14th September, 2012
The National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has called on party members to support President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda.
He made the call in a message to the party faithful on Friday in Abuja to mark his 77th birthday, while appealing to aggrieved members to return to the party.He said that the PDP under his leadership would focus on energy, environmental sustainability, food security, education, diplomacy and dialogue to guarantee national defence.
He said that merit, record of performance and credibility of political office seekers on the party’s ticket would henceforth be the yardstick for determining access to power at all levels.Tukur said that the party would henceforth take the fight against corruption more seriously, starting with close monitoring of performances of its members in elective offices.
According to him, the party’s founding fathers, elders and stakeholders will soon be engaged in the collective effort to rebuild the party.He said that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party would ensure the comfort of the returnees.According to him, the reforms going on in the party will require the contributions of such members with special roles to be assigned to them.He identified equity and fairness as the pillars of his 12-point agenda, which include reconciliation, reformation and re-building.`
`For us to be one, indivisible and indissoluble political party it may be necessary for me to beg our members who are aggrieved and had left the party for different camps to come back.“It is time to re-build Nigeria and all hands are needed to do so. The umbrella is big enough to accommodate all of us.“So, our members who left us should please come back into the party so we can resolve our differences and begin to move on as one people for one nation.” Tukur said.
He added that the party had set in motion machinery to reconcile members, especially in the states facing problems of factionalisation.The chairman said PDP would continue to remain the party to be reckoned with given the needed strength from the set objectives.
He assured Nigerians that the country`s security challenges would soon be over, adding that the PDP was working with the Federal Government and security agencies to return the country to the path of peace and stability.He said that this was to ensure higher performances of the political office holders and rapid development across the country.“Our opponents misjudge us always and they scream even when we sneeze or cough. Yes, they have the right to do so because we are the ruling party.“ But we must be up and doing more than ever; if we must rule, then we must rule well.“In ruling well, we must collectively guide against abuse of public office such that no member of our party would be called to question on issue of dereliction of duty or financial recklessness.“This is necessary because we want to continue to see the PDP retaining its status as the number one political party in Africa. “I want to assure every member of the party that fresh water has started springing in PDP and that is foretelling a greater hope for the party in the future,’’ Tukur said.