Lukwago chairs first NEC meeting  as Amuriat campaigns in Hoima

The interim president of the Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party (Katonga faction), Mr Erias Lukwago, yesterday chaired his inaugural meeting with the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) members, where he urged them to remain strong and focused in order to regain public trust. 

The meeting was aimed at laying strategies for implementing resolutions of the just concluded National Executive Committee (NEC) delegates’ conference that was held at Katonga Road last week. 
In an interview with the Daily Monitor, Mr Lukwago, who is also the Kampala Lord mayor, disclosed that the meeting addressed several critical issues that must be resolved within the six-month interim leadership period. 

These issues included mobilising undecided FDC members and wooing them to their side, removal of contentious leaders from the party headquarters, and engaging founding members, religious leaders, and other stakeholders. 
Mr Lukwago said they held discussions about the roadmap for grassroots leadership elections that will lead to the election of NEC members at a later date.   He noted that the leadership intends to finalise these plans after further consultations with party members before making any official announcements.

Additionally, the leadership is expected to unveil the roadmap for the grassroots elections.
“We discussed various matters during the meeting and arrived at several resolutions. However, we are awaiting some approvals before we make these resolutions public,’’ Mr Lukwago said.

He emphasized their determination to achieve their objectives despite facing challenges as a group, including financial constraints.
Meanwhile, Ms Doreen Nyanjura, a NEC member responsible for trade and investments within the party, expressed her readiness to support the interim leadership in its mission to revive the party’s former glory.
Concurrently, as the Katonga team convened, the party president of the Najjanankumbi faction, Mr Patrick Amuriat, campaigned in Hoima District to secure votes in preparations for the National Delegates Conference scheduled for next month.

Mr Amuriat, who was nominated alongside other party members to compete for various NEC positions, received approval to proceed with his campaign ahead of the conference set for October 6.
During his visit, Mr Amuriat rallied party delegates from Bunyoro Sub-region to participate in the National Delegates Conference and elect the party’s National Executive Committee.

 He is seeking a second term as party leader.
According to him, grassroots elections have already taken place from the village to the district level, with only the election of the National Executive Committee left. 
He emphasised that the October 6 elections would proceed despite internal party disputes.

Mr Amuriat also called on dissenting members to utilise democratic means to effect leadership change within the party.
“The elections of October 6 will take place regardless of the bickering within the party. We would like to invite our friends of Katonga who have decided to take a different path to use democratic means to change leadership in FDC,” Mr Amuriat said.

“It serves no purpose when someone tries to come through the ventilators and yet the door is wide open,” he added.
The party’s Electoral Commission, led by Mr Boniface Bamwenda, announced that all 70-plus duly-nominated candidates have until October 4 to conduct their campaigns in preparation for the upcoming polls.

The turmoil within the FDC escalated when an extraordinary Delegates’ Conference, convened by the party chairperson, Mr Wasswa Birigwa, passed resolutions to remove Mr Amuriat, Secretary-General Nandala Mafabi, Treasurer General Geoffrey Ekanya, and Mr Boniface Bamwenda from office. 

Mr Lukwago was appointed by delegates to replace Mr Amuriat as interim leader for the next six months. The resolutions were passed despite court orders and police attempts to halt the meeting. 
The Najjanankumbi team remained steadfast in their determination to hold their NEC meeting next month.