The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan on Wednesday expressed optimism that 2023 will again be a year for the All Progressive Congress(APC)

Lawan was confident that his party, the APC, will be victorious in the general elections scheduled for February next year.

He spoke in Abuja while receiving in audience the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and members of his delegation who paid a visit to the APC Senate Caucus.

Tinubu was at the National Assembly to intimate the APC Senate Caucus of his ambition to vie for the ticket of the Party for the Presidential polls in February 2023.

“2023, Your Excellency, by the Grace of God, will be a year for APC in Nigeria again,” Lawan said in response to Asiwaju Tinubu’s earlier announcement of his intention to seek the APC ticket to run for presidency in 2023.

The Senate President said: Most of the challenges that we face today in our country are challenges that have international dimensions and that is not to say that we are running away from responsibilities.

“We took our responsibility head on in 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari declared that he was going to deal with insurgency in the north east then, and he did, quite successfully too but of course, we have insecurity in other parts of the country today. These are some of our challenges.

“I’m very sure, given the kind of results that we are getting recently, before May 29, 2023, the security situation of this country would have improved by the Grace of God.”

The Senate President appreciated Asiwaju Tinubu for according recognition to the APC Senate Caucus as a critical stakeholder of the party.

“Your Excellency, we have all listened to you with rapt attention and we are happy that you are here to talk with us as a Caucus.

“Your Excellency, all of us here, I dare say, know who you are but this is just an effort to have some kind of face-to-face engagement with us and we are very happy this event is taking place and once again, we appreciate this visit.

“The APC National Assembly caucus particularly the APC Senate Caucus is central, fundamental pillar of our party.

“From 2019, this caucus has shown loyalty, commitment, dedication, focus and purposeful orientation to ensure that our victory from 2015 and 2019, as a political party, are fully utilised for the benefit of Nigerians.

“Your Excellency, from 2019, when we were voted in, this APC caucus, this set of senators of APC, has remained committed to the ideals of our party, the APC. They have shown uncommon loyalty to the party and they have shown resolve to work within ourselves and with the executive arm of government.

“Today, the APC administration has achieved so much even though there is still a lot to do but we have achieved so much from 2019 to date because of the commitment of the National Assembly APC caucus.

“We have shown our unrelenting desire to continue to work for the people of Nigeria. Your Excellency, this political party needs the kind of commitment that the members of the National Assembly of APC extraction have shown across the country.

“Your Excellency, you have done so much as a Governor. You were a member of this National Assembly and you remain a member of this special Legislative organisation.

“We have learnt so much from you. What we need today is for us to ensure that our members across the country continue to have faith, show faith, show commitment and wherever we are challenged, we should be courageous and brave enough to take decisions that will reverse any untoward and unexpected situation.

“As an administration, President Muhammadu Buhari has given a very good leadership…we have four locus years between 2015 and 2019.

“By locust years, I mean APC between 2015 and 2019, as an administration, had no opportunity or lost the opportunity to operate at full capacity. Today, Your Excellency, the situation is different.

“From 2019 to date, in both Chambers of the National Assembly, we have almost exhausted the major pillar of our Legislative Agenda, to the Glory of God.

“It has been a story of success, a story of breaking jinxes, a story of having first in terms of legislations. This is supposed to continue. This is supposed to be carried forward and at this point, I want to assure you, that members of the APC caucus in the Senate and indeed in the National Assembly in both Chambers, will continue to work hard until we continue our tenure in 2023.”