Chidi Samuel || Uche Secondus, the newly elected National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, has assured the teeming supporters of the country’s main opposition party that his primary goal is to ensure that the Ruling APC’s tenure in Aso Rock is brought to a premature end in 2019.
Secondus, the Rivers State veteran politician used his acceptance speech shortly after he was sworn in on Sunday morning to verbally serve the APC a ‘quit notice’.
He said, “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”.
“In the words of the 34th President of the United States of America Dwight 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.”
After taking his shot at the APC’s foundation, the PDP National Chairman argued that his party was founded on ideals that are “totally in tandem” with those of Nigeria’s founding fathers.
“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,” he said.
“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 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,” he said.
Despite defending the PDP’s performance, Secondus admitted that it was not above mistakes. And as he starts his mandate with the promise of leading the party back to power in 2019, he plans to achieve the objective by learning from the past.
“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,” he said.
“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.”