President Bola Tinubu on Friday, declared that he is not in office as the leader of Nigeria to seek any personal gain or accumulate wealth.
The President, who spoke during a meeting with the Forum of Former Presiding Officers of the National Assembly who visited him at the Aso Rock Villa, said he is in office to work for Nigeria and Nigerians.
President Tinubu emphasized that despite the challenges, his administration remains committed to delivering tangible results and making a positive difference in the nation’s infrastructure, food and energy security, education and long-term economic stability.
The Forum of Former Presiding Officers of the National Assembly, was led by former Senate President Ken Nnamani and had in attendance 15 others, including former senate presidents, former speakers of the House of Representatives, former deputy senate presidents, and former deputy speakers of the House of Representatives.
Addressing them, Tinubu said: ”I didn’t come to look for money and exploit the situation; I came to work. I asked for the votes, and Nigerians gave them to me.”
The President acknowledged the support and encouragement from the Forum members, irrespective of party affiliations, and implored them to continue fostering unity and camaraderie to achieve national development goals.
He also sought more outstanding collaborations between the legislative and executive arms of government in delivering national prosperity.
”Regardless of party differences of the past and difficulty of the present, you still believe in me and what we all plan for this country.
”I thank you very much; no one will do it better than us. I have travelled the world and seen how developed countries have done it for themselves through collaboration, inclusiveness and financial structure.
”Yes, there is hardship, but how did we get here? What did we do when we had very high crude production?”
“We neglected our communities; we neglected the goose that lays the golden eggs; we forgot even to give them a good standard of living.
”We forgot to educate our children. Go round and look at the dilapidated schools. The education environment must be decent enough for pupils to want to learn.
”We can complain from now till eternity that the school enrolment is low. But did we do anything to encourage the enrolment process? We must ask ourselves because it is a matter of conscience,” he said.
The President promised that his administration would focus on addressing identified challenges, including improving infrastructure, ensuring compliance with financial regulations, exploring alternative energy sources and providing energy security.
”We have come a long way, and I promise we must do our best,” he said.
He urged the former presiding officers to continue sharing their wealth of experience in nation-building and governance, noting that they were uniquely positioned to provide “clear interpretations of where we are” to Nigerians.
Speaking on behalf of members of the forum, Senator Nnamani, said Nigeria’s current challenges are not the fault of the Tinubu administration. He also promised the support of the delegation t the current administration.
He noted that the meeting was the president’s first official engagement with the group since his assumption of office and congratulated the President.
”Mr President, history has never been the burden of one man alone, but some are called to meet a special share of its challenges.
“Though not of your creation, it has fallen onto you to end the pervasive insecurity across the nation, the economic downturn that has resulted in hunger and anger, infrastructural decay due to years of neglect and myriads of other national challenges.
”As difficult as these problems are, we believe that with your experience, you can face the difficulties and surmount them.
”What gives us more hope is the courage with which you handled the issue of Local government autonomy, which has won you open admiration from friends and foes alike.
“We are convinced that you will dig in deeper again to eradicate these problems and restore Nigerians pride of place among the comity of nations,” the former senate president said.
He expressed the readiness of the forum to contribute to national development and ensure enduring prosperity for the citizens of the country.
”It is in this light and in the national interest that we wish to pledge our support as you work to restore national security, build an economy that works for all and strengthen the bond of unity amongst our disparate peoples, ” he said.