By NEFISHETU YAKUBU

National Chairman of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Sen. David Mark, on Monday inaugurated the party’s 50-member Policy and Manifesto Committee, urging it to focus on people-centred policies that will ease the lives of Nigerians.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee is chaired by a former Governor of Edo, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

Mark, while speaking at the occasion in Abuja, said Nigerians deserved clarity, firm commitment and measurable outcomes.

While stating that policies must deliver visible impact, not propaganda, he warned against ambiguity that would undermine trust and accountability.

Speaking on Nigeria’s transportation system, Mark noted that good roads was critical to accessing work places, markets, schools and hospitals, while unaffordable movement shrinks opportunity and deepens inequality.

He said that ADC’s policies must guarantee transportation as a social and economic lifeline, sustenance of productivity, inclusion and integration for citizens across urban and rural communities.

Mark described insecurity as a reality beyond budgets, stressing that no economy grows without adequate protection of lives and livelihoods.

He also stressed the importance of quality education as the builder of human capital, calling for sanctions for parents denying their children schooling.

“I charge the committee to look into the possibility of criminalising actions of parents who fail to send their children to school,” he said.

Policies, he also said, must address jobs, small businesses and the informal economy, emphasising that initiatives failed when they ignore how most Nigerians actually earn livelihoods daily.

Mark called for safeguards to prevent any individual, regardless of wealth or power, from taking total control of the party and undermining internal democracy and stability.

He urged the committee to deliver practicable recommendations, listen to experts and citizens across generations and test ideas by whether or not they reduce suffering effectively.

According to him, Nigeria needs honest-thinking and workable solutions, not rhetoric, insisting that leadership credibility depends on performance and tangible outcomes that improve daily lives.

“As a party, we must be prepared, not just to win power but to justify power through service.

“ADC must be known not for noise, but for seriousness; not for empty promises, but for performance; not for propaganda, but for reality.

“Today, therefore, is not the end of a process. It is the beginning of a responsibility. I expect you to break into sub-committees, in line with your areas of core competences.

“The committee should feel free to co-opt experts and professionals that can add value to this critical assignment,” he stated.

In his acceptance speech, Odigie-Oyegun expressed gratitude to ADC leadership for the confidence reposed in the committee, describing the assignment as historic.

He said that Mark’s charge would serve as the guiding framework, stressing that an ADC-led government must not operate like “business as usual.”

Odigie-Oyegun urged members unwilling to embrace change to step aside to protect the committee’s integrity.

He emphasised the need to develop people-centred policies and a manifesto that Nigerians could clearly identify with and feel in their daily lives.

The ADC chieftain criticised past governments marked by huge spending with little impacts, abandoned manifestos and contractor-driven projects.

He also decried what he called persistent national failures in electricity, transportation and security despite decades of promises.

Odigie-Oyegun pledged that the committee would deliver a clear, practical manifesto written in simple language and capable of restoring public trust and reshaping Nigerian politics. (NAN)