Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday assured President Muhammadu Buhari that if elected, he would advance the effort and legacy of his administration.
Tinubu gave the assurance when he presented his goodwill message at the 3rd Ministerial Performance Review Retreat at the Old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He noted the achievements of the Buhari-led administration, despite the challenges facing the global community.
Speaking about furthering the progressive objectives of the party, which he intended to keep alive, the presidential candidate promised to further strengthen national unity and a sense of national purpose.
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While reminding citizens of what the president inherited on assumption of office, Tinubu assured that his government would be devoted to providing the best of progressive governance, with focus on further projecting and prospering the people.
He said: “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, who pointed out that President Buhari’s administration had done much to keep faith with Nigerians, and give life to the party’s promises to Nigerians and their objectives, however, noted that unpleasant circumstances, both local and international, militated against its efforts.
“This administration inherited a national condition steep in difficulty, unlike any other. Preceding governments ignored or lacked the will to tackle serious problems, 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 economy. Throughout most of your tenure, oil prices waned and 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.
Tinubu 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 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 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 threatened 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 amid increased investors’ confidence in this area,” he said.
