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Amechi Ogbonna
Nigerians from all walks of life yesterday listed core areas that President Muhammadu Buhari should pay close attention to over the next four years following his swearing in for the second term in office on May 29, 2019.
Top on most citizens’ priorities include the wobbly economy and security challenges in parts of the country among other sectors where many believe the president failed to impress between 2015 and 2019.
Various commentators who spoke on their expectations urged the APC national government yesterday to create more job opportunities for Nigerians as this would help Buhari also rein in on the security challenges facing the nation.
For instance, speaking on yesterday’s inauguration, Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Peter Obi, urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the 29 state governors sworn-in on Wednesday to increase tempo of development in Nigeria.
In a press release signed by his Media Officer, Mr Val Obienyem, Obi while commemorating 20 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria, urged the newly sworn-in chief executives to hit the ground running immediately to accelerate activities that would position the nation on a path of all sector growth.
“Do not allow the ecstasies of your elevation to becloud your sense of purpose,” he said.
Obi described their swearing in as `historic’, adding that it coincided with 20 years the nation had practiced uninterrupted democracy.
He reminded them that they were saddled with the task of repairing the chequered democracy, which according to him was now going through tough times.
In his words: “How you start will define how you will continue and probably end,” Obi said. He appealed to the president and governors to use the event to reflect about the country, about the life of service and about the condition of Nigeria.
“You are embarking on a serious journey. Our country is today negative in all indices of development.
“Our power sector, security, health sector are crying for regeneration.
Today, the unemployment rate in the country is alarming.
“It is regrettable that our electoral processes are still a far cry to what it ought to be and urgent attention is needed to pull the country from the brinks,” he said. .
Als speaking on his expectations from the government over the next four years, the National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, urged the Federal Government to encourage local refiners, to boost local refining of crude oil in the country.
Mr Okoronkwo who spoke on Wednesday on phone with newsmen said he expects President Buhari government in the next four years to encourage local refining of petroleum products. He argued that only domestic refining would end ongoing challenges in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
Okoronkwo urged the president to also focus on how to upgrade the refineries and encourage local refineries that are already licensed. “This will go a long way in saving our country the needed foreign exchange income which can be deployed toward toward developing other aspects of our economy like agriculture, mining and the manufacturing sector.
