The presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday, unfolded his party’s plan for the country with a promise to run a transparent government.
Speaking at the launch of the party’s presidential campaign in Abuja, Mr Ribadu said if voted into power in April’s election, he will run an “accountable, competent, experienced and virile” administration.
Mr Ribadu promised to bring change to everyone’s doorsteps, adding that while the other parties cannot grasp the significance of the silent revolution going on around the world, his party will help advance it to the next logical level.
Building a modern Nigeria
In a nine-page speech entitled: “Our nation’s journey begins,” the ACN presidential candidate noted that, “if we fail to urgently realise the vision of a modern Nigeria, the echoes of currently muted, but potentially destabilising change will soon consume our land.” He added, “This is the season of change, and its sweet scent is in the air. It is expressed in the image of our young people, and their demand that the business of governance can no longer be business as usual. Today, we are the vehicle of change. We are, because we are disciplined and we put Nigeria first in all that we do.
“It has become fashionable for everyone to talk mechanically about change in the country today, even those who have inflicted the worst injury to our treasury and our values speak glibly about change. But for us, the distinction is clear as daylight.” Mr. Ribadu stressed that the leadership the country needs is the one that will create a united, modern, secured and just society that will meet the demands of the 21st century, saying such a leadership must be ready to address the three fundamental ills plaguing the country; corruption, insecurity and economic failure.
Speaking on the party’s vision on a new Nigeria, Mr Ribadu said his administration will be guided by an unalloyed loyalty to party principles and programmes.
According to him, “Our platform is a social justice compact targeted to the transformation and development of the nation on the ethos of distributive justice. The cardinal principles of the administration we shall run will be defined by a keen sense of humility in government, a touching sense of compassion and a clear sense of integrity in government. The current asymmetric ratio of 75% recurrent budget allocations over 25% capital allocations will become a thing of the past. This odd priority in budget making does not support the true development, and only fuels corruption.”
Economy is power
He promised that his government will revitalise the economic and social sectors of the country such that the chronic problems of power, infrastructure, social amenities and unemployment get the true attention they deserve.
He added that his government will not condone corruption, pointing out that it will actively disable the capacity of corruption to regenerate, through a cocktail of excellent laws, professional enforcement, engagements and vigorous public education. Mr Ribadu said to achieve all these lofty goals Nigerians must vote out the government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he said has done more harm than good to the country.
“As we are here, we are running a generating set. I slept in my house without electricity, even though it is very close to the Villa. Worst still, the government of PDP does not keep it promises, even to itself. In the face of its shoddy report card of abysmal failure at governance, the PDP can at least be self-respecting to excuse itself from the dignified gathering of the true apostles of change,” he said.
He said since the ACN has exhibited evidence of competent leadership in the four states it is administering, it has clearly earned the historical responsibility of leading the mission of change.
“Our challenge now is to reproduce that example of competent leadership at the centre when we take over the reins of power and form the next government come May 29. Nigeria is in dire need of transformation that is happening at the ACN’s states,” he remarked.
Our mission
The Chairman of the party, Bisi Akande, represented by the Deputy National Chairman, Boss Mustapha, said the party organised the colloquium for its flag-bearer to provide an avenue through which it will define its political philosophy and present to Nigerians its thought, ideas and policy options on fundamental issues of national development.
“This, we intend to do through concrete political engineering and consciously redirecting the nation’s politics from that of big men to that of big ideas. Our first step towards doing that is to come up with concrete and practical measures to eradicate absolute poverty, secure life and property, expand capacity in science and technology, facilitate and promote massive public and private investment in agriculture, housing and rural development among other critical areas of national development,” he said.
In his contribution, Adams Oshiomhole, Edo State governor faulted the inconsistent fiscal policies of the federal government, saying such policies send conflicting signals to manufacturers and do not protect the local industries.
He said, “In the morning, you prohibit the importation of item X and in the afternoon you legalise the importation. By the following day, you have changed the policy again. So it is difficult for those doing business to formulate long-term policies on the basis of the policies that government turns out every day. I think the challenge for the now and the foreseeable future is that we must put in place well-thought-out policies that would put Nigeria back to work. We must reclaim those industries that have been shut down.” Mr Oshiomhole noted that job creation is key to development saying, “when we report on the performance of the economy, we are criminally silent on job creation.” He noted that when people have jobs with decent pay,
they will not only look after themselves but after their families. As a former labour leader the governor expressed regrets that government after government close down factories, leading to the loss of over fifty thousand jobs in the textile factories in Lagos alone.
An endorsement for Ribadu
On his part, the former governor of Lagos State, Ahmed Tinubu, stressed that Nigerians have a new hope in the ACN which aims to sweep out the dreadful PDP government.
He said, “The PDP has no agenda for our country; the infrastructure is not there. Today, we cannot travel by road any longer. Ours will be a generation shift. Our presidential candidate is able, courageous, competent and well educated. They accuse him of stepping on many toes. But he stepped on many toes because the toes are infested with corruption.
‘‘I was the most haunted by the Obasanjo jack-boot democracy. Mallam Ribadu, the then EFCC chairman, investigated me severally. I was invited to EFCC. I was there from 10am to 7pm. But with the EFCC searchlight, they did not find anything against me and Ribadu did not manufacture any case against me, even though his boss wanted me nailed. This is the kind of man we must vote for because PDP is a blackmailer, a liar,” he said.
The colloquium was attended by the governors of Lagos (Raji Fashola), Edo (Mr Oshiomhole), Ekiti (Kayode Fayemi) and Osun (Rauf Aregbesola) states. Others were former chairman of PDP, Audu Ogbeh; National Secretary of the party, Lawan Shuaibu; former governors of Jigawa and Anambra states, Saminu Turaki and Chris Ngige; National Vice Chairman for southwest, James Kolawole; and Yusuf Alli, among others.
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