Contribute to building upon our road map of policies, programmes and projects that will lift the bulk of our people out of poverty and set them on the road to prosperity.
This is the charge made by President Muhammadu Buhari to ministers-designate, presidential aides and other top government functionaries.
The president made the charge on Monday in Abuja during the presidential retreat organised for them at the Presidential Villa.
The president said he counted on them to contribute meaningfully in order to be able to achieve the goal of the government.
According to him, it was a great privilege for them to be called upon to serve and that they must grasp the chance with two hands by putting in their best.
“As Ministers, I am counting on you together with Advisers and Nigerians willing and able to contribute to build upon our road map of policies, programmes and projects that will lift the bulk of our people out of poverty and set them on the road to prosperity.
“Our Administration’s eight years will have laid the grounds for lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. This outcome will fundamentally shift Nigeria’s trajectory and place us among the World’s Great Nations.”
He stated that the ministers-designate would be responsible for the development and implementation of policies, programmes and projects in their various Ministries, Departments and Agencies in line with government priorities.
He said they must also ensure that agencies under their ministries were effective, efficient and accountable in the discharge of their responsibilities.
“Honourable Ministers-Designate, we must work as a team. Although you have been chosen to represent your states as a constitutional imperative, it is vital for all of you to work as Nigerians.
“Furthermore, working as a team demands that we know what the next person is doing. You must open communications with your colleagues. Lack of communication leads to lack of cooperation and sub-optimal performance,” he warned.
The president said that in his first term in office, his government had been able to achieve the three salient objectives of securing the country, improving the economy and fighting corruption.
“None but the most partisan will dispute that we have made headway in all three areas:
“First – we have rolled back the frontiers of terrorism; we are actively addressing other challenges such as kidnappings, farmer-herder violence, improving the safety of our roads, railways, air traffic and fire control capacities.
“Second – we are steadily turning the economy round through investment in agriculture and manufacturing, shoring up our foreign reserves, curbing inflation and improving the country’s infrastructure.
“Third – on corruption, we have recovered hundreds of billions of stolen assets and are actively pursuing control measures to tackle leakages in public resources. We will not let up in fighting corruption,” he said.
