The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said President Bola Tinubu never set a specific deadline for ending poverty in Nigeria.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, stated this while speaking on Arise News on Tuesday.
Morka was responding to questions about Tinubu’s campaign promises on poverty, hunger, job creation and economic growth.
He said such promises should be viewed as long-term objectives that would be achieved progressively rather than targets expected to be completed within a few years.
“When a president or anybody who is campaigning for office gives, you know, campaign speeches and sets objectives, they are liable to progressive realisation. They are not an event,” Morka said.
He stressed that Tinubu never promised to eradicate poverty within his first 100 days, first two years or three years in office.
“The president never told you that in the first month or 100 days of my government or in the first two years or three years, I’m going to eradicate poverty,” he said.
Morka also argued that the Constitution allows a president to seek a second four-year term, giving an administration more time to implement its policies and programmes.
“There’s a reason the Constitution gave every elected president the possibility of a re-election,” he said.
On when Nigerians should expect the administration to fulfil its promises, including the creation of one million digital economy jobs, Morka said the government should be assessed after its full eight-year tenure.
“At the end of eight years, you can, you can come here and have this conversation,” he said.
