2023 General Elections Will Test Our Party, APC National Chairman Says After Takeover

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Abdullahi Adamu, has warned that the party would be tested by the next general elections,adding that tough times lie ahead for the party.

Adamu stated this during the handover ceremony at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.

Adamu, who said he did not know he would be national chairman a month ago, said the task ahead of
the new National Working Committee of the party “is not going be an easy time for us.

“We have a major event that is going to test the waters, how stable we are as a party . There is the general election that is coming.

“For me, by the time we start working, our main task will be how we handle the elections as a party. How we will win the general election? People are talking, oh, APC does not have an incumbent on the ticket.

” We will have the honour and the integrity and the legacy of the current president on the ticket.”

Adamu promised to “work day and night. We have less than 12 months to face the general election. So, everybody should buckle up. The little I have heard about the president is that he has complete allergy for failure.

“So, failure will not be in APC from today. We will work for success together. If any of you my colleagues who is with me, don’t begrudge me, if there is any issue, let me know.

“I promise you in the spirit of collective leadership that team is the only way. I cannot deliver alone. What I am asking for is something called ‘loyalty’. You have to be loyal. You must have one team. If you bring division tendency, we will deal with it.

“This country is greater than any one of us. And this party is bigger than any single member of this party. So, that is the spirit I am talking, the leadership of this country.”

He pointed out that “politics is sometimes a job that should be done well. Ingratitude always accompany whatever we do but what should keep you moving on is what you know you did in good faith. That which you know will give you desired results.”

Speaking on the Kaduna train attack, he said, “It’s not ideal to lose any life. Not to talk of lives. The losses as a party, we regret it. It is our hope that we will get the actual story of what has happened shortly.

“It has not been officially announced the number of people dead. We don’t have the figures to address the specific issues. But is not enough to say as a ruling party, we sympathize with family and relatives of those who have lost loved ones. And we will not stop because something is looking very strange to me. But somewhere something tells me that Nigeria will overcome all of this.

“The timing of this events are quite disturbing considering the economic situation of the country. And we are not going to go all out and start crying. We will have to face the situation more squarely.

“All the attention is on terrorists. And I think we need to look beyond terrorism. Something is amiss somewhere. And we will stand up for the government and support it in different ways we can. And then see to the end of it. And this will not be left entirely to the military operation, they are doing very well.

“We are not fighting a conventional war. So, it is difficult to pass judgment. But all I have to say is that we appreciate our men in uniform. They are doing their best. This not just terrorism simpicita as lawyers will say. I will dig into it and see what we can do.

“Much earlier, there were talks about saboteurs. They are still in the books and we will try as much as possible to see what exactly is going wrong with our security infrastructure.

“Some have said it is infiltration and they have done so much harm. Because it is not conventional war you don’t easily plan it. You don’t say they are going to be here or there tomorrow. Port Harcourt or Ilorin. You don’t plan it. Because you don’t know because they work with the devil while we work with God.”

Earlier the chairman of the defunct caretaker extraordinary convention planning committee, Mai Mala Buni, tasked the new executive “to sustain the gains” attained by the party under him in view of the coming election.

He said, “We can say we have recorded 70% success. A bigger and larger political party like APC with over 41 million membership. Part of democracy is to agree and disagree at some points. But it is all about human management. The ability to manage the situation is what will keep this party together and stronger again, and again.

“As at it is and as members of NWC, you should study Mr president speech and that should be your guide.”