A presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, has said addressing insecurity in Nigeria and the faulty reward system in the APC would be vital parts of his agenda, if elected president.
Governor Fayemi disclosed this in Ibadan, while wooing delegates, leaders and members of the Oyo State APC, asserting that to retain the commitment and passion of party members, the party must fix its reward system such that those who work are rewarded with party patronages.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) also described a situation whereby longstanding party members are discarded for moneybags who suddenly show up and are handed party tickets as detrimental to the sustenance of the party.
He asserted that amending the reward system was the most critical improvement the party needed to address.
The governor revealed that the party needed to develop a successor generation platform where the young ones in the party would see a pipeline in the leadership ladder and know that if they exhibit the right values being promoted by the party, their turn would come and they would be able to serve in various capacities of the party and not be discarded after doing all the work because some moneybags showed up.
Fayemi said: “I believe our country is at a critical juncture and as a committed foundation member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), I know where the shoe pinches our members. I know the gaps that exist in the party that we need to address in order to maintain this solid party that we have, which still needs a lot of improvement.”
He identified security as one of the aspects he would focus on, if elected president, saying to effectively tackle insecurity, the nation’s internal security architecture needs to be decentralised to involve state police, local government police, campus police, etc.
The governor who noted that the federal police was over stretched, pointed out the need to retool the nation’s military to respond to threats, and advocated the activation of local security, especially the engagement of one million policemen in the country.
He said he would address inequality, youth restiveness and provide jobs for young people, if elected president.
Fayemi said: “Whether you call it multilevel policing, state policing, what I am concerned about is we must have security that is devolved at all levels in which control is also retained at the local level.”
He further decried contradiction in the nation’s constitution such that the Nigerian government issues mining licenses whereas the state owns the land where the mining is done.
Collaboration
He called for collaboration between the federal government, state government and local government.
APC chieftains who spoke at the meeting described Fayemi as a detribalised Nigerian, whose scorecard speaks volumes, both within and outside the shores of the country.
A former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Iyiola Oladokun, said Fayemi had always brought to bear his rich education, intellect, exposure, experience in positions occupied and had proved himself as minister, governor and chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), where all governors attested to his able leadership.
Similarly, a governorship aspirant in Oyo State on the platform of the APC, Senator Teslim Folarin, lauded Fayemi for his achievements.
He said Fayemi fits the bill to address present challenges facing the nation and assured that he would win the party’s presidential ticket.
Confidence Okwuchi
