Nigeria must address marginalisation to progress, says Boroffice

ALL Progressives Congress ( APC) presidential aspirant, Prof. Robert Ajayi Boroffice, yesterday, said for Nigeria to make any meaningful progress, it must address issues of marginalisation, especially the economic backwardness of the North.

He noted that a situation where almost all the major industries in the country are located in the southern part does not augur well for even development and social harmony, adding that the insecurity posed by banditry in the North could be traced to economic marginalisation.

The APC stalwart, who addressed journalists in Abuja, said though the cost of the party’s presidential nomination forms could be considered to be on the high side, Nigerians should note that political parties need money to function.

He submitted that contrary to what obtains in other advanced democracies, party members do not donate or pay membership levies to support running of party, insisting, however, that the cost of forms does not mean that the presidential ticket was available to the highest bidder or moneybag.

Borofice, who is also the Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate, recalled that when President Muhammadu Buhari mounted the saddle in 2015, he began addressing the nation’s problems from the root, stating that he is impressed by what the President had been able to achieve in the area of infrastructure.

The senator said after being a member of not less than 15 Senate committees in the course of his 11 years in the upper legislative chamber and overseeing various agencies and parastatals, he knows what constitutes the major challenges for the country.

Explaining why he decided to run, the ranking lawmaker submitted: “Project Nigeria is dear to my heart. The country is at a very critical juncture in its history. Everybody should be concerned. Nobody can do it alone.”

He pledged that if elected next year, he would reform the energy sector to drive Nigeria’s economy into prosperity, among others.