AN ADDRESS BY THE BoT, CHAIMAN OF APGA, GOVERNOR OF ANAMBRA
STATE, HIS EXCELLENCY CHIEF WILLIE OBIANO AT THE SPECIAL CONVENTION HELD BY THE
ALL PROGRESSIVE GRAND ALLIANCE (APGA) AT THE WOMEN DEVELOPMENT CENTER, AWKA ON
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2014.
PROTOCOL
With great humility, I thank you for the challenge you have
handed to me to serve this great party as your National Leader and Chairman of
the Board of Trustees. Most men live out their lives without ever knowing what
it takes to provide leadership beyond the narrow confines of the family. I
count myself lucky for all the opportunities you have given to me in the past
12 months. I have made rapid progress on the ladder of leadership and climbed
several steps through ordinary membership of this great party to become a
gubernatorial candidate, a governor and finally a Leader and BOT Chairman.
I am
eternally grateful to you all for this and I say thank you for giving me this
moment.
Ladies and gentlemen, the time to carve a new pathway for
Nigeria has finally come. Looking back into history, we are reminded that our
forebears paid the most prize for the greater good of this country, championing
the nationalist struggles that gave birth to political independence. Today, we
begin the march to re-possess the front-row of the new struggle to remake Nigeria.
Time and time again, experience has shown that it takes only
a few determined men and women to change the course of history. I am determined
to provide the quality leadership that will galvanize this great party to
assume the fullness of its height and set the tone for a new Nigeria. I count
on your support to achieve this.
Fellow compatriots, like all political movements, APGA has
gone through different stages in its life cycle. Happily, we have progressed
through the dark periods of uncertainties and self-doubt into the sparkling
rays of a bright new day. Today, our fundamentals are stronger and our chances
are brighter. I must thank all faithful members of this movement who have
evolved through moments of uncertainty to the days of hope. In an environment
where loyalty is fluid, it is almost a labour of love to maintain fidelity to
one political party. It is on account of this that I must ask you to stand up
for a moment of silence in memory of our great leader, Chief Chukwuemeka
Odumegwu Ojukwu, whose presence is strongly felt among us here today. I must
thank other past leaders of the party who laid the foundation that we are
building on today. I fully acknowledge the immense contributions of the
immediate past Chairman of the BoT and my predecessor in office, the former
governor of Anambra State, His Excellency Chief Peter Obi. Although he is no
more here with us, I know that he carries the spirit of APGA wherever he goes.
In similar measure, I must thank the National Chairman, the titan himself; I
call him Ogbunigwe, Chief Victor Umeh and his team for holding this great
family together through the various spells of turbulence. We are here today
because you people stood firm through the years, against all odds.
Fellow party faithful, when you look around you, you will see
the handwriting on the wall. Our great party has made a grand entry into a new
phase of growth. Now, more than ever before, the strength of this party lies in
the quality of our membership and our common resolve to pursue progressive
steps for the greatness of Nigeria. Today, our resolve is even stronger.
Under my watch, APGA shall assume its manifest destiny. We
can all see this great new beginning with the emergence of Dr. Alex Otti as the
gubernatorial candidate of our party in Abia State and the emergence of Captain
Emmanuel Iheanacho as the standard bearer in Imo State. When I listened to the
passionate speech delivered by Dr. Otti at the Aba Recreation Club last week, I
knew that Ndi Abia finally have a chance to be great again. I also saw in that
speech a great future for APGA and for Nigeria. With people like Otti and
Iheanacho, our ship is finally ready to sail and we shall not relent until we
have added neighouring states like Enugu and Ebonyi as well as other key states
in the country, to this illustrious list.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have just come out of the primaries.
Like all contests, there are winners and losers. But in APGA, there are
actually no losers; what we have are people who have been asked to try another
time. Of course there are complaints and silent protests. No electoral process
supervised by man can be devoid of that. However, under my watch, APGA shall
continuously strive for perfection in our electoral processes. We shall
continue to evolve internally and externally.
Internally we shall improve on
our fundamentals and strengthen internal democracy that will inspire loyalty to
the party. Externally, we shall be more vigorous in the projection of our
ideology through responsible and responsive governance. Thankfully APGA has
established a worthy tradition of excellence in Anambra State. It will soon
take roots in Abia and Imo States come May 29, 2015 when Otti and Iheanacho
will be sworn in as governors.
Great party men and women, as we approach the election year,
it should be clear to us that we must fight together and win as a team. Consequently,
all complaints and protestations arising from the just concluded primaries must
be settled with ease. While it is pertinent to remind you that there can only
be one winner at a time, let me assure you that all genuine cases of grievance
shall be given a fair hearing. We can hardly afford to carry our grievances and
discontent into the coming days of intense political campaigns. All wounds must
heal and heal very fast. Our internal cohesiveness is a pre-condition for
victory at the polls. APGA must win the coming race together in all available
elective positions across the country except the Presidency. But even so, we
shall still win because we shall not only vote for President Goodluck Jonathan
but we shall work to ensure that he wins the Presidential Election.
Fellow compatriots, as we prepare to enter the New Year, I
urge you to hold your head up high while campaigning for APGA victory in the
coming elections. As I earlier observed, our fundamentals are infinitely
strong. In the last few months, we have had one or two defectors but we have
absorbed thousands of defectors from other parties. The beauty of this
development is that this party still retains its inner core. That is enough to
build on. And that is what we have been called upon to do.
Fellow party men and women, in the coming months, we shall
push for more territories for APGA. We shall go from street to street and from
door to door to win new members over to the party.
As you leave this hall today to return to your various
states, cities, communities and towns, take with you, the message of hope. Tell
your family, your friends and your neighbours that APGA represents the change
that Nigeria has been clamouring for. Tell them to join this train before it
leaves the station.
Once again I leave you with the words of Michelangelo, the
great Italian Renaissance man, “the greatest danger for most of us is not that
our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
Let us keep aiming for the top of the mountain. When we miss it, we land on top
of a hill.
A-P-G-A -------APGA
A-P-G-A--------APGA
A-P-G-A--------APGA
Thank you
Chief Willie Obiano
BoT Chairman of APGA
Governor, Anambra State
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