Ahead of the 2023 general elections, a foremost group within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the All Progressives Youth Forum (APYF), has transitioned to The Progressives Forum (TPF) for greater inclusion, a wider reach, better representation, and more strategic engagement.
The TPF founder, Barrister Ismaeel Ahmed, stated that the forum’s objective was to participate in and take charge of governance, adding value and providing policy direction and execution through its various members, who are aides and appointees.
He expressed satisfaction that in the years of APYF, members of the group have taken elective and appointive positions that have added value to the government and impacted the well-being of the people and the performance of government.
He said: “Our mission is to take our destiny into our hands. We aim to establish a pool of professionals who can take charge of policy-making and manage the party’s structures. We want to bring our expertise and training to bear on the party structures and governance. We will be pushing for cabinet positions for our members and everybody involved in progressive ideology.”
Tracing the development of the forum, Ahmed said after 7 years, the group has expanded its frontiers to accommodate more like-minded people, hence the transition from APYF to The Progressives Forum (TPF) to ensure the victory of the party and its presidential flag bearer in the 2023 general election.
Earlier, the Chairman of APYF, Ife Adebayo, noted that the TPF is focused on strengthening the party’s progressive impact. Adding that a significant part of the initiative that the TPF would bring to bear is the establishment of the Progressives Institute.
According to Adebayo, the institute will focus on developing leaders and instilling progressive ideals and ideology in future leaders.
Unveiling TPF, the spokesman for the APC presidential candidate and Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo eulogised the motive behind the formation and transformation of APYF to TPF.
According to the Minister of State, Labour, the TPF would serve as the missing link that will help in energising the base, providing facts and figures that the impressive performance of the government and the ruling party. He noted that the TPF would be able to fill the gap of the missing salesman for the party and government going forward.
In his keynote address, Keyamo stated that the country owes its sustenance to the present multiparty democracy to the doggedness, integrity, and ideological standpoint of the presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said, “Without Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, we will not have a multiparty democracy today. That’s the truth! He has earned it. If you are wise enough 2003, was a turning point in Nigeria’s democracy. The PDP wiped out all the people and states in both the South and the North.
He noted that it took the forthrightness of Tinubu to stand against the deft moves by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to turn the country into a one-party state in 2003. These, he believes, are the ideals that must become the reference point as efforts are made to institute progressivism as an ideology in the country’s politics.
“But Asiwaju fought back and kept Lagos. Although they nearly entered Lagos, he fought fiercely to regain control of it. At that point, they came to him and said, ‘Oya, Asiwaju come to PDP so that you won’t have problems in 2007.’
It takes a strength of character and conviction to say ‘No, I won’t join the ruling party.’ From Lagos, he started to fight back before he stretched his hands over the Niger and today, we have General Buhari in power.
“That is why we have a multiparty democracy today. If not, this country would have ended up as a one-party state. I usually say it. You may not want to vote for him but give him his credit. Without that man standing today, we would have only a party called the PDP. That’s the truth.
