Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu has said Nigeria needs global investment partnership to build its economy, urging Nigerians to keep hope alive in spite of the nation’s multifaceted challenges.
Bagudu admonished the citizenry not to despair or get disillusioned about the level of country’s indebtedness which might be a reason for people to be hopeless about the country.
This came as his Borno State counterpart, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, counselled the incoming governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, to promote continuity by building on the legacy of his predecessor.
The governors praised the Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi for building trust between himself and Ekiti people, through good governance that touches on every sector of the economy.
They spoke in Ado Ekiti, yesterday at an international valedictory conference held in Fayemi’s honour and titled: “JKF: A Journey in Leadership”.
Bagudu said, “Even great nation’s like the USA, who are even more economically advanced than Nigeria, are even more indebted than Nigeria. What we need now are investments through global partnerships for over 200m population, to build our economy and build our people.”
He appealed to Oyebanji to rejig governance in Ekiti by consolidating on the gains already brought by Fayemi whom he said rose above ethnic bond and built himself into a pan-Nigerian leader loved and revered across political, religious and ethnic divides.
The chairman, Progressives Governors’ Forum, said: “Continuity in governance is key and germane to economic development. I charge the incoming governor, Biodun Oyebanji, to build on the legacy of his predecessor. Sustainability in governance is an essential ingredient of democracy.”
Zulum on his part said “Every serious-minded government today in Nigeria must focus attention on poverty reduction, infrastructural deficit and the emerging climate change to curb incidences of natural disasters.”
In his lecture titled: ‘A Scholar in Power: Reflections on Power, Democracy And the Future of Nigeria’ a professor of African Studies, University of Pennsylvania, USA, Dr. Adewale Adebamwi, said no federal system could be perfect, harping on the need for the current weak Nigerian system to be rejigged and strengthened.
He stated that this remains the only way to ensure that people are secured and all the strata of the Nigerian society are well protected.
