BY jide ajani, Editor, Northern operations, & emma ovuakporie
ABUJA — Presidential candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Wednesday in Abuja, raised fresh alarm regarding the political future of Nigeria declaring that attempts to make democracy meaningless in the lives of the people would only lead to doom.

From left: Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; Ogbeni Rauf Aregbeshola, Governor of Osun State; Malam Nuhu Ribadu, ACN's presidential candidate; and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Ribadu said Nigerians should put one point in mind regarding the important “service of restarting the agenda that makes democracy meaningful in the lives of citizens; if we fail to urgently realise the vision of a modern Nigeria, the echoes of currently muted, but potentially destabilising change, will soon consume our land.”

Ribadu raised this alarm just as former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, national chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and his Lagos State counterpart, Babatunde Raji Fashola, as well as former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu all took turns to express disappointment at the state of the nation, insisting that PDP administration of the last 12 years has failed Nigerians.

They all spoke separately at the colloquium organised by their party, ACN, to kick start the party’s campaigns and unveil its manifesto and agenda for the April general elections, held in Abuja Wednesday.

Ribadu speaks

According to Ribadu, “this is a season of change and its sweet scent is in the air.

“Change has come to our doorsteps, the sacrificial lamb is already in revolt and while the other parties can not grasp the significance of this silent revolution, our party must help advance it to the next logical stage.

“It has become logical for everyone to talk mechanically about change in the country today. Even those who have inflicted the worst injury to our treasury and our best values speak glibly about change. But for us, the distinction is clear as daylight; the change we talk about begins with a leadership that is transparent, accountable, competent, experienced and virile.

“While the citizens of other countries are protesting dictatorship in their countries, in Nigeria let us act sensibly to take advantage of the fact that we have the opportunity to affect change every four years through the ballot.

“In the face of its shoddy report card from over two decades of abysmal failure at governance, PDP can at least be self-respecting to excuse itself from the dignified gathering of true apostles of change.

“Since ACN has exhibited evidence of competent leadership in the four states it is administering, we clearly earn the historic responsibility of leading the mission of change.  Our challenge now is to reproduce that example of competent leadership at the centre when we take over the reins of power and form the next government come May 29.

“Unless we actively disable the capacity of corruption to regenerate through a cocktail of excellent laws, professional enforcement engagements and a vigourous public education on its dangers to our social health, no governance policy will work here, however excellent in planning and execution.”

ACN govt’s programme

Ribadu explained that an AC N administration would ensure that unstable power supply would become a thing of the past, just as other sectors and aspects of the Nigerian being would receive a fillip.

Earlier, Ogbeh, who was also a Second Republic Communications Minister and chairman of the party’s manifesto committee, explained that the committee was set up some six weeks ago and that their party was ready to make live worth living for Nigerians.

Ogbeh then reeled out the areas he described as “very critical for our party.”

The areas are: national security and defense; one million housing units every year; agriculture and rural integration; education; health; oil and solid minerals; power; public sector reform; fight against corruption; foreign policy; manufacturing; and sports.

Before Ogbeh took the podium, Fayemi said what ACN is attempting to do is galvanise the people to stand up for their convictions and for the future of Nigeria. He said ACN is ruled by the ideology of transformation and not the ideology of transaction, before taking a swipe at President Jonathan saying the ACN “is a party of radicals and not one of rascals.”

PDP can’t galvanise public  service – Fashola

At the colloquium, Governor Babtunde Fashola of Lagos State, while delivering a lecture entitled Challenges of Governance, said PDP do not have the manifesto to galvanise the public service to maximum productivity.

He said: “The ministries can do anything because they are the engine room of government. But you must understand their language to succeed.

“They are the human resource capital room for improvement and once you understand the language they can do as much as you want them to do and you must develop an appetite for reading and writing because they will not act except there is a well written memo.”

He said the success story of Lagos State was largely depended on the civil service “because I claim no experience in governance apart from my years as Chief of Staff from 2002 till 2006 and a studied demand response of the state which took us round Lagos for 66 days.

“But it is not a four-year story but that of 12 years because I was fortunate to have succeeded a visionary leader like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who laid the bridge for the developmental strides the state has recorded so far.”

Fashola  said what Lagos State  did was to develop an economic strategy which was translated to a 10-point agenda and worked on it to fruition.

Tinubu on Ribadu’s running mate

Former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said nobody is dictating to the presidential flag bearer of ACN, Mallam Nuhu Ahmed Ribadu, over who should be his running mate in the forth coming general elections.

Tinubu noted this while fielding questions from newsmen at the venue of the colloquium. He described Ribadu as a man of uncommon courage that is strong and would emerge stronger no matter what happens.

Asked whether the merger talks could still continue, the Asiwaju simply said “I  am here to discuss the manifesto of ACN not any other party. We are here to find solutions to the numerous problems of this country. For instance, 12 million youths are unemployed. How do we get them jobs? This is why I am here not for another party.

“This is an avenue for us to discuss agriculture, housing problems, the 12 million unemployed youths and how to move the country forward. Nothing else.”

Roll call

The colloquium was attended by a large crowd of ACN leaders across the country. Usman Bugaje; former Anambra State governor, Chris Ngige; former Jigawa State governor, Saminu Turaki; Alhaji Yusuf Alli; Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, Osun State governor, and a host of others.

ACN’s nationbal chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, was unavoidably absent.