NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/Lafia
Leaders of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, have called on party officials and stakeholders in the North Central part of the country to work together as people who share a collective interest rather than act individually at cross purposes.
This admonition was given by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Federal government, SGF, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the APC, governors of the region and other leaders during a parley at Banquet Hall of the government House, Lafia on Saturday.
The President said if the party must stand any realistic chance of effecting change at this difficult time in the country, then leaders of the at all levels must stand shoulder-to-shoulder. He noted that stability, progress are products of unity which all members of the Party must try to imbibe. Tinubu who was represented by the SGF, Tinubu called on all to take steps collectively to move the APC to take governance to the next level in Nigeria. “I want to appeal to all of you to maintain unity. We need to maintain unity of purpose as brothers and sisters for the progress of our Party,” the President charged the loyalists.
The President craved the support and prayers from members of the Party and indeed Nigerians to help his administration achieve the objective the task of catering to the needs of Nigerians. He also praised the governors of the region for executing lofty projects that are capable of bring the needed development to their states.
Speaking on the strides taken so far, Dr. Ganduje noted several reforms are in the offing, including electronic registration of members. “We have introduced e-registration for Party members, as e-registration will give us accurate numbers of our Party members.” The former governor of Kano State, while appreciating Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State and other leaders of the Party in the Middle belt for extending the invitation to the meeting to him, implored members of the APC to unite for the sake of bringing development to the nation.
The governors of the region, including AbdulRahman AbdulRazak, Hyacinth Alia, Usman Ododo and the host governor, Sule, of Kwara, Benue, Kogi and Nasarawa, all said the meeting was called to appreciate members for the progress made so far. Governor AbdulRazak who doubles as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, noted that the meeting was aimed at evolving strategies for taking the APC to a higher level. Sule, Ododo and Alia re-echoed the need for cooperation among members and the need for members to be loyal to the ideals of the Party.
The meeting drew a large attendance, including Ministers, state and federal legislators, Party officials and other stakeholders.