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| Prince Uche Secondus- PDP Chairman |
Prepare to vacate Aso Rock Come 2019
The newly-elected chairman of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus has vowed towards working for the
party to regain power of the country in 2019. In his address on Sunday,
December 10 after being declared winner of the party’s chairmanship election,
Secondus expressed delight over his victory. He accused the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) of dividing the nation and said the PDP has a task
of wrestling power from them.
He vowed that by 2019, the PDP would
take over power in Aso Rock from the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
Read his full victory speech
On behalf of members of the National
Working Committee of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, I dedicate this mandate to
the Almighty God who it has pleased to make this convention successful and
grant us this opportunity to serve our great party. We give all glory to God
and we commit PDP into his hands. I stand before you this day, humbled by the
mandate you’ve just given to my colleagues and I to lead this great party at
this time in Nigeria’s political history. We wholeheartedly accept it with
extreme gratitude. Eighteen years ago specifically February 14, 1999, this
party made history with its first ever national convention in Jos, Plateau
State and since then, has grown to become undisputedly, the largest political
party on the African continent. I recall that before that, precisely on the
19th of August, 1998, our founding fathers gathered here in Abuja to give birth
to this party whose aims and objectives were patriotic, with lofty and
visionary dreams. By my understanding, the mandate you have given us today is
clear and unambiguous. It is to return our party to power come 2019. As
Herculean as this mandate seems, I know it’s achievable. My campaign pillars
for this election are ‘To Rebuild, Reposition and Regain’. Let me assure you
great members and leaders of our party, that by the grace of God and with all
hands on deck, the brief tenancy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Aso
Rock Villa expires on May 28, 2019. By this, we serve them a quit notice. This
has to be immediate, in order to save our beloved country from disintegration.
We are all witnesses to how the unity of this country has been shaken to its
very foundation under the watch of the rudderless and clueless APC. We
therefore have a gigantic task of retrieving this country from APC’s clear lack
of direction and confusion starting with the Presidency. In the words of the
34th President of the United States of America Dwight .D. Eisenhower, “If a
political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a
cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is
merely a conspiracy to seize power”. Judging from this, it is crystal clear to
all Nigerians, that APC is not a political party, but a body hurriedly
assembled to seize power without a clear cut plan for governance. Our party on
the other hand, was founded on ideals which are totally in tandem with those of
the founding fathers of this great country. Those founding fathers had in mind,
a prosperous and lasting democracy as captured in the preamble of our
constitution clearly stating their desire for a free and egalitarian society.
Even in our perceived failure of 2015, we chose to abide by our strong faith in
democracy, willingly conceding power to opposition, thereby elevating the
democratic status of Nigeria. We are the true democrats! I can therefore say
without an iota of doubt, that PDP’s contributions to the growth and sustenance
of democracy in this country in the last 18 years remain unequalled. The best
way to celebrate the memories of these founding fathers, is to ensure that the
ideals are continuously engaged. (At this juncture great PDP leaders and
members here present, let us stand and observe a minute silent for our fallen
heroes one of whom is our pioneer National Chairman and former Vice President
of this country Dr Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme GCON who passed on recently).
With your mandate I assure you, that all necessary steps will be taken to avoid
a repeat of our past mistakes. Indeed we have learnt our lessons and by this
convention, we are now set to forge a new path for our great party and Nigeria.
Under my watch, internal democracy will be strictly adhered to with a
deliberate policy to return ‘real’ power to the people. No more imposition, no
more impunity. Every member of this party can from this moment, consider him or
herself, an equal shareholder in our common destiny. I call on all Nigerians,
of all creed and class, to embrace this new PDP and join in this quest for a
new Nigeria. Particularly, I reach out to our old members who for one reason or
the other have left the party, to please come back ‘home’. I cannot end this
address without acknowledging my co-contestants especially for the chairmanship
position. Truth be told, any one of you is eminently qualified to lead this
party. I thank you for a worthy contest and being part of history as this marks
the first time such a highly competitive contest to produce the leadership of a
political party has been held in Nigeria. You have every cause to stand tall
and I now extend my hand of fellowship to you all. Let ‘US’ Rebuild, Reposition
& Regain. In the same breath, let me thank the outgoing National Caretaker
Committee led by Senator Ahmed Markafi. We will forever remember your
courageous leadership in our most trying times. History will no doubt, be kind
to you. I must also thank the Convention Committee led by HE Dr. Arthur Ifeanyi
Okowa for a job well done
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