A new political party, the Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance, APDA was unveiled in Abuja on Monday with promise to eradicate poverty and support restructuring of the country if voted into power at the 2019 General election.
Delivering his address, the interim National Chairman of the party, Malam Shitu Mohammed Kabiru said that the party has adopted electronic registration of its intending members, adding that same electronic voting system would be used during its convention.
On elective position sharing, he said that, “Under our Social Contract with Nigerians we have committed the party to fill all elective positions in the party and appointments in government at all levels on the ratio of 25% for Youth, 30% for Women and 5% for physically challenged.
”These commitments are backed by constitutional provisions. This is a clear departure from previous situations which pay lip service to the political empowerment of youths, women and the physically challenged,” he stated.
While unveiling the party, the Interim National Chairman said that, “we consider it necessary to bring our party, APDA to the public for recognition and blessings by our fellow citizens, who not only own the party but will empower it to move Nigeria out of the prevailing atmosphere of political frustration, economic stagnation, leadership failure and betrayal of the popular will and aspirations of the Nigerian masses”.
According to him, “APDA, is an actualization of the fundamental human rights of Nigerians to determine their national destiny. It is also in recognition of the general hopelessness brought upon the people by mal-administration and the urgent necessity to give Nigerians fresh opportunities and new platforms to re-direct their electoral mandate to a dependable, committed and capable generation of leaders ahead of the 2019 general elections.
“APDA stands for an inclusive Nigerian society based on principles of freedom, equality, solidarity, diversity, equality and fairness. We are committed to fighting for social justice, job creation and economic growth.
“We shall initiate policies and programmes that will promote consumer rights, sustainable development and financial market reforms so as to create a stronger, more democratic nation and a better future for every Nigerian.
“Our priority is to fight unemployment and ensure that our societies and markets become fairer. We are determined to restore the hope and trust of Nigerians for the future of our country.
“We have identified the decadent culture of past party politics, the sit-tight arrogance, despotism and looting propensity of our politicians resulting in marginalization of the masses of this country from the democratic process as the major causes of the constant reversal and negation of the popular will and aspirations for a Nigeria that reflects their dreams of the Promised Land.
“Our values and our vision, mission and ideology include a just, peaceful and democratic Nigeria, free from hunger and premised on freedom and justice.
“We shall entrench the inalienable rights of Nigerians to work whilst guaranteeing protection of their lives and personal safety as well as shielding them from all acts of torture and degradation.
“We shall protect freedom of association, the right to free expression and provide genuine social security.
“For this reason, our party is loaded with the specific remedies and preventive measures to sanitize our political culture, make our leaders accountable and above all, restore the decisive might of the people over the dynamics of party politics and governance,” he stated.
He equally said that, the party have a mandatory inclusive affirmative agenda for youth, women and the physically challenged built into its Constitution.
On economy, he said that, “our level of development, we shall pursue a mixed economy that is private sector driven while ensuring that critical essential services would be operated and delivered by the public sector. We pledge to recreate a Nigeria that guarantees all its citizens the right to pursue their aspirations and achieve their full potentials”.
The APDA, he maintained, has adopted Direct Primaries for all elective processes in the party, stressing that, “this is our agenda against the undesirable influence and power of caucuses, godfathers and other shadowy groups over the internal party democratic processes that have bedeviled our democracy with impunity and sabotaged the rights of ordinary party members.
“Our party has also gone the extra mile to further empower the general membership of the party by placing premium on registration fees and annual dues as the primary financial resource base of the party. We have developed a modern electronic digital data base spanning the entire country at all levels to capture records and biometrics and prevent any form of manipulations,” he said.
On his part, the former National Chairman, Labour Party, Chief Dan Nwanyawu who anchored the unveiling said that, the party would take the country by storm based on arrangement on ground on how to administered government and that, it’s main focus would be youth, women folk and physically challenged person.
Nwanyawu pleaded with Nigerian women and youths to reawaken themselves with goodies awaiting them in the new party, saying that, “I am appealing to our women to quite the dancing and clapping which they have been relegated to in the past, while the youths should also stop being Internet gurus for politicians, who will only hire them during elections to achieve their selfish agenda.
Though a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi being touted as one of the promoters of the new party was present during the entire programme but he did not take any active part, while Chief Nwanyawu also debunked the notion that Chief Dokpesi was the sole promoter of the party, saying that he only broadcast of the programme on his radio and television station.
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