BEVERLY HILLS, May 28, (THEWILL) – The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Monday insisted that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has achieved positive results for all to see, recalling that the administration outlined security, corruption and economy as areas for immediate intervention upon assumption of office.
He stated this in a national broadcast to commemorate the nation’s Democracy Day and second anniversary of the Buhari-led administration. Admitting that the economy had remained the biggest challenge of all, he stated that the Federal Government had introduced several measures to revamp.
On the fight against corruption, he said the government has focused on bringing persons accused of corruption to justice, stressing that the administration believes that the looting of public resources that was done in the past few years has to be accounted for.
With regards to the economy, Osinbajo regretted that some companies shut down their operations through no fault of theirs while civil servants worked for months without salaries in some states.
His words, “Admittedly, the economy has proven to be the biggest challenge of all. Let me first express just how concerned we have been, since this administration took office, about the impact of the economic difficulties on our citizens.
“Through no fault of theirs, some companies shut down their operations, others downsized; people lost jobs, had to endure rising food prices.
“In some States civil servants worked months on end without the guarantee of a salary, even as rents and school fees and other expenses continued to show up like clockwork.
“We have been extremely mindful of the many sacrifices that you have had to make over the last few years. And for this reason this administration’s work on the economic front has been targeted at a combination of short-term interventions to cushion the pain, as well as medium to long term efforts aimed at rebuilding an economy that is no longer helplessly dependent on the price of crude oil”.
“Funds appropriated to build roads, railway lines, and power plants, and to equip the military, that had been stolen or diverted into private pockets, must be retrieved and the culprits brought to justice.
“Many have said that the process is slow, and that is true, corruption has fought back with tremendous resources and our system of administration of justice has been quite slow.
“But the good news for justice is that our law does not recognize a time bar for the prosecution of corruption and other crimes, and we will not relent in our efforts to apprehend and bring corruption suspects to justice.
“We are also re-equipping our prosecution teams, and part of the expected judicial reforms is to dedicate some specific courts to the trial of corruption cases,” the Acting President said.
Still in the broadcast, Osinbajo said it is not normal to engage in hateful conduct capable of undermining Nigeria’s sovereignty out of frustration, stressing that although everyone is entitled to have grievances, there is no justification for violence and discrimination.
He maintained that all Nigerians are equally important, stressing that no individual or group of persons can be said to be superior to others in the country.
The acting president continued, “As we all daily preoccupy ourselves with pursuing the Nigerian dream, which is the desire to better Nigerians’ lives and circumstances vigorously and honestly, it is inevitable that grievances and frustrations will arise from time to time.
“This is normal. What is not normal, or acceptable, is employing these frustrations as justification for indulging in discrimination or hate speech or hateful conduct of any kind, or for seeking to undermine by violent or other illegal means the very existence of the sovereign entity that has brought us all together as brothers and sisters and citizens.
“Nigeria belongs to all of us. No one person or group of persons is more important or more entitled than the other in this space that we all call home. And we have a responsibility to live in peace and harmony with one another, to seek peaceful and constitutional means of expressing our wishes and desires, and to resist all who might seek to sow confusion and hatred for their own selfish interests.”
Osinbajo urged Nigerians to pray for Buhari to regain his health and strength, as well as his safe return from the United Kingdom, stressing that the country “is on a journey of greatness, and together we shall arrive at the destination of our dream”.
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