Tony Osauzo and Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Members of the Nigeria Intervention Movement, NIM, Edo State chapter, yesterday, collapsed their party structure into the Action Democratic Party (ADP), with the view of winning the forthcoming general elections in the state.
Welcoming the members into the party in Edo North, former Chief Whip of the national assembly, Senator Roland Owie, said their choice of alignment was necessary in order to rescue the nation from the current economic hardship occasioned by successives government.
He lamented that those who could not salvage the country when they had the opportunity to do so are still those promising a better life and infrastructural development for its citizens,saying that Nigeria has remained one of the countries that has embarked on the construction of a bridge for 16 years and still could not finish it.
“This is the only country that will use 16 years to build a bridge, the Niger Bridge. Our founding fathers built it for one and half years, 1964 and in 1965 it was commissioned but for the past 18 years, we have been building Asaba bridge, only pipes that are on the ground.
“Obasanjo came, NITEL by the time it was sold by the Obasanjo’s government, had 275,000 workers, they were paying their salaries without borrowing money from the bank. Aladja was there, Ajaokuta was there, everything gone.
“Today, NITEL buildings in Nigeria are now the accommodations for armed robbers and kidnappers. Is that life? Is that what we are going to continue with? Can an armed robber build somebody here? That same person is waking up today saying he wants to save Nigeria when for eight years he did nothing.
“There is no road from Abeokuta to Lagos, the East West Road was not done, my dear, for us, we thank God and we are moving but if this country is not changing from what it is, your children will suffer. May God not allow them to suffer”, he prayed.
Owie enjoined Nigerians not to base their choice of candidates on religion but on who can deliver on the dividends of democracy to the generality of Nigerians, just as he appealed to political office holders to borrow a leaf from late Ambrose Alli.
“Whatever is not good, is not good, that is what religions say. If a Christian is not doing well God will not pardon him and if a Muslim is not doing well, God will not pardon him. So you must wake up.
“Alli was governor of this state, scholarship was given to 3,000 Bendelites to go to oversea, teacher training was free and all those who were going to do NCE were paid salaries in the college of education.
“We established Ewu Flour Mill, College of education Warri, College of Education Agbor, today, where are they? The School of Physical Education in Afuze is almost dead. Are we making progress? Okpilla Cement that our founding fathers built is gone, Ewu Flour mill is gone”, he said.
Owie, therefore, called on the women to help spread the message of how to take over leadership from the present administration to the nook and cranny of the country as they are worst hit by the present economic hardship in the country.
“It is you the the women that should wake up, go home and tell everybody around you that they should wake up and change this government that has no compassion for Nigerians.
“You cannot tell me that life in Nigeria is comfortable. Most of you women, you are the bread winners for your husbands. Your husbands retired, no pension no gratuities. You must wake up”, he said
He called on Nigerians to go and collect their Permanent Voter Cards and vote for the ADP candidates in the forthcoming elections.
On his part, the Edo North Senatorial aspirant of Action Democratic Party, Mr. Erasmus Ikhide lamented the inability of the ruling All Progressives Congress to deliver on their electioneering campaign promises to Nigerians.
He said the ADP has come to rewrite the wrongs done by successive governments in the country.
Earlier, Deputy state coordinator, NIM, Christopher Ojeikere said that the NIM has come to realize that the Action Democratic Party shares the same ideology and thus decided to work together for the purpose of winning elections and rescuing the nation from the grip of bad leadership.