A national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said evolving “true change’’ in the country as promised by the party was not an easy task.
Tinubu, recently appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the party´s consultation, reconciliation and confidence-building team, stated this on Wednesday in Abuja when he visited the national chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
In giving Tinubu the assignment, Buhari had explained that it was to improve cohesion within its chapters in the state ahead of 2019 general elections.
The assignment will involve reconciling political office holders at the national and state levels and addressing the crisis in Kano, Kogi and Bauchi chapters especially.
Tinubu said, “we worked hard to get victory; we have never governed before, but we won the confidence of Nigerians to govern.
´´We have a plan to really serve the country to change and reform the country, but it is not easy to have those changes implemented like instant coffee.
´´We have to grow it; we have to face challenges.
´´The challenges faced by the government and the president are enormous; it’s only because people are not paying attention to the various statistics that are available and we have to push that.
´´The challenges of reform and re-engineering of the finances of this country, stopping corruption and challenging the status quo to change are there; they don’t go away over night.´´
He, however, assured that he would give listening ears to all complaints from the party´s troubled chapters across the country.
He added that his visit to the APC national chairman was for consultation, saying that there was need for the party members to examine themselves.
The party leader said that since the party won election in 2015, expectations of Nigerians and the attendant goodwill were very high, but pointed out that “the situation is different today.’’
He said that he would seek opinion and advice on various complaints in some of the states to reconcile aggrieved members.
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He said that he would move the party in a cohesive manner and reposition it, while re-building the confidence of members.
Receiving Tinubu, Chief Odigie-Oyegun admitted that there were challenges in some of the party´s chapters and even in its National Assembly caucus.
“There is no question that there are major issues in the National Assembly, major issues in Kano, Kogi and Benue which is the current challenge,’’ he said.
“We will make your assignment the most successful one; you are welcome.
´´I know you are here to brief us and tell us how you want to proceed and how we can fit into the picture and the way we will take it up,’’ the chairman added.
