Tinubu: Democracy Must Address Poverty, Create Opportunities

*APC  to launch e-register, institute of progressive studies, says Ganduje

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has stressed that democracy must address poverty through the provision of job opportunities for youths and quality education for all Nigerian children.
Speaking yesterday while receiving members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC)  in Lagos, the president declared that democracy has faced challenges in the past, but said Nigeria’s future remains bright.

“I am committed to supporting a strong and ideologically-determined democracy that is progressive, inclusive, and focused on eliminating poverty while providing quality education for our children.
”Collaboration with various government arms is crucial, and I commend the leadership of our party for working hard to promote these essential ideals,” he said.
 Tinubu expressed support for the establishment of the National Institute of Progressive Studies by the party.

He noted that the institute is expected to conduct diligent research and educate all party members on the principles of democracy and good governance while providing a distinct identity for the party.
The president called on the leadership of the party to target more youths and women in its e-registration and digital membership validation exercise scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.

”I stand solidly with you in the advancement of the progressive ideological stance of our party and we will pursue it with vigour,” he stated.
 Tinubu thanked members of the party for the overwhelming show of support for him during the campaigns, the electoral victory, and with the affirmation of his presidency by the Supreme Court.

”It has been a while since we have had the opportunity to come together, especially since the Supreme Court ruling. I had hoped for a gathering, but the demanding tasks of my office that we fought for have called for increased focus, dedication, and time,” the president said.

Expressing concern over the alarming figure of out-of-school children in the country, Tinubu declared:  ”We must address this issue by establishing more schools, recruiting teachers, and providing at least one meal a day for the school children, aligning with the progressive ideology we aim to pursue.”

Earlier in his speech, the National Chairman of the APC,  Abdullahi Ganduje informed the president that plans were being put in place by the National Working Committee (NWC) to ensure the success of the party in the coming bye-elections into national and state legislative houses in February 2024.
”We assure Your Excellency that under our leadership and with your consent, strategies have been put in place to win the support of our people and secure all the seats available for the electoral contest,” he said.

Speaking with newsmen after the visit, APC National Chairman disclosed that the party has perfected plans to launch its electronic registration to expand its reach as well as develop a reliable database.

Ganduje also revealed plans by the party to establish a National Institute of Progressive Studies.
He said the NWC was in Lagos for two reasons; to felicitate with the President for the Christmas/New Year festivities and to commiserate with him over the deaths of the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and former Speaker Ghali Umar Na’Abba.
On what Nigerians should expect from the ruling APC in the new year, Ganduje said both the party and the government will do more for Nigerians in the new year.

He said: “Nigerians should expect more from the government of the federation and the APC as an institution. You have seen how we have started forging ahead in order to increase the coverage of the party in terms of having more states for the party, more members of National Assembly, State Assemblies, and we are continuing to do that.

“I believe we have some innovations for the party, because now we’re introducing e-registration of our own political party, where our members will be electronically registered so that we have a database that we can rely upon, that we can plan, that we can be able to expand the party.

“Also, we have in our programme for the establishment of National Institute of Progressive Studies, so that we enlighten our members, even members of the public in Nigeria, on the doctrine of democracy, on the issues of internal democracy, issue of avoiding hate speeches, and also issues of abiding by the rules of the law pertaining to election and other processes.

“So, you can see that this institution will work with the government in terms of coming up with appropriate policies that are conducive for democracy.”