- Safiu Kehinde
Former Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, has admitted that the All Progressive Congress (APC) owes Nigerians an apology over failure to deliver its campaign promises as well as the politicised removal of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Speaking in an interview with Channels TV yesterday, Fayemi admitted that Jonathan plan to remove fuel subsidy was right.
However, the plan, which was heavily protested with the APC spearheading the agitation in 2015, was eventually carried out by President Bola Tinubu with his inauguration day declaration of subsidy removal in 2023.
Fayemi held that the current administration have not succeeded in an achieving everything it promised Nigerians.
He, however, maintained that the administration’s inability to fulfill the promises are not due to incompetence.
The former Minister attributed it to other structural impediments that have made things more difficult for the ruling party.q
“Oh, clearly, we must apologise to the Nigerian people. We have not succeeded in achieving everything we promised to the Nigerian people.
“And that’s not just because we were incompetent, but because there were other structural impediments that have made things more difficult for us. But clearly, we haven’t done enough to make life abundant for the Nigerian people.” He said.
While apologizing on behalf of the APC-led administration, Fayemi charged the ruling party to get its act together.
“And for that, I clearly would not hesitate to apologise to the Nigerian people for that. We can do a lot more. An apology, well, it may give us a feel-good factor, feel-good vibes or feelings, but that’s not really what we need.
“We need to get our act together, all of us who consider ourselves leaders in that space. Because if we don’t, the risk we run is higher than the returns we’re going to get.
“For me, I have been extraordinarily fortunate, I must admit to have stood on the shoulders of giants. I was brought up by the Enahoros, the Wole Soyinkas of this world. They were the ones who lifted me up as a young man when I started on this journey.
“And I have a duty, which is why my wife and I have decided to settle on one line and say, I have a duty to the youth of Africa to find a way to enable them to become better actors than I have been.” he added.