PDP Primary that produced His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, when even the President’s own wife, Aisha Buhari, has condemned the APC’s primary?

Not only did Mrs Buhari condemn APC’s primaries, she described them as ‘unfair’ and lacking in integrity. Who can know President Buhari better than his wife?

“Nigerians know that Atiku Abubakar is the most investigated politician in Nigeria and any smear by the Buhari administration remains just that. With the vindictiveness of President Buhari, he would have arrested HE Abubakar if he had been found wanting”.

Setting the record straight, the organisation said that PDP’s primaries were genuine, free and fair.

“Atiku Abubakar got 1,532 votes in a contest televised live to millions of Nigerians. The All Progressives Congress’ primary, on the other hand, was a study in dictatorship and corruption.

The sole candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, scored almost 15 million votes. How could that occur without rigging or manufacturing of faceless voters?”

They said the choice before Nigerians in 2019 is a simple one.

“Nigerians have a choice of electing a lively candidate with a record of providing 50,000 jobs to Nigerians in his private capacity versus the lifelessness (apologies to President Donald Trump) of a candidate under whom Nigeria lost 11 million jobs and became the world headquarters for extreme poverty.

“Nigerians have a choice of a man who will provide an efficient and business-friendly solution to the herdsmen crisis and a man whose government said ‘giving land for cattle ranching is better than death’.

“It is very obvious that faced with such a choice that Nigerians would definitely vote for the man who will Get Nigeria Working Again,

hence we are not surprised by this desperate statement from the Buhari administration that is so shameless that they made a man implicated in framing a man of God on spurious charges as their spokesman.

If he can lie against a man of God, should Nigerians believe anything he says about the PDP and its candidate? “, said the campaign team.