By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress,(APC) Dr Abdulahi Ganduje, on Monday, 29 April, 2024 begged Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu as he struggles to rebuild the economy following years of neglect, ill decisions and policy somersaults of the previous administrations.
Ganduje made the appeal when he received the leaders of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) from the 36 states of the federation, at the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja.
The delegation of PWDs, who came on a solidarity visit to reassure the embattled national chairman of their commitment, further passed a vote of confidence in his leadership.
While commending them for the vote of confidence, Ganduje urged Nigerians to persevere with the administration, saying Tinubu’s extensive policies will take Nigeria to the next level.
“What we need to change the living standard of your members is skill acquisition in relation to the type of challenge that you have. It will not be a universal skill acquisition. It will be a specific skill acquisition prescribed for the type of challenge for your members.
“Some can use their voice, some their legs while others can even use signals. So we are fully aware of the challenges and we are here to solve the challenges.
“The President from his extensive policies is taking Nigeria to the next level. But we need to bear with him because what we are seeing is an accumulation of so many years of neglect, policy summersaults and other disjointed decisions by previous administrations.”Ganduje said.
Earlier, the APC National Leader of Persons With Disabilities, Tolu Bankole, lamented that it was unfortunate some political leaders look down on PWDs without considering their contribution to society.
While declaring support for the Ganduje-led National Working Committee of the party, Bankole also claimed that the population of PWDs within Nigeria and in the diaspora are strongly behind Tinubu’s Renewed Hope policies, which he said is beginning to birth a paradigm shift in the country.
He said, “We stand with Dr. Umar Abdullahi Ganduje as the National Chairman and we say no to distractions. Mr President can also count on us as loyal party members to support his administration.
“Disability only becomes a tragedy when society fails to provide the things needed to lead about one’s daily life. The population of persons with disabilities in Nigeria, according to Independent findings in 2022, is above 31 million. This is higher than the entire population of five countries in the West African sub-region. Many often forget that we have children, wives and other dependents who look up to us for support and sustenance.
“Any support to PWDs today might turn out to be a help to self or close family members. As we prepare for Edo and Ondo off-cycle governorship elections, the APC has proven to be the preferred option for inclusive development. Thus, I call on the electorates to support APC candidates to emerge victorious and sustain the culture of inclusive governance.”
