President Muhammadu Buhari on
Monday told members of Urhobo Progress Union that each tribal group in the
country cannot have a minister at every point in time.
President Buhari told the
traditional rulers and opinion leaders drawn from the union that “it is not
possible to make each tribal group (a minister) because I suspect they are
around 250”.
Speaking during a meeting with
the Urhobo leaders at Aso Rock, he said: “Two hundred and fifty ministers will
be too cumbersome to handle, so it is limited by the constitution. So the only
thing we can do is to pick one person per state.”
Buhari called on leaders in the
Niger Delta to continue to cooperate and support the federal government in its
efforts to transform the nation to greater height.
“I appeal to you to keep
restraining your subjects to please think more of being Nigerians than any
particular part of Nigeria,” he said.
“This is necessary so that the
resources that God blessed us with can be fully exploited, utilized for the
benefits of the whole country.
“Unfortunately for me, I have
gone through all the happenings in the country including the civil war, like
you have mentioned I was petroleum minister for three or four years and so I
have some experience and have a stake in the country.”
President Buhari urged the
leaders to talk to militants to please give peace a chance and stop sabotaging
installations because “like I said if we pollute the waters it will affect more
of your people including those who depend on fishing”.
“You don’t need money from
Central Bank, what you need is secured coastlines that will enable the people
earn decent living through fishing.”
He pledged to look into reported
cases of illegal sale of land donated to the Nigeria army by communities across
the country.
President Buhari said the alleged
sale of the land meant for the military authorities across the country would
not be tolerated, saying that anyone caught or implicated in the deal would be
prosecuted accordingly.
He said: “I have taken note of
the representation that the land the community gave to the military is being
sold. You are not the first set of people to make this kind of representation,
other parts of the country made similar representation.
“So, by this representation I’m
constrained to call on the relevant ministries to check the Ministries of
Defence and Internal Affairs to find out those responsible for abusing the
generosity you extended to the military will be brought to book. I assure you
of that.”
On calls for restructuring the
country, the president frowned at the way and manner some individuals or groups
were carrying on with such calls, saying that many were parochial rather than
national interest.
According to him, some views
being expressed for restructuring the country are uncoordinated and that such
clamours may not also be backed constitutionally.
“You mentioned something which is
being topical these days, the question of restructuring Nigeria, and every
person or every group asking for restructuring they have got their own agenda,”
he said.
“I hope it can be accommodated by
the constitution we are currently operating.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com