Day Buhari, APC stakeholders sat to take decisions to move party, nation forward

*President proud of achievements of government in 2 years

*New Ministers, Boards of Parastatals to be announced soon – Buhari

In what looks like he is now set to assume and take up the responsibility of leadership of his governing party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu has in the last few days been up and doing providing the leadership which has practically cemented hitherto broken relationships and achieving growth in the cohesion that is expected in moving the party forward.

Continuing this move, following the self-analytical position presented to him by Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd), about how opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are 50 percent in control of his government therefore not making the government to have achieved all critical promises it made to Nigerians, the President on Tuesday addressed the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja during which he enthused that not only the party had done well but that also it had reasons to be proud of its government’s achievements in the last two years.

Senator Adegbenga Kaka had in one of his recent interviews with The DEFENDER said the problem with APC was its inability to provide leadership, capable of whipping both the executive and legislature into submission to the supremacy of the party, adding that the National Assembly leadership imbroglio that had characterized political space in the last almost two years could have been unnecessary if that was done.

Customs Comptroller-General Hameed Ali too, only few days ago, came up with what has been described by Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Political Adviser to the President, as self-analytical position to say what was going wrong in the party cum its government and how to correct it.  To Col. Ali, party members were angry that the government of APC had been 50 percent controlled by PDP appointees and had anticipated that President Muhammadu Buhari would effect a change in that.

President Buhari, who now is not only well refreshed and is beginning to even look younger than his age, appears to have been motivated by all the constructive opinions of those party men in or out of government.  That happens such that right from the closed door meeting with a supposedly estranged leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through the Caucus meeting on Monday to the main meeting of the NEC of the party on Tuesday, he has been able to re-enact confidence and carry out some razzmatazz that any party with good leadership does which main result is the boost of morale that it achieves in the operators and other stakeholders of the political family.

That, the President’s Political Adviser, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, confirmed to The DEFENDER in Abuja had been achieved with the President’s presence at the meetings where he and others critically considered issues in the party as they affect the government and took far reaching decisions and cracked jokes and that all came out happy with full hope that Nigeria would be better soon.

The Buhari’s antidote to the party’s emerging rot, timely and commendable as many have said, has now reposed confidence in the hearts of many that APC is now set for real business as the executive, national assembly and all the camps in the party are for the first time coming together and speaking with one voice to say “no matter what our differences are, we can never get to the point of individuals moving out of the party but we can only always sit down and resolve them amicably, which is what Mr. President started to do with his full involvement in the activities of the party in the few days and particularly thinking it fit to personally have to interface with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the rest leaders of the party,” a party source told The DEFENDER in Abuja on Tuesday.

President Buhari told the Tuesday NEC meeting thus: “In my remarks to the Caucus meeting yesterday (Monday October 30), I enumerated the progress that our government has made in the implementation of the programs of government and the Party Manifesto” and that the party as a collective entity could at this point be proud of achievements of its government under him in the last two years.

Buhari said, “We can be proud of our achievements in the last two years,” and he in most simplified manner listed out those achievements: “Boko Haram, Niger Delta, Regular Fuel, Improved Power, TSA, Agriculture and Fertilizer, above all, the knowledge that corruption will not be tolerated in this Government. We all know there is CHANGE.”

The President said further that “Nigeria’s prestige has gone up, Nigeria is now credit–worthy, a clear testimony of which was the over-subscription of the Euro-Bond by 4 times.

“Nevertheless, we are not resting on our achievements.  I am quite aware of the challenges before us.

New Ministers, Boards of Parastatals to be announced soon

“Last year I said we would re-constitute the Boards of Parastatals. I must regret the fact that we have not done so, for many reasons.

“Some of us in this meeting may know I had given instructions since October 2015 for this exercise to start. But there have been inordinate delays through several Committees in an attempt to get the balance right and to make sure all parts of the country are equitably represented.

“On the other hand I am keenly aware that our supporters are very eager for these appointments to be announced. By the Grace of God these appointments will be announced soon. Especially now that the economy is improving, we will have the resources to cater for the appointees.

“By the same token the compressed Federal Executive Council will be expanded to bring in more supporters at Federal Level, with fresh ideas to be injected into the government.

“Let me thank you all again for the commitment and dedicated service to our Party and to remind you that much more will be required of you in the coming months. I hope we can continue to depend on you,” Buhari said.

He however observed that the sky will be the limit for the governing APC should all its stakeholders unite and rise above what he describes as “petty or personal quarrels”, giving assurance that if that is done, “we will surely achieve the desired CHANGE in the country,” Buhari said.