A former Chief Whip of the Senate, Rowland Owie, has appealed for unity among party members in Edo State against the backdrop of the recent pronouncement by the Supreme Court on the list of candidates that would fly the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming elections.
Senator Owie stressed that all members must now unite to ensure victory for the party’s presidential standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, and indeed, all party candidates in the National and State Assemblies.
He made the special appeal while addressing a gathering of party leaders and stakeholders in Benin on Thursday.
A founding member of the Party and a respected voice in its National Executive Committee (NEC), the ex Senate Whip counseled members of the Party to put an end to the acrimony and bad blood occasioned by the plethora of court cases, since the Supreme Court has laid all matters to rest.
Reminding the stakeholders that Edo has always been a PDP State which gave former VP Atiku Abubakar an overwhelming majority in 2019, the Senator stated that all members must close ranks to ensure that the party maintains its age-long tradition of winning a majority of the National Assembly seats and the Presidential Electios on February 25, 2023.
The ex Whip also appealed to party leaders who felt slighted by recent events in the State Chapter of the Party, especially in the distribution of appointments after the 2020 governorship election, to bury the hatchet in the overall interest of the party.
He said that victory for the Atiku/Okowa ticket would attenuate whatever adverse consequences that this lack of political inclusion had occasioned on members of the Party that had not been adequately patronized.
While expressing gratitude to the party leaders for their orderly conduct during the arduously long process of litigation, Senator Owie espoused hopes that the presidential election would be organized in a credible and transparent manner.
“Consequently, distinguished party faithful, I want to appeal for unity in this our great Party, no matter the discrimination, provocation or threats as long as the litigations lasted. Let us regard one another as members of one large family under the strong Umbrella of our great Party. In my strong conviction, our differences were only temporary, and usual in a typical extended family.
“As a founding member and leader of the Party, I am distressed that a number of our members feel excluded from the governance process in the State. But I appeal to all and sundry to be patient and bear with the Party. No condition, they say, is permanent” he stated.
“We should trust The Almighty God who is never partial, to reward all of us according to our deeds in the current Edo PDP issues. The Word of God says in Jeremiah Chapter 30 30-v-16-17, “All who oppress others would be oppressed and all who plundered others would be plundered.
“God, the Great Judge will reward every one according to our actions and no Man can escape His judgements. Let us forgive one another and save our Party, the PDP. The time to do so is NOW! May The Almighty reward all of us in Jesus name,” Senator Owie said.
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