The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, has said that more political parties will soon join the 39 political parties that signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the 2019 general elections.
Secondus told our correspondent in an interview in Abuja on Tuesday that with the signing of the MoU, President Muhammadu Buhari should know that his days in office were being counted.
He said that leaders of all the political parties that signed the agreement had vowed never to renege on it, adding that the MoU would serve as a red card to President Buhari.
He said, “We are still working hard to get leaders of more political parties to work together and sign the MoU with them with the understanding that we will all produce a single presidential candidate in 2019. They will join us soon.
“What happened on Monday was historic, and we should commend the leaders of the 39 political parties and associations that signed the agreement.
“Now, the President should have received the red card notice and be ready to prepare his handover notes because he is leaving the Presidential Villa come May 29, 2019.”
Asked if he could vouch that those who signed the agreement would not betray the cause, he answered in the affirmative, adding that the signatories “are all men and women of honour. We rely on our words and we know we will not fail Nigerians because the battle is about the nation and not individuals.”
He added, “The agreement took us weeks to prepare and the negotiations were carefully carried out among all the parties and their leaders. So, we didn’t just wake up one day and started drafting unworkable agreements.”
Meanwhile, a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has described the signing of the MoU as a watershed moment towards the consolidation of democracy, politics of purpose and citizens- centred development in Nigeria.
He, however, said that more works needed to be done before the conduct of the 2019 elections.
Atiku, in a statement he personally signed in Abuja on Tuesday, commended the Secondus-led National Working Committee of the PDP, the party and its National Executive Committee, for having what he described as the foresight to bring together Nigeria’s opposition parties under one big umbrella.
He said, “I wholeheartedly endorse this exercise and look forward to a spirit of collaboration amongst ourselves as we continue the campaign for the deliverance of Nigeria from the forces of retrogression, recession, division and blame games.
“It might be a cliché, but it still remains true that unity is strength and that only teamwork can make the dream work. I refer to the dream of our founding fathers for an indivisible united country that is progressive and founded on unity and faith”.
Source: Punch
