The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has inferred that its administration is still crawling after two years into a four-year tenure that debuted on May 29, 2023.
The APC national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, made this inference while addressing journalists at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday, the mid-term anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Asked when Nigerians would start benefiting from the policies of the current government that people were crying about, the APC spokesperson said, “The child is crawling. Now, I don’t know what age. I can’t say.
“I think it varies from one child to another. Some kids are faster than others. So they crawl quicker than some, but irrespective of the time they crawl, they crawl. Children crawl, and children are meant to crawl before they walk.
“So, I don’t think it’s an assessment of whether a crawling child is doing well. A child who is crawling does exactly what a child is expected to do: crawl before walking. So if a child is crawling, if that’s your child, I think you should encourage the child to crawl.”
He said that in the two years of his administration, President Tinubu has enacted a vision and proclaimed a mission to tackle problems that were created generationally in the country.
Morka noted that all the difficulties discussed today did not fall from the sky as they were long in coming, saying all the presidents who came before Tinubu preferred to postpone the doomsday simply.
“We didn’t just wake up in the last two years to realise that fuel subsidy was a destructive device in our country. We didn’t. We’ve always known that, and no president has come in the last 15 – 20 years who hasn’t removed the fuel subsidy. Because when you think back, fuel was not at the point that President Tinubu met it back in 1999.
“It wasn’t. The way they did it was far, far lower. It was cheaper to buy fuel in 1999, regarding the local economy, than when the hurricane hit this country.
This means that other presidents were, in fact, gradually removing subsidies. But let me tell you the difference between this president and the rest of them.
“Other presidents who intervened in the fuel subsidy regime did so to save a bit of money and to free up some money to get their job done.
They didn’t do it because they were interested in solving the structural problems that beset our economy. They didn’t do that because they needed to.
“So when the opposition simply bandy stories around, oh things have happened, rice has gone up and all that, that’s why the president is on the top, because he knew that was going to come and he was willing to stake highly so our country can have that shot at not just recovery, but some serious foundational repair that can then support rapid growth and prosperity down the road,” he added.
Highlighting the Tinubu administration’s achievements in security, the APC spokesperson said, “ You know, as the National Security Adviser presented at the party national summit the other day, about 13,543 terrorists have been neutralised in the last few years.
“Think about it. 13,000 human beings, neutralised. Who are these people who are willing to be killed because they are looking to kill innocent people? What drives them? We must get into their psychology to understand where they’re coming from.
“…They have rescued nearly 10,000 hostages. You know, more than 17,000, nearly 18,000 bandits arrested and are in custody. When you add all that together, Nigerians should ask, Where are these people coming from? As they’re killing them and arresting them and detaining them, how come they continue to, you know, I mean, populate? Where are they coming from? And we need to look at those threats and address those on the matter.”
On the economy, he said: “The administration’s relentless war against oil theft has helped boost oil production, now standing upwards of 1.8mbpd and surpassing the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC’s) quota for the first time in recent history.
“Massive reforms and investments in oil and gas sectors totalling over $8 billion, improved the ease-of-doing-business in the country, revitalised the stock market for enhanced profitability, and attracted foreign direct investments (FDIs) of over $50 billion.
“The President Tinunu-led timely upward review of workers’ pay and approval of N70,000 minimum wage and corps members’ allowance of N77,000; the introduction of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), aside over 900,000 beneficiaries of Presidential Loan and Grant scheme, attest to its unwavering commitment to citizens’ welfare.”
