Adedayo Akinwale
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, has described the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as an underdog engaged in propaganda to try to discredit the ruling party.
Adamu made the remarks yesterday when a group, APC Professionals, led by former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, paid him a courtesy visit at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.
Lamenting that PDP was engaging in propaganda to discredit the APC-led federal government, the APC chairman said every election was peculiar, even though the issues might be the same. He noted that members of the group had held very important positions in the country, saying the country would not hesitate to tap from their knowledge to ensure better contributions in the national building effort.
According to Adamu, “Whatever it is, if we genuinely want to develop the manifestos, the experience that you have gathered over time will be very useful and when we call upon you to have a share of your expertise, you will not hesitate to join and give your best.”
Adamu regretted that most of the laudable programmes of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration were not getting to the grassroots, because leadership at that level was driven by those who were not educated.
He told the group, “One thing, which I want to make some reference to, is the fact of the position of your forum itself. If you listen to our political activities, one thing you may wish to take a serious look at and see how best you can be of some assistance to our effort in the activity of the party at the grassroots, where it mattered most. Leadership at that level is being driven by those who are not educated, they are very vulnerable very, extremely vulnerable.
“So, we need to imbibe the culture of an enlightened leadership driven by knowledge. We don’t have all to be graduates or diploma holders, but an enlightened mind is opened and it is a bit narrow for now. This is missing in our effort to get people to appreciate who we are as a party, what we are doing as a party, how we can be appreciated as a party.
“We are having a misfortune of the effort of this government not getting to the grassroots – positive publicity of what this government is doing. All that those who care to talk want to say is about the negative aspect of government.”
Yuguda, earlier, said what the country needed was good governance, saying if professionals are kept aside without being accommodated to hear their views, the country would continue to experience motion without movement.
The former Bauchi governor noted that it was important that as the professional arm of APC, they were encouraged to play the role that they were supposed to play.
He stated, “There is a need for input from all professionals, because whatever affects the economy, the economy depends on institutions and these institutions habour all sorts of professionals. I believe they know the problems that are connected to their own sectors and if we are able to provide certain information, it will be a very useful data for decision making at the highest level.”
