Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that only persons with integrity and interest of Nigeria will make his next cabinet to be announced after the swearing in on May 29.
He also promised to appoint more women and youths in his second coming in view of the significant role they played toward his re-election.
President Buhari disclosed this at a dinner the All Progressives Congress (APC) women and youth organised to celebrate his re-election on Saturday.
While noting that he is still considering the older people with him, he promised to consider the requests to appoint women and youth into his new cabinet.
He said: “I will not disappoint you; our objectives are the same. We have to fix this country so that the next generation can have a country to be proud of. We are working very hard to get the infrastructure in place, the roads, the rails, so that Nigeria will mind their own businesses.
“I assure you that I have listened on the representation made that my cabinet should include women and youths. Don’t celebrate it yet, I said I have listened to some of the representation made here. Well, I myself, I am considering some of the old people and I will protect my constituency too. But I will assure you that I will continue to have a team of people of integrity that are really concerned about Nigeria and Nigerians.”
The president called on Nigerian youths to embrace agriculture to ensure more food sufficiency and food export.
Noting that more fertilizers were being made available to Nigerian farmers at lower rate, he said food importation is reducing while more Nigerians are embracing agriculture.
The president, for the umpteenth time, described the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as one that “wasted the nation’s resources.”
According to him, the country witnessed “rampant infrastructure decay” notwithstanding the huge resources earned during the period.
He called on Nigerians to “please continue to bear with us, we have a very short time in terms of the damage done to the country. I have tried to educate people on the condition we found ourselves when we came in 2015.
“My short experience in the petroleum industry for three and a quarter years, gave me an idea about the economy of Nigeria and I never let go.”
Recall that Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had last week said Buhari will not waste time in appointing his cabinet members shortly after the May 29 inauguration ceremony.
Wife of the president, Aisha, who expressed happiness at the overwhelming confidence reposed on President Buhari by Nigerians, assured that he will use his second tenure to serve the interest of the masses, especially by addressing the huge gap between the rich and the poor in Nigeria.
She tasked Buhari campaign groups to raise the flag on government whenever they observed the need to do so. The group had earlier asked for more women and youths representation in the next cabinet.