APC solidly behind Tinubu’s reforms- Uzodinma

The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) on Tuesday declared strong support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s ongoing economic and social reforms, saying that the reforms are beginning to “yield fruits.”

The President had on his assumption of office, introduced policy reforms, including stopping fuel subsidy, a policy that had been sustained by previous administrations for nearly 50 years, with damning social and economic repercussions.

The President also eliminated the multiple exchange rates in a bid to strengthen the naira but ended up devaluing the currency, with the implications of high inflation, which saw the inflation rising to about 34%, before the recent decline to about 24%.

The reforms also triggered a period of significant currency volatility, affecting economic stability, while also creating uncertainty for investors, impacting Nigerians negatively, with serious social dislocations, as many now spend about 50% of their income on transportation

The cost of living crisis has also continued on an upward trajectory and is very acute, while also seeing more social malaise, including kidnapping, terrorism, and banditry, amongst others.

In 2024, it was reported that Nigerians spent as much as N2 trillion to secure relatives from the hands of bandits, as ransom paid to the kidnappers.

Read Also: Food prices’ drop eases cost-of-living crisis

But Hope Uzodinma, Imo State Governor and Chairman of the All Progressive Governors Forum, while speaking after the party’s caucus meeting held at the Presidential Villa, said the party is however “not unaware of the hardships associated with the various reforms that are going on” but assured that “gradually and incrementally, dividends and benefits of those reforms are beginning to manifest”

Uzodinma said the party will “ continue to support the President until when we have dealt with the preliminary challenges of those reforms”

According to him, “ We are now better off in terms of revenue generation, getting more money for infrastructures and other economic dynamics”

He disclosed that the party which is scheduled to host the second National Executive Committee meeting, since the inception of the Tinubu administration, later today, in Abuja, has put in place, strategies to strengthen internal democracy and inclusivity

“APC is the party to beat, in Africa. As you are aware, the party has established the APC institute that will serve as the intellectual arm of the party, to serve as manpower building”

Speaking on achievements in the area of security, Uzodinma declared that the President has done well in arresting insecurity as areas hitherto declared as no-go areas have become more peaceful, while farmers are going back to their farms

“So the party is focused and the President also has done very, very well especially in terms of managing the insecurity in the country, as testified today by one of our members, from Zamfara state where there is now relative peace and many are going about their normal activities and farmers have gone back to their farms.

“In the South East, he has done very well. If you recall, many years ago, it was even impossible to visit the areas. Marriages were not being done in rural areas, but with the way this government has managed insecurity, people can now go home. Even though there are still some skeletal issues in some places of insecurity in very remote areas, there are lots of improvements.

On the criticisms about the lack of internal democracy, he said APC is a very large party, adding “We have our internal mechanisms for dealing with all the issues and demonstrating democracy. we have different organs of the party.

“At the polling units, Ward, Local government, state, zonal and up to the national levels, we have the party executives and everything has been done democratically, he cited the case of the ongoing preparation for selection of party candidates for the Anambra state election.

“Aspirants have started buying our forms and at the end of the day, we will follow due process.

“So, I don’t think there is anybody alleging anything that we are not Democratic enough, after all, why are we winning these elections, is it not because we have demonstrated high capacity and recognition of democracy, the party is becoming more popular”