The All Progressives Congress (APC) says the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of President Bola Tinubu’s administration is on course, with better days ahead for Nigerians.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Felix Morka, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, while congratulating Nigerians on the occasion of 2024 Democracy Day.
“We remember and celebrate our illustrious patriots whose conviction and sacrifices bequeathed to us the democracy that we celebrate today.
“Following protracted military rule, civilian democracy was restored to our dear nation in 1999, and has now endured for 25 years, uninterrupted.
“With strident hope for a future of democratic consolidation and prosperity for our people, all Nigerians must take pride in this remarkable achievement,” Morka said.
He said that embedded in the idea of political democracy, was the intrinsic and instrumental value of the sovereign power that it bestowed on citizens to choose who governed them.
Morka said that it also granted citizens the power to hold those they elected into political offices accountable, through periodic elections and other constitutionally enshrined mechanisms.
“However, like with every human device and agency, democracy is not without its imperfections and challenges; our country has had its fair share of setbacks, pain and disappointments.
“These are inevitable and inescapable by-products of democratic construction, but importantly, it has set us irreversibly on course, to build a strong, vibrant and resilient nation.
“Democracy provides us the opportunity of essential freedom to harness our finest human and material resources, under the participatory authority of our people, for beneficial and sustainable governance,” he said.
Morka described President Tinubu as a veteran advocate, a defender of democracy and an exemplary progressive and visionary leader, whose contributions to the enthronement of democracy and nation building were simply monumental.
He said that in just over one year in office, the Tinubu-led administration had made impressive gains, revamping infrastructure to support the massive expansion of the Nigerian economy.
Morka said that the administration had also implemented multi-sector reforms to remove age-long debilitating policy distortions and contradictions in the economy.
He said that the administration had tackled insecurity, revitalised the country’s security architecture and channeled resources to important social investments.
Morka said that it also focused on poverty alleviation initiatives and initiated constructive engagements with relevant stakeholders, aimed at achieving better wages and living standards for citizens.
“Tinubu’s bold target of building a $1 trillion economy for Nigeria in a few short years received amplified validation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“With its recent forecast that Nigeria’s economy would be nearly $2 trillion by 2029, there can be no better indication that the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ is right on course, and that our best days are ahead.
“Being a clear-sighted democrat, President Tinubu is fully conscious of the existential challenges confronting our good people,
particularly, the unintended economic hardship of necessary policies that he has enacted to reset our economy for sustainable growth and development,” the APC spokesman said.
He said that Tinubu, like others before him, could have taken the easy and convenient road, doing more of the same, while the nation’s economic challenges persisted.
Morka said that demonstrating courage, Tinubu decided to walk the difficult path and tackle those challenges at their roots.
“He remains steadfast and committed to delivering a better, safer, stronger and more prosperous country; while taking deliberate and necessary measures to mitigate transient reform attendant hardships,” he said.
Morka thanked Nigerians for their unwavering support for the Tinubu-led administration and the APC.
He expressed confidence that the democracy being celebrated would usher in an era of economic freedom and secure a brighter future for Nigerians. (NAN)
