…says APC, Buhari have failed Nigerians
The Youth Party has urged the federal government to step up efforts to tackle insecurity, review some of its monetary policies and take urgent measures towards reforming key sectors of the Nigerian economy so as to tackle rising inflation and alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians.

The Youth Party, in a statement by its Chair, Tomiwa Aladekomo, expressed disappointment over the mismanagement of the economy by the Federal Government which it noted has continued to drive inflation and unemployment, thereby inflicting pain and hardship on citizens.

The Party was reacting to the March 2021 Consumer Price Index/Inflation Report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday. The data revealed that Nigeria’s inflation rate has continued to rise as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation increased to 18.17 per cent (year-on-year) in March; the highest reported in four years, since April 2017.

The Party noted that the new data from the NBS is a clear indication that the nation is heading towards a severe economic crisis under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government.

Aladekomo, while charging the government to support macroeconomic policies that will drive growth he further called for a deliberate policy of investing in infrastructure, among others, to ease the means of doing business in the country.

Noting that the APC-led government has failed to deliver real dividends of democracy to citizens of the country, he added that all indices of social and economic development in the country, including the worsening security situation, were in the negative.

According to him, “While many Nigerians are struggling to stay alive, we continue to receive news of rising inflation with unemployment rate growing at frightening dimensions; insecurity is worsening, the cost of transportation has quadrupled, plus the continued decline in domestic and direct foreign investments, all due to the uncertainty created by Federal Government’s management of the socioeconomic issues.

“We must act now before the situation worsens.”

Covid-19 Vaccination- Nigeria Response.

As of 31 March 2021, the total number of confirmed cases was 162,891; discharged patients was 151648, and 2057 deaths in all the states, including the federal capital territories.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an established body of knowledge about coronaviruses’ structure and function, causing diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) enabled accelerated development of various vaccine technologies during early 2020. On 10 January 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence data was shared through GISAID, and by 19 March, the global pharmaceutical industry announced a significant commitment to addressing COVID-19.
In Phase III trials, several COVID-19 vaccines have demonstrated efficacy as high as 95% in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections. As of April 2021, 13 vaccines were authorized by at least one national regulatory authority for public use: two RNA vaccines (the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine), five conventional inactivated vaccines (BBIBP-CorV, CoronaVac, Covaxin, WIBP-CorV, and CoviVac), four viral vector vaccines (Sputnik V, the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine, Convidecia, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) and two protein subunit vaccines (EpiVacCorona and RBD-Dimer).

In total, as of March 2021, 308 vaccine candidates were in various stages of development, with 73 in clinical research, including 24 in Phase I trials, 33 in Phase III trials, and 16 in Phase III development.

In the light of this, many players in the COVID-19 vaccine market, the Federal Ministry of Health and its agencies, the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, has assured that only WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines will be introduced in the country. Also, depending on availability, it will inform the prioritization of the rolling out of vaccines.

On 2 March 2021, COVAX (Collaboration of WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, and CEPI) shipped in 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine Abuja, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. This was an effort by the COVAX team to deliver at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.

This first batch of Covid 19 vaccine by Covax makes Nigeria the 3rd country in Africa to get the vaccine. It also came with a lot of congratulatory messages from different parts of the world. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization Director-General, was among those hailing the jabs’ arrival in Nigeria.

Upon the vaccines’ arrival, though there were some logistics constraints, they shipped in batches to Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control for final assessment and approval. The training was also organized for all health workers across the country on the vaccination exercise.

On 7 March, President Muhammad Buhari as the first citizen of Nigeria, received his first jab of the COVID 19 vaccination. This was in fulfillment with the rolling out phase of the vaccination exercise. The roll-out phase is as follows:

First Phase – Frontline workers and Strategic Leadership
Second Phase – Individuals between age 50 and above
Third Phase – Individuals between the ages of 18 and 49 with underlying health conditions like diabetes.
Last Phase- Individuals between the ages of 18 and 49 without any underlying health conditions.

The first step to getting vaccinated is to book an appointment with NPHCDA on their website.

But despite these outlined phases, it was observed that there is no restriction on who can register on the website.

The vaccination dates are issued without any check for eligibility of different population groups. With this approach, the different phases of the vaccination exercise seem not to be working.

Some centers listed on the website are not carried along with the program. Making the whole process of the vaccination exercise look like Nigeria is not delivering as they have said.

Although putting an end to this health crisis and achieving herd immunity might not take place until 2024, coupled with the surrounding issues on the vaccination, but there is great optimism that the effective measure put in place by the NCDC during the pandemic, if not abandoned, will prevent a third wave of the virus in Nigeria.

As hospitals are now being crowded with COVID-19 patients, government and citizens alike must avoid crowded places that could serve as super-spreaders of the virus.

The National Identity Card registration points across the country is a typical case in point. The crowds at those centres are not only worrying but could be potentially catastrophic as very little attention is being paid to social distancing and other precautionary measures.

If the government insists on the announced deadline for the registration, then it must seek ways of eliminating the red tapes and partnering with relevant institutions (or the private sector) that will bring registration points close to the doorsteps of most Nigerians.

This will make the process seamless and efficient – without mentioning the thousands of jobs that will be created.

However, if the government remains adamant in its approach, then it must suspend the registration until the coronavirus has been effectively contained. Our country can avert a major health crisis by applying a common-sense approach.

On Saturday 18 December 2020, elections were scheduled to elect local government chairpersons and counsellors across the 17 local governments in Abia state. The Youth Party was on the ballot with three credible candidates in Bende local government to compete for counsellorship seats in item ward A, D and Ajayi Ward A.

Unfortunately, the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission sabotaged the entire process. Election materials did not arrive until very late in the evening in most of the local governments. And when it did, the materials were either grossly inadequate or above the registered voters in the affected polling unit. Sadly, materials never arrived Bende local government where our candidates were supposed to compete.

Worth mentioning, also, was the dubious process of accreditation. None of our party agents witnessed the accreditation of voters using the official voters’ register. It was a chaotic exercise, fraught with irregularities and rigged in favour of the Peoples’ Democratic Party.

Not to mention the conflicting role played by men of the Nigeria Police some of whom were caught on tape intimidating innocent voters.

These anomalous situations deterred thousands of eligible voters from exercising their democratic right. The glaring incompetence of ABSIEC was aptly captured in a statement issued by Hon Benjamin Kalu, Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs. He said “No polling unit in Bende local government area opened for accreditation. There were no voters register anywhere in the polling units. It wasn’t just that the election was rigged. In this case, there was no election.”

The Youth Party, therefore, demands that a fresh election is held. This time, however, the process must be devoid of manipulation and irregularities. The ABSIEC should seize the opportunity that a fresh election provides to not only redeem its image but to restore the confidence of the people in the electioneering process. If the Abia state government refuses to cancel this election, we will have no other option than to seek redress in court.