President Bola Tinubu has said he did not canvass votes from Nigerians so he could exploit the situation and embezzle money but to do the task expected of him.
Tinubu stated this on Friday when he received the Forum of Former Presiding Officers of the National Assembly led by former Senate President Ken Nnamani.
”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, who was a former senator, told the meeting after a session of banters and handshakes with former parliamentary colleagues.
The meeting was attended by 16 former presiding officers, including former senate presidents, former speakers of the House of Representatives, former deputy senate presidents, and former deputy speakers of the House of Representatives.
Among them were Anyim Pius Anyim; Ovie Omo-Agege; Patricia Etteh; Dimeji Bankole and Yakubu Dogara.
Tinubu 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.
Reflecting on the complex nature of legislative activities, constitutional reviews, and nation-building processes, the president expressed confidence that Nigeria can progress through collaboration and inclusiveness.
“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.
Tinubu outlined his administration’s focus on addressing these 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.
Tinubu 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.
Senator Nnamani, who spoke on behalf of the delegation, expressed full support for Tinubu’s administration and its efforts to address Nigeria’s pressing challenges.
He noted that the meeting was the president’s first official engagement with the group since his assumption of office.
”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.