By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
Frontline Presidential aspiration from the South East and former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim has commenced consultative meeting with members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, caucuses in the National Assembly.
The meeting which held on Tuesday at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, was attended by the party’s leadership at the National Assembly including Senate minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, his House of Representatives counterpart, Ndudi Elumelu, lawmaker representing Enugu North Senatorial District, Chukwuka Utazi, ex- Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, former governor of Abia state, Senator Theodore Orji, among others.
In his address, Sen. Anyim, a one time former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said that he would always see the National Assembly as his primary constituency, adding that he would be guided by whatever advice the PDP caucus in the parliament will give him as he journeys to clench the Presidential ticket of the party.
“Each time I look back at my political history, I vividly remember that my National Assembly experience is still my best. I needed to report myself to my primary constituency. If you are hearing about this journey, I felt this formal outing will make us to explain it better.
“The whole idea is for people to know that we believe in PDP, we are proud of PDP, committed to PDP and our future is tied to PDP. Sometimes ago, I took a look at the political environment and said I should on your behalf, seek the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023.
“I cannot do it on my own, I cannot do it alone. But if you ask me to stop, I will stop where you ask me to and if you ask me to go ahead, ‘be bold and courageous, that you are with me, whatever the obstacle on the way’, I will go on. When I remember you are with me, I will be bold enough to continue. I have come out to ask you whether we can set out on this journey. If you advise otherwise, I will listen to you attentively. I am a party man. I am here to seek your advice, your guidance and your support as well as your partnership” he said.
In a brief remark, Senator Abaribe extolled the leadership qualities of the former, noting that his popularity and grassroots appeal would count as assets for the PDP and Nigerians desirous of a new nation in 2023.
“How can we tell you not to go ahead being one of our own? On behalf of the joint caucus of the National Assembly, we say go on and take charge. We are with you,” Abaribe assured.
For Hon. Elumelu, Anyim represents the light PDP needs to illuminate the dark paths in the nation’s political terrain. According to him, the PDP must take advantage of the disarray in the ranks of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, by rescuing Nigerians from the pains of the past few years.
He advised Presidential aspirants on the platform of the PDP to eschew hate words, reminding them that at the end of the contest, they would all return home to the same political family.
He said: “I want to thank our Presidential hopeful for bringing the light and leading the way by being the first to come and consult with National Assembly minority caucus. You have set the pace and we understand what this mean to the grassroots and for that, I give you kudos.
“APC as a party is disjointed and PDP has successfully shown that it can lead the way. Today, we have completed our convention and all the congresses were done without acrimony. Of course you know that APC set out to produce 36 states chairman and in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT but succeeded in electing 92. So, I wonder how they are going to do their convention.
“It behoves on us to be more united. The fallout of February 26 (date slated APC elective convention) will form a new Nigeria where PDP will be leading the progressives to rescue Nigeria. And for that, I want to plead with our Presidential hopefuls to talk to their supporters. We should not abuse ourselves; we should not insult ourselves. At the end of the day, it is the same house that we all belong to. Let all of you go out and canvass for support. Tell the people why you think you are competent enough to be the President of Nigeria and carry our flag. That is something that is very important. We don’t want to see people talking about age, talking about what is not encouraging. What is encouraging is for us to take over Nigeria because APC has corrupted Nigeria. And because they have done that, we can only show Nigerians that we are the best alternative to the APC.”
He further slammed lawmakers elected on the platform of the APC and an unnamed Minister, for their conduct during debate on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, saying, “look at the Electoral Act that we passed. If you are popular, you should be man enough to face the people and ask them to vote for you but where a Minister said the President will not sign because he feels that the Electoral Act was selfish; it is unbecoming of a Minister who is supposed to be representing Nigeria and I condemn that entirely. We pray God that we will never see APC again.”
The lawmakers pledged to rally support across board for Anyim as the race for the sole ticket is expected to witness more entrants in the weeks ahead.
