Abdullahi Adamu, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), elected at the last weekend’s National Convention of the party, on Wednesday assumed office along with other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).
Adamu, who was accompanied to the APC National Secretariat in Abuja by hundreds of his supporters and well wishers, received hand over notes from Mai-Mala Buni, Governor of Yobe State and out gone chairman of Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).
In his acceptance speech, the new APC Chairman said it was not going to be easy time for him and members of the NWC as they would be working day and night for the victory of the party at the 2023 general election.
“For me, by the time we start working, our main task will be how we handle the elections as a party; how we will win the general election. People are talking, oh; APC does not have an incumbent or the ticket. We will have the honor and the integrity and the legacy of the current President on the ticket.
“We will work day and night. We have less than 12 months to face the general election. So, everybody should buckle up. The little I have heard about the president is that he has complete allergy for failure. So, failure will not be in APC from today. We will work for success together,” Adamu said.
The APC Chairman while expressing grievances over the bandits’ attack on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line said: “It is unfortunate what happened to the train in the railway two days ago. We have not gotten the exact figures yet. But whatever it is, it is not ideal to lose any life. Not to talk of lives. The losses as a party, we regret it. It is our hope that we will get the actual story of what has happened shortly.
“It has not been officially announced the number of people dead. We don’t have the figures to address the specific issues. But is not enough to say as a ruling party, we sympathise with family and relatives of those who have lost loved ones and we will not stop because something is looking very strange to me. But somewhere something tells me that Nigeria will overcome all of this.
“The timing of these events is quite disturbing considering the economic situation of the country. And, we are not going to go all out and start crying. We will have to face the situation more squarely as the attention is on terrorists. And I think we need look beyond terrorism. Something is amiss somewhere. And we will stand up for the government and support it in different ways we can.”
Buni in his hand-over remarks, reminded members of the Adamu-led NWC that they have herculean task to sustain the gains of the party, especially coming at a time when the party will soon start nomination process.
“We can say we have recorded 70percent success; a bigger and larger political party like APC with over 41 million membership. Part of democracy is to agree and disagree at some points, but it is all about human management. The ability to manage the situation is what will keep this party together and stronger again, and again.
“So, as at it is and as members of NWC, you should study Mr. President speech and that should be your guide. Also, I want to thank you most importantly for this opportunity all your efforts both individually and collectively for making our task easier throughout our stewardship,” the Yobe governor said.
