AMAC election: ADC chairmanship candidate thanks voters, Obi, others

•Says poll beginning of permanent awakening

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chairmanship candidate, in Abuja Municipal Area Council ( AMAC), in last Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) Area Council election,  Dr Moses Paul, has described the poll  as the beginning of a  permanent awakening.

Paul, in a message to the people of AMAC, in the aftermath of the poll, expressed appreciation to his supporters, for their efforts in the last couple of months and to  every voter, who participated in the exercise, noting that their courage reaffirmed democracy as a living promise.

The  Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC)  had declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the election, Christopher Maikalangu, as winner of the championship contest in AMAC.

The Collation officer, Andrew Abue, while declaring the results, stated that

Maikalangu scored 40,295 votes against 12,109 votes polled by the ADC candidate.

Nonetheless, Paul, who said he was not diminished by the outcome of the contest, stated that, “what we witnessed in this election was not merely a contest for office, but a declaration of dignity by a people who have refused to surrender their future.”

He said: “To every volunteer, every supporter, every elder, every youth and every woman, who carried this movement in their hearts, you have given me something far greater than victory. You have given me purpose.”

The ADC candidate, while thanking the leadership and members of the party for standing on the side of principle, extolled the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for his example of discipline, sacrifice and unwavering commitment to a better Nigeria.

According to him, “Over the past months, from the streets of Karshi to the crowded paths of Nyanya, from the markets of Wuse to the quiet resilience of Gui, from the homes of the forgotten to the voices of the hopeful, you rose. You stood. You walked. You spoke. You believed. And for that, I bow my head in gratitude.

“Let it be known and let history record that what we witnessed in this election was not merely a contest for office, but a declaration of dignity by a people who have refused to surrender their future.

“I have reviewed the outcome as announced and while I hold firmly, based on the engagements, the evidence of our people’s participation and the overwhelming spirit of our movement, that we earned the sacred mandate of the people. I accept, with peace in my heart and strength in my spirit, the processes as they have been declared.”

Furthermore, he stated that, “this movement was never built on the fragile foundation of titles. It was built on the eternal foundation of truth and truth does not expire with an election. To the young men and women who stood in the sun for hours, who walked distances their feet had never known, who gave their time, their strength, their voices, you are the authors of a new chapter.

“To those who came from far and near, who slept little, who gave their resources, who endured intimidation, who endured doubt and who endured hardship, your sacrifice has already altered the moral architecture of AMAC forever.

“To those who gave their blood, their sweat and their unyielding courage, you have proven that the Nigerian spirit is still alive; that it still breathes and that it refuses to kneel.

“You did not stand for me. You stood for yourselves. You stood for your children.

“You stood for justice. You stood for the simple but powerful belief that leadership must be earned, not imposed. “And for this, I will remain eternally grateful. I extend my deepest appreciation to every voter who came out and performed their sacred civic duty.

Your courage has reaffirmed democracy as a living promise, not a forgotten idea.”

He added: “What began here in AMAC will not end here. What was ignited in your hearts cannot be extinguished by any announcement or delayed by any process because nations are not transformed in a single election. They are transformed by the steady, unrelenting courage of ordinary people who refuse to accept an ordinary future.

“I remain committed to you. I remain accountable to you. I remain one of you.

This is not the end of our journey. This is the beginning of a permanent awakening.

“One day and I say this with absolute certainty, a new AMAC will emerge. One day, a new Nigeria will rise. And when that day comes, history will remember that it was you, the ordinary citizens with extraordinary courage, who made it possible.”