Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday urged Nigerians to give President Muhammadu Buhari a “pass mark” for his efforts in the first year of his administration.
He made the call in Abuja at the launch of a book titled “We Are All Biafrans” written by Chido Onumah.
According to Atiku, who was chairman at the occasion, of the five areas the Buhari administration pledged to face, he has accomplished two and should be encouraged.
“He promised to look into issues like power, insurgency, unemployment, corruption and diversification and if you are to take two out of five, you can give him a pass mark.
“He has dealt with corruption and with Boko Haram. For power, give him time,” he said.
Atiku said that power supply issue was complex, adding that unless the Niger Delta issue was resolved Nigeria may not get electricity soon.
“I think the Niger Delta should be handled with a stick and carrot approach. In 2007, before I ran for president, I met with various stakeholders on the Niger Delta issue and they came up with a policy.
“Part of the recommendations was that the ministry be moved to the Niger Delta and not Abuja. We have had administrations that did not do their homework on the Niger Delta.
“If I had won, I would have sold 10 per cent shares in the NNPC; that will give me 20 billion dollars which would build infrastructure for the Niger delta but we will always end up with accidental leadership.
“Bring peace and development to the Niger Delta then they will stop blowing up pipelines. Then, we will get gas and then power can be stable but until then, we will not get it.”
Other recommendations he gave for a better Nigeria were “a smaller, leaner Federal Government with reduced responsibilities. This means devolution of powers and resources to …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
