Read What Buhari Says About Late Sani Abacha Regime — This Will SHOCK You
ABUJA — President-elect, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has said that he is currently at a loss on how best to tell Nigerians that his promise of turning the economy around quickly upon assumption of office on May 29 may not be feasible after all.
ABUJA — President-elect, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has said that he is currently at a loss on how best to tell Nigerians that his promise of turning the economy around quickly upon assumption of office on May 29 may not be feasible after all.
Buhari premised his fear on the perception that the economy has been
battered by the outgoing government of the People’s Democratic Party,
PDP.
We’ll inherit empty treasuries – APC govs
This was even as governors elected on the platform of the All
Progressives Congress, APC, said empty treasuries may be awaiting them
in their respective states.
The governors cried out that most state governments had gone bankrupt and, therefore, cannot pay workers’ salaries.
According to them, it was obvious that they were going to inherit huge
debts which may delay speedy progress in their respective states. They
were, however, silent on APC states like Lagos, Edo and Osun, which are
currently the most indebted in the country.
Buhari and the governors expressed the fear when the governors paid him a congratulatory visit at the Defence House, Abuja.
Buhari to plead with Nigerians for patience
Buhari, who recalled what the regime of late General Sani Abacha did to
establish the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF, however said he would
plead with Nigerians for their understanding and patience even as he
reiterated his commitment to restoring security.
He said: “The expectation is too high and I have started nervously to
explain to people that Rome was not built in a day. For this to be
corrected, please, give the incoming government a chance.
“Here, I will like to recall what happened during the Abacha regime
which led to the emergence of PTF. The Abacha regime was a military
regime and it thought that the only way was to increase the prices of
petroleum products. But they were not taking Nigerians for a ride. They
would have said that if Nigerians decide to riot, they have the guns and
so they can have their way.
“They decided to tell Nigerians that they were going to increase prices
of petroleum products and the money we get, we will put aside for
development. That was how PTF came.
“So, this time around, under this system, to bounce back with the issue
especially with the backlog of salaries which are of immediate concern
to individuals and states, I think we should look for a better way to
address the issue and think of how to persuade people to give us a
chance to organise the economy immediately and get something to pay
salaries. The people will give us a chance to stabilise the economy.”
Decayed infrastructure
Buhari who also lamented what he likened to destruction of social
infrastructure especially in education, however, assured that his
government would ensure that the country is improved in all
ramifications.
Buhari also thanked the governors-elect, re-echoing that the formation
of APC as an offspring of the merger of the legacy parties earned them
victory at the polls.
He said: “The decision to merge was a good one because this helped us.
At every step, there were many road blocks. During the merger, APGA and
DPP wanted to come in, but we felt that if they are allowed to come in
at that time, it will be used to frustrate the merger and so we asked
them to stay action until after the merger. So we advised them to just
be observers.
“We decided that the nine major people that were leading the Legacy
parties should lead us to the first major convention where the new party
will then elect its new leadership. These nine people were the national
chairmen, the national secretaries and the treasurers.
“The next step was what earned us respect. I had thought that all INEC
Commissioners were our enemies and they said, ‘no, take the documents
for the registration back because you need presence in all the
geopolitical zones of the country.’ There were lots of efforts by the
PDP to frustrate our emergence as a party.”