On behalf of every South-East Young Progressives in this arena and across this vast country, and on behalf of all those who want to identify with the progressive movement, I want to reassert our unflinching vote of confidence in the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
As a Youth Leader and a concerned youth, I know the beauty of democracy is you don’t have to be somebody to say something, as long as you have something to say to somebody. And this is the only political party in this country that gives the youths a voice at such a grand stage, and that gives us great hopes as to what will be obtainable in the APC.
The Youths are the energetic constituency ready to flood this party. But we are here not as servants but as partners. We are not here to work for you; we are here to work with you. We will help build this party, so that together we can rebuild this country. We are poised to take part in remaking this country, so that we may take charge in driving it.
Contrary to the belief in some quarters that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to hit the ground running four months after inauguration, the integrity quotient of Mr President and his aura phenomenon alone has so far performed creditably in the following key areas;
1.Security (Combat Boko haram)
2. Tackling corruption (Return of looted funds)
3. Improvement in the power sector
4. Foreign Aid/Support
I’m going to break down these four points for us to understand perfectly the effect Buhari’s regime has had on Nigeria so far.
It’s been about four months now since President Buhari assumed office, and I can tell you that there has been motion, and there has been movement!
SECURITY;
We all know what we have been going through with Boko haram, militants and other insecurity issues affecting the country. So far, this regime has done it’s best to invigorate the fight against Boko haram by rallying a regional and global front against the terror group. Today, the United States has pledged $5 million to the fight against Boko haram, in addition to other material support. This is apart from the support that has been pledged by the G7 to strengthen Nigeria’s efforts to quell the insurgency?.
FOREIGN AID/SUPPORT:
Through his, and that of VP, Yemi Osinbanjo’s foreign trips, he has helped in resurrecting Nigeria’s reputation as a crucial player in the African and international scene. Among Nigerians at home and the diaspora, PMB has garnered favourable reception right from by his inaugural speech, where he vowed to respect rule of law, as exemplified by his subsequent call for the protection of the rights of former officials of his predecessor’s regime. His resolve to look into issues of human right abuse as raised by Amnesty International, has adequately bolstered his global recognition as a democratic leader.
TACKLING CORRUPTION (RETURN OF LOOTED FUNDS):
One thing has always been the bane of the power sector in Nigeria and that is CORRUPTION in the system. With the billions of dollars that Jonathan’s government sunk into the power sector and with little or nothing to show for it in the long run, Nigeria has always been seen as a cursed nation as they were so blessed by GOD both in human and natural resources but misused by the greedy few to keep other Nigerians in perpetual poverty.
Below are the recently looted funds discovered by this administration;
Probe of $2.1billion illegally withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account without recourse to the National Economic Council(NEC). It was recorded that of the $2.1billion, only $1billion was paid to oil marketers as fuel subsidy and about $1billion unaccounted for.
Although, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala claimed that the ex-President approved the spending of $1billion, He (President Jonathan) had no right to do so.
?Whereabouts of $4billion taxes and dividends paid by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited between 2009 and 2014.
How the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) spent N3.8trillion in three years.
The implementation of the Treasury Singular Account, which will tremendously put in check the conduit pipes through which public funds are looted.
The imminent prosecution of those who have in various ways and degrees misappropriated public funds which they were meant to hold in trust for the people.
IMPROVEMENT IN THE POWER SECTOR:
Prior to the advent of the current APC government in the centre, ‘NEPA’ as it is been known and addressed has always been a disappointment to the Nigerian citizens. Which gave birth to their hitherto acronym “Never Expect Power Always”. So with the poor power supply to the Nigerian citizens, we already concluded that we will never expect power always from NEPA and as such, it was a normal thing to be left in total darkness by this company at the time.
However, when NEPA rebranded into Power Holding Company of Nigeria PHCN, again Nigerians concluded that their acronym fits very well as they were only releasing electric power to the general public at their own pace since they were HOLDING the power from the general public. So it was never a crime to be denied adequate power supply by the power holding company when it existed and Nigerians started holding their individual power too as the generator importation business boomed during their regime.
So when the power company was recently bundled by the federal government and private investors came into play in the system, Nigerians hived a sigh of relief that at last the poor power problem would be over soon. But alas, the result was the same if not worse as it has always been the case with their predecessors (NEPA and PHCN).
So, my fellow Nigerian Youths, since the government of President Buhari took over, what has been the electric power supply situation in your location? I’d let you be the judge of that as I have witnessed tremendous improvement in my zone.
In conclusion, I’d like to urge us, youths of Ndigbo and entire Nigeria to be part of the change Nigeria requires and participate actively, as we are key to making the country a better place.
We in The South-East APC YOUTH FORUM, surely most unbiased Nigerians are very proud of President Buhari and the vigour he has shown in governance, the kind of vigour we did not see in the immediate past administration that was presided over by a far younger man.
As we work to complement each other’s efforts, let’s remember that a political party must be an institution of democracy not the demonstration of a selfish ambition. So we, the young in age and at heart should be ready to plunge into the sea to rescue the country and its future?.
Thank You!
Barr Obi Mac Oscar, KSM.
National Secretary, APC YOUTH FORUM.
Leader, South-East APYF.
bmacobi@yahoo.com
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