By Jide Hassan
The Forum of APC State Youth Leaders has warned group and individuals against instigating the people into violence in the wake of the recent fuel subsidy removal.
The youth leaders of the ruling APC were reacting to the reported outcry of a campaign group within the party, the League of Youth Voters for Tinubu and Shettima, which last Thursday held a press conference demanding that the president should address the rising cost of living in the country.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja, Ayoola Oyejide, national coordinator of the group, had lamented that the rise in the cost of living was becoming unbearable for the ordinary Nigerian.
But in reaction, the forum of APC state youth leaders said the public demand by the group, which it described as an election contraption, reeks of mischief. The forum also expressed doubts on the credibility of the league of youth voters for Tinubu/Shettima; stating that the group is unknown to youth stakeholders within the party.
According to the forum, “As youth leaders of the party in our respective States, we know and, in fact, worked hand in hand with all recognized and credible youth mobilization groups during the election that produced Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as President. Not once did we encountered any group by the name “Youth Voters for Tinubu and Shettima.”
It went further, “On the issue of rising cost of living, consequent upon the removal of fuel subsidy; who in Nigeria is not aware of the ongoing efforts geared towards ameliorating the pain. The workers union, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) is in talk with the government to adjust the wages of workers to reflect the new reality.
“The same government is working to provide incentives to aid agriculture and bring the prices of food down. Already, President Tinubu has activated his plans for investment drive to create the needed employment to curb youth restiveness and poverty.
“In their self serving media release, the League of Youth Voters for Tinubu and Shettima also said ‘the President is expected to revamp our ailing and critically dysfunctional economy,’ but they did not realize, quite ironically, that the President is already doing exactly that by taking frontally on the problems that are holding Nigeria back, taking bold decisions that have been applauded since he assumed the mantle of leadership on May 29.
“On the issue of appointing young people into government which, we suspect, is the major grouse of the group, the President already gave his commitment during the campaigns and nothing has changed. But there will be a foolproof process of identifying young people across the country who have worked hard for the party and deserve to be compensated. It must be noted that no amount of media campaign, no matter how well choreographed, would confer any unmerited advantage on any group or individuals under the Asiwaju government.
“Nigerians are clairvoyant and perceptive, and they know that to correct what has gone wrong for many years would demand a certain level of sacrifice; hence there has been a national consensus and total backing for the president’s decision to do away with fuel subsidy. Whatever hardship and pains that emanated as a result of that bold action would doubtless be temporary and Nigeria would ultimately secure sustained progress that we all yearned for.
“We beseech the Nigerian people, especially the poor that are most affected by the temporary pain occasioned by the ongoing reorganization of our country to bear with the government. The President is a welfarist whose focus is geared towards delivering a country in which every citizen secures the means to live a worthy life.
“We urge for continued support for the President to deliver on his vision for Nigeria, and we ask that Nigerians remain vigilant in order to ensure no group or individuals use them as a shield to foster their political interests.”
The forum call on Nigerians, APC members and all friends of Nigeria to continue to support the plans and initiatives of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, saying that the president means well for the country.