President Muhammadu Buhari has said that relative to the resources available and compared to the last administration, the government had done well in many areas, particularly in infrastructure and agriculture.
On security, the president said the north-west had posed more challenges, and some success had been recorded in other regions such as the north-east and the south-south.
Buhari, speaking at a meeting with governors from the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC), advised some of those from the south-south to stop hurting national assets, which also affect their livelihood.
In his remarks at the meeting, the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, thanked the president for his leadership role in improving the economy of the nation and the many successes recorded at the APC, which include two conventions to produce the party leadership and the presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
“We will work hard to ensure the success of our party. We have reasons to work very hard,” he added.
Bagudu, who is the Governor of Kebbi State, said the favourable seasons supported the vision of ensuring food production and making agriculture a priority, with clear results in rice pyramids in various states.
“Despite the attacks by the renegades, our country remains self-sufficient in food production. We have seen investments that were not there before you came into power.
“Not less than 20 states now have agriculture process zones. We have rice pyramids in Ekiti, Gombe and Niger, while maize pyramids were revived in Katsina and Kano states,” he said.
He said more than 54 rice meals were commissioned in various states, and 57 fertiliser plants were revived or built afresh.
“All these were achieved because of your commitment and patriotism,” the governor told the President.
Bagudu also appreciated the president for providing ease of access to governors and political leaders, noting that the opening of the National Economic Council for a more fluid exchange of ideas greatly helped in improving the economy.
APC Governors at the lunch with the president included: Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari; Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai; Imo State, Hope Uzodinma; Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule; Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello; Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; Ekiti State, Dr. Fayemi Kayode; Plateau State, Simon Lalong, and Kebbi State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
Buhari urged the APC stalwarts to keep working for the good of the people and the country, noting that, “we are lucky people, and we need to reflect more on where we are coming from.”
