Today in Abuja, President Buhari reassured Nigerians that
his administration will sustain massive investments to upgrade and develop the
country’s transport and power infrastructure.
He spoke when he received members of the Association of
Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN) led by Ambassador Oladapo
Fafowora. The President told the retired Ambassadors that Nigerians will never
forget the ‘‘lost opportunity between 1999 and 2015,’’ when the nation had huge
resources at its disposal.
''There is no part of the country I haven’t been to, having
attempted to be President four times. I know the condition of our roads. The
rails were literally killed, there was no power despite the admittance of some
previous leadership that they spent $16 billion on the sector.
Today, we are getting our priorities right and we believe
that of the three fundamental issues we campaigned on security, the economy and
fighting corruption, we have remained very relevant and Nigerians believe we
have achieved something,'' the President said.
President Buhari also used the occasion to appreciate the
People’s Republic of China for financing some of the rail and power projects in
the country through concessionary loans.
''I will do my best to see that where there are
possibilities of making a quick improvement on infrastructure, we will do it,''
he said.
President Buhari also appealed to the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) to consider what this government inherited and the more it is
doing with fewer resources in putting the economy right.
The President took note of some concerns raised by the
retired Ambassadors including an appeal for the adjustment of their pension
entitlements, retention of diplomatic passport for retired career ambassadors,
allocation of land for ARCAN headquarters in Abuja and adequate funding of the
Foreign Affairs ministry, among others.
