A day to the national convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party has reeled out its achievements, even as it vows to ensure that it wins future elections in the country.
Chairman, National Convention Media Subcommittee and Governor of Nasarawa State, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, made this known during a pre-convention press briefing at the national secretariat of the party on Friday.
Tracing the history of the emergence of the party, Engineer Sule said the merger of the legacy parties and a splinter group of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was designed to give the country a new lease of political life.
According to the media subcommittee chairman, given the circumstances of the country brought about by 16 years of PDP’s mis-governance, when the APC took over power in 2015, it met the country in an economic recession.
He pointed out that the APC came with a comprehensive manifesto and plans to address the several issues that are dire to Nigerians but have been neglected by the PDP government.
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“Many states could not pay salaries or settle their bills submitted by contractors and were not able to ensure the provision of basic services to meet the expectations of millions of Nigerians. This actually was what we inherited from the PDP,” he stated.
Highlighting the breakthroughs recorded by the APC so far, Engineer Sule said on assumption of office in 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari, through dint of hard work and competent economic management, moved the country out of the recession caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Nigeria was one of the earliest countries to overcome the recession-induced by the COVID-19 pandemic last year,” he said.
Engineer Sule listed some of the party’s achievements to include job creation, infrastructure development, agriculture and food production, among others.
“The APC administration in the three tiers of government in this country have embarked on projects and programs that have a huge difference in enhancing the wellbeing of Nigerians.
“We have excelled in the provision of infrastructure, transportation, power supply, irrigation, agriculture, education and healthcare. The more than 90 self-sufficiency in rice production today is a feat every Nigerian should be proud of,” he stated.
Engineer Sule emphasized that a major contribution of the ruling party in the economy of the country is the recapitalisation of the capital market, which in 2015, was valued at about N8 trillion but as of now, have risen to over N25 trillion.
He added that, only recently, mostly due to the ability of the APC administration to provide an enabling environment, the president commissioned the largest fertilizer plant that will produce 3m tonnes per annum by the Dangote Group.
“That is the largest in Africa and the second-largest in the world,” Engineer Sule said.
This is even as he said a 600,000 barrel oil refinery, which could end fuel scarcity in the country, is also about to be commissioned.
While fielding questions from journalists, the media subcommittee chairman, reiterated the resolve of the party to go on consensus for all elective positions during the convention, stressing however that other options remain available to the APC if the consensus arrangement fails.
He used the opportunity to appreciate President Buhari for providing the needed leadership to the party, as well as the Chairman, Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, for taking the party to greater heights.
