National Leader, Action Congress of Nigeria ,ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has said the party will formally inform the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the formation of the All Progressives Change (APC), after its national convention.
He spoke at the opening of a new secretariat for Apapa-Iganmu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) on Wednesday in Lagos.
Tinubu said the merger is at its final stage, just as he accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of frustrating the process. “We have discovered that PDP is behind all the fake APCs that were sponsored to displace the original APC.
“PDP has been in crisis finding ways to stop us from proceeding with the merger. That is why they have sponsored different APCs. But the original APC in Nigeria today is the one we established and announced on February 6, with the support of our 11 governors, ”Tinubu said.
At the event were Lagos State Governor’s wife, Dame Emmanuella Fashola; House of Representatives member, Babatunde Oyewale; host chairman, Dr. Samuel Adedayo; Lagos House of Assembly members, Lanre Osun and Muyiwa Jimoh; ACN’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy, Ademorin Kuye; former commissioners, Tunde Balogun and Prince Rotimi Agunsoye.
Others included district’s leader, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, ACN’s state Assistant Publicity Secretary, Bisi Ologunde; Chairman, Yaba LCDA, Jide Jimoh and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University, Prof. Olatunji Bello.
Tinubu, who was represented by Mohammed, assured the people that the party was behind APC, adding that he initiated the process that led to the formation of the new party, which will cure the country’s current economic and political problems.
He said the national convention will hold on April 18, where ACN will get the consent of its members across the country on the merger.
“After the resolution is passed at the convention, we will then formally inform INEC about our decision to be part of the merger.
“We are already preparing for our convention. Not every convention is meant to be elective. By the constitution of our party, we are supposed to have convention mid-term even before election. Fortunately for us, this convention is coming at a time when we can also pass a resolution that we are going into merge with other parties.”
On the new secretariat, Tinubu expressed joy that some council chairmen were willing to leave some legacies behind.
He said: “A council chairmanship maximum tenure is six years, but with proper maintenance, this building will be here in the next 50 years. When you put down structures like this, you make administration much easier because people are happy to come to work as they are not cramped into offices.
“Also, such a structure becomes an asset of the local government and for me, this kind of project show the kind of populist ideologies we have in our party.
Mrs. Fashola, who inaugurated the building, described it as a beautiful one, just as she urged the officials to put the structure to proper use.
“The celebration has vindicated the decision to create additional local government under the visionary leadership of our father, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, because without any iota of doubt, governance has been brought closer to the people at the grassroots.
“I hope that with this standard office, the officials of this LCDA will be able to execute their jobs effectively and efficiently and that there won’t be any complaints. Always remember that the expectation of tax payers whose money is the main source of funding this complex is to get quick and better service.”
She urged the people of the LCDA to adhere to government’s instructions on how to prevent flooding as well as ensure that their environments were kept clean and avoid blocking drainages.
Also speaking, the chairman said poverty mentality has been defeated through the building of the edifice, just as he advised critics of the project to embrace change.
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