From: Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse
Governor Muhammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State and Sen. Mohammed Ali Ndume have insisted that the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as President of the country was a divine intervention from God to save Nigeria from the brink of disintegration.
The duo who spoke, on Saturday evening, at a two-day retreat organised by Governance Support Group (GSG) held at the Dutse Government House, in the state capital.
The duo maintained that the emergence of President Buhari qas one of the greatest things that had happened to the country.
In the words od Governor Badaru, “if not for the grace of God that brought in Buhari we would have plunged in much deeper trouble at a point I was even thinking that it is all over for Nigeria”, he stated.
He accused some former political office hders of trying to undermine the Buhari administration by campaigning that the administration would not succeed.
“The same group of people that wreck this economy aground are the ones telling the world that we have not achieved anything”, adding that, “inspite that today government’s officials are saving money for the system not for their pockets and it’s happening in Jigawa”.
On his part, Sen. Ndume, who delivered a paper titled: ” The North-East Development Commission: Policy Framework for Sustenable Peace, Security and Re-development in the Northeast opined that, ” the country was almost lost until Buhari came on board”.
He spoke to the press that the recent case he won at a court is not about himself, or his salary but about entrenching the principles of democracy in the country.
He said, “president Buhari has transcends and assumed a father figure to all politicians otherwise what they did to me at the national assembly would never have happened under the PDP government with all its members as principal officers of the senate”, he said.
After the retreat, the group issued a communique which was read by the Chairman of the group, chief Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba that the retreat “appreciate the role of Judiciary in reinforcing our young democracy for being impartial in the dispensation of justice as the last hope of the common man.”
“To this end, the Federal Government is urged to ensure the Independence and adequate funding of the Judiciary to make it more effective and efficient.”
The communique also comment the giant stride of the Buhari led administration on diversification of the Nigeria economy away from oil. However much is desired to articulate the good intention of the administration and pocket of policy proclamation Into a policy framework that would ensure the sustainability of the brilliant projects.
The communique also voice out its stands on the efficacy of the war Against corruption, “The retreat agreed that corruption has always and ever be an obstacle in the attainment of economic growth and development. It was suggested that the strengthening of the institutions fighting corruption should be the priority of the government as well as attitudinal reorientation of the citizenry. ”
Also, the retreat observed that” there is no need for more inter-agency collaboration and synergy between federal, states and local government to foster unity and greater efficiency through peer reviewed mechanism and urged States and local government to key into open government policy of the present administration for greater transparency and accountability ”
The retreat further x-rayed the achievement of the administration in the area of Security, economic empowerment and curbing corruption where the retreat gave the administration a pass mark. However the retreat, the urged the government to do more in curtailing the militancy in Niger-Delta, insurgency in the north east, activities of kidnappers and the menace of herdsmen.
The outcome of the two day retreat also talked on the situation of the increase unemployment that is bedeviling the teeming youths and poverty in the land, the reminded the Federal, states and local government to provide jobs to stimulate the economy is been achieved through programs like N – power, provision of infrastructure that created so many jobs and focus on economic diversification.
Lastly, the retreat ended by appreciating the transparency and productive governance of Governor Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Badaru.