Presidential Retreat: Jonathan Proclaims All Inclusive Transformation Agenda

[TGD]

 We Are Not Running Any Point Agenda, Says President

Adopts Transformational Charter

THE two-day retreat and induction of Ministers and Special Advisers ended in Abuja yesterday evening, with President Goodluck Jonathan saying his administration is executing an all-inclusive agenda and not any particular number point of agenda.

President Jonathan, who formally closed the retreat also admonished the Ministers to be creative in the way they handle their assignments, saying, "we must begin to do things differently. I expect you to begin to think on how to revolutionise the way you conduct the affairs of government."

The President stated that he has "never promised any number of agenda points. We promised good governance as a pillar that will rest in areas that will stimulate the economy. Because I was part of the government that talked about the seven-point agenda, when you come up with the agenda problem, you create the impression that some sectors are useful to you and others are not.

"And we don't want to create wrong impression because every sector of the economy is very critical. I need to clarify that we are not running any point agenda. And all Ministers, Heads of parastatals and Permanent Secretaries are involved in our commitment to meet our agenda. It must be a team work."

President Jonathan added that "this four years is quite critical for Nigeria. We may not get to our final destination. But Nigerians will be quite satisfied that we are on the right path to reaching there."

The retreat adopted a Transformation Charter which affirms to be totally focused on its patriotic duty of transforming Nigeria into a peaceful, harmonised and stable democracy that is globally competitive, a great country with a great future we will all be proud of."

The charter also emphasizes the determination of the government to take all practical measures to "create a conducive environment for effective delivery of dividends of democracy so that the masses of this country can start to feel and see significant improvements in their quality of life."

Other issues adopted by the retreat under the Transformation Charter include assurance of security, strengthening of basic infrastructure that supports the full mobilisation of the economic sector, a power sector that is adequate for modern living and our industrialisation strategy, a modern and vibrant educational system that provides the nation with adequate and competent manpower, a health sector that supports and sustains an upper end life expectancy, a modern technologically enabled agricultural sector that profitably exploits the vast agricultural resources of the country, a manufacturing sector that is vibrant and competitive and an environment that is conducive to social development and social solidarity."

Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Dr Reuben Abati told journalists at the end of the retreat that, "the discussion has been of great quality and what I take away is that first, the emphasis on transformation is its holistic term, in the sense of good governance, in the building of infrastructure and human development in elaborate sense.

'' The second thing is that the entire team is now on the same page. You can see that the Minister and the Advisers even came up with a Charter in which they expressed their commitment to the vision of Mr President. And from this point onward, the team has been energized about integrity, about efficiency and about the need to engage the Nigerian people and address all the issues that preoccupy them."



The Guardian