By JAMES KWEN
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has congratulated Nigerians for witnessing the New Year 2023.
The Speaker said the year 2023 will be significant for Nigerians, being the year that citizens will elect new leaders to pilot the affairs of the country.
Gbajabiamila said he is optimistic about the opportunities and possibilities that lie ahead and urged Nigerians to remain resolute and determined as a people.
He noted that 2023 is a defining year for Nigeria, which is why the citizens should be united and speak with one voice.
The Speaker in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi wished Nigerians success individually and collectively in 2023 and called for prayers for successful elections.
Similarly, the Minority Caucus in the House congratulated Nigerians on the dawning of the New year, 2023, urging them to further unite, brace up and forge a formidable front in the determination to rescue our nation from oppressive forces.
The caucus said, as a people, Nigerians must step into the New Year with thanksgiving to God for the miracle of surviving the “suffocating economic hardship, escalated insecurity and myriads of suppressive experiences occasioned by the misrule of the incompetent, insensitive and very corrupt All Progressives Congress (APC).”
In a statement signed by the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, the opposition lawmakers said, the New year presents a fresh opportunity for us as Nigerians to rekindle our sense of patriotism, love, care and commitment to one another as we redirect our productive energies, collective ingenuity, creativity and resourcefulness to reinvent our nation for the good of all.
They said, the year 2023 is significant, being the year of the much-awaited general elections that will mark the end of eight years of asphyxiating regime of the APC, as Nigerians march to the polls to elect a new people-oriented leadership to commence the onerous task of rebuilding our nation.
“Our Caucus therefore urges Nigerians to set aside all parochial personal, group, sectional, ethnic and religious sentiments, focus on the larger national interest and firmly resist all selfish and anti-democratic forces that might attempt to distract or subvert their will in the elections.
“Against this backdrop, all democracy institutions and security agencies must deploy all necessary measures to guarantee a free, fair, transparent, peaceful and credible electoral process where Nigerians freely participate and in which all votes count at the end of the day.
“The Minority Caucus urges President Muhammadu Buhari to write his name in gold by ensuring that he leaves a lasting legacy of a leader that ensured free and fair election and hand over to whoever Nigerians genuinely elect in the forthcoming Presidential election irrespective of the party the individual belongs to.
“Furthermore, as the nation prepares for a new lease of life under a new Order, our Caucus demands in very strong terms that the APC administration should not continue to worsen the already perilous situation but use the turn of the year to end its unrestrained borrowing and reckless accumulation of debts with which it decimated our productive sectors and mortgaged the future of our nation.
“Nigerians earnestly desire a government that truly works in their interest and 2023 holds the promise.The Minority Caucus greets Nigerians on the occasion of the New year and wishes the nation many fruitful years ahead under a purposeful and caring leadership,” the opposition lawmakers added.