10th NASS: APC must be on their toes for Nigeria – Damagum tells PDP Reps-elect

*We will go by APC zoning arrangements for Reps’ Speaker – Joint Task Group

By Christiana Ekpa

Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, the Acting National Chairman of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Umar Damagum has charged the party’s members-elect to put the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on their toes.
Damagum also enjoined the members to be firm in lawmaking.
Speaking at a meeting members-elect to formally welcome and congratulate them on their electoral victory in Abuja on Tuesday, the national chairman said that putting the ruling party on their toes was one of the ways of making them work for the country.
He said “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 bedeviled 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 act of making laws you should be mindful of the fact that the society is no longer what you use 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.
“The initiative you have taken upon yourself before we even call upon you to make this gathering possible is also one of reasons why I said we have the mechanism. You have done well, I have interacted with some of your leaders towards being up this gathering and I don’t expect any PDP member to be less in terms of that acumen and capacity, we have always been known to be full of capacity in terms of what we want to achieve. I don’t expect less from you. 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.
In related development, a group of the members-elect across the 8 political parties that won various seats in the national assembly under the aegis of “Joint Tast-10th Assembly” has said it will abide by the zoning formula of APC.
Chairman of the forum, Hon. Usman Kumo made the pledge at the inauguration of the forum in Abuja on Tuesday.
He however said that the forum had no preferred candidate for the office of the speaker of the 10th House but to ensure that the expectations of Nigerians were met.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it gladdens my heart to stand before you here today on the occasion of the inauguration of the ‘Joint Task – 10th Assembly.’ The issue at stake is the leadership of the incoming 10th House of Representatives.