….expresses dismay with protem arrangement
The Benue South Senatorial Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in the 2023 elections, Dr Ujah Mathew Onoja has called for an all inclusive arrangement in the ongoing coalition of the party to give every stakeholder the desired sense of belonging.
Dr Onoja made this call in a chat with The Voice Politics via phone on Friday. The former Senatorial Candidate who witnessed the unveiling of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, coalition in Makurdi on Wednesday said the event fell short of the expectations of the original owners of the party.
“The event for Wednesday held with high hopes and we had it in mind that it will be an all inclusive unveiling exercise. But when we got there we saw something that we were not comfortable and our Exco raised alarm immediately but we were told that it would be a protem arrangement for a period of one month.
“But our dismay and our dissatisfaction with the whole thing is the fact that, even if it was to last for a day, the original owners of the ADC have committed resources into sustaining the party and should be considered.
“If we can not be trusted enough for a single day, Why should we trust that they have a protem arrangement that will last for one month”?
He stated that at the present point of the coalition, what is needed is efforts to building bridges and not pulling down what has already been built.
“Infact we that ran under the ADC platform have been sustaining the structure of the party in Benue and we foresaw a future and we knew that as events unfold, ADC will eventually become the umbrella for the unity and the betterment of all Nigerians”, he emphasized
According to Dr Ujah, prior information was that, there would be a sharing formula in the positions, and that the Exco of ADC will feature in virtually all negotiations, but the situation on ground now tend to conflict with the information.
“And we are raising alarm that in all the positions that they put forward for the protem leadership, not even one person is from the ADC”, he stated.
Dr Ujah explained that, the original ADC members are not against the coalition but are agitated that new persons were taking over their positions and there is nothing indicating the desire for inclusivity.
He called on the people to get involved in the polity and be change makers instead of standing on the sidelines and watching the older politicians hold sway.
“Power is not something you will just sit and it will come to you, you have to go out for it. And that is why I am calling on them to recognise those of us that were available. They should not repeat the same model that they repeated over and over and we are where we are.
“They should inject new blood in the political environment to guarantee the change and the better Nigeria that we all yearn for”, Dr Ujah advised.
