*Says Nigerians must insist APC govts perform
By Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, Monday in Abuja dismissed insinuations that most of the ministerial nominees of President Muhammadu Buhari are not credible, saying Nigerians should rather insist that APC governments at all levels must perform effectively.
Speaking in the State House after a meeting with the president, Oshiomhole said the ongoing screening process of the nominees by the Senate presents Nigerians with the opportunity to know the stuffs that the nominees are made up.
He accused Nigerians of cultivating the habit of hastily condemning what they are yet to know, arguing that despite serving in various capacities in the country, there are still many Nigerians he is yet to know.
“Whose credibility? How credible are some of those who are talking? The point is that I don’t know if there is a Nigerian who knows every Nigerian. Even as I can say that I have worked for Nigerian people at all levels, as a worker in a factory, as President of the (Nigeria Labour Congress) NLC, as governor of a state and now as a national chairman of a party. There are too many Nigerians I will never be able to know.
“The screening process is meant to enable those watching, it is not for nothing that it is televised. It is to enable Nigerians see who these people are. But you will find that people started dismissing the list even before they saw it, just like some other things that Nigerians dismiss without knowing the meaning.
“So, what you and I should insist on is that in the president’s second term, in this next level, our party, our government at the centre, state and local government levels must deliver. That is the entry point for every Nigerian,” he said.
Oshiomhole who further described Buhari as a liberal politician, said the president was so magnanimous that even in a state where he did not get up to five percent of the total votes cast, he still opted to appoint two ministers from there.
He was obviously referring to Anambra State where Buhari appointed Dr. Chris Ngige and Sharon Ikeazor as ministerial nominees despite his abysmal performance in the state at the February 23, presidential election.
He boasted that with the crop of ministers coming on board and the majority membership of APC in the National Assembly, the party has all it takes to take the country to the next level.
“Patronage can be positive or negative but if there is one man who has shown the capacity to patronise all including where he did not win election, it is President Muhammadu Buhari. Otherwise, where we got less than five percent, I saw two ministers coming from that state, inspite of the fact that he got less than five percent there. That speaks volumes about a large heart, to accommodate, appreciate and to have an all inclusive government.
“I am very optimistic that these ministers coming, all of us working together, the party, the executive to which the ministers belong and the National Assembly, where we have overwhelming majority, we have what it takes to take Nigeria to the next level and the next level we are going,” he added.
