By Olanrewaju Ajao President Muhammadu Buhari has charged ministers-designate to eschew the ills of the past and work with him to rebuild the Nigeria.
The President gave this charge on Thursday when he flagged off a two-day presidential retreat for the ministers at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
The presidential retreat which is being organised by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) has the theme, “Delivering change from precepts to practice”.
It was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo with all ministers-designate and other presidential aides as well as top government officials.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) participated as a facilitator.
President Buhari asked the ministers-designate to see their appointments as a privilege and exhibit selflessness and patriotism in their assignments.
He noted that government officials’ determination to succeed must be equal to the nation’s challenges.
Also, the President reminded them that his election was hinged on his promise to tackle corruption, insecurity and improve the economy and they must work to assist in delivering on these.
Furthermore, Buhari disclosed that diversification of the nation’s economy will be the focus of his government.
The President explained that his administration would count its achievements based on the number of Nigerians it succeeded in moving out of poverty.
While promising that his administration would uphold the rule of law and ensure that impunity is removed from governance, the President urged the ministers-designate to be ready to be vehicles to administer the change needed.
“We have already taken deliberate measures to plug leakages of government revenue and resources. You all know the steps we have taken to tackle Boko Haram. We have degraded them and in desperation, they are resorting to attacks on soft targets, killing innocent people.
“Diversification of the economy away from oil will be a major focus of this government. We will intervene in mining and agriculture and upgrade the country’s physical and social infrastructure, which will broaden our revenue base and significantly improve the level of employment, especially among the youth.
“Our economic focus will be policies that will ensure inclusive growth and we will count our achievements based on the number of Nigerians we move out of poverty.
“The objective of this retreat is clearly reflected in the choice of topics which you will be dealing with during the sessions. The need for observing the rule of law is being emphasized to ensure that impunity is removed from government conduct.
“You are coming on board the ship of governance at an interesting time. So much has been said about the state of our economy. It is expected that we make the running of Government at all levels as lean as possible, avoid waste and conserve resources. As Ministers, you must be the vehicle that will administer the change.
“Our main task is to turn our manifesto promises to practice and results. Over the next two days I expect you to have a better understanding of the context in which we have taken the challenge of serving our country, as well as the strategies we have adopted to tackle them. I would also expect you to be even more determined to work as a team, and to live up to the high standards of probity and integrity which Nigerians expect of us.
“You must keep in touch with your fellow Ministers. Official channel of communication is through the office of the Chief of Staff, in line with the requirements of the Presidential system,” the President said.
