President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday, in Abuja reassured Nigerians that his
administration will sustain massive investments to upgrade and develop the
country’s transport and power infrastructure.
President Buhari stated this when he received members of the Association
of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN) led by Ambassador Oladapo
Fafowora.
The President told the retired Ambassadors that Nigerians will never
forget the ‘‘lost opportunity between 1999 and 2015,’’ when the nation had
huge resources at its disposal.
”There is no part of the country I haven’t been to, having attempted to
be President four times.
”I know the condition of our roads. The rails were literally killed,
there was no power despite the admittance of some previous leadership that
they spent $16 billion on the sector.
”Today, we are getting our priorities right and we believe that of the
three fundamental issues we campaigned on – security, the economy and
fighting corruption-, we have remained very relevant and Nigerians believe
we have achieved something,” the President said.
President Buhari also used the occasion to appreciate the People’s
Republic of China for financing some of the rail and power projects in the
country through concessionary loans.
”I will do my best to see that where there are possibilities of making a
quick improvement on infrastructure, we will do it,” he said.
President Buhari also appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to
consider what this government inherited and the more it is doing with
fewer resources in putting the economy right.
The President took note of some concerns raised by the retired Ambassadors
including an appeal for the adjustment of their pension entitlements,
retention of diplomatic passport for retired career ambassadors,
allocation of land for ARCAN headquarters in Abuja and adequate funding of
the Foreign Affairs ministry, among others.