‘This is the last economic hardship Nigerians will go through’ - APC Chairman

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, says President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to bequeath a Nigeria that can provide plentiful opportunities to its people.

Odigie-Oyegun said this on Friday in Abuja on the occasion of the 77th birthday party organised in honour by the APC’s workers.

The chairman appealed to Nigerians to support the efforts of the administration in building a solid foundation for a better tomorrow for all Nigerian youths.

According to him, this is the last economic hardship Nigerians will go through after the right structure anchored on sound economic policies is put in place.

“God in his wisdom has provided APC to the nation at this crucial time and in his wisdom gave us a man of strong will, iron determination, courage in the person of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“ God gave us a president who is ready to take challenge, who has determined that this is the last economic hardship this nation will ever go through.

“He has decided that we will never ever again depend upon a single crop, so he is laying a very solid foundation for the take off of this nation such that all resources that God has endowed this nation with whether it is anything.

“The Nigeria of tomorrow will be a Nigeria that produces, that can give employment to its youth, will be a nation that can provide plentiful opportunities for its people.

“That is the Nigeria that President Muhammadu Buhari is building and my appeal is that we should all see ourselves as participants in this struggle, that we have sacrifices we have to make to ensure we get there,” he said.

Going down memory lane, Odigie-Oyegun said the party at the beginning worked under very challenging condition to reach where it is today,

He pledged readiness of the party to make life better for all the staff that weathered the storm with it.

“I remember when we were just a few staff, when this baby needed rehabilitation, when we had no chairs, when members of the National Working Committee were making sacrifices to prepare for the election that has now become history in the country.

“We have set up a committee to look into the working conditions of the staff of the national secretariat headed by the deputy national chairman south who has completed his assignment and we will have reasons to smile in the few months ahead.”

He said they knew things were bad with the economy but did not know the extent to which they were bad.

Speaking with newsmen afterward, the chairman responding to questions about his youthful look said life was a “lucky dip” and he got lucky.

“Most importantly, I don’t do anything that will worry me or that will lead to threats. I have no political enemies. I believe that there is room for everybody, no particular individual is in your way.

“My mother used to say don’t do anything that you want to see in the front page of the Daily Times, when it existed. Lead a simple life, try to succeed by trying to be the best, not by pulling anyone down.”

He said his sojourn into politics was by accident and he had no regrets whatsoever and he would strive to make his mark.

“No regrets joining politics whatsoever. It has been an era of service to the nation. I will do everything I can to influence events so that when time comes I will be on my deathbed with a smile on my face that this great coalition called the APC removed an incumbent government and finally we are now on the road and now addressing those issues that held this nation down.”