ANPP National Chairman, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu
By Onyebuchi Ezigbo
The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have agreed on a proposal to collaborate in the training of officers of the party nationwide.
This agreement was reached during the Needs Assessment Visit of the UNDP delegation to the party’s National Headquarters in Abuja Tuesday.
The National Chairman, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, invited the UNDP team to come and partner with the leadership in the implementation of capacity-building Programme meant to strengthen the party.
‘‘We are happy that the UNDP has visited us, and we want you to work with us on capacity building and also in the area of information dissemination. We have processes and plans that help to deepen our internal democracy system and grow the capacity of our members and leaders.
“We will train our leaders at the state levels and then at the ward levels. We also develop positions that will help advance democracy in the country. We have plans to invite experts to lecture sessions; that is, Nigerians who are doing well outside the nation will be brought in to share their expertise with us in areas of health, agriculture, industry among others.
Onu said in order to prepare for the current move by the Federal Government to include diaspora voting in 2015 general elections, the (ANPP), is opening special branches overseas, as it also computerises its membership database and general operations.
Onu also averred that with the new trend of opposition parties in Nigeria winning state governorship elections, the ANPP is now set to show the nation its substance, as it will now utilise this new trend to win elections and let the whole citizens see and feel the solid material it is made of and the deliverables Nigerian people shall gain from her.
The UNDP three-man delegation was also told that the ANPP has fundamental projects with which it prepares its members to impact on the nation’s fledgling democracy.
“The ANPP trains members at the state and ward levels; the party develops positions that will help to advance democracy in Nigeria; and the party plans to invite Nigerian experts who are doing very well outside the shores of the country to bring their expertise to bear in capacity building through seminars and lectures.
‘‘We are a progressive party and interested in leading the nation into an all-inclusive era of politics. The new trend of opposition winning elections in the country is going to set the ANPP up to have its substance to be seen and to be known. We want to equip our women; we want our young people to participate effectively; and we also encourage the disabled to join the political process.
‘‘As the government wants to embark on Diaspora voting, we are now computerising our membership database. We also open up special branches, in the United States of America and in our neighbouring countries here in West Africa. We are present everywhere, with structures in all the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT, since 1998.’’
In his address, the leader of the UNDP team, Mr. Sadiq Abba, said that they were happy that the ANPP is strong and working hard and are not discouraged by the vicissitudes of the Nigerian political atmosphere.
“We are here because we want to know the level of engagement of the ANPP with the UNDP. This interaction is a guide to our work. We are happy that the ANPP strong and working hard, and is not discouraged by the prevailing vicissitudes of the Nigerian political environment,” he said.