The All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared that it is strengthening its nationwide dominance under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, citing recent congress successes and control of 30 state governorships as evidence of growing political acceptability.
The National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, who spoke to State House Correspondents after his meeting with the President at the State House, Abuja, declared that President Tinubu’s goal is to build a truly pan-Nigerian political party with a broad national outlook.
Emphasising President Tinubu’s commitment to broadening the APC’s national footprint and consolidating its structures across the country, Senator Ajibola Bashiru said his meeting with the President was to brief him on ongoing party activities.
He noted that the discussions focused on the successful conduct of ward and local government congresses, as well as preparations for the forthcoming state congresses scheduled for next Tuesday.
He said the developments in the APC reflect a party that is steadily growing stronger and more cohesive nationwide.
“Just to give an overview of what is happening in the party, particularly as regards success recorded at the ward and local government congresses and the preparation for the state congresses coming up next week Tuesday and to say that the party is waxing stronger,” the APC National Secretary said.
Growing Political Acceptability
Ajibola stated that the party views the recent developments as clear evidence of the APC’s growing political acceptability across the country and a reflection of the political acumen of President Tinubu.
He further noted that with expanding support in regions such as the North-Central and South-South, the APC now commands a dominant position nationwide.
According to him, the party currently has 30 state governors, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has three, and the Accord Party, Labour Party, and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have one governor each.
“I think we saw it coming. The goal of our leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is to build a pan-Nigerian political party. So we have a situation whereby, across the geopolitical zones in Nigeria, we have very strong, presence and with the addition of Governor Fintiri to the APC today, I think it’s only one state in the entire Northeast that is not under the canopy of the APC.
“Of course, North-Central, South-South, we have total. So in Nigeria today, we have 30 governors in the APC, three in the PDP, one in Accord, one in Labor Party, and one in APGA. So we believe that this is a testimony to the political acceptability of the APC, and the political sagacity of the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he explained.
Opposition Protest
Reacting to the opposition’s protest, the APC National Secretary dismissed the critics as engaging in what he described as “a circus display.”
He argued that it was untenable for individuals without any electoral mandate to demand the reversal of a law duly enacted by the appropriate legislative authority.
The National Secretary said such actions reflect ignorance of democratic processes and a lack of patriotism.
He advised the opposition to return to the grassroots and reconnect with Nigerians if they still hope to regain electoral credibility and viability.
“Then two, I also find them as a committee of circus displayers, because when a law has been made by the appropriate legislative body, then you have a bunch of people who don’t even have a single elected person saying that that law should be canceled. I think it’s more of speaking out of ignorance and out of lack of patriotism to the Nigerian people.
“They should go back to the trenches, they should go back to Nigerian people and sell, if they have anything still remain in terms of credibility for them, to get electoral viability,” Senator Bashir added.
The APC Chieftain further maintained that President Tinubu’s administration has, in the past two and a half years, blocked major financial leakages that previously drained national resources
“Why I was laughing was that they were not crying for the average Nigerian people, they were not crying for development of our people. They were crying because of loss of privilege, loss of opportunity to continue to plunder the resources of the Nigerian people.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the past two and a half years has blocked all the leakages where some people are milking Nigeria dry. The growth of our foreign reserves from about $3 billion to $49 billion did not come out of the blues, it’s not magic. It’s because all those cesspool of corruption have actually been blocked.
“The petroleum subsidy profiteers were also part of them, and that’s why they were crying. But as they were crying, Nigerian people are happy because our country is getting better economically, our currency is performing better than possibly any other currency all over the world. The food inflation, which was overhead, about 35%, has reduced to about 15%. So salutarily the country is performing,” the APC National Secretary added.