From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
NATIONAL Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has revealed that the APC administration has so much to learn from the Peoples Republic of China, particularly, in the area of fight against corruption and dead infrastructure development.
The APC boss, who made the disclosure yesterday, maintained that given the vast population of China, the country has been able to organise its fight against corruption to ‘the level that poverty is virtually non-existence in China’.
Speaking in Abuja, when the out-going Chinese Ambassador, Gu Xiaojie, paid him a farewell visit, Oyegun said the positive result of President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to China will soon manifest in Nigeria.
His words: “APC has great respect for the Peoples Republic of China on party to party basis; we have listened to you and accepted your offer and I can tell you we are going to take it up even if only for us to come and learn how you have managed the menace of corruption which you are dealing with strictly.
“We read about this development every day and given despite your population, you have been able to organise your country in such a way that you have raised the standard of living of that vast population to such level that relative poverty is virtually non-existence.
“So, we have a lot of lesson to learn from you as a party so that we, too, can learn from your experience and be able to pull ourselves up like China also did.”
Reacting to President Buhari’s recent visit to China, the ruling party boss said: “I must say that the result of the visit of Mr. President was something that has given us a lot of joy because substantial agreements were recorded.
“In the next few months, knowing China as a serious country that makes commitments and fulfils them, as soon as our budget comes on stream, we’ll be able to see the practical results on ground particularly in the area of infrastructure and agriculture.”
Speaking earlier, the out-going ambassador said since APC came to power in Nigeria, the Communist Party of China has expressed readiness to work with the country in the area of experience sharing.
“The Chinese government and the people are ready to work closely with Nigeria in implementing policy
initiatives that exist between the two countries and others we may identify such as exchange of views on governance and party to party relations between APC and the Communist Party of China.
“It will also take place in some other areas of economic aspect like agriculture and energy sectors. These are areas the Chinese government and the Chinese business community will be working on here in Nigeria. I am very impressed in the achievements we have recorded in the last two years. I will like to take this opportunity to appreciate the assistance given by the government of Nigeria to do my duties here.
“Ever since APC won the election last year, Chinese Communist party has expressed readiness to work with APC in areas like experience sharing and capacity building.”