Politics
N’ Delta Youth Move Against Buhari’s Re-Election
Youths of the oil-rich Niger Delta region have vowed to work against moves that would extend President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration beyond 2018.
The youths under the aegis of the Niger Delta Youth Coalition (NDYC) who made the vow after their meeting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital said the administration of President Buhari lacks the capacity to lead the country in modern time.
Spokesman of NDYC, Godwin Ibinabo said Nigerians have been subjected to extreme poverty and avoidable divisions and the only way to extricate the citizenry is to mobilize all legitimate forces towards ensuring that Buhari’s leadership ends at a single term.
The group therefore called on youths from Northern part of the country to carefully select credible and capable presidential hopefuls that will take over from Buhari at the expiration of the present administration.
Ibinabo noted that the youths of the country suffer more from incidences of visionless leadership in Nigeria as government, rather than prompt development, has shut them out from employment opportunities and death of infrastructure.
“For the past two years and half, the nation has continued to degenerate. No job, no infrastructure, no end to Boko Haram war that has gulped billions of Dollas.
We shall no longer watch this ?? administration that is full of empty and unrealizable promises continue while we wallow in poverty in midst of abundant resources’, he said.
He also accused Buhari’s administration of incapable of accounting for the so much money recovered from dubious Nigerians in his anti-corruption fight and challenged Buhari to tell Nigerians what he has been able to achieve.
NDYC further stressed the need for the emergence of younger persons as the presidential hopefuls adding that the era of old and weak leaders should be over for Nigeria to move to the next level.
Nigerians, he said, gave Buhari, the opportunity hoping that the change he promised them will manifest in positive turn of event but regretted that what they were getting after voting him into office is negative change.
“We have seen his change and now it is obvious that his change is not what we desire, the option now is to endure him throughout this tenure while efforts be made to bring a man or woman that can give the nation positive change”, he stated.
Commenting on restructuring, the group spokesman said restructuring is overdue and that only those who are benefitting from the present lopesided structure are scarred of restructuring the nation.
“In the actual sense of true federalism, the resources should be produced by the federating states who in turn pay tax to the central government. But in our present system of federalism everything is under the control of the centre”, he said.
He maintained that instead of encouraging productivity and wealth creation, the ?? style of federalism is frustrating development and resulting in agitations.
By: Chris Oluoh.
The Tide source reports that Prof. Akinoso was elected alongside 38 other executive members of the party at the congress held on Saturday.
Other executive members are Dr Abiola Olaonipekun, who emerged as Secretary, Alhaja Latifah Latifu, Women Leader and Mr A. Adeleke, elected as Youth Leader.
It was learnt that the congress, which took place at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Oke Ado in Ibadan, was attended by representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Police, other security agencies and prominent members of the party.
The election was supervised by electoral committee members, among whom were Prince Diran Odeyemi, who served as Chairman, Hon. Awoniyi Tolulope, Mr Babatunde Gbadamosi, Queen Stepheine Oyechere, Alhaji Yusuf Abidakun, Mr Olumide Aguda and Dr Phillips Adeniyi, who served as Secretary.
Prof. Akinoso, in his inaugural address, urged members of the party to set aside intra-party differences.
He advised them to concentrate their resources on the promotion of the party, saying, “The primary responsibilities of party executive members are to coordinate party activities, ensure harmony among members, and ensure party victory during general elections.
“Our immediate assignments are to key into INEC released 2027 general election time-tables. As directed by the National Caretaker Committee of PDP, our party e-membership registration starts next week. We must be fully involved and do a membership drive.
“A political party is only relevant and benefits its members if it wins the election. This is our goal. We should set aside intra-party differences; concentrate our resources towards the promotion of the party. We will make necessary consultations and dialogue to actualise this”.
President Tinubu disclosed this during an interfaith breaking of fast with senior journalists and media executives at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Saturday.
He also disclosed that his administration had opened up on the principles of true federalism to the extent that local governments now get direct allocation from the Federal Government.
“There’s no morning that I ever leave my house without going through the newspapers. It’s an addiction. I read all of you.
“It might not be in full detail, but headline, the one that would hit me and the ones that won’t.
“At the beginning of this administration, I was just a little bit stubborn, looking at opportunities to correct things and make life more easier for the downtrodden.
“We’ve opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money, but how they use it is in your hands. So, don’t bombard me alone,” President Tinubu said.
The ruling party said the ADC had turned criticism of the APC-led administration into its operating manifesto instead of presenting concrete solutions to Nigeria’s economic challenges.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mr Felix Morka, the party dismissed the ADC’s interpretation of a report presented at a policy dialogue organised by Agora Policy which suggested that the country’s poverty rate had risen from 49 per cent to 63 per cent.
Mr Morka said the opposition party’s reaction to the report as a “damning verdict” on the government’s economic policies reflected either ignorance of economic realities or deliberate political mischief.
“The African Democratic Congress’ attempt to spin a recent report presented at the Agora Policy dialogue indicating a rise of poverty rate of 63 per cent from 49 per cent as a damning verdict on this administration’s economic policies speaks either to its shocking ignorance of economic policy or its wilful blindness to the justification for, and transformative impacts of, ongoing economic reforms,” he said.
The APC spokesman noted that the report itself recognised the necessity of reforms aimed at correcting long-standing structural distortions in the economy.
According to him, the ADC had failed to present any credible alternative policy direction for Nigerians.
“Clearly, the ADC does not recognise itself as a political party. The ADC has not articulated a single alternative policy position or prescription of benefit to Nigerians. Condemning the APC and its policies has become its operating manifesto,” Mr Morka said.
He explained that major economic decisions taken by President Bola Tinubu, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of multiple foreign exchange windows, were necessary steps to rescue the country’s economy from collapse.
Mr Morka said the subsidy regime had for years placed a heavy burden on public finances, consuming trillions of naira annually while encouraging corruption, fuel smuggling and inefficiencies in the system.
He added that the reforms had helped redirect national resources to key sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, education and social development.
The APC spokesman acknowledged that economic reforms often come with short-term hardship but stressed that the measures were essential to build a stronger and more resilient economy.
“Economic reform is never cost-free anywhere in the world. The transient hardship experienced by Nigerians was an inevitable cost of reforms meant to build and guarantee a better future for all Nigerians,” he said.
Mr Morka maintained that the country’s economic outlook was already improving, citing recent growth figures and stronger external reserves.
“Our economy has rebounded and is expanding steadily. The country’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.4 per cent last year and is projected to expand by 5.5 per cent this fiscal year, with foreign reserves now exceeding $50 billion,” he stated.
He also pointed to government initiatives designed to cushion the effects of economic adjustments on citizens, including cash transfer programmes, student loan schemes and the rollout of compressed natural gas (CNG) initiatives to reduce transportation costs.
Mr Morka reaffirmed that the APC-led administration would remain focused on rebuilding the economy and expanding social investments to support vulnerable Nigerians.