GOVERNOR CHUKWUMA CHARLES SOLUDO’S EXTEMPORÉ SPEECH AT THE 2023 NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE ALL PROGRESSIVES GRAND ALLIANCE (APGA) IN AWKA

Protocols!

Since the people of Anambra State employed me as the Governor, I couldn’t be here without the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

Being my very first National Convention, I want to use this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to you for your faith, your confidence in nominating me and sponsoring me and campaigning for in all the nooks and crannies of Anambra. And the people of Anambra finally decided to hire us in a very responding way.

Once more, signalling that Anambra is APGA land. I want to thank you, our party, thank you for your help.

It is a peaceful day. We have demonstrated very transparent and peaceful transfer of power from the outgoing National Working Committee to a new one being sworn-in.

For APGA, the future is here. It is a party for the masses, the common man. It is a party for Nigerian Youths. Here we have a new exco being led by a youth. Nigeria here we come!

We listened to our indefatigable former National Chairman deliver his address and give account of his stewardship, of the outgoing National Working Committee. Eight years of focused hard work. And I don’t know if any of you heard what I heard. And I’m yet to hear of any other political party in Nigeria when outgoing exco that have served out eight years in office consistently; not the one removed by force or didn’t know that they would leave office, be able to tell us that they are able to leave behind assets. But in APGA you have. I don’t know any other political party that is sitting on its own property with its own title documents, fully furnished, multi-storey building there in Abuja. I don’t also know any other political party that has built a regional building on a five storey building with its own title documents as well.

If you think in terms of the tangible assets; the wealth of APGA in terms of tangible, landed assets. It will be running into billions. And then, did you also hear him say that they will be handing over, over three hundred million naira in cash to the incoming NWC. For context, it is important to note that when they assumed office, they were handed over twenty five million.

APGA is getting stronger. We are organically spreading across the entire country as Nigeria’s undisputable third force. We are systematically building to last. We’ve heard of what happened in the past and we have also heard about the road to the future. I want to appreciate our founding fathers and stakeholders of our party and all those who contested for various offices- win or lose, the important thing is that the spirit of APGA lives across the length and breath of our country. You came to serve APGA and you are leaving behind, a better APGA. We will never forget.

I want to congratulate the fourth National Chairman of our great party. The youthful, indefatigable, faithful, experienced, very well educated, defender of APGA- the man who was born into APGA. APGA is on a sound footing. I want to congratulate the new members of the National Working Committee. I also want to congratulate the members of the BOT that has just being reconstituted. We’ll hopefully meet soon and hopefully so, more regularly as the major think tank of this party. You have major work to do.

APGA has a foundation, APGA is on the march. We are the party founded on pragmatic progressivism. And we call ourselves the grand alliance of all progressives. We are federalists. We believe that the future of Nigeria lies in its past- in terms of the federalist structure, negotiated by the founding fathers of this country in the constitutional conferences of 1953 to 1954. That’s the future. APGA is the first political party to profess that fiscal federalism; where the federal government does not constitute a constraint to the constituting states. We are a party of the common man. We are progressives. We believe in one United, strong and progressive Nigeria where equity, peace and justice reign.

Let me use this opportunity to call on all who left the party for one reason or the other. Our tent is growing larger, and that tent is big enough to accommodate you. When you finish your sojourn whereve you are, the APGA tent is big enough to accommodate you. There is nowhere like home. Come back to APGA. APGA is that home. It is that movement firmly rooted in clear ideologies and clear programmes that has a base. You grow from the ground up. There are no factions in APGA. APGA remains one indivisible, United and very strong political party in Nigeria.

We believe in partnerships and networks. We will continue with the APGA laid down policy to partner with the federal government. We intend to continue with that. Because we are a party that believes in partnerships and one Nigeria, we are better together. Nigeria is stronger together, because we want to produce results and get outcomes. We don’t want to sit by the side protesting. We want to partner with those who want to move Nigeria forward. APGA will continue with that policy to partner with the government at the center. We will advance Nigeria’s prosperity as a United country.

Elections are over and governance has begun in earnest. We want to congratulate INEC particularly for successfull election. The time will come when we will make some further statements in this regard, despite some glitches here and there. But it is the same election that produced these members of the National Assembly, the Senators and members of the House Reps. And nobody has been able to rise to say that we should repudiate these elections. If I can’t comment about anywhere else, I can comment about Anambra. In Anambra, the elections were free, fair, transperent and credible to a very large extent. In as much as we will contest some outcomes just like any other political party.

Fellow Nigerians, the time has come. Let us build this Country. APGA is ready. APGA wants to partner with all political parties that are progressive in nature. That is the party called APGA. Our hand of fellowship is up to all Nigerians. Join APGA today. Join the moving party. Anambra is APGA land. But we are interested in us moving organically across the country and our hand of fellowship is open to everyone who is interested in building that next Nigeria of our dream.

As you go to bed, I want you to begin to ask yourself; what have I done to make APGA better. What have I done to make Nigeria better. Join us. The train is moving.

Thank you again for coming to Anambra. God bless you all!!!