Text of a press briefing by Chief John
Odigie-Oyegun, National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), on Thursday,
November 13, 2014.
Gentlemen of the Press,
1. In
the increasing atmosphere of rot and uncertainty being foisted on our nation by
the PDP, I address you as the National Chairman of the Party that is preparing
itself to assume the awesome responsibility of governing our long suffering
nation next year. Our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC),was formed as
a result of the yearnings of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians for an
alternative platform to change the trajectory of our beloved country.
Many well-meaning
Nigerians have asked me who we are; beginning from today we are going to have a
weekly conversation with the Nigerian People to say who we are. All Nigerians,
irrespective of their current party affiliation, who are dissatisfied with
their personal circumstances and the national drift,and desire a change are
welcome to join this movement led by the APC. Our movement is programmed to
create a new Nigeria of which we will all, without exception, be proud.
With your
overwhelming support and the free expression of your will, represented by your
votes, the All Progressives’ Congress will by the grace of God next year
commence the challenging but necessary process of charting a more secure and
more prosperous future for us all.
Armed with your mandate, we will raise the
standards of governance and condition of living of all citizens to levels which
all Nigerians deserve as of right. We will stop the rot and the descent to
uncertainty and disaster which the sixteen years of PDP misrule hasplunged us
to as a nation. We will restore to Nigerians the hope and assurance that our nation can be made whole again, and
that our leaders will submit themselves to the will and needs of our people.
2. In
the next few weeks, our candidates for all elective positions in the February
2015 elections will emerge. Our party will conduct all processes for the
selection of these candidates in strict and transparent compliance with our
rules, and we will put forward candidates who will truly represent the people
and work for a future full of hope, confidence, progress and peace.
We have no
doubt that Nigerians will vote for these candidates we will put up, because
they will be agents of change, and they will be standing against agents of the
status quo, who want to perpetuate this culture of deceit, divisiveness,
incompetence and impunity that has continued to hold Nigeria back. We will ask
Nigerians to vote for genuine and enduring change; change in the manner young
Nigerians see their future; change in the attitude of leaders, from oppressive
and arrogant leadership, to leadership anchored on respect for rule of law,
fear of God and deep commitment to the service of the people; and change from a
life of insecurity and daily threats to our lives and property to a life of
maximum security and peace.
3. We
are under no illusions about the magnitude of the task our party will be called
to embark upon. It will be a massive challenge. But we draw strength and
inspiration from the knowledge that the overwhelming majority of Nigerians
recognize that a continuing PDP administration cannot guarantee Nigerians a
future of prosperity, dignity and peace.
We, in the APC, are in touch with the
sentiments, aspirations and concerns of our people. To those who are now living
and dying in occupied parts of our nation; to those who are displaced and
living in refugee camps because their homeland is occupied by terrorists, to
those who are in fear of the imminent occupation of their homeland by savage
elements, we say help is on the way and positive change is near.
4. Our
party will chart a new course of recovery and regeneration for our nation. We
will set very high standards of respect for the rule of law, such that our
nation will never again experience the unprecedented scale of impunity that has
been the central feature of this PDP led administration. We see this impunity
on display in the administration’s tyrannical reaction to the exercise of the
right of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. AminuWaziriTambuwal
to change his party.
The Police arrogated to itself the power of the judiciary
to interpret the Constitution and withdrew the security details of the Speaker.
The illegal and high-handed action by the Police in removing the security
details of a sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives has attracted
strong and widespread condemnation from within and outside Nigeria. The
Department of Security Services, a service which washitherto insulated from
partisan politics have also been directed and has similarly withdrawn its
operatives from the Speaker.
5. We
see another manifestation of the PDP administration’s fondness for impunity and
its disturbing tendency to cuddle corruption, in the recent release to Capital
Oil Ltd all its assets hitherto lawfully acquired by AMCON as a result of its
said involvement in the fuel subsidy scam. It is not a secret that the
proprietor of Capital Oil is the coordinator or convener of the widely derided
Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) that is at the forefront of the
obscene and doomed campaign for the reelection of President GoodluckJonathan. A
great nation like Nigeria should not be run with such crass disdain for
decency, common sense and the rule of law.
6. Once
in office, our party will govern with openness and transparency, and every kobo
belonging to the public will be judiciously utilized and meticulously accounted
for. We will call corruption by its name and fight it with the vehemence it
deserves. We will restore the faith of the public in the necessity for leaders
to live honestly and lead with vision, competence and compassion.
Our Party will
collaborate and cooperate with the states in the true practice of a Federal
relationship. We shall run an all-inclusive government and seek the views of
all segments including the positive ideas of opposition parties in the
formulation and execution of governmentpolicies.
7. An
APC administration will rebuild and expand infrastructure; invest in human
capital, particularly the Youth; deploy resources to provide jobs and
employment opportunities and get our economy working again for all Nigerians.
We shall work for the inclusive growth and development of our economy through
massive job creation programs to ensure the reduction of poverty and the
protection of the weak.
8. An
APC Federal administration will unite all Nigerians by eliminating policies and sentiments such as religion and ethnicity which the PDP has
deliberatelyexploited to divide the nation. We will restore the faith and
confidence of Nigerians in each other, and ensure that no Nigerian anywhere
suffers any disadvantage on account of his or her religious affiliation or
ethnic origin. We will uphold the rule of law and protect the human rights of
all our citizens.
9. The
defense of the territorial integrity of our fatherland and the protection of
the lives and property of all who live within our bordersshall be a
non-negotiable priority of an APC Federal Government. We will reclaim every
inch of Nigerian territory, and liberate fellow citizens who, under the current
dispensation, are resigned to life as captured and conquered citizens.
Our
armed forces will be massively motivated and given the necessary manpower and
materials to enable them perform their sacred duty of protecting our country.
Our people will be mobilized to support and honour our men and women in uniform
who put their lives on the line to ensure that we are all protected.
10. To
all Nigerians, I say, our party, the APC, will change Nigeria for
good. We have the men and women who can do this because they
passionately believe in Nigeria and are aggrieved by the 16 years of wasted
opportunities under the PDP. We have developed the ideas and strategies to
achieve this. We have the faith and confidence that this can be donein short
order.
We are resolved never to give up on Nigeria, or to abandon the
imperatives of ensuring that the democratic process translates into better
lives and opportunities for the present generation and a solid foundation to
build an even better life for future generations. The only people who will
fear, or resist, the type of change we represent and promise, are the tiny
blood suckingminority who benefit from Nigeria’s current social and economic
degradation.
11. Two
days ago, you heard President Goodluck Jonathan announce himself as the
candidate of the PDP and asked Nigerians for another four years as President.
You heard a lot of claims, misrepresentations and voodoo statistics, none of
which can stand the barest scrutiny. Disregard them! You heard excuses for
failure to fix basic infrastructure, arrest unprecedented levels of corruption
and halt the march of terrorists daily inching nearer all of us.
You heard
promises that sound familiar because you have heard them all before since his
six (6) years as President. Do not give the party that has savaged Nigeria in
the last 16 years an opportunity to finally finish off our dear nation. The PDP
cannot deliver on any of the same promises it has failed to honourin over a
decade and a half in power.
The 2015 election
will be decided on the character and leadership qualities of the Nigerian
President. The Commander-in-Chief should also be “Consoler-in-Chief”
bringing comfort and succor to our people in time of grief and distress. You
heard two days ago President Jonathan saying that good leaders do not walk away
from the people, sadly though the statement is true, our President who wants
another four years does not show evidence of sympathy for hundreds of thousands
of our fellow citizens who are now Internally Displaced Persons(IDP) as a
result of the occupation of their land by Boko Haram. He brings no relief or
comfort to those living under the reign of terror.
About 50 young Nigerian
School Children were killed and several others injured in Potiskumjust a few
days before the extravaganza show of his declaration. Yet we do not hear of a
Presidential visit to the families of the victims, a pattern that has become
usual. Our President lives in his comfort zone, content to utter words, and
‘minutes of silence’ that have no meaning to the victims.
The President has
abandoned the Nigerian people. We should end the journey with President
GoodluckJonathan in 2015 and aelect leader who will be part of our lives and
lead with courage and empathy.
12. I
therefore appeal to all Nigerians to endeavour to collect their Permanent
Voters Cards, and use them to vote out the PDP and vote in the brighter, safer
and more prosperous future, which the APC represents. I call on INEC, the
security agencies and other institutions of government to discharge their
responsibilities courageously, fairly and firmly.
Their prime responsibility is
to the nation. I appeal to the international community to remain vigilant and
continue to work with all Nigerians to ensure that the 2015 elections are
credible. On our part, we remain committed to respecting the integrity of the
electoral process, and we will discourage its subversion and will resist
vigorously the use of violence, official or otherwise, to prevent the triumph
of the will of the people.
13. It
is with a sense of deep patriotism that we in the APC appeal to Nigerians to
join us, because we need to work together to make Nigeria the great country it
should be. I want to call on all Nigerians to work with us, support
us and vote for our candidates in the forthcoming elections. APC governments at
all levels will be your governments, and we assure you that you will feel the
difference in the very first few months of our administration at all levels.
We
assure our brother African nations who agonize over the decline in Nigeria’s
leadership that our nation will rise again and give Africa the exemplary
leadership it deserves. We assure the International Communityparticularly, our
friends, that the APC treasures their friendship and treasures their concern
for our nation. We assure them all that we will rebuild our capacities to
operate at the global level as a responsible and responsive pillar of global
governance, a beacon of hope for all mankind.
14. In
a few months, our great party will make history. It will defeat an incumbent
administration at the federal level, and secure most of the governorships and
federal and state legislatures. It will then proceed to change the way our
nation is governed, by restoring the valued requirements of governance, which
are rooted in supremacy of the law, integrity and competence of leaders, and
compassion and fairness in the treatment of the people.
15. Our
party stands united and confident in its ability to lead Nigeria to a new
beginning. I call on all Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora to embrace
our vision of a great nation that works for all of its citizens; a nation that
guarantees security for all its people; and a nation able to generate and
allocate its resources in the just and equitable manner intended by God who so
graciously blessed us with so much.
16. I
invite all Nigerians to join us in this movement to rebuild a new and great
Nigerian nation.
God bless you all
God bless the APC
God bless Nigeria
Thank you!
Chief John
Odigie-Oyegun
National Chairman
All Progressives
Congress (APC)
13th November
2014
Abuja.
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