President Muhammadu Buhari has asked leaders of the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) to brace up for the 2019 elections.
He said thison Mondaywhen he hosted top members of the party at the
presidential villa in Abuja.
Buhari thanked his party men for standing by him despite the antics of
the opposition.
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,
he said.
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.
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 short
cuts 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 said his adminsitration had been able to introduce some reforms,
accusing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) mismanaging the resources of
the country.
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, he said.
Nigeria was fast heading for a state of collapse. It is easy to forget
the fuel subsidy fraud, arms fund diversion, depleted excess de Account
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.
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.
I now turn to the party differences in various states. To this end, I have
appointed a committee, headed by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a leader of the
Party, to reconcile differences in various states. We hope the committee
will be given maximum support and cooperation to enable it to
satisfactorily carry out its work and get the party united in purpose and
in shape for the battles ahead.
I am very much aware of opinions and criticisms about the pace of
government. In particular, the delay in appointments to boards of
parastatals. Many boards have been inaugurated so far.
Before I conclude my address, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in
paying tribute to the Party members and commend the APc leadership for its
keen interest in getting the Party manifesto implemented in the States and
at the Center.
Thank you may God bless our party and the country