Abuja — As Nigeria get ready for the May 29 presidential inauguration, the All Nigerians Nationals in Diaspora (ANNID) has called on all political groups, winners and losers at the just concluded polls to embrace peace and unity.
President of the association, Mr. Peter Mozie who made the call at a press briefing in Abuja said the association has set agenda for the president and will monitor it to ensure that non performance by the government will be exposed.
According to him, “we are here to partner with the president, it is our job to work as the nation’s watchdog, we will expose those who did not perform and fulfil all their promises during the election.
“By the president’s antecedents, he knows that there are high expectations and we believe he intends to give Nigerians a breath of fresh air. But the president cannot do it alone, he needs the cooperation of the legislators, the executive and the credible justice system, above all the patience and cooperation of Nigerians”.
He noted that 50 years of waste and decay in most areas of national interest cannot be repaired in a day, but with patience, tolerance and hard work, dedication, transparency and accountability Nigeria will be great again.
Mozie, who said Nigeria cannot continue to thrive of violence and non-tolerance adding that Nigerians should embrace peace for the work ahead is enormous disclosed that the five agenda set for the president by the group includes power generation, education, agricultural development; development of health sector, job creation and accountability.
He said the group has put systems in place to ensure that government delivers on promises and on time, describing the April elections as free and fair even as he urged parties that lost at the polls to accept results of the election.
According to him, “it is surprising that some political parties has refused to accept the result from the concluded elections, there is need for great improvement on this aspect, losers should learn to congratulate the winners so that the nation can move forward.
“It borders most of us that some of the political parties are going to court to context the election result instead of working for the progress of the country and this action to a large extent is drawing the country backward,” he said.
In a related development, the Nigeria People’s Congress (NPC) has urged President Jonathan to appoint into his cabinet, only genuine Nigerians who truly wished the best for the country.
NPC national chairman, Chief Ngozi Emioma, who made the call said: “Bringing in technocrats and professionals who are willing to serve will go a long way in complementing any initiative of the president in the new dispensation.
“Our greatest concern is that good intentions of past governments have often been marred by subordinates with selfish interests. Appointment of cabinet members must be without sentiments and should go beyond party lines.”
Emioma, who gave the advice while addressing newsmen in Lagos, also called on Jonathan to emulate former South African President, Dr Nelson Mandela, who had written his name in gold. “Just like Mandela did, this is the time for President Jonathan to decide how he wishes to be remembered,” he said.
He said Jonathan could achieve all that he desired for the nation in the one term he planned to be in office. “Judging by what we have seen, this will be the best administration ever in Nigeria if the president can make his government a listening one.
“The just-concluded 2011 general elections and the non-interference of Jonathan in the process is a stepping stone to the many successes that are achievable by this administration,” Emioma said.
He said that corruption, which had been the greatest setback to the nation’s development, must be tackled in the next dispensation. Emioma noted that Jonathan’s genuine plans for the nation would be undermined if corruption was allowed to thrive.
The NPC chairman urged the Federal Government to revisit the privatisation programme which, he said, was not really working as the idea seemed to have been defeated. “Public offices can work as effectively as private outfit if it is well managed by officers that are not corrupt,” he said.
Author: Chief Editor
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