The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress ) Abdulahi(APC Adamu has acknowledged that the APC is not shying away from the hurdles the party has to overcome, especially in the areas of party unity after very eventful primaries, and now the issue of a Muslim-Muslim ticket which some members of the party have kicked against.
Adamu promised that the APC will overcome. Adamu said this while reacting to the controversies that greeted the presentation of the vice presidential candidate of the party yesterday in Abuja. He assured that the presidential ticket has sent a strong signal that APC will coast home to victory in 2023.
He, however, urged party members to purge themselves of any bitterness arising from the outcome of party primaries and join hands with candidates to achieve victory.
Adamu said: “We must not be unmindful of the hurdles ahead. It is time to purge ourselves of the bitterness arising from our losses in the party primaries.
“It is time to submit ourselves to the will of God and the party and do nothing to sabotage its well-laid plans for victory.
“The other political parties want what we want, and that is, to win and form the next government.
“If by any act of omission or commission we give in to bitterness and pettiness or fail to see the larger picture or take any of the political parties for granted, we would constitute an obstacle to the victory of our party. As the faithful would like to say, that will not be our portion.
“Our winning strategy must be anchored on a unity of purpose. I urge us to begin our march now towards the sunrise.”
The national chairman said the Tinubu/Shettima ticket has re-enacted the 1993 episode when the defunct Social Democratic Party fielded the Abiola/Kingibe ticket.
He added: “The 1993 presidential ticket and the current one bridged one of our fault lines in the management of our diversities.
“Nigerians overwhelmingly voted for that ticket because they trusted Abiola, a man who opened his arms to every tribe and religion in the country, to run an inclusive government in which no man or woman would be denied his or rights as a Nigerian citizen by the profession of his faith.
“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a man who has also thrown his arms around every tribe in the country.
“He has offered his shoulders to those in pain to lean on; he has used his wealth to bring succour to the needy. He can be trusted to run an inclusive government in which character, competence and vision matter to his administration.
“Our party has produced a candidate who is accepted by all zones in our country. He enjoys the trust of every stratum of our national socio-economic structure.
“We are confident that Nigerians will entrust him with the leadership of our country in 2023. We offer our gratitude to Nigerians for the continued trust they repose in the APC.”
Shettima promised to work with commitment and mobilise the youths for a crucial alliance devoid of discrimination.
He said: “If this were an unpopular option, as the cast of partisan provocateurs has attempted to paint, there wouldn’t have been the tonnes of goodwill messages, especially from distinguished Christians, from all over the country.
“This ticket is a Nigerian project, not a sectional agenda that the frightened camps have been struggling to sensationalise.
“My emergence as the running mate of the inimitable Jagaban Borgu is based on the party’s very forthright assessment of the threats ahead.
“I’m most honoured by the consensus of the distinguished stakeholders of our party to trust me with representing the nation’s interests under the leadership of the very sage, who the youths all over our country, fondly refer to as ‘City Boy’ in honour of his cosmopolitan profile.”