By ADEKUNLE WILLIAMS

The National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) has congratulated President Bola Tinubu on his judicial victory, urging him to now prioritise implementation of the APC manifesto.

The National Publicity Secretary of NADECO, Pa Ayo Opadokun, made this known in a statement in Lagos on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that both former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party had urged the Apex Court to dismiss and set aside the Sept. 6 Judgment of PEPT, which affirmed the victory of Tinubu.

However, the seven-man panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro on Thursday, held that the appeal lacked merit and “is hereby dismissed.”

Opadokun said NADECO further wished to state that now was the time to deliver the socio-economic and political sphere through well thought out and rightly directed policies.

The NADECO scribe said these were policies desirable to quickly alleviate the unacceptable level of suffering, poverty, economic misery and neglect to which Nigerians had been subjected to by immediate past rulers and leaders, for many years.

He said: “NADECO again restates for emphasis that while we strongly desire an immediate upliftment in the standard and quality of living of Nigerians, we expect much more than the necessary bread and butter economic gains.

“NADECO believes that the President Bola Tinubu Government must equally prioritise the process of implementing the APC manifesto particularly in Article 7, pages 3, 7, 29, 37:

“Under the aims and objectives of its article 7, the APC Constitution commits the party to firstly, promote and foster the unity, political stability and national consciousness of the people of Nigeria, and secondly, to promote true federalism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“In the foreword to its vision for a New Nigeria (page three, second paragraph), the APC Manifesto commits the party to ‘implement efficient public financial management strategies and ensure true federalism”.

“This is as well as “restructure governance in a way that kick starts our political economy so that we can begin to walk the path of our better future”.

“Also, in its manifesto (page seven), APC entered into an “Honest Contract” with Nigeria to create a federalism with “more equitable distribution of national revenue to the states and local governments because this is where grassroots democracy and economic development must be established.”

Opadokun said in its commitment to restore good government, the APC manifesto again stressed reliance on enhancing federalism through a two-pronged approach.

According to him, this is devolving control of policing and local prisons to the states and giving the right to nominate State Police Commissioners to governors.

He said others were expanding the role of the Council of States to act as a consultation and negotiating forum between the Federal and state governments to agree on joint economic and social initiatives.

Opadokun said finally that the APC Manifesto pledged to devolve more revenue and powers to the states and Local Governments so that decision making was closer to the people.

The NADECO scribe said the manifesto also pledged to bring the government closer to the people through political decentralization including local policing.

He said the El-Rufai Committee’s Report recommended among others, that the APC government should take immediate steps to return Nigeria to Federal Constitutional Governance upon which the country secured her independence.

According to him, these are devolution of powers to state, resource control, making local government affairs an affair of the states, constitutional amendments to allow merger of states, state police among others.

Opadokun wished Tinubu divine guidance, robust health, necessary tact and discipline to deliver exemplary services to Nigerians during his tour of duty.

He said this golden opportunity must not be lost as the black race had waited for too long for the country as the most popular black nation to provide leadership for the black world in the comity of nations. (NAN)

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