ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT-ELECT, GENERAL
MUHAMMADU BUHARI, (GCFR) AT THE
OCCASION OF THE INDUCTION OF NEW
LEGISLATORS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
ORGANIZED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR
LEGISLATIVE STUDIES HOLDING IN ABUJA ON
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29TH, 2015.
PROTOCOL:
I am very pleased to be here today as part of this
induction programme and to address the elected
Members of the 8th National Assembly. I heartily
congratulate all of you for being found worthy to
be elected by Nigeria’s citizens in a fair and
transparent election process.
I am delighted to say that we stand on the
threshold of history. For the first time in our post
independence history, power is going to be
transferred from an incumbent ruling party to an
opposition party. This is inspite of predictions of
calamitous outcomes. Nigerians have indeed
proven once again that they are a united people
and stand resolute to protect its growing
democracy
I wish to specifically acknowledge and laud the
maturity exhibited by the political class, the
professionalism of our security agencies, the
competence and resilience of INEC, but above all
the doggedness of Nigerians and their
commitment to ensuring that their wishes are
represented and respected.
I daresay, it is equally a victory for all political
parties and their leaderships for according due
respect to the electoral process and accepting the
results in most cases. I wish to specifically
acknowledge the role played by the President, H.E
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for accepting the results
of the election before final announcement was
made.
The legislature is a critical component and
necessary ingredient of democracy and good
governance. The legislature by nature is
inherently democratic in the sense that all
members are equal and are elected
representatives of the Nigerian people. As
President-Elect, I recognize this fact and believe
that legislators carry this heavy burden of
representation with all the seriousness it
deserves. For a president to be successful in
addressing community development and general
welfare of the various people of the country, he or
she would benefit from working closely and in
harmony with the legislative arm of government. I
therefore commit myself to working with the
legislature as development partners motivated by
the desire to deliver good governance.
Distinguished Elected Members of the 8th
National Assembly, we are all aware of the
challenges our dear nation has been facing and
will continue to do so in the near future. These
daunting challenges include:
General insecurity and insurgency that has caused
extreme human hardship and destruction of lives,
livelihoods that may take us over a decade to
rebuild across most of North Eastern Nigeria and
some parts of North western Nigeria.
Devastation and environmental degradation in the
Niger Delta area which must be attended to.
Decline in revenues due to fall in oil prices which
poses a threat to Government’s capacity to
deliver on reconstruction of devastated areas and
the new government development agenda.
Endemic corruption which has crippled human and
infrastructure development for decades.
Unacceptably poor provision of power supply
which has had a crippling effect on development
of small businesses and indeed the wider
economy.Deindustrialization for the past 3
decades leading to closure of many industries and
migration of many to other African countries.
Unacceptably high levels of unemployment and
especially Youth Unemployment reaching over
40%.
High cost of governance that has been crowding
out capital and human development.
Erosion of public social services such as
infrastructure, health and education.
Lack of development in the agricultural and solid
mineral sectors.
Distinguished Members of the 8th National
Assembly, I see these development challenges as
the mission of my presidency. I need the support
of the Members of National Assembly on the
battle front. I need your support in many
respects.
First and foremost, appropriate policies need to
be put in place and such policies may have to be
translated into laws.
Secondly, the oversight functions of the
legislature is critical in ensuring that policies are
implemented effectively and transparently.
Therefore, my mission to bring integrity into
governance would better succeed if complemented
with a strong culture of transparent oversight.
Thirdly, we need to collaborate on the budget
process and restructuring of the public sector so
as to collectively tackle the menace of high
recurrent cost at the expense of capital and
human development.
Fourthly, there is an urgent need to contain this
high state of insecurity. All of you are
representing various communities. We need to
work together to address the problem from both
its roots and manifestations. The strongest
mitigating forces at this point are to redress the
power sector deficits, encourage investments that
are job creating and focus on human development
and reconstruction. We also need to deploy
efforts in conflict resolution and peace building in
all our communities.
I am here today, to invite you to work with the
executive as partners in progress, as champions
of good governance and development and as
warriors for change. Together, we can make this
nation great and as a role model in Africa and
other emerging economies and democracies.
I wish you a successful completion of your
induction programme. I wish all of you a
successful and effective tenure in the service of
our fatherland.
General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR
President Elect
Federal Republic of Nigeria.