2019: Dan Nwanyanwu, “Fresh PDP”, APDA, Kwankwasiyya, others declare for NUP
By Barely nine months to the 2019 general elections, the National Unity Party (NUP) has received a massive boost as diverse groups of political parties and associations have joined the party to align their strength and influence to unseat President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The “Fresh Peoples Democratic Party (Fresh PDP)” – faction of the PDP led by its national chairman, Prince Obi Nwosu; a faction of the Advanced Peoples Democratic Party (APDA), led by factional chairman, Mainasara Illo; the Kwankwasiyya Movement in all 36 states led by its National Chairman, Farouk Kurawa; the Alliance for National Unity (ANU) led by Bolere Elizabeth Ketebu and a group led by former Labour Party Chairman, Dan Nwanyanwu, have all aligned with the NUP for the 2019 elections.
The parties declared their intentions in Abuja on Wednesday during the national integration and harmonization meeting organized by the stakeholders to raise awareness for the forthcoming elections in Nigeria. The political forces vowed to remain united in their quest to provide a committed and patriotic leadership that will offer the much desired dividend of democracy and rescue Nigeria from the economic backwardness in to which the APC has allegedly plunged the nation.
Others who graced the meeting included; National Secretary of the factional APDA,Amobi Eugene Nwosu, National Treasurer of APDA, Chinyere Onyemekara, Hajia Hassaka El- Abdullahi and the National Coordinator of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Abubakar Mohammed Inuwa.
Welcoming the parties during the meeting, the National Chairman of the NUP, Chief Perry Opara, noted that the exercise marks a new dawn in the political history of Nigeria especially at these difficult times of balkanization and compartmentalization of Nigeria arising from the heightened senseless killings of citizens in various states of the federation.
“The country has been polarized along ethnic and religious lines, a fierce class struggle, exploitation and expropriation of the masses is going on in Nigeria evidenced by the killings, and hardships which has become a regular feature with the current administration.
“Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo; former military President Ibrahim Babangida; former Defence Minister, Theophilus Danjuma; Hassan Kuka and many other national leaders and statesmen have decried the killings and divisiveness of the country. Available evidence points to the fact that Nigerians are more divided now than ever,” he lamented.
The presence of a large number of members of the Kwankwasiyya movement, a massive political movement inspired by and named after former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, suggests that the NUP is setting the stage for Kwankwaso to embrace its platform to run for the presidency of the country in 2019.
Opara, who is also the President of the West African Association of Political Parties (WAAPP) further decried the failures of the former ruling party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP),which he said wasted sixteen years even as he lambasted the ruling APC for showing too many failures despite all their promises.
He therefore admonished Nigerians that the only way forward for the country is to embrace the NUP, which is determined to strengthen the unity of Nigeria, put smiles on the faces of all Nigerians and sweep the ugly past into limbo and oblivion. The NUP chair said his party has all it takes to unseat the current government if given the requisite support.
He therefore declared the Three-Point Agenda of the NUP, which encapsulates; National Unity and Peaceful Coexistence; Universal Protection of Lives , Property and Stoppage of killings in Nigeria and Provision of Employment Opportunities and Eradication of Hardship in Nigeria. Opara said further that the 3-Point agenda will be the cardinal objective of the NUP in 2019 urging all members of the party to pursue this cardinal objective from the ward level to the national level.
The highpoint of the meeting was the setting up of two committees to crystallize the forces. Former Labour Party Chairman, Dan Nwanyanwu was appointed to head the committee on Contact and Mobilization while Elizabeth Ketebu heads the Harmonization and Integration Committee.
Speaking on behalf of the committees, Nwanyanwu, said they will work together for a common purpose and ensure that the objectives of the NUP are realized.
Innocent Odoh, Abuja
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