Buhari Flags off campaign with next level document
. .. Begs Politicians to Conduct Themselves Peacefully
By Friday Obande
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday flagged off his reelection campaign with the launch of a “campaign manual/next level document” at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
Buhari told supporters of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), top party officials and government functionaries at the event that, “I am not unmindful that the National Assembly and the presidential campaign starts today, I will enjoin candidates to go about the campaigns peacefully and decently.
“We have no other country, let us not set it ablaze because of politics.”
According to Buhari, the next four years will be quite significant for our country, noting that Nigeria is faced with a choice to keep building a new Nigeria making a break from its tainted past which favored an opportunistic few.
“Our choices will shape us, our economic security and our future prosperity. Nigeria more than ever before needs a stable and people focused government to move the agenda for our country forward, “Buhari stated.
He also revealed plans of total overhaul of the education system, seeing that the sector held the key to economic emancipation.
“Perhaps our biggest ambition yet is the Overhaul of our education sector, every child counts and simply, whatever it takes to prepare our teachers, curriculum and classrooms to attain the right educational goals that grow our country will be done.
“We will remodel 10000 schools every year and retain our teachers to impact to science, technology, engineering art and mathematics using coding, animation, robotics to interpret our curriculum”
Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha has described the various social investment programmes by the government, especially the trader-moni policy as the worst nightmare of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He also noted that the policy through careful implementation has impacted more lives than the immediate past administration.
The SGF equally revealed that he was first skeptical when he learnt of the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the Presidential candidate of the PDP but that his fears has been doused with unfolding developments within the polity.
He said contrary to insinuations that the Buhari had performed below expectations over 200 policy programmes have been implemented impacting Nigerians directly and indirectly.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola in a brief presentation of some of the projects executed under the administration, said 365 road projects has been under construction in all parts of the federation.
He said 244 of such projects were initiated in year 2001 under the opposition but that the ruling party has been making concerted efforts to see them completed within the last three and half years.
Fashola also noted that power have steadily improved with at least a thousand kilowatt added to the national grid annually.
“No country has delivered infrastructure to its people like Nigeria. 365 road projects are being executed even with less funds.
“244 of them awarded in 2001 and the rest was awarded in 2015, “he stated.
Similarly, Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi said the Lagos-Ibadan rail tracks was 80percent completed while the Itakpe-Warri rail lines will soon begin operations.
According to the Amaechi the Federal government spends about N40million subsidizing passenger fares for Abuja-Kaduna standard rail.
He seized the event to offer explanation on why the Buhari administration was completing projects initiated by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, saying it was economically savvy to complete existing ones than initiating fresh ones.