President Muhammadu Buhari has told members of his All Progressive Congress (APC) to leave bickering, and prepare for next year’s general election, complying with the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Buhari also said he is conversant with criticisms about the slow pace of his government, particularly on the appointment of members of the board of Federal government parastatals.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting of the national caucus of the party at the presidential villa, Abuja, on Monday night, he said: “I am very much aware of opinions and criticisms about the pace of government. In particular, the delay in appointments to boards of parastatals. Many boards have been inaugurated so far.
“Now that INEC has come out with the timetable for elections in 2019, the Party should prepare itself for congresses at a. Wards, b. Local Governments, c. States and d. Centre.
“We should strictly follow the constitution of the party in undertaking these party elections. We should ensure internal democracy and avoid shortcuts and illegal manoeuvres which have characterized the opposition party with the consequences that they are now divided.
“The APC has a history of conducting free and fair primaries whenever consensus about any candidacy is not reached. Regardless of the outcomes of the primary processes, it is imperative that we all work together to ensure the victory of our party.”
The president blasted the former ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for presiding over the looting of the nation’s resources, saying: “It is easy to forget that we succeeded a government with a record of unprecedented theft and systematic mismanagement.
“Nigeria was fast heading for a collapse. It is easy to forget the fuel subsidy fraud, arms fund diversion, depleted Excess Crude Account savings, depleted foreign reserves, massive unpaid debts to contractors and suppliers amidst failure to invest or even maintain our infrastructure namely railways, roads, electricity, in spite of having earned over US$500 billion from Oil & Gas alone, during the 16 years of PDP rule.