Without mentioning their names, former President of the Senate and presidential aspirant, Pius Anyim, has blamed the present socio-economic problems besetting Nigeria on those who pulled out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2013 and allegedly deceived Nigerians.
Speaking at a consultative meeting with PDP leaders across the six geo-political zones of the country in Abuja at the weekend, he maintained that the defectors’ action brought the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he observed, has since plunged the nation into untold hardship.
He, therefore, warned the main opposition party not to repeat the mistake of that year.
Recall that dissatisfied with events in the party, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and then governors of Adamawa, Kwara, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kano, Rivers and Niger States had walked out of the party’s National convention and later joined forces with the APC.
Ayim, who is one of the 17 individuals seeking the ticket of the former ruling party, said: “In 2015, some of us in PDP, simply decided to pull out of PDP and bring that government down and we were plunged into darkness. That is why we are here.
“Let nobody confuse you. Let nobody mislead you. We were confused and misled in 2015. And that is why we are here. We now have an opportunity to come together and reinvent ourselves.
“Do you agree with me that Nigerians are saying please return us to 2015? If Nigerians are begging us to return them to 2015, do you have any reason not to support me?”
Anyim, who was Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) under former President Goodluck Jonathan, commended him, saying that Nigerians would have reaped more benefits of democracy if that administration was not obstructed by the APC in 2015.
He added: “We were planning that for the second tenure of President Jonathan. We will stretch out these plans and policies to actually deliver maximum results. Unfortunately, that administration was truncated.
The presidential aspirant called on the party members to support his ambition to return Nigeria to the path of prosperity.
“If you stand by me, if you partner with me, we will return this country, again on the path of peace, growth and prosperity,” he added.
He assured that if he gets the chance to be president, he will make the country competitive once again, saying: “I want to say that in returning Nigeria on the part of growth, we have to sharpen a new foundation or at least the return to where we stopped in 2015.
“I want to say that the crises of our nation today, the challenge of our time today demands a unifier. It demands a crisis manager. It demands a stabilizer and these are all that I am known for.
“I will build consensus across the board. I will make sure I secure the buy-in of every component of our polity before I deploy any policy that will help us move forward.”
On insecurity, the former Senate President vowed to attack the virus from the roots such that it stands no chance of affecting society in a meaningful manner.
He further stated: “I will address insecurity from the roots and by the time I take it up from its roots, I will nip it at the point of arms. I mean at the point people start carrying arms.
“Without that underground preparation, it will be difficult to just carry arms and achieve results.”
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