National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) faction, Sulai Ezeokenwa, has hailed President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu as minister as bold and commendable.
Ezeokenwa, who took over the leadership of APGA in 2023 after an eight-year tenure by Chief Victor Oye, expressed his approval and pride over his new appointment in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
President Tinubu has appointed seven new ministers in recent reshuffles, giving them various portfolios that require Senate confirmation.
Among these appointments, Ms. Odumegwu-Ojukwu was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, a position that has attracted considerable attention given her distinguished career and the political significance of her appointment.
Mr. Ezeokenwa stressed that the appointment of Mrs. Odumegwu Ojukwu reflects a progressive step towards inclusive governance and recognition of achievements to the nation.
He said: “Bianca is one of the most respected members of the party. She is very iconic. A woman of great qualifications. The wife of our national leader.
“In life and in death, we have an external leader in the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. He is our spiritual leader because APGA is not a normal political party.
“I would like to congratulate Mr. Tinubu for taking such a commendable and bold step.”
He said he had previously called on the president to assemble a strong cabinet of technocrats to effectively promote his policies.
Ezeokenwa, a lawyer, said he supports the president’s success but said something must be done quickly to revive the economy.
Furthermore, he said: “It can be said that the economy of this country has been bearing the brunt in recent years and no one can escape the fact that Nigerians are suffering.
“No matter how one wants to play politics, the president has come out in various forums to admit that he understands the pain and suffering of Nigerians. That means he understands the reality. The inflation trend is worrying.
“When you try to turn things around, you have to look beyond party members. You have to go beyond partisan politics. We’re going to find the Nigerians who can, the technocrats and the dumb people who can actually make a difference.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about Nigerians. I want Tinubu to succeed because if he succeeds, Nigeria will succeed. ‘hunger levels will decline.’
According to him, a successful president will attract investors and improve the country’s image.
He said Nigeria needed to not only become number one in Africa but also one of the top five major economies in the world.
Mr Ezeokenwa said: We have enormous human capital. So I commend the President for taking that very bold and bold move. He plans to invite people beyond his political party to support his A New Hope policy. ”
He added that Nigeria’s security architecture needs to be decentralized to address the myriad security challenges facing the country.
On the crisis within the party, he said there was no fiction in APGA as the party remained a united and indivisible family.
“Everything about politics is dynamism, so when it comes to APGA, we won’t lose sight of the fact that there may be problems, but the party will still be high.
“What we are doing today at APGA is not fictionalization. What we know is that some people who are not members of APGA are trying to hijack the party through the back door.” he said.
