Secretary to Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje have appealed to Nigerians to continue to bear the brunt of the economic hardship occasioned by the federal government policies with assurance that relief would come soonest.
The duo appealed for a presentation of a book, “The 365 Days of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidency: Resetting the Strategic Foundation for a New Nigeria’.
The book jointly authored by the chairman of the United States chapter of the APC, Professor Tai Balofin, and a colleague, Prof Bolu Folayan was unveiled at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
The SGF who noted that Nigeria is not insulated from global economic challenges, however, maintained that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has taken bold initiatives which included fuel subsidy removal and diversification of the economy through revitalization of the solid mineral sector.
He said: “The president has commissioned one of the major roads in Abuja. I was there with him and the national chairman of the APC. Many more have also been penciled down for commissioning. We want to inform Nigerians that we are making progress.
“If we can achieve this much in one year, imagine what we can achieve in the remaining years to come. I encourage everyone here including Nigerians to continue to support this government.’
“We are here at this conference to give Nigerians the opportunity to see what the government has been able to do within 12 out of 48 months given to him to fix this country. We are on the right track and we want to also thank Nigerians for showing support to this government.”
The former Benue Governor said Tinubu took certain painful but necessary decisions which ultimately would turn around the fortunes of Nigerians for good.
“President Bola Tinubu is someone I have known since 1993. He is a great Nigerian who is at home with everybody irrespective of religion, tribe, and political affiliations. I know the number of people I took to him. Initially, he had some reservations but he received them. Today, some of them are his very close associates. He loves this country, no doubt about it.
“When you mentioned earlier that the kingmaker has become, it is the truth. To further show his popularity during the last election, he went on to defeat the northern candidate, even in Kano. Asiwaju has a third eye, which we don’t have.
“He has this knack for identifying very popular political direction and also demonstrates exceptional qualities. That is the hallmark of leadership. Otherwise, we will be chasing shadows. He has friends across the nation. And that is why today we celebrate him.”
National Chairman of the party, Ganduje, spoke in a similar vein as he declared that the hard decisions of President Tinubu which have led to the fall of the Naira and high prices of foodstuffs were beginning to yield the desired result.
He told the gathering of APC faithful that President Tinubu always puts the interest of the country first in every decision he makes.
“I want to urge Nigerians to show patience and understanding in this administration’s efforts to address some of these challenges ranging from economy, security, and other ones. This I believe has been highlighted by the authors in the book.
“The pronouncement of Emilokan (it is my turn) was made in my presence in Ogun State. I feel highly honoured to chair this book presentation to mark Tinubu’s one year in office. Let me also use the occasion to congratulate Mr President and all Nigerians on this occasion of the 365 days of this golden administration.
“There is no doubt that since his assumption to office, Mr President has faced so many challenges, many of which are global. Some are inherited. But there has been some progress.”
The book reviewer, Prof Olalekan Akashoro, praised the authors for offering what he called detailed literature on the political trajectory of President Tinubu and his notable achievements in the last 365 days.
He disclosed that the first three chapters of the book captured Tinubu’s formative years and incursion into politics.
“But the fourth and fifth chapters chronicled the build-up to the 2023 presidential election and Asiwaju’s political strategies.
“Chapter 12, on the other hand, dealt with the legal fireworks that eventually led to the Supreme Court affirming his election victory,” he noted.
Also speaking, notable businessman, billionaire oil mogul, and politician, Arthur Eze, expressed disaffection about the performance of state governors.
He appealed to Nigerians not to lose hope but to continue to support the President whom he described as an advocate of change in the country.
