Tinubu’s support group takes message of president’s reforms to Anambra, vows to mobilize support

By Ifeizu Joe 

A political support group rooting for President Bola Tinubu in 2027, ‘Relax Tinubu Is Fixing Nigeria (RTIFN), has taken its message of the president’s reforms to Anambra State, calling for support to enable him win a second term.

The group which was led by an Anambra grassroot politician and philanthropist, Chief John Bosco Onunkwo held the South – East zonal Town hall and Public Engagement meeting at the International Convention Center in Awka, where the the group said it had come to listen, educate, engage directly with the people, and exchange ideas, while strengthening the relationship between government and the citizens.

Hon. Deborah Farida Ibrahim, National Director, Townhall and Public Engagement, RTIFN, told the crowd of supporters from the South -East states who gathered at the International Convention Center, ICC, venue of the meeting in Awka, that RTIFN was established with the responsibility to take information about government programmes and policies directly to the people and those in the communities without access to accurate information.

Nigerian citizens, she said, deserved to understand government programmes available, areas of benefits to them and challenges requiring attention, even as she explained that their role was not just about singing government praises.

Their broader role, she pointed out, included listening to the people, communicating accurately, encouraging constructive participation and promoting what she called peaceful community development, reasons that necessitated Town Hall meetings like the one she had come to address.

She said that President Tinubu emerged at a time when the country’s challenges were daunting, but had taken the bull by the horns, taking difficult decisions aimed at repositioning the Nigerian economy and creating a foundation for sustainable growth.

In spite of the immediate challenges and sacrifices associated with the reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, Hon Farida Ibrahim said Nigerians were encouraged to look carefully at the programmes and institutions being developed to provide opportunities and social support while the economy is reformed.

The Tinubu administration, she further explained, had created access to opportunities for young Nigerians in the area of education, where the NELFUND student loan initiative has intervened to help eligible Nigerian students access higher education without allowing financial limitations to weigh them down.

“For a nation with a very youthful population, investment in education and human capital is an investment in Nigeria’s future.

“Our message to our young people is simple: education, skills, innovation and entrepreneurship must remain central to our national development”, she said.

Aside from human capital development through education, another laudable achievement of the Tinubu administration, she said, is its intervention in support of small businesses and enterprises, artisans, transporters, traders, technology entrepreneurs and manufacturers in providing financing, support, skills development and access to markets.

She encouraged women and the young people in the South East to take advantage of these opportunities available to them.

Added to the foregoing, the National Director, Town Hall and Public Engagement of RTIFN said the administration’s investments in infrastructure, transport, power, agriculture, digital development nationwide remain important in stimulating economic activity, especially in the South East.

“The region is known for enterprise, commerce, manufacturing, technology, craftsmanship and innovation. What our people need is an environment where businesses can grow, young people can find opportunities, and communities can participate meaningfully in national development,” she said, adding that the people of the zone had demonstrated extraordinary entrepreneurial capacity.

“The South East has never been short of talent, enterprise or creativity. We therefore believe that the South East should not merely be a beneficiary of development programmes, but a major partner in building the Nigerian economy.

“Our women must be empowered, our young people equipped with skills, our entrepreneurs have access to finance and markets, farmers must have their tools and support to increase production, communities have access to quality infrastructure, and the people have a voice in decisions affecting their future”, she further said.

The Tinubu administration, she emphasized, was neither deaf nor morbid, but understood the frustration of Nigerians, and that people want immediate improvement in their daily lives.

She therefore noted that nation-building remains a process that requires the combination of patience and accountability, hope with hard work, and support with constructive engagement.

In this regard, she urged that Nigerians should be patient to allow the reforms to mature, while continuing to demand transparency, good governance and results because, according to her, “progress doesn’t happen overnight and prosperity cannot be built without sacrifice, discipline, investment and collective responsibility”.

”Our message in RTIFN is one of hope and responsible citizenship. Let’s seek accurate information, reject misinformation and unnecessary division.

“Let us encourage peaceful dialogue, support programmes that genuinely benefit our communities, hold government accountable respectfully and constructively, and remember that Nigeria belongs to all of us and government cannot do everything alone”, she said.

South East zonal Coordinator of RTIFN. Chief John Bosco Onunkwo said they had come to tell Ndi Igbo that President Tinubu had the best of intentions for them.

Tinubu’s policies, he agreed, may momentarily appear harsh; the long-term benefits therefrom, he said, will definitely soothe the nerves of Nigerians.

He said in all honesty, the people of the South East zone had felt cheated, deprived, and marginalized, but reminded them that they had begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel since the Tinubu presidency.

This light he said had shone so brightly that even the blind could feel it, explaining that Tinubu’s provision of road infrastructure across the zone, the establishment of the South East Development Commission (SEDC), the NELFUND student initiative, the deregulation of the power sector to encourage independent power generation, the on- going construction of the Lagos – Calabar coastal highway, among the other over 300 projects nation wide remain testament to the administration’s good works.

He called on Ndigbo to rally round President Tinubu and support him for a second term in office.
He said he had done more for the people despite giving him only 5% of total votes cast in the zone during the last presidential election.

“This time around, our president has said that we will be part of the work of bringing his second tenure about and reap the fruits of our labour together.

“Everybody, men, women and children will shine. The life we live is expectant, and I bet you, the hunger you see today will not last.

“Our president is a progressive and has come a long way. The APC, of course, is our party, and if you are supporting the president and Tinubu is fixing Nigeria, then you will be at the top of the APC.

“It doesn’t matter the party you profess; come join hands with us and let’s work together as progressives and build a Nigeria of your dream. Let’s vote in Tinubu for a second term; all hands must be on deck.

“The progressives are working together, and we are on the march, and every obstacle would be surmounted,” Onunkwo, an engineer, said.

He announced that Prince Arthur Eze, also an engineer and the Grand Patron of RTIFN in the zone, urged the people to cry no more because their prayers had been answered and their voice heard by President Tinubu.