Endsars Memorial: Adamu says APC is the most youth friendly party in Nigeria
Joel Oladele, Abuja
The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdulahi Adamu has said the party remains the most youth friendly party in the history of Nigeria, considering numerous youth driven initiatives the Buhari led administration has embarked on in the last 7 years.
Adamu made this assertion during a Media parley with a cross section of journalists at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja on Thursday.
Recalls that yesterday made it two years since the #endsars protest took an ugly turn at the Lekki tollgate. Adamu while reacting to the question on endsars memorial and what the party is planning to do differently for Nigerian youths said the party is not relenting in its efforts to ensure that youths are given their rightful place in the affairs of the country.
“No party has done what we have done in ensuring that youths have a place in the running of the affairs of this country. Our party gave the youths, not too young to run, reduction of form fee for youths and zero for expression of interest. These are all part of our plans and desire to prepare youths to have better representation. We are doing a lot to ensure that youths are given a sense of belonging in the running of its affairs.
Throwing light on the allegation that he(Adamu) has been filling the vacant directorates of the party national secretariat with his people, an act some people has described nepotistic, Adamu said, every of his efforts so far has been in the best interest of the party and it is expected that some people react negatively whenever there is any change in the system but he won’t be cowed by cheap propaganda.
“On the suspended directors, it is to reorganize the party. Every change will have victims and we can say that we did not do anything with bias. Some people will feel offended but all we have done is in the best interest of the party. When we came in we met N17.5b on legal fees alone, no control or due process.
“There were more than 200 staff on the payroll and during the audit we had to query where these numbers of people work. They went to the media saying that we can’t pay salary of staff just to blackmail us.” Adamu affirmed.
Earlier, the chairman had introduced the new Director of Media and publicity in the person of Bala Ibrahim who is expected to work together with the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Barr. Felix Morka as the arrow head of the publicity as the campaign kicks off soon.
He also used the occasion to reel out the score cards of the APC National Working Committee since assumption of office in the last seven months.
“This is our seventh month in office and we are still trying as much as time and circumstances will permit us to find the altitude of our flight.
“We came at a very difficult time, the party has its challenges that affected the sustainability of the party while we were elected. And when we came we had inec timetables for primaries and the election for this coming 2023.
“We had to find the right mix to undertake all the primaries from the delegates to the various levels of election. To the actual Congress that produced our candidates for state houses of assembly, house of representatives, governorship, senate and of course the presidential primaries which we concluded precisely on the 8th of June.
“While this was happening we inherited the press corps, those of you who are familiar with the geography and features of the national secretariat of the APC will appreciate the fact and reality that we are trying to reshape our national secretariat and reengineer its image as the headquarters of the ruling parties of this country.
“We are still not done yet but we’ve made tremendous progress. One of the things we’ve done is to give the press corps a chapel, its own building. We have built a fairly modern structure that is supposed to be housing a chapel . They can have their conference, receive their visitors , organize their own events and I can say with every sense of satisfaction that no party in this country has done what we have done for the chapel. It is our hope that as we go along whatever is needed to upgrade the facilities for them we will not hesitate to do so”, Adamu added.
