TheCable

Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the ruling party foiled the alleged plot of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for “a lifetime of greedy enrichment”.

He said this in his goodwill message at the national convention of the APC which held in Abuja.

Adams Oshiomhole, former governor of Edo state, won the chairmanship race of the party unopposed.

Tinubu said there were many attempts to prevent the birth of APC by “doubters who gave APC no chance of existence or of continued survival”.

The APC was formed in February 2013 in anticipation of the 2015 elections, through an alliance of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

According to him, the formation of the APC is “the most important political development in our recent history”.

“Joined in goodwill by common purpose and noble endeavour, we assemble this day. The doubters who gave APC no chance of existence or of continued survival have gotten their reply in full. Their envious prayers and complaints have been answered in reverse,” Tinubu said.

“They wanted to see the end of us and our pursuit of good governance for Nigeria. You should not forget, as I shall never forget, the strong efforts they made to stop us in the courts.

“There were 12 cases brought trying to stop us from merging, from registering the new party, then attempting to bar our candidate from the election.

“Lacking the courage to face the democratic will of the people, they tried to misuse the courts as a weapon against democracy. We thank the judiciary for following the letter and spirit of the constitution by dismissing this dirty dozen of malicious cases filed against us.

“With their schemes foiled, those who tried to destroy us must bear witness to the destruction of their edifice of corrupt governance and their dreams of unjust domination of our nation.

“While they planned a lifetime of greedy enrichment by looting the people’s resources and the public treasury for 60 years, we moved to reform the economy to bring development and aid to the poor.

“When they called for hate and division, we strove for compassion and unity. When they hoisted the standard of bias, we raised the flag of justice and the chevron of fairness.

“When they sought to make Nigeria a monument to corrupt government, we sought to remake Nigeria into a place of transparency and honest opportunity for all.

“The APC’s formation is the most important political development in our recent history. This is not due to the names of those who founded the party. It is because of the ideals upon which the party was established.

Tinubu said the APC has recorded some successes in its three-year reign, while noting that there is still much work left to be done.

He said the party would continue its efforts to provide more jobs and combat corruption.