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From noise makers to team players, Buhari tells ministers-designate, ‘I count on you’
BY EMMANUEL OGWU
Ahead of their inauguration on Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari has told the ministers-designate that the country and the administration would rely on them to implement policies and programmes to lift Nigerians out of poverty.
The President spoke while declaring open a two-day retreat for the ministers-designate, in Abuja.
“I count on you”, he stated emphatically.
He added: “We must work as a team. Working as a team demands that we know what the next person is doing. You must open communication with your colleagues. Lack of communication leads to lack of cooperation and sub-optimal performance.
“We are working to lift Nigerians out of poverty and set them on the path to prosperity. We intend to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty over the next 10 years.”
The President’s description of his prospective ministers as a team is a clear departure from 2015 when he described them as noise makers. He had said while on official visit to France that civil servants were the ones that did most of the work.
“The civil service provides the continuity, the technocrat. And in any case, they are the people who do most of the work. The ministers are there, I think, to make a lot of noise, for the politicians to make a lot of noise. But the work is being done by the technocrats,” he responded in a television interview on why he was yet to name his ministers four months after assuming office.
PUNCH reports that President Buhari went on to congratulate the new members of his cabinet.
“I congratulate all newcomers who are joining the first-termers. You’re in office to assist and advise the President in running the affairs of Nigeria. A great privilege to be called to serve and you must grasp the chance with two hands and put in your best efforts,” he told them.
The ministers-designate had earlier been addressed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who told them, “All our work must connect to the aspirations of the people.”
Present at the retreat were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
The session went into closed-doors soon after the President’s speech.