President Muhammadu Buhari on
Monday inaugurated the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign
Council.
Buhari, while inaugurating the
council at the International Conference Centre, ICC, in Abuja, gave a national
leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, full charge of his re-election campaign.
Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of
Transportation was inaugurated into the Presidential Campaign Council, despite
the emergence of leaked audios in which he allegedly criticised Buhari as
someone who “doesn’t care” and “doesn’t listen to anybody”.
Speaking during the inauguration,
Buhari described the event as historic.
Below is the full text of
Buhari’s speech:
“I would like to welcome you all,
the leaders of our party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the formal
inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for the purpose of
managing our campaigns for the 2019 general elections.
“This is a historical moment and
I consider it a great privilege to have been unanimously nominated by our party
to run as its candidate, unopposed, for a second term of office as the
president of our country Nigeria.
“I thank God Almighty, and our
hard-working, long-suffering, yet resolutely committed fellow citizens, for the
continued investment of their trust in our own commitment and competence to
redirect our country and its governance towards sustainable and wholesome
development.
“I congratulate all our party men
and women across the country, who are seeking election alongside me, as well as
those who have found it necessary to run on other political platforms.
“I congratulate all the
participants in the party primary process, who may not have gotten all they
wanted, but who have accepted to continue the work of ensuring a healthy
political process.
“I urge all those with any
remaining reservations, to recommit themselves to the central task of our
victory in the elections and to the greater goal of uplifting this nation
towards its manifest destiny.
“Having waited for all the dust
raised by the nomination exercise, and the carefully worked out reconciliation
processes to ensure some measure of healing, we are better placed to put
together an all-inclusive campaign council, that will effectively engage the
entire voting public throughout the length and breadth of our federation, and
deliver a resounding victory for us at the general elections.
“This Presidential Campaign
Council was constituted with a conscious determination to ensure inclusiveness
and excellence, and is expected to conduct a campaign based on our modest
achievements to turn around our beleaguered nation from insecurity, stagnation
and massive abuse of scarce public resources.
“Nigerians voted us into power in
2015 because they put trust and confidence that we will make a great
difference. We are now building on the experience of our successful outing in
the 2015 elections. It is my hope that this wonderful team put together will anchor
our campaigns to lead our party and its candidates to victory in the general
elections in a few weeks’ time.
“A victory for us as a party is a
victory for all well meaning Nigerians, who are committed to CHANGE from an
inglorious past; where those in positions of public trust willfully took for
themselves what belongs to us all; where the security of our citizens was
second place to their acquisition of unwholesome wealth; where our economic
growth was sacrificed for the fleeting ease of import dependency.
“We have in the last 3 years and
6 months reversed this downward slide that the PDP took us in its 16 years of
misrule. We have restored the territorial integrity of our nation, thanks to
our gallant men and women of our armed forces. We are systematically engaged in
all the remaining corridors of insurgency, kidnappings, robberies, herdsmen and
farmers clashes.
“We have reset our national
values: corruption is no longer condoned and is no longer seen as normal for
public office holders. The agencies of government are no longer equivocal in
dealing with anyone who flouts our laws.
“The high and low are receiving
jail terms, loots are being recovered, and Nigerians are increasingly
displaying the timeless values of honesty, honour and decency. I congratulate
us all for making these changes possible.
“Our economy has become a
prudently managed enterprise. Our resources are now working for us, as we
ensure the delivery of key national infrastructure, which were left unattended
over these past years.
“The direct impact of our
policies on improvements in roads, railways, and power supply are evident.
There is greater evidence of economic diversification seen in growing local
production of agricultural produce and solid minerals.
“Our government has succeeded in
the last four years in halting national drift, removing the shadow of
insecurity and fear dominating our life and reviving our economy from decline
to stability and growth. The macroeconomic health of our economy, indicated by
several measurable factors such as a stable exchange rate, lower inflation,
growing foreign reserves, has been applauded by independent local and
international rating agencies.
“In addition, the quality of
elections since 2015 has continued to improve with declining levels of problems
that have defined elections in the past. Free, fair and credible elections are
the foundation of political stability and peace in any nation.
“We have insisted that votes must
count and have maintained a policy of non-interference in elections. INEC has
so far since 2015, conducted fair and credible elections in 195 constituencies
nationwide, which have been attested nationwide to be qualitatively better than
previous elections.
“Let me reiterate my commitment
to free and fair elections. If there is one legacy I want to leave is the
enthronement of democracy as a system of government. And for democracy to be
enthroned, elections must be free and fair. That means citizens have a right to
vote for candidates of their choice without intimidation in any form. I have
warned INEC and security agencies to that effect.
“We will keep insisting that
votes must count. Our campaigns will be anchored on our performance in the last
four years. There is no doubt that our party has succeeded in taking Nigeria to
a new level of enduring peace, economic growth political stability, justice and
progress. This is the new level we are promising Nigerians, the details of
which we will take to Nigerians as we embark on our campaigns.
“As we begin campaign in earnest,
I implore our leaders to resist being provoked, remain focused and civil in our
campaigns. Let us engage our citizens on issues and ask for reflection on the
comparative difference between 2015 and 2019 on security, economy and corruption
and abuse by those entrusted with leadership in Nigeria.
“As we embark on the campaign to
secure mandate for the next level, I want to acknowledge the sacrifices and
contributions of all stakeholders who have endeavored to keep our party united,
and our governance successful.
“I urge members of this
formidable team to always keep their eyes on the ball, which is the success of
our party at the polls. I wish to appeal to all members to be guided by the
enduring vision behind the formation and sustenance of our party, which is
anchored, on sacrifice and imperative to salvage and stabilize our great and
promising nation.
“I appeal to all our members, and
especially those who are in the campaign council, to unite and cooperate and
ensure a smooth operation. Needless to add, Directorates could co-opt on full
or part-time basic persons who could add value to our campaign and help us to
attain success.
“To my mind, the division of
responsibility is clear enough. The Leadership that has formulated the campaign
policy will supervise its execution; the Director-General will have overall
responsibility for all aspects of the campaign, including field operations;
while the Secretary will be responsible for all administrative and
treasury-related activities of the council.
“Even though we have only 40
days, this campaign is going to tax us all, because we intend to touch all
corners of our great and vast country. But I must also add that, though we will
all be deeply involved, I would like to assure the nation that I will do my
part without making governance or my work suffer. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my
co-chairman, will be fully in charge, and is going to be on 24-hour vigil.
“That is to say, the operational
buck of this campaign stops at his table, and I therefore urge all of us in the
leadership of this campaign, in the field operations on the campaign trail and
in the Secretariat to consult with Asiwaju whenever guidance is needed.
“It is on this note, and in the
name of God, that I now have the pleasure of inaugurating the APC Presidential
Campaign Council 2019.”
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President M.Buhari obviously has not done so much as we expected but APC is way ahead in the campaign for next general election.I honestly wanted a change of baton in the leadership of this country but the main opposition has continue to swim in the ocean of no destination. PDP campaign trail is on tweeter. what Amaechi said and not, Buhari did not attend Shagari Funeral. Bro are this guyz truly ready? obviously NO.
ReplyDeleteAPC has tried to assemble intellectuals and guys with integrity yet PDP is sleeping on its bicycle with the slogan "Nigerians are fully in support of our candidate" mehn lets think well to avoid fowl cry in februari.