The new national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abudullahi Adamu has said his first step is to make the party the bastion of internal democracy, to offer the country true democracy.
He said this on Sunday after taking the oath of office and allegiance along with 35 other newly elected members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja at the closing ceremony of the party’s national convention.
He noted that “the eyes of the nation are on the party; the eyes of Africa are on us; the eyes of the world are on us. This is a historic moment. There is no room for false steps. Our first step is to make our party the bastion of internal democracy. If a party is not internally democratic, it cannot offer the country true democracy.”
He then challenged the party faithful, “Together, let us rise and march towards the sunrise in our party and our country. The time has come for us to show statesmanship to arrive at the new dawn. The time has come for us to be patriotic in words and deeds. The time has come for us to affirm our being the party of the people, for the people and by the people.
He also called on party faithful and leaders to join hands with him and the new National Working Committee (NWC) in steering the ship of the nation out of the woods.
The highly elated chairman then took a swipe on the opposition saying, “As we conclude this very successful convention of our great party, I know that our opponents in PDP and other opposition parties are now sulking, wearing long faces of sadness, bewilderment and dismay.
“They had been hoping and praying to make a fortune out of our misfortunes. They were also hoping and praying to capitalize on the assumed failures of our party to reap political benefits.
“No Administration in the history of Nigeria has performed as much as we did in building key infrastructure and in uplifting the living conditions of the Nigerian people. Projects that once existed only in the dreams of Nigerians such as the Second Niger Bridge, complete rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan dual carriageway, the Lagos-Ibadan express rail, the Abuja-Kaduna express light rail, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline and many others, have either been started and completed during our Administration or have been inherited in abandoned conditions and have made rapid progress in the last seven years.
“No government can satisfy everybody, however hard it works. Some work will always be left undone and every work done will continue to need maintenance, expansion and improvement.
“We are however satisfied that APC has fulfilled its covenant with the Nigerian people. Of the three main pillars of its promises to the Nigerian people in 2015, that is, security, economy and anti-corruption, much progress has been recorded in all three areas and many more.
“APC is set to do much, more when Nigerians continue to bestow on us their love, support and confidence in next year’s general elections.”
Commending the APC led administration at the three tiers, the new party chieftain maintained that, “For almost seven years now, APC Administrations at the Federal, state and local levels have been battling night and day to enhance the livelihood of Nigerians through various policies, programmes and projects.
“We need to renew our faith in our party and its leadership at all levels to herald a new dawn. We need to commit to the resolution of our crisis within the confines of our party constitution.
“We must resist the temptation to blow every minor personal disagreement into a major party crisis. It is time for us to do things differently. When we quarrel, we open our flanks to our rival political parties that are only too eager to exploit them for their benefit.
Assuring party members of the readiness of his committee to deliver the good. Adamu said, “We accept the onerous responsibility that you have placed on our shoulders and we will work hard to ensure that we fulfil your expectations for the greater good of our great party and of our dear country.
“I promise you here and now that we shall heal any wounds in our party; we shall effect lasting reconciliation among our members, and we shall go into the next general elections as a strong and united party.”
He appreciated other aspirants who stepped down for him and commended their spirit of sportsmanship and told them that he will continue to count on their cooperation as loyal party members and patriots.
“I offer my hands of friendship to all our members. I want to assure you that my colleagues and myself will run an open-door policy for all members of the party.
The 36 newly elected members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party were sworn in Abuja on Sunday.
President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, governors, members of diplomatic corps and leaders and members of the party were in attendance.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Convention Election Committee, Governor Badaru Abubakar said of the 36 offices in the NWC only 5 were contested while the rest were through consensus.