Nigerians Yet to Lose Hope In APC, Osinbajo Tells Party’s Govs

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday told governors elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) that Nigerians are yet to lose faith in the ability of the party to deliver on its campaign promises.

Speaking in Birnin Kebbi, capital of Kebbi state, at the conclusion of Progressives Governors’ Forum parley, the Acting President declared, “The people have not lost faith in us; they understand that the task of clearing decades of debris will take time but we must also jointly keep faith with them.”

He reassured Nigerians that the APC-led Federal Government would not fail in its determination to deliver on its promises despite numerous challenges facing the economy and the country.

Osinbajo advised state governors elected on the platform of the party to make extra efforts to deliver on the promises of the party, adding: “the ideological difference that we represent is that we are committed to an economic policy that has at its core the welfare and happiness of Nigerians.

“The people expect us to deliver on all of what we have promised. They expect a better life, we have assured them of a better life, and I can say for all of us who are present here, all of us in the progressive forum, that we will deliver a better life to the people of Nigeria.”

The Acting President emphasized the need for a stronger collaboration between the Federal and State governments, adding: “ultimately, the success of the efforts to bring about synergy in Federal and State Government policies would depend on both sides meeting their commitments.”

“Just as the federal government is committed and has taken visible steps in meeting its obligations and make refunds on debts owed to states, it’s imperative for states to play its own parts.

“There are two obvious elements here: when the Federal Government provides relief resources, the resources are used for the agreed purposes. The second is to implement agreements that have been reached in specific sectoral contexts.

“For instance, states must continue to work toward implementing their parts of the fiscal sustainability plan in order to improve their individual fiscal situations which impacts on the national fiscal picture.”

He identified key areas of collaboration between the Federal and State governments to include “scaling up Internally Generated Revenue and innovative thinking.”

Calling on states, especially those led by APC governors, Osinbajo said governors must think out of the box in delivering service to the people, including in areas where their efforts can complement the Federal Government programmes.