President Bola Tinubu has implored governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to design and implement policies that prioritise all Nigerians and to always consider the national interest above political affiliations.
This came as he hinted at plans to deploy forest guards with better training, modern technological gadgets and weapons to strengthen the security situation in the country.
The President, who received members of the Progressive Governors Forum, PGF, at the State House in Abuja on Friday, said development policies would only find full relevance in people’s lives when there is inclusivity, ownership, and sustainability.
President Tinubu told the governors that one of the biggest challenges the nation faces is divisiveness, but that the governing party must work towards healing and unifying the country by ensuring a collective national vision and channelling energy and resources into nation-building.
“You can convert people. You can appeal to people to come to your side,’’ he stated.
The President said Nigeria is too blessed with human, natural, and material resources to be struggling with a dearth of quality infrastructure, quality education, and world-class health facilities.
He said the entire financial system of the country would be re-engineered for inclusivity, effectiveness, and efficiency.
“We have no reason to be poor. Looking back on where we are coming from, where we have been, why we are facing infrastructural decay, a lack of quality and comprehensive education, as well as a lack of health facilities, we are not a cursed country, but blessed,’’ the President said.
President Tinubu asked the governors to come up with a framework that would make the school-feeding programme more comprehensive and successful across all states of the federation, taking into consideration the peculiarities of each locality but working towards having all children in school.
“We have children of school age who are out of school. The way to promote education is to get all governors, including the opposition governors, involved in the school feeding programme. Please take it seriously.
“We should not measure the children as statistics. We should measure their return to classrooms as our achievement. We should see economic growth in terms of value and empowerment. We should set up a committee to look into the methods. I am ready to invest in school feeding,” the President said.