NIGERIANS yesterday got an insight into the kind of cabinet President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu will form after taking over on May 29.
It will be based on competence, youthfulness and with priority for women, but devoid of ethnic and religious consideration, the president-elect said in a statement he personally signed.
To those clamouring for the formation of a board-based government, Tinubu said: “As your incoming president, I accept the task before me. There have been talks of a government of national unity.”
He promised an economy of double-digit (Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, greater food security and a strengthened manufacturing base, the President-elect said his administration would pursue an active digital economy where young people will have ample space to fulfill their dreams and aspirations.
As governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, Tinubu assembled and executive council that is rated the best by any sub-national government since the return of democracy.
In yesterday’s statement, Tinubu added: “Our Renewed Hope Action Plan outlines goals for greater economic growth in our cities and rural communities. We are committed to an economy of double-digit GDP growth, greater food security and one with a strengthened manufacturing base as well as an active digital economy where young people will have ample space to fulfill their dreams and aspirations.”
On the call for Government of National Unity (GNU), the president-elect said: “My aim is higher than that. I seek a government of national competence. In selecting my government, I shall not be weighed down by considerations extraneous to ability and performance. The day for political gamesmanship is long gone.
“I shall assemble competent men and women and young people from across Nigeria to build a safer, more prosperous and just Nigeria. There shall be young people. Women shall be prominent. Whether your faith leads you to pray in a church or mosque will not determine your place in government. Character and competence will.
“To secure our nation and to make it prosperous must be our top priorities. We cannot sacrifice these goals for political expeditions. The whims of politics must take a backseat to the imperatives of governance.
“We have bridges and roads to build not just for commerce and travel but to connect people of different faiths, parties and different outlooks in harmonious dialogue and common purpose. We have families to feed not just to eliminate hunger but to nurture enlightenment, civic responsibility and compassion.
“We have jobs to create not merely to put people to work but to afford a better standard of living by which families and communities are improved and democracy deepened.
“We have water to replenish not just to quench physical thirst but to ignite a thirst for creative and better solutions to society’s challenges.
“We have a nation to protect such that we eliminate danger and even the fear of danger. May all of our people be able to live their lives in the light of peace and the glow of broadening prosperity.”
The president-elect commended the Supreme Court judgment on the Naira swapping policy, describing it as an important to the restoration of economic normalcy.
According to him, the apex court has restored the rule of law and economic decency.
Preparing Nigerians for the task of nation-building, Tinubu enjoined all to embrace the opportunity.
He said: “This is our moment. We dare not waste it. Nor do we back away to accept a lesser version of ourselves and of our collective fate. We can no longer be satisfied with calling ourselves the giant of Africa. We must devote ourselves to doing those great and historic things only a giant can do. As your president-elect, I shall do my utmost in this regard for this is my sworn duty.
“I call upon you to come bravely forth as well, not for me but out of abiding love of country and for the people who inhabit it with you. We are so much better than we have been. Now is the time to stand fast and have faith in what this nation can be.
“I, for one, am standing. But this time, I shall not be the last or only one standing. Imagine how great we can be if over 200 million other souls stand with me. Let the world see a Nigeria that nothing can stop.”
Assuring Nigerians of his readiness to serve, the former Lagos State governor said: “I have set my course and mind on the leadership of this nation. We have important work to do and I am committed to getting that work done for the benefit of all the people, whether or not they voted for me or even voted at all.
“This is not the time for continued acrimony and partisan recrimination. These negative things can incite strong passions, but they are not the pathway to a better nation. Only unity and national commitment can serve that purpose.
“I realise that I am the servant of a larger purpose. As such, I have gone straight to work.
“My team and I have been daily engaged in discussions and meetings refining our ideas and policy solutions so that we can begin actively working toward the common good the very first day we assume office.
“This great project called Nigeria beckons to us all.
“I ask that we work together as Nigerians for Nigeria. Those who voted for me, I ask that you continue to believe in our policies and plans for the country.
“I also ask that you reach out to your brothers and sisters who did not vote as you did. Extend to them the hand of friendship, reconciliation and togetherness. To those of you who did not vote for me, I ask you to believe in Nigeria and the capacity of your fellow citizens, even those who voted differently than you. The better Nigeria I seek is not just for me and my supporters. It is equally yours.
“I do not ask you to abandon your political preferences. That would be undemocratic. I do beseech you to answer the call of patriotic duty as the loyal opposition.
“Remain loyal to the cause of a greater, more tolerant and just Nigeria. I too shall keep faith in this objective.
“If we all play our proper roles, we shall begin the task of rebuilding our national home together, day by day, brick by brick notwithstanding our political differences.
“As such, the victory of national progress will belong to all of us. The triumph of our nation’s democracy shall cite all of you as its very authors. This is how things should be.”
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As part of its mission to rekindle hope in Nigeria’s democratic process and combat voter apathy, the Advocacy for Integrity and Rule of Law Initiative in Nigeria (AIRLIN) has inaugurated its 16th office in Jigawa State, continuing its expansion across the 19 northern states of Nigeria.
