President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday hinted that he has been
trying to fend off mounting pressure as he tries to expand and reshuffle his
cabinet. Speaking at a banquet in his honour in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, the
president said at a point he was forced to put aside his phones to avoid
incessant calls or text messages from interested individuals.
He said, “I have been promising to reshuffle the cabinet,
for how long and people are asking me. So I put all my three sets in the drawer
and locked them. So no matter how you try you can’t get me on the telephone.
You just have to go through somebody you think is in the corridors of power to
speak to me.” The president said if his telephones were seen with him, too many
people may call or send him text messages. “But if they are locked in my
drawer, you wouldn’t know where they (the phones) are and you can’t complain to
the drawer,” he said.
Daily Trust learnt
from sources last night that the move to expand the cabinet has reached an
advanced stage. It is learnt that the minister of education and his judiciary
counterpart are responsible for the compilation of a shortlist of possible
nominees. Earlier in the day, the
president declared that the “Igbo is Nigeria and Nigeria is Igbo,” as he began
a two day visit to heartland of Biafra agitation. The President said the
two are inseparable and therefore called on the people of the southeast to
reject the “senseless propaganda on secession.” The visit to the region, his
first since he was elected two and a half years ago, came at time when the
south east has been crying of marginalisation in appointments and the clamour
for a sovereign state of Biafra by IPOB.
However, speaking
at the Abakaliki Township Stadium yesterday, President Buhari said he had lined
up various developmental projects for the zone in his 2018 budget. He said: “For example, we recently
mobilized the contractor of the 2nd Niger Bridge back to site. We have also
made provisions in the 2018 budget proposal to ensure this project is completed
as early as possible.
“We are also
upgrading the Federal Medical Centre in Umuahia by constructing a Modern
Medical Diagnostic Centre. This will further bring quality and affordable
health care to the region. “In the
agricultural sector, the States in this region have participated in all Federal
Government agricultural initiatives. For instance, Ebonyi was among the first
few State Government’s to sign up to the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative.
The program has already created thousands of direct and indirect jobs in this
fertile part of the our country.
“For the South
East, I am pleased to inform you that our 2018 budget proposal has allocated up
to N10 billion for the development of the Enyimba Industrial Park and Nnewi
Auto Park. Both projects will be implemented in collaboration with the
respective state Governments and the private sector. Again, these are classic
examples of the partnerships between the Federal and State Governments in the
region to improve the livelihoods of Nigerians – politics aside.
“In October 2017,
we commenced the payment of pensions to police officers who were granted
Presidential pardon in 2000 after serving in the former Biafran Police during
the 30 month civil war. These officers, and their next of kin, have
waited for their pensions for 17 years since the Presidential pardon.” The president assured Ndigbo that the welfare
and well-being of every Nigerian was important to his government, saying “We
stand for inclusivity and will not leave any section or citizen behind.”He
described his presence in Ebonyi as a demonstration of his strong belief in the
unity of Nigeria.
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