National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr John Odigie-Oyegun, says Nigeria will not breakup, against the backdrop of recent agitations and issues bordering on the country’s unity.
“My message is to our people nationwide,” Odigie-Oyegun said in his address at an event to mark his 78th birthday on Saturday evening in Abuja.
“The pride that you feel when you walk out and say you are a Nigerian, backed up by 170 million people and hopefully backed up by an economy that will bring us back to growth, to stability, to development.
“The pride that each and every one will feel is greater than the attempt to disintegrate us into tiny, mini-republics; that will not happen,” he added.
The APC chairman said while the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was acutely aware of the challenges faced by citizens, the current administration remained solidly focused on the task of building a new foundation for the country and delivering on election promises to the electorate.
“Yes, these are very challenging times, no question about it,” he admitted, adding “the foundation of our nation is being rocked very greatly.”
“We promised change but quite frankly, change of the immediacy that we promised has inevitably run against the kind of fightback that we are having today.”
“I think to emphasise that because of the kind of President that we have; because we have a man who is thoroughly ingrained in due process and insists on due process; because we have a man as a President who insists on fairness; who insists that justice must be given its due place. Everything must take place according to due process.
“The powers of darkness are taking advantage of this to fight back in such a massive way that they are beginning to threaten the very foundations of our nation. But let me say this with all the emphasis at my command that change there must be, this nation will stay united!” he said.
Odigie-Oyegun informed that the Federal Government was painstakingly building a new and diversified economic foundation based on production and not a wholly oil-dependent one.
He also described the economic foundation of President Buhari’s administration as “a foundation that will propel this nation to greatness; a foundation that is destined to make us, truly the first, the largest and the most potent black nation on the face of the earth.”
“Yes, it has caused pains; yes, it has caused stresses. Yes, there is a bit of hunger in the land, people are grumbling, no question about that.
“But if you need to eat an omelette, it is inevitable, you have to break the egg,” the APC chairman added.
