The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu pledged to eliminate poverty in Nigeria within three years of taking office, insisting that he did not set a specific deadline for achieving the goal.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, who also served as spokesman for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, made the clarification on Tuesday during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show programme.
Morka argued that campaign commitments should be assessed as long-term objectives rather than promises tied to fixed deadlines, noting that even economically advanced nations have struggled to eliminate poverty.
“You know, the only thing you didn’t say in just what you read out was a calendar of what the president gave you was a timeline for eradicating poverty that even the wealthiest countries have not managed to eradicate in all of their years of post-independent government,” he said.
He maintained that Tinubu never committed to eradicating poverty within his first 100 days, 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 am going to eradicate poverty. You didn’t say that in what you just read out,” he added.
The APC spokesman urged Nigerians to evaluate the administration’s efforts to reduce poverty against the broader economic difficulties confronting the country. He said the president was working to address underlying structural problems and argued that the failure of some campaign promises to produce immediate results did not automatically mean the administration had failed.
“Now, the president is attempting to fix that foundational problem. You come and you want to judge and say all of the outcomes you promise, whether directly or indirectly or by suggestion, have not manifested. Therefore, you are not doing that in three years,” Morka said.
He also defended the length of Nigeria’s presidential tenure, arguing that the constitutionally prescribed four-year term, with the possibility of re-election for another four years, provides time for an administration to understand national challenges, formulate policies and implement its plans.
According to Morka, a president’s first term allows for an assessment of the country’s problems and the development of strategies to address them, while a second term, if secured through voters’ support, offers an opportunity to deepen implementation.
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