The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has said the party’s target in 2027 general elections will be to win more states and ensure the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking Tuesday in Abuja at the maiden policy round-table organised by APC Professionals Forum to mark the one year anniversary of the President Tinubu-led administration, Ganduje said Nigeria’s economy has been transformed into a cerdit-based consumer economy that will improve agriculture, with emphasis on dry season farming, with positive impact on food security, food price, and enabling infrastructure, access to education, among others.
On the target of the party for 2027 general elections, Ganduje said: “Even though it is not yet an election period, we are reinvigorating that party to ensure that come 2027, we will retain and get new state governor’s, as well as Mr President to secure another mandate to continue with his government’s policies and programmes.
“We have also constituted at the national level a Reconciliation Committee that would reconcile all aggrieved Party members, and such committee will be established at the state, local government and ward levels,” he said.
While enumerating the achievements of the current administration, he said: “Now that the economy is shifting towards renewable and sustainable energy sources, the use of cheap and clean Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has now become a reality under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administartion.
“On infrastructure, Mr. President has approved the construction/completion and rehabilitation of several road projects across the country to include the Kano – Abuja Road, Kano – Eastern Bypass Road Project, the 700 Km Lagos – Calabar Coastal Road, the 1000 Km Badagry – Sokoto Road, the 3500 Units Renewed Hope Housing Cities and Estates now being built in 13 states of the country, for starters.
“In the next few days, the Students Loan Fund will become operational, and Nigerian youth will now have easier access to higher education by applying for funds from the scheme.
“On power, I have observed the increased transmission capacity of the country that now peaks at 14000 megawatts. On the party, we are gradually restructuring our party into a truly grassroots progressive party.
“We have directed our State Chapters to liaise with their respective governors and other stakeholders to ensure that we have full-fledged, functional offices in every political ward and state to enable our members across the country to have symbolic representation in their neighborhood,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Chairman Board of Trustees (BOT), APC Professionals Forum and former Bauchi state governor, Isa Yuguda, who earlier oppose the removal of fuel subsidy said: “Indeed, the President has today been proved right with the manner petrol importation has gone down by 50% since June 2023 and it is almost certain to go down more in a few months when the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery begin to produce PMS locally as well as the impending resumption of production at the Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries.”
According to him, a recent study also showed that inspite of the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, Nigeria still paid billions of naira for fuel subsidy even though in reality, domestic fuel consumption was very low.
“If any Nigerian is still in doubt about how payment of subsidy has over the years strained the country’s resources, they must have seen how the subnationals now receive more than double what they used to get from Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
“The reform-minded Tinubu administration also unified the exchange rates which inevitably sent those benefiting from arbitrage out of business. And of course, it did not take before Nigeria began to reap the benefits as the economy grew by 3.46% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with 2.54% in the preceding quarter. Also Capital importation was up by 66% in Q4 of 2023 compared to a 33% decline in thr previous quarter.”
