“And for accepting to host the reigning party in your community, I assure you that as Governor of Akwa Ibom State, come the dry season, we will commence in quadruples, we will bring a strong message to this community by turning your scars into stars, by turning this dilapidated roads I am seeing here into wonderful thoroughfare that will take you to the light which is the PDP; take you to the light, to transformation extraordinary which is what the French Ambassador described this administration [as].”
“Ooooooooh my God.”
“Even though (pauses and ambles around)… even though I am not going to speak today, I can tell you that when the French Ambassador came here, he described what he saw in Akwa Ibom State as “transformacion extraordinaire.” That is what the PDP stands for. So let me lend my voice to my people in showing happiness to welcoming the “Game Changer.”
You don’t need to speak; [referring to the PDP National Chairman] you can see even before elections come, you are already changing the game. We went round to fuse stones in some places in our country with our leader Dr. Ebele Goodluck Jonathan. And of course, the reaction of the people showed that they still recognized the fact that the Peoples’ Democratic Party, the PDP is the only truly national party in Nigeria. And they also told you, which we are also telling you; that just like at the national level, we have not changed our name. We still remain PDP. All other political parties in Nigeria have changed their names nine times. They have changed their names nine times. I can’t even rere…(stammers) for me, I can’t even…For me, I can’t even recognize the political parties I contested with in 2007. Some of them were called NPC, some were AC, not ACN oh! It was after I defeated them, they now changed to ACN. They added “N”. But when I defeated them again, in 2011, they now added “P” and changed it from “AC” to “AP” before “C”. And when we defeat them in 2015, they will now add N; and change it to APCN. That is what has been happening. Pee Dee Peeeeee…Pee Dee Peeeeee!! That is what has been happening. They keep changing their names while we remain constant as the northern star.“That’s why I want to pay great tribute to the women of Akwa Ibom State. Even at the airport today, I saw them in their numbers. My chairman, the women don’t disappoint oh. The women are not the kind of politicians that speak from both sides of their mouth. When the women say they are with you, they are with you. When they say they are going here, they are going here. And that is why with their commander at the state level, my own game changer, Ekaette Unoma Godswill Akpabio, I salute Akwa Ibom women. Of course, the youths of Akwa Ibom State are very happy.
Build the youths! (Refrain: Build the nation). The future belongs to them. I assured them in 2007, I had come and they had to change the game. I am going to build a future for you. I am going to rebuild your present seating; I am going to eliminate potholes on the road. I am going to create employment opportunities, I am going to create wealth for you, I am going to create infrastructure extraordinary. And the youths answered me and followed me. Youths, are you disappointed? (Loud answer: Noooooo) Are you disappointed? (Loud answer from the crowd: Nooooo). Tell the “Game Changer” (points finger towards Dr. Muazu).“Let the members of the working committee go away today knowing strongly that this is one state that they are sure of victory in 2015. In Akwa Ibom State, because of the performance of this government, there is no other political party here. People only wait for elections and primaries of PDP to cause confusion. This time, I know your game. We are going to surprise them. They think that we are going to do primaries and give them up to two weeks so that they will come and poach some of our people, and then form party overnight. We will finish our primaries on the last day of INEC deadline. They will have no opportunity of taking any PDP man this time. PDP! (Refrain: Power!) When we finish primaries, the elections are over. Welcome to the state of transformation.
Please take our message to our leader, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, that we don’t only support him, but we pray for him. These are perilous times in Nigeria, when people are not thinking of winning elections but causing confusion. Taking up arms and arming others, paying mercenaries from outside Nigeria to come and make us not to sleep well. Assure Mr. President that the Egyptians he sees today he shall see them no more; because God is on the throne. We believe strongly that power comes from God. Every authority that we hold comes from God. And God gives it to whom he pleases. And people say you are so much in support of the President. Yes, if I don’t support the President, it means I don’t want a future for my son. He is five years old today, I want him to grow up and be a Nigerian tomorrow. If the President fails, it means Nigeria has failed. If the country collapses, it means my child will not grow up to be a Nigerian.
This country holds great hope for the whole of Africa. If there is a problem in Nigeria, 160 million people spilling into the whole of West Africa, it will overrun the whole of West Africa. Some of the countries are 3 million, 4 million, and some 5 million, 7 million. The most populated country in West Africa after Nigeria is Ghana, 24 million. Just imagine a section of Nigeria, one zone with 50 million people moving into Ghana, they will outvote even a sitting President. That is why we must keep our country together to ensure that this country remains safe.
“So we must support the leadership. When there was terrorism in America, Americans rose and supported George Bush. When there was terrorism in Britain, they rose and supported their prime minister. But when terrorism came to Nigeria, what happened? Nigerians accused their President. When there was kidnapping in Abia State, the people of Abia state rallied around their Governor. There was spill-over effects in Akwa Ibom; Rivers state the same thing, in Bayelsa. But when it came to Akwa Ibom, for every person, even a teacher that was kidnapped and 100,000 was taken, they went to the internet and said the governor was raising money for campaigns.
There is no society without crime. That is why the colonial masters, wherever they build administrative office, they built a prison. Because they knew that some of us must be in prison. They knew that some of us ought to be in prison because mentally we are not okay. But whenever there is a crime in Akwa Ibom State, they send petition to the National Chairman, the Governor has done it again. A few days ago, armed robbers entered the office of a man here, who was not even in the office. Collected phones, collected wrist watches. They wrote a petition that the man was…a Director-General of a governorship campaign candidate and that the Governor had sent a band of killers to go and assassinate him. When the people were arrested, thanks God the security chiefs are here, the SSS, the Police, the Army, they are cooperating very well.
When they arrested the five people, they said “we are armed robbers.” We are not even from South-South, we are from the North. The nearest of them comes from Kogi state. They brought the people from office they identified them. One of them had his hand chopped off through accidental discharge. The man went and identified the killers, the so-called killers, and they said we are armed robbers. And they had robbed two other places before they went to his office on that same day. But they went round writing petitions, and on the internet, Governor wanted to kill the Director General of somebody’s campaign. And when the people were paraded, and they were invited and they identified them, did they come back to apologize to the Governor? They have not apologized to me, the game changer.
I have taken it as my fate. Leadership you have to pay a price. Even Jesus Christ, which we call Isa in the Koran, was wrongly accused by his people. 2,000 years after, we have seen that Christ was right. And what was Christ saying? He said woe betide you who betrays your brother. Christ did not say that there will be no Judas. Even our God Almighty recognized that even the people he worked with, and called them angels, that one of them was going to betray him. And that was Lucifer, what did God do? He threw him out of heaven. Has he entered Heaven till today? Those who have betrayed the Governor will not enter Government House. I thought you would say Amen (Refrain: Amen!) I thought you would say Amen (Refrain: Amen!). I thought you would say Amen (Refrain: Amen!) Can you say Amen?
It is very clear. You empower your children so that they will a pride to you. You don’t empower them so that they come and betray you. That is the lot of the World."I go back into the Bible, the Game Changer. I saw the story of Absalom. And I said may God take away the spirit of Absalom from our midst. Who was Absalom? The son of David, the father trained him and empowered him as the would-be King of Israel. Because of impatience, Absalom wanted to take over before the age of 30. He wanted to kill King David. And the King said, leave him to his fate. Did it end well with Absalom? (Crowd response: Nooooo!) As a young man, he died, while his father continued. I am assuring the Game Changer and the President that those who want to take power through the backdoor will die. They will die! And the PDP will continue. In Akwa Ibom State, those who want to betray, who were supposed to be our political children, of course they will end like Absalom. But if they changed their minds, then they will obtain favour from the sight of God.
I congratulate the chairman of the ruling for keeping the party together. Under the former Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, there was a petition originated by Abuja politicians, they’ve opened office for blackmail at Wuse 2. They said there was no primaries in Akwa Ibom. And they went to AIT, because we carried the congress that brought them live. They went to AIT and stole the original tape. They went to the office of the Governor and paid one of the staff who moves in government house here and stole the original tape. But they did not know that my Commissioner of Information had a clip of the video. So, some of my elders signed papers and said that there was no congress that brought Paul Ekpo and these chiefs. But thank God, we found the original tape, and some of them were the ones who stood in front of the press and said “we’ve never had such beautiful congress” and they had very large tags on their chests. So as soon as they saw that I had found the tape, they withdrew the petition.
But they’ve not gone back to apologise to Paul Ekpo. I want to congratulate you, because the presence of the National Chairman today is evidence of recognition your leadership in the state. Let me congratulate you for stopping the kinds of defections in the National Assembly, even in the Governor’s Forum. Let me congratulate you, for winning most of the States and keeping most of the Deputy Governors of the states in the PDP, even when few of the Governors decided to decamp. The Deputy Governors remained behind, members of the Houses remained behind, the Speakers remained behind and the voters remained behind waiting for you in 2015. I congratulate you.
Let me congratulate you for Ekiti State. After the election, even the loser said, I cannot go to court, because I lost even in my family. I want to congratulate you for that. I also want to say that what has happened in Adamawa state is actually democracy in action. As much as possible, no governor likes impeachment. I don’t like impeachment. I don’t like impeachment. When I realize that ehm..that ehm..my mother told me something when I was young. She said, that she would never pray for any of her uncle to die so that she can inherit properties. But at the same time, she would never want hell to remain empty.
You didn’t get that. She said because God has already built heaven and hell. And people must go there. And if people do not die, they will not go there. So as much as she does not want people to die, she does not want heaven or hell to remain empty. Because people must occupy. I don’t impeachment. But if the impeachment is to reposition the PDP, and ensure peace for Nigeria, may God bring peace to Nigeria in Jesus Name.
On that note, I take it as a special privilege to invite the National Chairman of our great party to commission this edifice. We hope during your tenure that you will come back to commission it. We will surprise the Secretariat by the time you come back with these delegated people that God has uncommonly transformed their lives.
May transformation lead you to the podium to make one or two remarks to your people in Akwa Ibom State. Dr. Adamu Muazu, National Chairman.”
BEING GOV. AKPABIO’S REMARKS AT THE GROUND-BREAKING CEREMONY OF THE PDP SECRETARIAT ON JULY 17, 2014
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