Fintiri Hails Security Team, Says Party Will Survive, Emerge Stronger After Convention

Samuel Ogidan

Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Convention Committee and Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, has expressed optimism that the party’s forthcoming national convention will be a resounding success despite the challenges confronting it.

“It clearly demonstrates the deep-rooted love you have for this party and your efforts to ensure that in spite of the challenges this party has been facing the party will survive,” he said. “It will stay afloat and we’ll do a convention that we are all praying for to be very successful,” he said.

Governor Fintiri made the remark during the meeting of the Security Sub-Committee of the PDP National Convention Committee held on Wednesday in Abuja.

Represented by a co-member of the committee, Austin Akobundu, Fintiri said the committee had been carefully composed to deliver on its critical assignment.

“You’ve been carefully selected to do this job. This committee is a special one; there are retired generals, DSS, police officers, and even those who don’t belong to security agencies who will also provide administrative support to ensure that we get this job done,” he stated.

Describing the task ahead as enormous, Fintiri said: “It’s a difficult job, I must tell you, because I’ve been part of this for a very long time. Our job is to provide not only perimeter security but to gather intelligence working hand in hand with the security agencies to ensure that we have a hitch-free security service and a convention devoid of incursions from undesirable elements that would like to physically truncate the exercise.”

He added that the next phase of preparation would involve a tour of the venue — the stadium in Ibadan — to assess facilities and security architecture ahead of the convention.

Also speaking, PDP chieftain and member of the security committee, Tanimu Turaki, emphasized the importance of security and teamwork in ensuring a seamless convention.

“So that at the end of the day, all of us will go back home and beat our chest that we’ve had the best convention that can be held by any political party and why not? Because this is PDP. It’s either PDP or no political party again,” Turaki said.

He explained that the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) leadership was committed to supporting the security sub-committee in achieving its mandate.

“Our presence here as the leadership of the NCOC is to give you support, give the leadership of your committee support, to identify with you, and where we can, to even listen to some of the advice that will be coming from your own perspective regarding what will be needed to make the 2021 Convention one of the best ever in the history of our political party,” Turaki said.

He assured members that the NCOC would “leave no stone unturned” in making their work easy and effective.

“But like the chairman did say, it’s important for you to understand that all of you that are members of this committee have been carefully selected into this committee,” he added.

Turaki stressed that the success of the convention would largely depend on the work of the security committee in Ibadan.

“The success of the Convention is 85% contingent on what members of this committee will do in Ibadan. Security is key. Security is fundamental. Like the chairman said, whether it is at the perimeters, or inside the Convention premises, or even in ensuring that the process runs smoothly, side by side, and in tandem with what other security agencies that are invited, or would be invited, to the Convention will do.”

He urged members to see their appointment as a mark of trust and responsibility.

“So we hope that every one of you here will consider himself or herself as being recognized in your own right, by PDP, as leaders in your own right. And you are selected because we feel that both individually and collectively, again, you have something special that you contribute to the success of this Convention,” he said.

Reiterating his confidence in the team, Turaki concluded: “So that at the end of the day, all of us will go back home and beat our chest that we’ve had the best Convention that can be held by any political party and why not? Because this is PDP. It’s either PDP or no political party again. So once again, I want to congratulate you for your selection into this committee, and I want to urge on you to put in your best in carrying out this assignment.”

He expressed optimism that the upcoming PDP convention would set a new standard for political gatherings in the country.

“We are hopeful that at the end of the day, we’ll come up with a convention that other political parties will see as a benchmark for holding their own conventions,” he declared.