The National Working Committee (NWC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) met with House of Representatives members-elect elected on the party’s platform.
The discussion, which takes place ahead of the 10th assembly’s June inauguration, is the first meeting between opposition party leaders and newly elected Green chamber members since the conclusion of the 2023 general elections.
While addressing the lawmakers-elect before the meeting went into closed-door session, the PDP acting national chairman, Umar Damagum, emphasised the importance of party loyalty. Damagum challenged the newly elected lawmakers with keeping the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on their toes by the time the House is inaugurated next month.
“You have a daunting task before you because of the state of the nation. You have been elected at a time when the country is no longer what we used to know. It has been bedevilled by so many vices and people are looking up to you to correct the rot.
“When you make laws, it is expected that you are helping the society and in the act of making laws you should be mindful of the fact that the society is no longer what you used to know and you have to be firm. You have to be loyal to your country first and then the party. Loyalty to the country because it is only when you have a country that you can even exist as a lawmaker.
“Most of you that have spoken have been grateful to the party for giving you the platform to here today. We don’t expect anything else from you rather than to be a loyal party member. Most of you will be concerned about the current situation of the party, it is always like that. When you have an election year there will be a lot of crisis. If you look at from your primaries up to the time when you were elected, you have gone through a lot and I know the party is going through the same kind of situations. But one thing I want to assure you is that PDP has the mechanism to solve its own problems.”
“.I want to reiterate like some of you have said here that this 10th Assembly should come and make sure that it gives the right opposition that is expected of you.
“I always have hope in the House of Representatives, I am not saying the Senate are not doing much but you are the people that are directly closer to the constituencies and much is expected of you and I hope that ours is going to be a joint credible opposition and we give it to them; we put them to task, we put them on their toes to make sure that the right thing is being done in this country because this is what need at this moment,” the PDP chairman stated.
The convener of the meeting, Frederick Agbedi, in his opening remarks, said that the meeting was to seek direction from the party on how to proceed in the incoming 10th assembly.
Agbedi said: “We came to interact with you to give us a direction as we journey on towards 13 June. Guide us, direct us where necessary.”