Despite the political see-saw , the accusations and counter accusations, the ACN yesterday defied all odds and went ahead with its much publicized National Congress which is believed to be its last as delegates yesterday endorsed the merger and officially adopted the APC as its new platform.
Speaker after speaker gave narratives as to how the country has steadily over the years been raped by successive administrations, it was a consensus view that the time for change is now. In his opening address, Chief Bisi Akande , The National Chairman of the ACN, said “ This convention is a special one, the urgent need for change as our parties’ desires to rescue this country (Nigeria) compelled us to provide an alternative leadership for Nigeria. We must not entertain any fear or surrender to blackmail “,
Also the former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Tinubu described the present PDP-led national government as one of “mediocrity.” He said “Our people have had enough of having nothing. The current government’s trademark is to throw empty words and hollow actions at our problems as if doing nothing will cause our troubles to leave from sheer boredom. Instead trouble mounts,” he said.
“If this is the government’s idea of transformation, I will have none of it. It seems their notion of change is to go from slow motion to no motion at all,” he added.
Also adding his voice to the call for a systemic change at the apex of administration in the country, Mr Ribadu said “This journey we are starting today is going to take us to Abuja , with comrades, with progressives, with people that we have something in common, with those who believe in our country, with those who believe that things must be done properly and correctly; we are coming together and we are on a journey to change Nigeria,”.
At the end of the day the over 4,000 delegates at the convention officially approved the merger of the party with three others to form the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The delegates also approved the retention of the broom symbol as the APC symbol, it is yet to be determined if the other parties making up the merger would tow the same lane and adopt the broom, but what is obvious is that the congress is believed to have been a huge success.
At the end, what is most important to Nigerians as a whole is “getting a government that would lead its people into a season of development and plenty”, the time where campaigns are executed in service rather than rhetorics should be now. The next couple of weeks is sure to stir up a dust storm of political intrigues, we will see who gets swallowed up in the coming storm.