The former Speaker of Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani expressed confidence on Thursday that under the leadership of the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has the potential to govern for more than six decades.
This bold prediction recalls a similar statement made about 15 years ago by Vincent Ogbulafor, the then-national Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Ogbulafor had asserted that the PDP would dominate for at least 60 years due to its commendable policies. However, the party was unseated in the 2015 elections, contradicting his forecast.
Despite the historical context, Zailani remains optimistic about the APC’s future under Ganduje’s guidance.
He said, “We have no doubt in our mind that you (Ganduje) will lead this party to continuously forming government in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for more than 60 years. We know you can do it and we have absolute confidence that you can do it. As you can see, we are representing the country because all six geopolitical zones are adequately represented here.
“We may not be in the House of Representatives now. But we want to tell you that all of us have the energy, the vision and the interest of the party at heart, so we are offering ourselves for any party assignments.
“With this, we know from one of us, that you may have a special place for either the legislators or former members of our forum because we saw what you have done with one of our members who was your immediate past commissioner for finance. We want you to do more by possibly picking one of our ladies to work within the APC. We will continue to pray for you to show our solidarity and our support.
“It is your responsibility to consolidate the National Assembly, whether you are inside or outside. The psychological thing that binds you together should continue. That is why we are so happy with the legislative projects in their constituencies, even though some may ask why constituency projects. But an ordinary voter, even though your main function is to make laws and oversight functions, will like to see something on the ground.
“He doesn’t think how legislation is affecting his life or how oversight function is affecting his life. But he can easily see a constituency project whether it is a borehole, whether the building of a school building or clinic and so many other things. So we think it is very important, whether you’re from third, fourth or fifth legislation, to see to your constituency project when you are elected. You will feel very happy and satisfied.”
