President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said the mission of his administration is to clean up the mess that corruption has brought on the nation and rebuild institutions that have been so ravaged.
President Buhari said this in a speech at the opening of the 21st Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, adding that Nigeria is in a time of monumental challenges.
The President, who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said: “We are at a time of monumental challenges and tough choices, but also a time of incredible opportunities for achieving competitiveness, inclusive growth and sustainability.’’
Continuing, he said: ‘’We as a government are called upon to make tough choices in exchange control restrictions, altering the absurd recurrent to capital expenditure ratio, reducing the deficit and reducing the overall size of governance. We are called upon to clean up the mess and rebuild the institutions that corruption has ravaged over the years’’ the President submitted.
Speaking against the backdrop of the theme of the Summit titled ‘’Tough Choices: Achieving Competitiveness, Inclusive Growth and Sustainability’’, Buhari disclosed that his administration would be built on an economic model which would involve substantial social investment over the next three years.
‘’We are compelled to redress the paradox of high growth figures and widening inequality, rising unemployment and poverty. It is evident that any economic model that leaves nearly half of the citizenry behind requires re-thinking.’’
He added ‘’ this is why our economic model would involve substantial social investments over the next three years’’.
Speaking during the Presidential Policy Dialogue, Osinbajo disclosed that President Buhari had directed him to supervise the nation’s economy, and ensure its sustainable growth and development.
He further maintained that what matters most at the moment is the commitment of the present leadership to promote transparent and inclusive growth and ensure sustainable economic development and the overall well-being of Nigerians
The Vice president further condemned divisive tendencies and the championing of ethnic agitations by some sections of Nigerians with the active support of the political elites, saying it will certainly deny the nation the needed secured environment for sustainable growth and development
He said: ’’Divisive tendencies and sectional agitations and political talks fuelled by the elite usually advances ethnic interests. The fact about which sectional leader is in charge does not necessarily collate with improvement of the social well-being of the people. Elites are always willing to collaborate when it involves sharing the resources of the state’’.
Osinbajo expressed the conviction that with programmes such as the Conditional Cash Transfer and renewed support for MSMEs, government would generate employment, address poverty with the hope that these laudable initiatives will greatly reduce social tension and criminality across the country.
Osinbajo fielded questions during the Presidential Policy Dialogue on ‘’Tackling Corruption, Insecurity and Economic Competitiveness’’, explaining that social investment had become imperative if government must impact the lives of the people as against what happened in the past where economic growth figures do not correlate to the lives of the vast majority of citizens.
On the agenda of the Buhari administration for tackling corruption, Osinbajo opined that exemplary leadership is fundamental to any meaningful fight against corruption, noting that mere lip service to the war against corruption had not yielded any positive results so far.
‘’The people want to see leadership itself exemplifying that conduct first, before you are able to say anything to others. For us, the starting point is to have a leadership with the kind of conduct that is expected from the people. That’s why we think an open and a transparent government is important’’, the Vice President reasoned.
Emphasizing on the importance of the judiciary in the fight against corruption, the Vice President said the judiciary as an independent arm of government has also committed to judicial reform. He commended the present leadership of the judiciary for being serious about the fight against corruption.
The Chairman, Board of the NESG, Mr. Kyari Bukar, in his welcome address at the summit drew attention to the current economic challenges facing the country with emphasis on the imperative to make tough choices in view of the need to achieve competitiveness, inclusive growth and sustainability.
He commended the Buhari administration especially on the prospects of resolving the country’s socio-political problems under the Change Agenda.
A senior partner of KPMG, Mr. Kunle Elegbete, in his presentation ’’Country scenario’’ advocated a turnaround in key policy options under the ‘’optimistic scenario’’, as part of measures aimed at ensuring the sustainability of APC manifesto of the present federal government. Premium Times
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