President Bola Tinubu on Friday said Nigerians do not have any reason to be poor.
He stated this while receiving governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, asking them to design and implement policies that prioritise all Nigerians and to always consider the national interest above political affiliations.
“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 was quoted in a statement by his media aide, Ajuri Ngelale.
He told the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) that one of the biggest challenges the nation faces was 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.
According to the President, development policies would only find full relevance in people’s lives when there is inclusivity, ownership, and sustainability.
To Tinubu, 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.
“You can convert people. You can appeal to people to come to your side,” he stated.
He asked the governors to come up with a framework that would implement 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.
The President said the school-feeding programme would encourage more investments in agriculture, particularly in livestock farming and dairy, adding that the former Kano State Governor and APC Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, had already worked on a proposal that would be shared for input and implementation. President Tinubu equally congratulated the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, for restoring irrigation systems that provide water for year-long cultivation of crops.