National Chairman-Elect of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Dr Iyorchia Ayu has thrown a challenge to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Specifically, the former President of the Senate said the successes recorded in the major opposition’s just-concluded National Convention tagged “Nigeria Rescue Mission” is a challenge to the ruling party to prepare and quit Aso Rock come 2023.
Ayu stated this in the early hours of Sunday after he was declared winner at the party’s Special National Convention held at the Eagle Square, Abuja.
Going down memory lane, the former minister said: “When we started this party 23 years ago, we never in any way imagine that the journey will get us to this stage. A stage where we ruled for 16 years, we went into rough times, but for anybody who bothers to see, PDP is back. PDP is back to rescue Nigeria from the terrible mess we have been in, in the last six years.”
“Many people imagined that this convention will lead to the breakup for the PDP. Those people who are dreaming like that were dreaming in a wonderland. Their dream was misplaced. Those who have lost hope should know that Nigeria is not a divided country. A small group of people decided to divide Nigeria. PDP will come back to unite our people; put them together, north and south, east and west.
“We will move ahead to develop this country. We did it before. We are going to do it again. I want to thank the governors. I want to thank the delegates. I want to thank our supporters and every single person who has made this event such a huge success.
“I believe the other party can never hold a convention because even state congresses, they cannot hold. They have produced 92 state chairmen for 36 states, how can they hold a successful convention which the PDP has done? We are waiting for them. This is a challenge to them. Let them come and hold a successful convention. This is a quit notice, PDP is back and is taking back the country to develop it.”
Party chieftain Balogun too
In a similar comment, a PDP chieftain and lawmaker representing Oyo South Senatorial District, Senator Kola Balogun has said the convention was a demonstration of the party’s commitment to participatory democracy.
Senator Balogun stated this in a congratulatory message to the former deputy governor of Oyo state, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja on his emergence as the PDP deputy national chairman (South.)
In the statement signed by his media aide, Mr Dapo Falade, the lawmaker said Arapaja’s emergence was victory for democracy, adding that the former deputy governor would further the cause and course of unity in the party.
He said: “Indeed, the PDP, through the National Convention, has, once again, demonstrated its firm believe in participatory democracy. It is showing and leading the other political parties the way to go.”
“The victory of Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja and his emergence as the PDP Deputy National Chairman (South) at the National Convention of our great party, is a victory for the entire PDP family.
“Ambassador Arapaja emerged the winner of an exercise that was transparently clear and that was free and fair. The PDP has shown the way to go in the conduct of elections in our country. The victory of our new Deputy National Chairman (South) is not a personal victory but also a victory for the PDP, its teeming members and followers and, indeed, the entire country,” he said.
The lawmaker lauded the former governor of Osun state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, for demonstrating the essence of participatory democracy.
“I also want to congratulate the former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, on his belief in participatory democracy. His contesting for the same post lends more credibility to the PDP National Convention.
“Prince Oyinlola is a respected elder of our great party. His loss at the convention is nothing personal. I believe that he will continue to remain relevant in the PDP and he will always be there as one of our elders in the party,” Balogun said.
APC
But the newly elected Enugu state Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adolphus Udeh has mocked the PDP over its pledge to rescue Nigeria.
Udeh said before rescuing Nigeria, PDP should first account for its 16 years of uncountable underdevelopment obstacles the party embedded in the system prior to their exit from power in 2015.
In a press statement released Sunday to Blueprint in Abuja, Udeh said he closely observed the PDP convention where speaker after speaker lampooned the APC and claimed they were on a rescue mission.
He blamed the current socio-economic challenges confronting Nigeria under the APC government on PDP’s 16 years of misrule.
“Is it not better PDP starts by first accounting for uncountable underdevelopment obstacles they embedded in the system before their exit in 2015? PDP acted like tenant who wrote favourable contract agreement for itself against Nigeria.
“Take the power sector for instance where the contract agreement between Federal Government and DisCos and GenCos are in favour of the private companies. PDP weaved these skewed contract agreements and in fact nominated those less than efficient companies,” Udeh said.
He said President Buhari cannot just wake up and cancel the contracts(power sector), stressing that “it takes time to unbundle the less than transparent clauses in the contract, no matter how faulty, otherwise, the media would accuse him of dictatorship and blame him for scaring off foreign investors.”
On why it is taking the APC-led federal government to clear the ‘mess’ six years after, Udeh explained that democracy has its own speed, due process and checks and balances.
“The outcome is gross unemployment and waste of public funds as the Federal Government was compelled to invest over N1 trillions to patch up.
“According to IMF, Nigeria yearly loses $29 billion, which is 5.8% of her GDP, due to lack of reliable power supply.
“And listen to the President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, who blamed poor electricity value chain sector for the sorry state of our industrial development,” the APC leader said.
He, however, said they were happy that the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, an engineer, has an answer to the intractable problem in the electricity value chain.
Quoted the power minister, Udeh said: “It must be clearly stated that within this value chain, some responsibilities are by virtue of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) performed by our private sector partners and other agencies of government.
“These partners are being monitored and sometimes given the needed nudge in the right direction to achieve our objectives. We shall be taking a careful and detailed look at issues of policy, capacity and the technical requirement, among other things.
“One very critical concern that we must address in this performance monitoring process is to find out if the terms for granting the licenses were onerous.”
