SPEECH:A welcome Address Delivered by His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri at a Dinner in honour of His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, GCON, Former Vice President of Nigeria.

A welcome address delivered

by

His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri

At a Dinner in honour of

His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, GCON, Former Vice President of Nigeria and PDP Presidential candidate for the 2023 General Election.

Banquet Hall, Government House, Yola

15th – August, 2023

 

 Protocol,

Your Excellency, welcome home. It is indeed gratifying to host you once again in Yola. As a government, hosting you is what we are used to. But this particular one is unique in its own way. This is a home-coming like no other. It is more of a victory before the victory. Since the National Convention of our great Party where you emerged victorious, you have not been home.  The people of Adamawa State have longed for an opportunity to celebrate you as their precious gift to the nation. This is therefore the beginning of the celebration which is billed to follow you through till you walk into the Aso Villa in Abuja come 2023. On behalf of the Government and the good people of Adamawa State, I want to once again congratulate you and reassure you that we share in the euphoria of the moment.  The first huddle, is successfully crossed; the last huddle, is equally as important and we must not go to sleep until we cross it. 

Your Excellency, I have said it before and wouldn’t get tired of saying it; this is not your struggle alone, this is an Adamawa struggle and we are indeed together in it till the finish.  You have come this far and we urge you to go further. You have reached places and together with you, we shall go more places. You have mended many fences and together with you, we shall mend many more. You have spoken to so many people and together with you, we can speak to more people. You have won many Nigerians and together with you, we can win more Nigerians.  We shall follow you and stand with you, anywhere anytime; not only because you are our own, but because you are a symbol of unity and as one, we can win for the love of God and that of the Country. 

Talking of the right experience to lead Nigeria, I am in a modest position to attest to this. It isn’t only about what you will do in the future; it is more about what you have already done. You have sold water at the bank of River Benue and built a world-class University in the heart of the most educationally disadvantaged region in Nigeria. You created wealth and provided jobs. You are at home anywhere in Nigeria; you are the Unifier the country badly needs at this moment that the cracked fault lines are badly in need of stitching. 

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, there is hardly more than one Atiku Abubakar in a generation. In Adamawa and perhaps in this part of Nigeria, this is our own Atiku Abubakar. It may require another generation with another age to incubate another one. As we descend on our meal in his honour this evening, I want to leave us with a thought that is deep; None of us can make Atiku Abubakar president, but all of us can, by the will of Allah. And the only way this can happen is when each of us speak to one of us for him and allow him to reach out to all of us. If we can’t win friends for him, the least we can do is not to cultivate foes for him. 

At the Homefront, in Adamawa State, with little resources, we have clearly demonstrated to the electorates the justification for voting our great party – the PDP at all times. We have remained true to the fulfilment of all the promises we made to our electorates in the 11-Point Agenda, from:

1. Security of Lives and Property

2. Education and Human Capital Development

3. Transparency and Accountability

4. Improved Internally Generated Revenue

5. Rural Infrastructure/Urban Renewal and Water Supply 

6. Agricultural Development and Food Security

7. Healthcare and Human Services

8. Youth and Women Development

9. Commerce and Industry 

10. Civil Service Reforms, and 

11. Environment and Climate Change

These have formed the development compass of our administration. The boxes of each item on the agenda have been ticked to have either been achieved substantially or is being achieved. The guiding philosophy is to ensure no one is left behind and nothing is left untouched.

For us as an administration, politics is about keeping each campaign promise sacred. Gone were the days when electorates were told all manner of lies during campaign only to be abandoned once elections are won and lost. Trust is the burden of leadership and should be sanctified. That is the difference between our party and the APC.

Your excellency, we have deliberately avoided blowing our trumpet. With all that we have achieved in the last three years as a government, we have chronicled our strides in a document which was due to be unveiled at our three years anniversary, but had to be deferred because of our national convention where you were elected as our party’s presidential candidate in May this year. Today, in your presence and the presence of our teaming supporters, we shall be unveiling what can rightly be described as our Scorecard, titled: Vision and Courage in Leadership and Governance. We also have a short documentary detailing the journey of Adamawa State from obscurity to prosperity as an appetizer. Welcome to the new Adamawa State.      

 

It isn’t yet time for campaigns. When that time comes, we shall deeply be engrossed in the game we are good at. That is when Nigerians, starting from Adamawa State, will duly appreciate why the only party worthy of their votes in all elective posts is the PDP and the only candidates worthy of their votes in all elective posts in the 2023 elections are the PDP candidates. Specifically, the right person worthy of becoming Nigeria’s President at this time, in its history, is Atiku Abubakar. For now, Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s give a toast to the stoic and spartan Adamawa spirit; a toast to a father and a worthy citizen; a toast to the next president of Nigeria, by God’s grace; a toast to Atiku Abubakar.

Enjoy your meal. Once again, welcome home Your Excellency. 

Thank you and God bless you all.