The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC cannot be held responsible for the crisis rocking the major opposition political parties.
Yilwatda was referring to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, Labour Party (LP), among others facing hiccups over internal crises.
Speaking Wednesday night during a live nationwide media chat alongside the party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, Yilwatda said if the ADC and other opposition parties lack internal democracy, the APC should not be blamed.
He said: “So, if they don’t have internal democracy, we have one. If they can’t manage internal democracy, we have a process and we do it.
“The ADC and other opposition political parties should stop blaming the APC for their failure. Why can’t the ADC have a convention to elect David Mark and his caucus? Now that ADC members are aggrieved because of the way they came in, they want to blame us.”
Speaking on why President Tinubu should not be blamed, Senator Basiru also questioned whether President Tinubu is the one instructing ADC and others to violate the Court of Appeal’s clear directive not to create a fait accompli that could affect pending court proceedings.
“And at that purported convention, people that are in litigation with you, contesting leadership, you say you have expelled them from the process. The question is, where is the hand of APC in that regard? And some other political party, like even the Peoples Democratic Party.
“The faction of the Democratic Party, they appeared at the Supreme Court too, and the Supreme Court refused to grant them a stay of execution, and said we have granted accelerated hearing of their proceedings, and put a date for them to be able to abridge themselves and come within that regard.”
Basiru cautioned opposition leaders against discrediting the judiciary and democratic institutions merely to advance the interests of a few individuals.
He added, “Before the PDP Ibadan, Amala Convention in Ibadan, there was a subsisting judgment of the Federal Court that said ‘do not go ahead with the convention’.
“Some eminent voices within the Peoples Democratic Party, like former Senate President Bukola Saraki, said ‘let us listen to what the courts are saying, let us reconcile’. But, they refused to listen. You must be able to show that these individuals are conducting their affairs within the framework.
“So as far as we are concerned, the job of the APC is clear. We intend to create a pan-Nigerian political party that resonates with the grassroots of our people, that is able to articulate policies and programs that are in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
We will not be distracted by people whose objective is just to continue to appeal to base sentiments that are not rooted in fact.
“Our party, we have learnt our lesson, and we paid dearly for lack of following due process in Zamfara, when all our elected officials were sacked by the court. We did not cry wolf. In 2019, we did not have candidates in the election in Rivers State. And then the question you ask yourself, is that those elements that precipitated those crises, that our party paid dearly for, are now the ones in ADC. So if ADC has decided to attract infections.”
On the economy, Yilwatda said the painful, bold, and necessary economic reforms introduced by President Tinubu are beginning to produce positive outcomes.
“Mr. President took that bold step to make that change that was needed for us to have development in the country, and he did it. Today, we are seeing the benefits. There are macroeconomic improvements, there is more revenue to the states, to the local government, and to the federal government.
If you see the infrastructure being built at the state level, you know it is massive. Most of the cities are built up, and they are not borrowing again; they are not breaking bonds to borrow to implement those infrastructures.
It is because the increase in revenue through that change in policy has led to all those changes that we are seeing.
“And we have economic growth also, from a tax surplus for the first time. Last year, we had a tax surplus of over six trillion naira. These are tax surpluses that we have never seen in many years. We also saw that GDP is growing. Last year, we crossed almost 4% GDP growth over the year. Our foreign reserves have seen almost 50 trillion. So we are seeing a lot of improvement in the macroeconomy of the country.
“What is left now is to work on the micro, so the impact can be felt by the generation of Nigerians. But you cannot improve the micro without working on the macro. The numbers, the figures, the macro are good. They are green. Nigeria is cruising well in terms of macro; the numbers are good.
He also said efforts are also underway to strengthen the micro-economy through investments in human capital development, including student loans, support for vulnerable households, and other intervention programmes.
“These are things the federal government is doing to ease the pains that come with these reforms. We acknowledge the pains; it is real, it is factual, and it is a part we must go through as a country.
We are doing our best, but we have not covered everybody yet. However, we are working to reach as many Nigerians as possible.
“We are also encouraging corporate organizations to come in and support, because they are also beneficiaries of a growing economy. We expect the private sector to reinvest and support vulnerable people as well.”
Responding to questions on the issue of insecurity, the APC National Secretary called for cooperation among Nigerians and other stakeholders.
Basiru said: “Let us separate facts from fiction. On security, progress has been made, even though challenges remain. In the last few weeks, about 350 suspects linked to insecurity have been prosecuted. The United States has also commended these efforts.
“The nature of insecurity, especially in the North-East and parts of the North-West, is complex, involving insurgents who blend into civilian populations, making identification difficult. But under President Tinubu, all these are being addressed.”
He also cautioned Nigerians against politisation of the insecurity issue, saying communities must cooperate with the government because insecurity affects everyone.
“Non-kinetic approaches, including community engagement and development, are helping address the problem. There is also a need for stronger coordination with state governments on security reforms, including discussions around state policing.
“The current structure of the Nigeria Police Force is insufficient for the size of the country, with only about 6,550 police formations nationwide. This makes effective coverage difficult.
There is therefore a strong case for decentralisation and reforms that include zonal autonomy and improved operational capacity.
“We must also avoid politicising insecurity. Instead, we should focus on practical solutions, including cutting off funding sources for criminal groups. Security must be treated as a collective national responsibility, not a political tool.
“The federal government under President Tinubu has done a lot and is still taking steps to tackle the insecurity challenge. But there is improvement from what it used to be in the past.”
Continuing, the party’s scribe said: “Our party, we have learnt our lesson, and we paid dearly for lack of following due process in Zamfara, when all our elected officials were sacked by the court. We did not cry wolf. In 2019, we did not have candidates in the election in Rivers State. And then the question you ask yourself, is that those elements that precipitated those crises, that our party paid dearly for, are now the ones in ADC. So if ADC has decided to attract infections,”
…Economy
On the economy, Yilwatda said the painful, bold, and necessary economic reforms introduced by President Tinubu were beginning to produce positive outcomes, even as he acknowledged the pains that come with it.
“Mr. President took that bold step to make that change that was needed for us to have development in the country, and he did it. Today, we are seeing the benefits. There are macroeconomic improvements, there is more revenue to the states, to the local government, and to the federal government.
“If you see the infrastructure being built at the state level, you know it is massive. Most of the cities are built up, and they are not borrowing again; they are not breaking bonds to borrow to implement those infrastructures.
“It is because the increase in revenue through that change in policy has led to all those changes that we are seeing.
“And we have economic growth also, from a tax surplus for the first time. Last year, we had a tax surplus of over six trillion naira. These are tax surpluses that we have never seen in many years. We also saw that GDP is growing. Last year, we crossed almost 4% GDP growth over the year. Our foreign reserves have seen almost 50 trillion. So we are seeing a lot of improvement in the macroeconomy of the country.
“What is left now is to work on the micro, so the impact can be felt by the generation of Nigerians. But you cannot improve the micro without working on the macro. The numbers, the figures, the macro are good. They are green. Nigeria is cruising well in terms of macro; the numbers are good.
“He also said efforts are also underway to strengthen the micro-economy through investments in human capital development, including student loans, support for vulnerable households, and other intervention programmes.
“These are things the federal government is doing to ease the pains that come with these reforms. We acknowledge the pains; it is real, it is factual, and it is a part we must go through as a country. We are doing our best, but we have not covered everybody yet. However, we are working to reach as many Nigerians as possible.
“We are also encouraging corporate organizations to come in and support, because they are also beneficiaries of a growing economy. We expect the private sector to reinvest and support vulnerable people as well,” Yilwatda added.
…On insecurity
Responding to questions on the issue of insecurity, the APC National Secretary called for cooperation among Nigerians and other stakeholders.
Basiru said: “Let us separate facts from fiction. On security, progress has been made, even though challenges remain. In the last few weeks, about 350 suspects linked to insecurity have been prosecuted. The United States has also commended these efforts.
“The nature of insecurity, especially in the North-East and parts of the North-West, is complex, involving insurgents who blend into civilian populations, making identification difficult. But under President Tinubu, all these are being addressed.”
He also cautioned Nigerians against politicisation of insecurity, saying communities must cooperate with government because insecurity affects everyone.
“Non-kinetic approaches, including community engagement and development, are helping address the problem. There is also a need for stronger coordination with state governments on security reforms, including discussions around state policing.
“The current structure of the Nigeria Police Force is insufficient for the size of the country, with only about 6,550 police formations nationwide. This makes effective coverage difficult.
“There is therefore a strong case for decentralisation and reforms that include zonal autonomy and improved operational capacity.
“We must also avoid politicising insecurity. Instead, we should focus on practical solutions, including cutting off funding sources for criminal groups. Security must be treated as a collective national responsibility, not a political tool.
“The federal government under President Tinubu has done a lot and is still taking steps to tackle the insecurity challenge. But there is improvement from what it used to be in the past,” Basiru said.
