APC the storm to sack PDP from power, says Tinubu

Kazeem Ugbodaga

Former Governor of Lagos State and National leader, Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has described the All Progressive Congress, APC, as the moving storm that will eventually end the reign of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2015.

Tinubu spoke at the public presentation of the book, Witness to History: ACN and the Struggle for Democracy, Liberty and Justice, written by Lai Muhammed, ACN’s National Publicity Secretary, held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

Tinubu said the PDP –led government had failed the country and that 2015 is the time for change and that the APC would take over power and ensure that change.

“The ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party has been warned about rots in the judiciary. But they did not heed. They need to go. It has been warned against insecurity and insurgency in the Niger Delta. Yet, it never listened. It is time for them to go. The storm is here. It is a positive storm. APC is the storm to effect needed change in Nigeria,” he said.

The former governor said the ACN had been in the opposition for too long, saying that “In fact, we should stop using the term opposition. We are progressives. We are government in waiting because we are progressives. We are not just opposition.

“We stand for something. It is for this reason we oppose those in power. We do not oppose for the sake of opposing. We stand for peace, liberty and justice. Let me also add that we stand for prosperity, welfare, peace, empowerment, development, tolerance, unity, eradication of corruption and brotherly love,” he stated.

He added that the APC was out to oppose injustice, poverty, ignorance, indifference and bad governance as well as oppose anyone in power whose activities created condition that allowed corruption, injustice, poverty, unemployment and insecurity to lives and properties to thrive.

Tinubu said whether the PDP liked it or not, “we shall always continue to oppose them for those things. Our overriding mission is to gain powers at the national level from those that are there and make progressive change that the party in government has not been able to achieve.”

The ACN leader said the PDP’s activities at the centre had clearly shown that good governance is missing, stressing that the government had so much at its disposal, “yet it has done so little.”

“They have been there for too long. For the little good they have done, we acknowledge them. But let me set that aside. We have witnessed their empty history. Only two days ago, the US Department of State in its annual country report identifies pervasive impunity and corruption as the hallmark of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

“Impunity remains a reference at all levels of government. That is what the State Department said. So, you hear loud attack against the State Department. The opposition has consistently passed the same message about this government. It is pitiable to see presidential aides trying to tell a different story. They embellish facts. Where there is none, they attack the message bearers rather than heed the message,” he lamented.

Former Military Head of State, Major General Muhammed Buhari (rtd), said a solution to the problem of Nigeria had been gotten, which he said was the APC that would oust the PDP from power.

“This book, I think that it should go to the library of most schools-secondary and university; that we are coming up with the solution. And the solution is that, let all the parties, except that party in power, should agree to come together and give an alternative to Nigerians.

“With this merger, we should mobilise our constituency, and I don’t think that any political party along the line will attempt to rig because there wouldn’t be any need for that. Nigerians are very serious about it and we are determined to continue with our plan,” he said.

Buhari stated that the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, would be holding its convention on the same day with the All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP to officially fuse into APC, along with the ACN.