The National Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Oye, has called on Nigerians to brace up for a tough 2018.
He said the year will be challenging, noting that being a year preceding a general election, there would be heightened tension in the country, while calling on President Muhammadu Buhari and the security agencies to prevent the untoward occurrence.
Oye who spoke to journalists in Awka described 2017 as generally impressive on security and economy but decried the harsh living condition of the people.
He said, “Nigerians should gird their loins and be ready for the task ahead. 2018 is going to be tough, politically, economically, socially and otherwise.
“There will be heightened insecurity, I have envisaged it as a result of the 2019 general election. Politicians will get more money, more arms, there will be more tension preparatory to the election.
“President Buhari and the security agencies have a lot of work to do to ensure that the security of this country is maintained so that it will not affect the country adversely.
“I pray nothing bad will happen, may God give us humane and kind-hearted leaders in this country and not those who masquerade as people’s Messiah. I pray for leaders with passion and vision, men who will serve this country selflessly,” he said.
Oye blamed the poor late take-off of the economy in 2017 on the late passage of the budget and called on the National Assembly to be more proactive in approving the proposal next year.
“It started on a very quiet note, the first quarter was fiscally tasking because it took the National Assembly time to pass the budget, that made the economy to operate a very slow pace.
“The second quarter saw more government activities, the economy was jump-started, the economy did well judging from the statistics but the living condition of the people was relatively poor”, he said.
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