I Will Focus on 3 Major Areas - Buhari
President-elect
Muhammadu Buhari yesterday expressed his displeasure at the military's
inability to secure the life and property of its citizens. "The
military has never been so incapacitated like now. It's a shame that the
military cannot secure 14 of Nigeria's local governments out of the 774
local governments in the country," he said.
According to the
president-elect, what is more worrisome is the fact that Nigeria's
military has to rely on South African mercenaries before it could gain
recent success in the war against Boko Haram.
General Buhari, who
made the above comment in Kaduna while playig host to the national
executive council of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) described the
development as "shameful and unacceptable."ACF
"My administration
will concentrate on three major areas on assumption of office; that is
insecurity, the economy/unemployment and corruption. We will ensure we
nip insecurity in bud.
"The Nigeria Army could not do small
thing, they have to bring in South African mercenaries to enable them
record the recent gains in the North East," Buhari stated.
Speaking
on governance, the president-elect said his administration would make
sure that every Nigerian lives within his honest earnings, adding that
"a situation where people live above their earnings will not be
tolerated."
In his address, the ACF chairman, Ibrahim Ahmadu
Coomassie, a former inspector-general of police, had told the
president-elect that Nigerians voted for him because they believe in his
integrity, transparency, accountability, honesty and commitment to the
security of life and property.
Coomassie noted Nigeria had never
experienced the level of decay, the collapse of moral values and the
high level of corruption, crime and impoverishment of the citizenry like
in the last six years.
The ACF leader said: "Security has been
the major concern, especially in the North-East region which has been
devastated by the insurgency caused by the Boko Haram; and the energy,
which is the source of power and main driver of the economy, requires
serious and urgent attention. "
The former IGP further told
Buhari that Nigerians are eagerly waiting for him to solve the problems
facing them and to also free them from the shackles of poverty,
ignorance, corruption and insurgency.
He advised the president-elect to restrict the powers of the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF).
He
said, "The current situation when SGF operates above ministers offends
the laid-down principles of accountability in governance."
APC holds forum on policy direction for new government
Ahead
of the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) central
government in the country, the roadmap for the policy direction of the
Muhammadu Buhari –led administration would be unveiled during a two-day
policy dialogue to be held in Abuja tomorrow and Thursday.
The
policy dialogue, with the theme, "Implementing Change: From Vision to
Reality," is being organised by the Policy, Research and Strategy
Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
Briefing
journalists in Abuja yesterday, the deputy head of the directorate and
former minister of youth and sports, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the
president-elect would declare the dialogue open while the
vice-president-elect, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), would chair it.
Former
British prime minister, Mr Tony Blair, is the keynote speaker at the
dialogue where input to the roadmap for the actualisation of the
policies of the incoming administration would be made by experts drawn
from different fields and members of the public.
Abdullahi
identified the core areas of focus in the two-day dialogue to include
the economy, governance, job creation and security in line with the APC
manifesto.
According to him, topics for discussion include:
Improving the National Economy for Shared Prosperity; Repositioning
Agriculture for Job Creation and Economic Prosperity; Developing
Infrastructure for National Development;
Achieving Sustainable
Reforms on Oil/Gas Sector; Reducing Inequality and Achieving Sustainable
Human Development; Achieving Holistic and Sustainable Reforms in the
Education Sector; Developing an Education System Relevant to Nigeria's
Developmental Aspiration, and Achieving Qualitative and Affordable
Healthcare.
Others include: Achieving Diversity and Inclusion in
Public Life; Exploring Sports, Tourism and Creative Industry for Job
Creation; Governance and Improved Efficiency in Public Service; Tackling
Corruption in Public Sector and Foreign Policy and Agenda for Change.
Some
of the speakers and discussants expected at the dialogue include Ms
Ifueko Omogui-Okauru, former FIRS chairperson; Dr Rilwan Babalola,
former minister of power; Dr Tajudeen Umar, former country chair,
Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Authority; Prof Niyi
Ayoola Daniels, president, International Institute for Petroleum Energy
Law and Policy; Mr Tunde Ahonsi, resident representative, UNFPA, Ghana,
and Major-General Ishola Williamsn (retd).
Others include : Prof
Pai Obanya, WAEC chairman; Dr Ayo Teriba, CEO, Economic Associates;
Prof. Bolaji Aluko, vice chancellor, Federal University, Otuoke; Prof
Mohammed Tabia, Department of Islamic Law, Bayero University, Kano;
General Abdulrahman Dambazzau , former Chief of Army Staff; Prof Ibrahim
Gambari, former Nigerian permanent representative, United Nations; Mr
Fola Arthur-Worrey, former solicitor-general, Lagos State; Ms Bolanle
Onagoruwa, former director-general, BPE; Mr Wale Fapounda, of Legal
Resources Consortium, and Prof Etannibi Alemika, chairman, CLEEN
Foundation.
The programme will also mark the winding down of
activities of the Policy, Research and Strategy Directorate of the APC
Campaign Council, Abdullahi added.
