*Stick together or be pocketed by Tinubu, Sani advises
*Abure urges members to resist temptation
Emameh Gabriel in Abuja
Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has tasked members-elect of the 10th National Assembly, to work as a team as they resume legislative business next month, because so much would be expected from them from the various constituencies they represent.
This was even as former Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani, warned the newly elected legislators on the platform of party to be wary of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s manipulative politics they would likely be confronted with at the National Assembly.
In the same vain, the embattled National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, has urged all elected members of the party, especially elected lawmakers of the 10th Assembly to resist the temptation that could force them to work against the party’s democratic ideals and its manifesto.
Obi, who made the call virtually yesterday during the Good Governance Summit organised by the Labour Party for its elected members across the country to, pointed out that the desire for change by the Nigerian people was still glaring and Nigerians wanted that change to come from their representatives in the National Assembly.
In his short message, the former Anambra State governor, appealed to the elected members to resist any form of politics that could undermine truth, justice and fairness for the Nigerian people.
“I appeal that we all work as a family in building this party and live up to the expectation of Nigerians, who have decided that we have a future and that they will go down the road with us. Ours is for the masses to do the interest of that new Nigeria and where you find yourself today is an ambassador for that new Nigeria.
“To be able to project these things, you can see the challenges needed to be changed in Nigeria, the level of poverty, insecurity and all the many problems the country is going through today, which can easily consume all of us,” Obi said.
Earlier, Senator Shehu Sani, said the Labour Party must be ready to play to true opposition, having established itself as a force in the polity and the main opposition party in all sense, saying with Tinubu, a veteran in politics as president of the country, the opposition faced stiff resistance to survive in the next four years.
“The opposition has always served as the soul and oxygen of democracy. One that will always stand as an alternative to watch the establishment.
“What we should expect ahead, we should first of all be all aware that for the first time in the history of our democracy since 1999, we are having in position, someone who has the experience of being with us in the trenches and some who is an experienced and crude politician, who will not only play politics on his own side, but would be interested in what happened in the other side.
“The greatest danger to democracy is to have a compromised or timid opposition. One of the problems we have been having till today is that those who are supposed to speak are either afraid of speaking or they are not simply speaking,” he said, describing Labour Party as the most viable opposition today in the country that has proven to be the voice of the people and the voice of democracy.
Abure, on his part, reminded elected members of the party to know that the expectations of the Nigerian public from elected candidates of the Labour Party were high, and as such, theymust ensure they stood on the side of the people on whose mandate they were in the 10th Assembly.
“You have the responsibility to stand with the people and also the responsibility to work with your colleagues. On my part, I will not rest on my oars until we are able to set Nigeria on the path of groups and be part of development.
“Given the special circumstances, which gave rise to your election, which gave you this opportunity to be here and has given all of us this wonderful opportunity, then we must constantly engage ourselves. We must constantly synergise to weed out the shafts together, reposition ourselves and reposition the party for future engagements.
“There is the theory that it is not winning the election that matters. It is not being in power that matters. What is most important is what you do with power that matters. Like the chairman of this occasion said, you have a responsibility to stand by the people and you also have a responsibility to work with your colleagues in the National Assembly to manage this,” Abure advised.
