The presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has assured that he will work to further the progressive objectives of the ruling party.
Tinubu spoke on Tuesday at the 3rd Ministerial Performance Review Retreat of the Muhammadu Buhari administration at the Old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking about furthering the progressive objectives of the party, the presidential candidate assured he will strengthen unity and a sense of national purpose.
He also observed that these objectives had charactised the works of the Buhari administration.
He, however, assured that a Tinubu government would be devoted to providing the best of progressive governance, with the focus on further projecting and prospering the Nigerian people.
“Mr. President and other members of the administration, may I state the following: if elected, I will give due honour to your efforts and your legacy. I will work in the spirit of cordial unity, national purpose that informed the creation of our party and characterized the work of your government.
“Most importantly, that the way and means of a Tinubu government will be devoted to further project and prosper the Nigerian people because our guiding principle will be to provide the best of progressive governance and reform our beloved land.
“Consider these three promises to be a positive outgrowth of your nine point agenda. On behalf of all well meaning Nigerians, I wish you a successful retreat and pray to Almighty God that your efforts will continue to bear fruits for our nation and its future,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu, who pointed out that President Buhari’s administration had done much to keep faith with Nigerians, noted that various unpleasant circumstances, both local and international, militated against its efforts.
“This administration inherited a national condition steep in difficulty unlike any other. Predecessor -governments ignored or lack the will to tackle serious problem ranging from insecurity to corruption. As if that was not enough, you confronted a series of events unprecedented, compounded by the severity, complexity and novelty…;
“COVID attacked both global health and the global economy. Throughout most of your tenure, oil prices waned and edge and consequently, so did our revenue. The Ukrainian crisis and other conflicts, coupled with severe weather events in many nations, further depleted economic production and undermined international supply chains of critical items, especially food. You did more than persevere and withstand these adverse storms, despite it all, you made historic progress,” he said.
He listed some of the achievements of the Buhari administration, saying “during this retreat, you have been assessing and will still assess the status of your nine-point agenda. You will discuss things in great detail. Yet, permit me to highlight a few points to prompt the memory of those who somehow tend to forget it the recent past.
“Upon entering office, you faced a situation where deadly terrorists were planting flags on our national territory, proclaiming an illegal state within our legitimate state. Because of your collective work, they no longer plant those flags, they dare not. Their boast of conquest are no longer heard. You have you put us on the road to defeating this menace.
“By the grace of Almighty God, we shall persist until terrorists and those like them are utterly removed from the face of our nation.
“The progress you made increasing farm productivity while improving the condition of the average farmer, were important policy interventions, helping the nation overcome the global supply chain disruptions that threaten our food security.
“Despite financial headwinds, you embarked on an unparalleled expansion of the national infrastructure. Work in the power sector may be slow, but it will show some dividends amidst increased investors’ confidence in this area,” he said.