BY JIDE AYOBOLU<\/p>\n
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, has called
\nfor more commitment from workers of the ministry to achieve the
\ndiversification agenda of the Federal Government. He said the ministry
\nwas central to the economic diversification agenda of the government,
\nadding that without the support of the employees, it would be difficult
\nto implement policies of government that would drive growth and reduce
\nthe level of unemployment in the country Adebayo disclosed this during a
\nmeeting with leaders of the four workers\u2019 unions of the ministry who
\nhad resolved their differences and came together as a team to achieve
\nthe mandate of the ministry.<\/p>\n
A statement from the ministry said the minister reminded the workers
\nthat President Muhammadu Buhari gave them a marching order to drive
\ngrowth, diversify the economy, create jobs and boost export. He said the
\nultimate aim of these objectives was to lift 100 million people out of
\npoverty in the next 10 years. He added that the ministry was working
\nassiduously towards the direction in achieving that mandate. \u201cNothing
\ncan be achieved if the unions refused to resolve their differences and
\ncome together as a team to move the ministry forward,\u201d the statement
\nquoted him to have said. Adebayo, according to the statement, also
\nassured the leaders of the unions of his support and urged them to
\ncontinue to work together with the new permanent secretary particularly
\nin the area of staff welfare.<\/p>\n
He further assured them that the ministry would look into their
\nsuggestion on the need to have a resident labour desk officer from the
\nFederal Ministry of Labour and Employment to assist the management on
\nlabour matters. The Minister of State at the ministry, Ambassador Mariam
\nKatagum, challenged them to come up with a strategic vision to achieve
\nthe goals of the ministry. She said, \u201cNow that you have a brand new
\npermanent secretary, you should be able to extract whatever you need to
\nhelp him get motivated to make you happy so that you can contribute your
\nquarter to national development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier, Sani-Gwarzo, the Permanent Secretary pledged to put in his best
\nto support the ministers to achieve their agenda for the ministry. He
\nsaid, \u201cI was told that one of the issues that we are going to face is
\nthe union but when I came here, I realised that all of them have one
\nthing in common; they have a sincere mindset to move the ministry
\nforward. \u201cThe greatest gift I have received here is your support and
\nthe second is the fact that the unions have resolved to work together to
\nsupport the ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration\u2019s investment in
\ninfrastructure like rails, roads, bridges and waterways have started
\nyielding positive results with tangible evidence for all to see.
\nAccording to the president, the special attention given to
\ninfrastructure by his administration will be intensified, since the
\ninvestments had been justified with more people benefiting.
\n\u201cInfrastructure is vital to economic development. As you are aware,
\nthis administration has given special attention to infrastructural
\ntransformation of our country. \u201cThis is in consonance with the change
\nphilosophy of the administration. Such projects and programmes form part
\nof our contribution to national development, which are tangible for all
\nto see,\u201d he said. They will also help in no small measure in the
\ndiversification agenda and process of the present administration.<\/p>\n
Recalled that, President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his
\nadministration saves the nation about N25 billion monthly. President
\nBuhari stated this, in Jos, at the graduation ceremony of Senior
\nExecutive Course 39 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic
\nStudies (NIPSS) Kuru, Plateau state. Represented by Vice President Yemi
\nOsinbajo, Buhari said his government was able to achieve this through
\nthe stoppage of unnecessary allowances for government officials and
\nblockage of other financial leakages in all its agencies. The president
\nalso scored his government high saying the administration has
\neffectively tackled corruption, adding that said the government will not
\nrelent in its fight against graft. The vice president said the ongoing
\nelementary school feeding programme has targeted 5.5 million children to
\nbe captured in 19 states before the end of the administration\u2019s
\ntenure. He also said the challenges being faced concerning power supply
\nin Nigeria will soon be history. He urged authorizes of NIPSS to improve
\non recommendations made by its participants while discussing national
\neconomic development. He assured that the federal government would make
\n\u201cgood use of recommendations of the course participants on
\nagriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said
\nPresident Muhammadu Buhari\u2019s administration recorded laudable
\nachievements, in spite of terrible economic downturn and an empty purse
\nfoisted on it. The minister said this at the inauguration of a book
\nchronicling the administration\u2019s achievements in Abuja. The minister
\nsaid through a commitment to discipline, determination and transparency,
\nthe administration recorded landmark achievements that we’re putting our
\ncountry on the path of sustainable growth.<\/p>\n
This government is committed to prudently managing and stopping waste
\nand leakages in the system, there will be no room for duplication of
\noffices and responsibility; the Buhari led government has shown that it
\nis its desire that everybody benefits from the goodies that the change
\nmantra will bring to the country and not just a few people.<\/p>\n
The Buhari led government has been working round the clock to ensure
\nthat the suffering of Nigerians are assuaged and ameliorated, by laying
\na solid foundation for a greater and better tomorrow. The campaign of
\ncalumny against the government of President Buhari has been largely
\npredicated on ethnicity and tribal particularism as well as politics of
\nvendetta, especially by the opposition party that roundly defeated at
\nthe polls after many years of misrule, bad governance and monumental
\nfraud. The other point which cannot be waved aside is the fact that one
\nof the cardinal policies of this administration is the war against
\ncorruption, and since this government came on board, never like before,
\nit has consistently waged relentless war against graft in the country;
\nand the high and mighty are not spared; now in a surreptitious manner,
\ncorruption is fighting back in a very dirty and desperate manner.<\/p>\n
It is germane to observe and rightly so that, since the present
\nadministration came on board under the leadership and watch of President
\nMuhammadu Buhari, the president and his team has worked relentlessly to
\nbail out the economy from the recession in which it is presently
\nenmeshed, an economic situation which is self-inflicted as a result of
\nbad governance, mismanagement, corruption and apparent lack of
\naccountability of past leaders in the country. They dissipated the
\nscarce financial resources of the country on conspicuous consumption as
\nwell as hedonistic and epicurean lifestyles; and refused to save for the
\nraining day. It is this multifaceted errors of the past that the present
\ngovernment is trying to put right, unfortunately, the present government
\nhas been severally criticized by those who created the economic
\nchallenges in the first place, particularly members of the past
\nadministration, who mercilessly plunder and pillage the resources of the
\ncountry on selfish individual desires, thereby neglecting vast majority
\nof the people. With the body language and mannerism of some members of
\nthe present administration, it is obvious that they are not on the same
\npage with the president in truly salvaging the country from economic
\nruination and quagmire. For instance, members of the national assembly,
\nwith all their economic preachments and sanctimonious claims, they have
\nrapaciously refused to cut down on their illegal and immoral fat
\nsalaries and allowances, yet, they want Nigerians to make sacrifices,
\nwhile they feed fat on the sweat and toil of Nigerians. As the
\ngovernment is working hard to resolve the fundamental economic
\ncontradictions with the economy, people who have illegitimately enriched
\nthemselves by pilfering the national treasury and are presently
\nundergoing trials, are clandestinely sponsoring violence against the
\nNigerian state and painting the country black in both local and
\ninternational media.<\/p>\n
This is contrary to some spurious and erroneous claims in some quarters
\nthat this government is idle and doing nothing about the socio-economic
\nmiasma in which the country is presently enmeshed, unfortunately, this
\nunfounded and baseless claim is gaining currency because of the hardship
\nNigerians are presently going through. Those who created these problems
\nare now behaving like the much-needed messiah to rescue the country from
\nthis crisis, but what did they do for the country and the people in the
\nlast 16 years? The gang-up and conspiracy against the Buhari led
\ngovernment is because of the anti-corruption crusade of the present
\nadministration, hence, their inability to make cheap money and fleece
\nthe country of funds needed for development. Undoubtedly, this
\ngovernment is working hard and even world leaders know this fact, hence
\nthe need for all Nigerians to rally round the government and move the
\ncountry forward; and stop the issue of violence, blackmail, vendetta,
\ncorruption and anything that can inhibit growth and development in the
\npolity.<\/p>\n
It is imperative to underscore the fact that, the immediate past
\nPresident Barrack Obama of the US said, his government has confidence in
\nthe administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the US leader said
\nthis during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 71st edition of
\nthe UN General Assembly. Obama described Buhari as a man of \u201cintegrity
\nand honesty,\u201d and said his administration would assist Nigeria within
\nthe short period it has left. The 44th president of the US will be
\nbowing out of office in January after serving two terms. \u201cWe have
\nconfidence in your leadership. There are some difficulties you face, but
\nthis administration is willing to assist in the short time we have
\nleft,\u201d \u201cYou have made real progress in defeating the brutal
\norganization called Boko Haram, and that was achieved because of your
\nleadership.\u201d Obama also offered a hand of fellowship to Nigeria \u201cin
\nthe final and comprehensive defeat of Boko Haram, resolution of the
\nNiger Delta crisis, which would help ramp up oil production and increase
\nrevenue, resolving the humanitarian crisis in the North East, recovering
\nstolen money, and revamping the economy\u201d. He described Nigeria as a
\nbig and important country in sub-Saharan Africa and said his country
\nlooked forward to a framework for sustained partnership between the two
\nnations. Earlier, Buhari assured Obama of the progress of his
\nadministration, and the efforts being taken towards resolving the
\neconomic crisis. And, President Donald Trump has said that much too.<\/p>\n
In the same vein, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, former United Nations
\nSecretary-General not too long ago congratulated President Muhammadu
\nBuhari on the anti-corruption war. Ki-Moon declared: \u201cYou are highly
\nrespected by world leaders, including myself. Your persona has given
\nyour country a positive image.\u201d The United Nations’ scribe stated that
\nthe global body recognized President Buhari’s government’s achievements
\nagainst the Boko Haram insurgents. He, however, urged that human rights
\nbe upheld always in order to prevent a repeat of the scenario being
\nwitnessed in Syria. Ki-moon also thanked the Nigerian leader for his
\ncommitment to issues on climate change, adding that the government
\nshould “own the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” for the good of
\nits citizens.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the present administration in the country should be commended
\nand not vilified by the people, all that the government needs at the
\nthis time is the cooperation, support, solidarity, patience and
\nunderstanding on the part of the people and anybody or group of people
\nthat wants to constitute themselves into a cog in the wheel of progress
\nshould be viewed as economic saboteur and should be dealt with, in
\naccordance with the provisions of the law, after all, Nigeria is greater
\nthan anybody or group of people, and we should all join hands together
\nand make it great.<\/p>\n
The diversification of the economy through huge investment in
\nagriculture throughout the length and breadth of the country; massive
\ninfrastructural development and renewal to bridge the array of
\ninfrastructural deficit in the country; multilayered fight against all
\nforms of corruption in the polity; prudent management of the economy,
\ngrowth and development of non-oil sector, huge investments in aviation,
\ntourism, solid minerals, trade, commerce and investment just to mention
\nbut a few are avenues and methodologies through which the present
\nadministration are restructuring the economic base and dynamics of the
\ncountry, away from the prevailing and suffocating mono-cultural economic
\ndependency.<\/p>\n
BY JIDE AYOBOLU The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, has called for more commitment from workers of the ministry to achieve the diversification agenda of the Federal…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":71297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n