AS a minority party in the soon-to-be-inaugurated 10th National Assembly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged newly elected lawmakers to work in unison as “one family”.
The acting National Chairman of PDP, Ambassador Umar Damagum, gave the appeal in his opening remarks on Saturday at a retreat in Bauchi State for party members elected in the 2023 general elections.
“I want to reiterate, on the issue of the National Assembly, we have to know we are an opposition,” he said.
“In order to remain relevant, we must work together as one family. That’s the only way you’ll be able to ensure that your relevance is being determined.
The acting PDP chairman argued that it was a “very crucial” period in the history of the party, adding that how its members navigated present events would determine the progress of the party in the near future.
Congratulating the officials on the success of the recent elections, Damagum decried the “many” challenges of the polls, saying, “Perhaps the 2023 election will go down as the worst conducted.”
According to him, Nigeria was given hope that the elections would be free and fair, following the passage of the Electoral Act, which made provision for the development of technology, to make the process more transparent.
“The combination of BVAS and electronic transmission of results was to ensure seamless accreditation and transmission of results, but INEC simply chose to undermine,” he alleged.
“Let me also assure you of the party’s support all the way during your sojourn litigation. We’ll leave no stone unturned to reclaim our mandate that has been lost during this election.
“We’ve done well in this election. We know it and we have a responsibility to mobilise likeminds to be a party that will be responsive to the aspirations of Nigerians.”
Some of the PDP officials present were the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and re-elected governors Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa).
