By Yinka Adewale
The Bridge for Renewed Hope, a political group which claimed to have operated under the platform of the Atiku Youth Wing for nearly 20 years, has shifted its loyalty and is actively rooting for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
National Coordinator of the Bridge for Renewed Hope, Comrade Rowland Odih, made the declaration in an interview with our correspondent recently in Abuja.
According to Comrade Odih, “Atiku may have good plans for the country, but they have not been actualised and tested after many unsuccessful contests. But we have a president whose plans are visible, indicating that our country is on course under his leadership.”
Comrade Odih noted that his group was not supporting President Tinubu blindly, but out of conviction that the digital skills, education financing, and vocational training programmes embedded in his broader economic policy are geared towards youth empowerment.
“Since its inception, this administration has implemented several programmes designed to provide life-long skills and employment for young people. For the benefit of doubt, let me refer you to the 3 million Technical Talent programme, NATEP, NELFUND, and the Nigerian Youth Academy.
“Today, some Nigerians are complaining about hardship imposed by fuel subsidy removal. While we are all feeling the initial pain, let us not forget that it was an economically unsustainable policy that threatened to sink the economy. Now, we have a president who has summoned courage to revamp the economy. We are convinced that Nigerians will be grateful to Tinubu in no distant time,” Comrade Odih said.
The National Coordinator of the Bridge for Renewed Hope appealed to Nigerians to re-elect Tinubu to complete his economic programmes in the next four years.
“Already, we can see the visible gains of this administration’s economic policies, including GDP growth, increased government revenue, expanded foreign exchange reserve, and improved infrastructure.
“We are optimistic that President Tinubu will successfully complete his laudable economic policies when re-elected in 2027. That is why we are deploying advocacy and partnerships across the 36 states and 776 local government areas of the federation to mobilise 10 million votes for Tinubu. In 2023, we mobilised 3.5 million votes for Atiku. The benchmark will be surpassed this time because we are working for a tested and trusted candidate,” he said.