BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
Former governor of Imo State and serving Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District, Rochas Okorocha, has charged the newly inaugurated Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdulahi Adamu and the National Working Committee to reinvent internal democracy in the party.
Senator Okorocha gave the charge on Tuesday when he paid a courtesy visit to the chairman at the Buhari House National Secretariat of the party in Abuja.
Okorocha while briefing journalists after a closed-door meeting with the chairman said, “This is my home, this is my party. Anytime I come to the APC headquarters, it gives me an extraordinary joy remembering how it all started. It gives me some grateful memories. Anytime I’m here, I feel I’m back home but today I just came to see the national chairman to discuss some vital issues and suggestions that will move this party forward.”
While advising the party hierarchy and exhibiting confidence in the NWC’s ability to bring the warring factions together, Okorocha said, “We literally have no time left to conduct party primaries, so this present working committee has a lot on their table to deal with and it requires faster and bigger steps to get this done; but as you know internal democracy is very key in this country and I believe that the present excos will ensure beautiful internal democracy where all will be happy and no one will feel deprived or cheated. They will do their best and I have confidence in them that they will give us the best of candidates which includes; President, Governors, Senators and others.”
Reiterating his ambition to contest for President in the forthcoming 2023 general elections, Okorocha said he has told the whole world and Nigerians that he will run.
“I have told the whole world and Nigerians that I will be running for the office of the president of the federal Republic of Nigeria and I’m still in it. What is important at this stage is for all of us Nigerians to understand the mood of the nation which is very important. Aspiration is one thing yet vision is another thing.
“I think Nigerians should be able to separate aspiration, ambition from vision. If you have ambition without vision, you will be wasting time, you will contribute nothing but if you have vision then it is appropriate that you should lead the people because where there is no vision the people perish.
“So I think 2023 has more talk about vision and what people are bringing to the table especially given the mood of the election rather than circumstances, situations which have been pointed out to us by the happenings. I think it is always appropriate that Nigerians should take a second look at vision not ambition because definitely everyone can have ambition but not everyone has the vision to move this nation forward,” he said.
