Politics
‘APC Needs Reawakening Towards 2023 Polls’
The All Progressive Congress (APC), South Africa Chapter, said yesterday that the ruling party needs reawakening towards the 2023 general elections.
The National Chairman of APC, South Africa, Mr Bola Babarinde, disclosed this in a statement in Lagos, titled “Towards 2023, APC Needs Reawakening”.
Bolarinde said that the emergence of the APC in 2013 was necessitated by the need to counter the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria.
He said that it was in order to break this dominance that saw the coming together of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the new PDP – a faction of the then ruling PDP, to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The APC became a strong force and coupled with the fact that Nigerians had become disenchanted with the PDP, the APC coasted home to victory.
“However, cracks have started to appear in the unity of the APC as over time, selfish agendas, polarisation and factions have started to appear in the party.
“It has become glaring that many of those drawn into the APC do not share the aspirations to save Nigeria or to positively rebrand the country’s image globally.
“The leadership of the party has become polarised, with people aligning back to their initial PDP, CPC and ACN caucuses,” Bolarinde said.
He said the development has caused a conflict of interest, as the APC has taken the backstage.
According to him, the APC has become an orphan begging for attention, while those who are supposed to tend to its growth are more concerned with their inner caucus agendas.
Babarinde said: “Although, the APC has been lucky to have been given a second chance at governing Nigeria, no lessons were learned from the mistake of the first four years.
“Dedicated party members who had worked diligently towards the actualisation of the second term of office were again sidelined especially those in the Diaspora.
“The government has consistently failed to allow those in Diaspora contribute their quota towards the growth of the Nation.
“Even the most basic of requests by the Diaspora community for an enabling law that would allow them vote during national elections in Nigeria has become a subject of negative politicking till date.
“What does it take to pass such a positive legislation into law? – as doing this will give Nigerians outside the country a great sense of belonging.”
He added: “The nation is currently crawling on its promises to the people. We are too slow in implementing policies that will make life meaningful in our nation.
“All over the country, the story is the same – one of neglect and highest degree of insensitivity from the leadership. Basic things like hygienic water, good healthcare system and quality education are still difficult to achieve.
“Yes, we know Nigeria has been subjected to many years of neglect, and the rot in the system may not be easy to correct but our approach to correcting the rot is very slow.
“Things need to change in Nigeria and at a fast pace too. We propose that our leaders should take a ‘salary holiday’ as a sacrifice to move our nation forward.”
Babarinde urged party representatives across all levels to reduce their salaries and allowances “so the Nigerian populace will at least know our leaders are ready to sacrifice”.
He added that the current system of government is too expensive and unreasonable, saying nothing is wrong in a minister making use of his or her predecessor’s cars and office furniture?
The diaspora chairman said that Nigerian youths should be encouraged and assured of a better future by making them believe they are loved and there is concern about their future.
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
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