President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, received a major nod to seek re-election in 2027 as members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) passed a confidence vote in him amid shouts of “no vacancy in Aso Rock”.
This endorsement followed after the standard “on your mandate we shall stand” song, which rented the air immediately Tinubu arrived at the meeting venue.
Tinubu, who smiled for the whole time the meeting lasted, while the mandate song from party members also subsisted, later took over proceedings, but did not stop the song or make any attempt to.
The Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, moved the motion for a vote of confidence to be passed in Tinubu, and it was seconded by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State.
The vote of confidence in Tinubu, however, marked the highlight of the meeting by party members for his administration’s good performance.
Speaking after the frenzy of ‘no vacancy in Aso Rock’, Tinubu declared that the country was already on the path of economic recovery, citing crash in prices of foodstuff as a critical indicator.
The president, who spoke in Abuja at the NEC meeting of the ruling APC, the first in two years, expressed his determination to work harder for the greater good of Nigeria.
Equally, at the NEC meeting, Tinubu directed the APC National Working Committee (NWC) to set up committees to reconcile aggrieved members of the party.
National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, who spoke on the state of the party, revealed that the NWC under his leadership inherited a debt of N8,987,874,663 when he assumed office.
National Publicity Secretary of APC, Felix Morka, while addressing the recent attacks on the party and the Tinubu administration by former governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, urged the ex-governor to respect his status.
Similarly, the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Ata, has commended Tinubu for extending Ganduje’s tenure as APC national chairman.
Pledging to continue to work diligently, with other arms of government, to ensure the greater good of Nigerians, Tinubu commended APC governors and party executives for their continued commitment.
He stated, “I’m grateful to all Nigerians for the electoral successes recorded from one state to the other.
“Governors, you have embraced these changes, and I thank the leadership of our party. I also thank members of the National Assembly for expeditiously considering the budget.
“We can only build the party on a progressive platform to deliver good service to Nigerians.”
The president said the vote of confidence in him from the party’s highest decision-making organ was a call for more work, and promised not to fail the party and Nigerians.
He said, “I am happy with your vote of confidence, and I accept it. The vote is a challenge to do more work. We will vigorously pursue our sovereignty in food security, investment and development.
“I am happy with food prices coming down, especially as Ramadan approaches. The sun is high, and the sky is bright outside. While the rest of the world unravels, we see growth in Nigeria.
We are seeing a gradual return to stability. We are seeing improvements. I thank you, governors.
“Everywhere in the world, especially in Europe, we have economic shocks and we are doing everything possible.”
Tinubu thanked Nigerians for their continued belief and trust in APC. He called for measures to end some of the crises in APC states.
He stressed, “The National Working Committee is doing a very good job. I am pleased with them. However, there are a few conflicts in the various states.
“Let’s set up committees to look into the lingering problems in the states and appeal to these party leaders in various states to, please, be calm and be collaborative.
“In all the various states let us set up reconciliatory committees to liaise with these aggrieved leaders. I am appealing to them, please, be calm.
“I am grateful to all Nigerians for the electoral successes that we have from one state to another and I am also happy for the various people joining us in the National Assembly.”
The president challenged the NEC to find a way to celebrate the progressive ideals of his administration, while assuring the governors and Nigerians that he would sustain the progressive change.
Earlier, in his address, Ganduje thanked members for their steadfastness in the face of challenges and assured them that the party would continue to deliver on its electoral promises.
“Though the journey has been very challenging for us as a ruling party, given the big task we have at hand and the expectations from Nigerians, we can sufficiently submit that we have collectively risen to the occasion and challenges,” he said.
Ganduje said the ruling party had embarked on massive reconciliation of aggrieved party members. He said the move was gradually yielding desired positive results for the party.
According to him,
“Through dialogue, we have initiated high level discussions among party leaders and other stakeholders with a view to resolving lingering differences between our members.
“The conflict reconciliation committee, which you are about to approve, will build on this.”
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