.Secondus: You’re celebrating last Democracy Day as president
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerians to vote whoever is their preferred candidate in the 2019 general elections.
The President stated this while hosting members of the judiciary led by Justice Okukayode Ariwoola, Justice of the Supreme Court, to the breaking of fast at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said Nigerians should ensure that they get their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) before the next elections.
“Before votes were disregarded and results written and there was nothing you can do before the justices to proof your case. But now with technology it has been made easy. That is why I keep appealing to the governors to embark on voters education, to please tell the people that their voters’ cards are their national cards so to speak.
“Let them vote for anybody they want across ethnicity and religion and impose their decisions on them. I think that is why I am calling on and I am begging the governors to please continue with voters education so that people will take their permanent PVCs seriously and make sure that they don’t loose it,” he said.
The President who attributed his victory at the 2015 polls to technology, urged the governors not to relent in voters education.
He said: “I decided to put agbada and come back, I tried three times and then fourth time I eventually made it. Thanks to God and thanks to technology because PVCs and card readers are fantastic. Those who went to their polling booths in their constituency and voted, their votes counted.”
Buhari while responding to remarks by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Alfa Belgore, on behalf of members of the judiciary said before now votes did not count as results were written but with PVCs, Nigerians can now vote in who they want.
His words: “I find it necessary to invite you because I don’t normally see you.
“I have to repeat what I said having heard what you said. I mentioned that when I was in the military and much younger, we believed things were going wrong and so when I came, I took from the president downwards, to Kirikiri against your advice and told them that they are guilty until they prove themselves innocent.
“But we proceeded to have various tribunals to investigate and I can still remember extremely good and fantastic Nigerians, they are few in the society that is why we don’t see the impact of fantastic people we have.
“I am bothering you with this because you are in a position of influence and you come from a constituency that is recognized and what you say will mean a lot to the people at your constituency.”
Earlier, Belgore had said the economic challenges was not peculiar to Nigeria alone and commended the administration’s effort to fix it.
He said: “I have always respected the president as a person. He loves this country very much. Because of that, what he need always is to have very good people around him. The economy is down all over Africa so if we have any other problem now, it’s just a child’s play with what is happening in other countries. I pray that this country will continue to develop under you. God will continue to guide you right and the country will be very very strong. We are holding another election next year.”
Meanwhile, Buhari has assured that the Federal Government will create at least 500,000 new jobs between now and 2020 through attracting Foreign Directing Investment (FDI) worth $22.5 billion.
The President, in a nationwide broadcast to mark the 2018 Democracy Day yesterday, admitted that his administration is facing challenges.
Buhari explained that as part of deliberate strategies by his administration to diversify the economy, government recently conducted Focus Labs in three sectors of Agriculture and Transportation; Manufacturing and Processing, as well as Power and Gas with the potentials of attracting such huge FDI.
The President, who assured that his government was committed to the fight against graft, noted that the administration will not relent on one of its primary objectives in killing corruption before it damages the nation’s socio-economic fabric.
He said: “The second primary objective of this administration is to fight corruption headlong. Like I have always said, if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will destroy the country. Three years into this administration, Nigerians and the international community have begun to applaud our policies and determination to fight corruption. We are, more than ever before, determined to win this war, however hard the road is. I, therefore, appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians to continue to support us in this fight.
“Various policy measures already put in place to stem the tide of corrupt practices are yielding remarkable results. Some of these key reform policies include: Treasury Single Account (TSA), which has realised billions of naira being saved from the maintenance fee payable to banks. N200 billion has also been saved from the elimination of ghost workers in public service.”
Buhari seized the op portunity of the broadcast to reel out some modest achievements of his government in the last three years.
He noted that the whistle-blowing policy had helped the government to recover over N500 billion.
“The Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit, set up with a mandate to validate controls, assess risks, prune personnel costs and ensure compliance with Public Financial Management reforms, has helped to identify and remove over 52,000 ghost workers from the Federal Government’s MDAs payroll,” he said.
The President commended Nigerian women for their contributions to national development and advancement of democracy.
He said in a few days’ time, he will sign into law the ‘Not too young to run’ bill.
Buhari described the commemoration of 2018 Democracy Day, which is the third anniversary of his administration, as a celebration of freedom for Nigerians.
He said the celebration was also a recommitment by his government to keep its promise to lead Nigeria into a new era of justice and prosperity.
He, however, admitted that his administration had faced challenges in the journey of three years while Nigerians stood by his government in achieving its three cardinal points.
He said: “Today marks the 19th year of our nascent democracy and the 3rd anniversary of this administration. I am thankful to Almighty God for bringing us thus far.
“This administration came at a time that Nigerians needed change, the change we promised and the change we continue to deliver.
.new telegraph