By Akombo Aondona, Abuja
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has felicitated Nigerians on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s one year anniversary in office.
In a statement in Abuja, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Barr Felix Morka, described Tinubu as the “President of Progress” especially in infrastructure development.
Morka wrote: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) congratulates Nigerians on the auspicious occasion of the one year anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. We thank Nigerians for their support of our great Party and our government over this first year.
“We applaud Mr. President for keeping faith with the Renewed Hope Agenda, striving with unmatched zeal and vigor to deliver on his cardinal electoral promise to oversee the full restoration and revitalization of all aspects of our country’s social, political, economic life.
“Undaunted by prevalent deep-seated and existential challenges confronting the nation prior to his inauguration, the President stepped up with courage and bold determination to remake the fundamentals by tackling those challenges at their deepest roots.
“Announcing the termination of the fuel subsidy regime in his inaugural speech, the President dealt a decisive blow against what was probably the most potent threat to Nigeria’s economic survival. In the same intrepid manner, the President approved the harmonisation of existing multiple foreign exchange regimes that had become a gaping drain and massive damper to economic growth and development. This was quickly followed with a slew of other critical reforms, including the Oyelede Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy Reform; reconstituting the leadership of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); directing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to remit its dollar earnings to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), waging a beneficial war against crude oil theft and improving on the country’s oil exports and earnings.
“The administration’s relentless drive for foreign direct and portfolio investments into the nation’s economy is unrivaled, yielding tens of billions of US Dollars in investments into the economy in the first year under review. Investment in Nigeria stock market has ballooned from N18 billion in Q1 of 2023 to N98 billion in Q1 of 2024, an increase of 415 percent, just as the nation’s annual economic growth accelerated to 3.46 percent from 2.5 percent.
“This President of progress has also left an incredible first year footprint on high grade infrastructure delivery not only in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, but around the country. The recently flagged off 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will create jobs and boost tourism and economic development on completion. After decades of abandonement, the Sokoto-Badagry super-highway is now set to become a reality. The Abuja Metro rail; Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri rail; Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna rail; Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail, and hundreds of roads and bridges across the federation are some of the landmark projects on the plate of this government.
“From huge interventions to boost food security to drastic revamping of the security architecture and infrastructure to increased funding and reform of the health sector, the administration is steadily reclaiming lost ground and repositioning Nigeria for a future of greatness.
“This President has governed with remarkable candour and forthrightness. He has been clear that some of the policies implemented by his administration will not be without pain especially for the poorest and most vulnerable citizens of our country. The President and our Party remain keenly aware and attentive to these difficulties.
“The President has emphasized, and a great many experts agree with him, that these policies are critical to rebuilding the foundation for the enduring growth and development of our nation. These policy interventions and attendant transient difficulties, including inflationary pressures, have vastly characterized the trajectory of many of the world’s emerging high growth economies. The pain of today will not be in vain but shall inure as gain for tomorrow’s Nigeria.
“The administration will continue to prioritize the welfare of citizens. From the Credit Corps to Students Loan, to wage award of several months, to ongoing negotiations for upward salary review, to disbursement of conditional cash transfer, to introduction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, to the upskilling of Nigerians youths with a whooping $617 million, to grants to small and medium enterprise (SMEs), President Tinubu is committed to making this epochal transition to a greater and brighter Nigeria as bearable as possible.
“We salute the patriotism and resilience of Nigerians. We thank you for your continued patience with, and support of, this administration. We are confident that better days are very near. President Bola Tinubu remains resolute in his commitment to delivering a progressively stronger, safer and more vibrant Nigeria ahead. “And so with peace and plenty Nigeria shall be blessed.”
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