Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has called on all political parties in the country to keep elections and election-related differences aside and join his administration’s drive to defeat insecurity which he described as a; ‘‘common enemy’’ bedeviling the country.
Buhari stated this on Tuesday, April 26 when he met with members of the business community and the leadership of political parties at an Iftar dinner organized by the President in Abuja.
He said, “Without mass, popular support to our hardworking Armed Forces, it will take us much longer to finish off the successful war we are waging against terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping. Our country must be kept safe for progress and prosperity to be entrenched.
Furthermore, he said: ‘‘I look forward to seeing the reflection of this spirit in the relationship between the parties and the government, especially as the electioneering season will soon be upon us.”
The President said the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had tremendous success at its meeting last week, stating that the party will continue to push for the creation of democratic principles at all levels.
He added, “Today, we can proudly say that we have a political system that allows political parties of all views and persuasions, reflecting the diversity of our nation to co-exist, and contest for elections at all levels of government without fear or institutional bias and pressure.”
Buhari also boasted that his administration had done exceedingly well in improving the business climate, urging the private sector to; complement the government’s effort in poverty reduction and job creation for the young people.
He said, “No administration has done as much as we have done in the creation of a; climate best suited for business, big and small, to thrive. The ease of doing business index that is; globally recognized has acknowledged that the ease with which business is carried out in the country has never been better than it is today. We will continue to make it better.
“We’ll equally continue to count on the support of the private sector to; improve economic growth and create new job opportunities for our teeming population. Employment is critical to the stability and prosperity of our country. Government and the private sector, working together, have an opportunity to transform the lives of people in ways that were; hard to imagine in the past.”
