The APC says Tinubu never promised to eradicate poverty within three years, as spokesman Felix Morka defends the president’s economic agenda
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has defended President Bola Tinubu against claims that he promised to eradicate poverty in Nigeria within three years of assuming office, insisting that he never set a specific deadline for achieving the goal.
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The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, made the clarification on Tuesday while appearing on Arise Television’s Morning Show, where he was questioned about the president’s campaign promises and the pace of their implementation.
Morka, who also serves as spokesman for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, argued that campaign promises should be understood as objectives to be pursued progressively rather than outcomes that must be achieved within a fixed period.
According to him, Tinubu did not promise to eliminate poverty within his first 100 days, two years or three years in office.
“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,” Morka said.
He maintained that the president had not attached a specific timeline to the eradication of poverty in Nigeria.
“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.
Morka urged Nigerians to evaluate the administration’s poverty reduction efforts against the wider economic challenges confronting the country.
He argued that it was unfair to conclude that the government had failed simply because all the outcomes associated with its campaign promises had not yet materialised.
The APC spokesman said Tinubu was attempting to address what he described as fundamental problems affecting the country, adding that economic reforms and policy implementation required time.
“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.
His comments come amid public debate over the administration’s economic policies and their impact on Nigerians, particularly in relation to poverty and living costs.
The APC spokesman also pointed to Nigeria’s four-year presidential tenure, with the possibility of re-election for another four years, as a framework intended to give elected leaders time to understand national challenges and implement policies.
According to Morka, a president’s first term allows time to identify problems, formulate strategies and begin implementing solutions.
He argued that a second term, if granted by voters, could provide further opportunity to advance those policies.
Morka’s position is that the administration should be assessed in light of its policy objectives and the challenges it faces, rather than against a three-year poverty eradication deadline he says Tinubu never announced.
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However, the debate over the government’s performance remains tied to the extent to which its economic policies improve living conditions and reduce hardship for Nigerians.
