Very much concerned Nigerians have scored the out gone president Mohammadu Buhari of the All progressive s Congress (APC) zero on the way he piloted the affairs of the country in the last eight years
According to them, Buhari, in the last eight years draged the country backward by too much foreign loans, introduction of massive insecurity, Fulani herders farmers clash and unwarranted killings and destruction of property
Reacting to the claims of the out gone president in his nationwide broadcast to present his score card, the concerned Nigerians believed that Buhari used the eight years to show himself as an incompetent leader
According to them, ” Buhari rather destroyed the country in all fronts and made the country worst than he met it in 2015″
In his own reaction during an interview, a Frontline politician and a chieftain of one of the political parties in Imo state Chief Gabriel Okonkwo said, ” Buhari should go home and hide his face in shame for plunging the country in to so many economic problems”
He insisted, ” President Buhari is going to be the worst leader Nigeria will ever experience”
According to him, Buhari did not borrow the good aspect of the past administrations but rather showed himself as a core tribalist pointing out that this manifested in the lopsided appointments he made during his time
He maintained that Buhari came in to office with a bad mission against a section of the country precisely, the Igbo nation
Chief Okonkwo noted further that Buhari came without a developmental program for the people and left the country in a mess
He noted that since 2015 when the former president came to power, Nigeria as a developing country experienced backwardness with the introduction of religious intolerance and massive insecurity which grossly badly affected the economy of the country
In his own assessment of the Buhari administration, one of the leaders of the south east youth organization, Comred Geoffrey Ekeji faulted the claims of the out gone president that he strengthened the electoral process in the country that the rich politicians lose electrons to the poor politicians
He recalled what happened in the last election where he alleged that Buhari through the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) manipulated the last election in favour of the unconstitutional winner of the election
Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State, has urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) to rescue the remaining 16 abducted worshippers still languishing in kidnappers’ as a parting gift to Nigerians.
Terrorists had on May 7, 2023, abducted 40 worshippers at Bege Baptist Church, Masala along Buruku in Chikun Local Government area of Kaduna State.
24 of the 40 worshippers escaped from their abductors. However, since then nothing was done about the remaining worshippers.
The Association Chairman in the state, Rev. John Hayab in Kaduna on Sunday, appealed to Buhari to use the remaining 24 hours of his regime, to rescue the remaining 16 worshippers.
He also called on the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to brace up for his first rescue mission should President Buhari failed to do the needful before his tenure expires in May 29.
According to him, the affected families who are mainly peasant farmers are unable to meet the demands of the abductors.
He said, “this is the third Sunday that over 40 worshippers were picked by bandits in Bege Baptist Church near Buruku where 24 later returned. The remaining 16 of them are still in the hands of their abductors.
“All efforts are yet to yield any positive result. As we speak, the bandits are still making huge demands and the poor villagers do not have money to redeem their loved ones.
“They are demanding motorcycles and cash. These are poor farmers that could not have access to their farmlands for years and you kept their wives, children and parents in the bush.
“The sad reality is that nobody in the position of authority is saying anything about these Nigerians. They are rather busy with what they can grab next. Some of the other 24 were released by the bandits either because they were weak and could no longer trek or they were left half-dead.
“The villagers whose loved ones are kidnapped are crying about where and how to get the ransom the bandits are asking for and we don’t know what to do either as an association.
“Our appeal is that either the outgoing government can use the last 24 hours to rescue our people so they can come back home. If they fail, we are calling on the new government to develop a new move that will ensure these people don’t main in the forest within the next 48 hours.
“Let it be their first primary assignment to deliver the worshippers from Bege Baptist Church Madala who are still in the hands of their abductors. We cannot have a government and this evil will continue.
“CAN is seriously worried about this. CAN is concerned that instead of looking forward to what will happen in the next 24 hours, we are mourning because our members are in captivity.”
However, The outgoing Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has said that Nigerians may not like the party, All Progressive Congress (APC) in power, but said it has tried its best in terms of performance.
Fashola who stated this when him and the Minister of State, Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub, were handing over the mantle of leadership of the Ministry to the Director Overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Folorunsho Esan, in Abuja, claimed that Nigerians will live to appreciate the work of the present administration.
He further stated that the eight years of the Buhari’s Administration did its best in making sure that the promises made to the citizens are kept, saying that though some may not like them, but they will like the work they did
.“ There is an argument going on out there. I think it is a conversation we must have because some people don’t like the party in government but they will like the work we do” He Said.
The Minister thanked the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi Esan who was present at the ceremony, the Directors, Heads of Parastatals, Heads of Units of the Ministry and all staff in attendance.
He expressed gratitude to the contractors whom he said stood in the gap and encouraged them to continue doing the best for the nation.
The Minister of State, Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub expressed his appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for giving him the opportunity to serve in his cabinet.
El-Yakub thanked the Minister and other Management staff for their kind gesture and team work which has helped him in carrying out his functions.
In her good will message, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi Esan congratulated the Ministers for their successes and thanked them for their support and encouragement to the Civil Service programmes and activities.
In his response the Director Overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Folorunsho Esan, commended the Ministers for their purposeful guidance and high level of cooperation, pledging to continue to move with their vision, concept and dedication to duties.
Meanwhile, before the handover, ceremony, a Ten- year Blueprint for the National Housing Strategy Plan (NHS) was launched by the Minister.
The NHS Strategy document is a project in collaboration with Messes FMDQ Holding Plc, which will unleash the power of private capital in the sector.
Fashola said government alone cannot provide the totality of housing needs for Nigerians, hence the need to create an enabling environment for the private sectors to thrive
According to the Minister, the ten-year strategic blueprint has been designed to harmonize all extant housing initiatives by various stakeholders into a single National Housing Strategy.
He explained that despite the numerous housing programmes initiated by the current administration for affordable housing, it still did not provide more homes than private enterprises, stating that the private sector remains the real driver of housing solutions in the country
“ There is nothing the government does in the housing sector that can compete and provide more than what the private sector can do whether it is a state government building or the Federal Government, the real drivers at the end of the day are the capacity of private capital for providing more houses” he said
Explaining further, he stated that the scope of land holding, are from the state governments that owns the bulk of land, the Federal Government doesn’t have as much land as the collective land holding that is in the hands of the private sector.
The Minister reiterated the need for reliable data on housing deficit that can put one on track, assuring that the scheduled population census will reveal the real size of housing problems in the country.
“ I am launching this document with mixed feelings and I say that because, as an initiative of the private sector, the document is an alternative solution to the housing problem. One of the data that will be collected will be; who lives in a rented house; who owns his house; those who have other houses, and what type of house people live in. So, let’s hold our breath; and when the figure comes, It will be very reliable upon which we can see the real size of the problem.” He added
Earlier, the Director Overseeing the office of the Permanent Secretary, Esan stated that, the Blueprint is an outcome of the collaborative effort among the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, PricewaterhouseCoopers and FMDQ Holding PLC.
He explained that the project working group had worked tirelessly to produce the strategic compendium being launched today which is an announcement of the completion of Nigeria’s 10-year National Housing Strategy Blueprint and the commitment to the execution of the initiative therein.
In his response, the Senior Vice President, FMDQ Group PLC, Mr. Emmanuel Etaderhi acknowledged the support and commitment of the Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the Minister, Babatunde Fashola for his guidance along every stage of the drafting of the strategy, while commending the members of PricewaterhouseCoopers team for their work, research and dedication.
In another development, the signing of the Value-Added Concession under Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) has been performed by the Minister.
During the signing ceremony, Fashola noted that it is another demonstration of the Ministry’s innovative commitment to fixing the Nations’ Federal road network through a multi-pronged approach.
He said the Highways development Initiative (HDMI) was created to develop and manage the Federal Road Network with the objective to attract sustainable investment and funding in the development of road infrastructure across the Nation.
The Managing Director of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Micheal Ohiani, in his address, stated that the primary objective of (HDMI) pilot scheme is to leverage private sector investment to improve facilities and operations on selected routes; infrastructure development by applying a commercial approach that bridges the funding gaps in annual capital budget expenditure, there by reducing the dependency on budgetary allocations
On his part, Director Overseeing the office of the Permanent Secretary, Folorunsho Esan, stated that as the ministry attains it’s commercial height, it is the expectation that in no distant time, and in line with the agreed timelines, the financial close time will be reached to enable the execution of the project accordingly.
In a statement signed by the Head, Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Lere-Adams Blessing, the six successful concessionaires for the execution of the concession contract include: African Plus Partner Nigeria Limited Consortium (Benin Asaba Express Way and Lagos Otta Abeokuta Road); Avia Infrastructure Services Ltd Consortium (Abuja – Lokoja Road); Enyimba Economic City Development Company Consortium (Onitsha Owerri Road and Enugu Port Harcourt Highway); Africa Finance Corporation Consortium (Shagamu Benin Road and Lagos-Badagry -Seme Border Road); Dafac Consortium (Kano -Shuari Road);, and China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) for (Keffi-Akwanga-lafia-makurdi Road) respectively.
