Keep your personal interests and ambition in your pocket – Buhari tells APC members

President Buhari at the National Executive Council meeting

President Muhammadu Buhari has lauded APC faithfuls to come together and rise above the current crisis rocking the party. The President made the call in Abuja on Friday at the first National Executive Council (NEC) emergency meeting of All Progressives Congress (APC) after its victory at the polls. 

President Buhari, referring to the general elections and the National Assembly crisis said "APC has won the battle and lost the war which is a paradox of democracy and we shall see how we shall manage it. I have already appealed to you through the chairman, the leadership of the party, through the governors, through our lawmakers and the APC must not disappoint its constituency, the nation."

Buhari‎ further urged party members to honour the platform through which they won the elections and gave a background of how he previously contested his present position and lost three times. “Whoever wants to run for elected office as a Nigerian must have a platform and that platform is the political parties hence the superiority of the party because that is our platform,” the president added. 

“We have had to convince our ‎individual constituencies that we are worthy of sacrifices they had made in staying awake days and nights, travelling all over the country and making sure the party emerged victorious. What subsequently happened is human and as human beings we are not perfect but let our collective actions prove that we’ve won the election, the battle, and we will eventually win the war,” he said. 

He spoke about the history of how the APC was formed, how INEC rejected their initial merger, planning of the first convention and those instrumental to it. “I am going through all these (stories) because not all of us here participated in this and for you to reflect and thank the leadership of the party at various stages for going through all these which wasn’t easy, but God in his infinite mercy has paid us by giving us success. Let us not throw this success to the wind". 

“Let us as members of APC ‎no matter our personal differences, get together and meet the mandate given to us by this country. This is my personal appeal and, in the name of God, whatever your personal interest is and ambition, please keep it close to your heart and in your pocket. Let APC work and let this system work and let us have a government that will earn the respect of our constituencies. I appeal to you to please continue working together and please accept the superiority of the party….because I respect the superiority of the party,” he said. 

The president congratulated the APC Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, for leading the party to victory and acknowledged the presence of the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of Representatives. Earlier, Odigie-Oyegun had lauded the character of the president and his deputy, saying APC became easily believable because of their integrity.

Buhari was reported to have arrived at the party secretariat at 11:04 a.m. and left ‎at 12:40 p.m according to News Agency of Nigeria. In attendance were the governors of Sokoto, Kebbi, Plateau, Imo, Bauchi and Lagos ‎state. Members of the National Working Committee, state chairmen, former governors, senators and zonal leaders were others in attendance.