Buhari Lists 10 Challenges Waiting For Him

President-elect Muhammadu Buhari says there are at least 10 challenges ahead of his in-coming administration and has sought the support of the new legislators in tackling them.

He was speaking on Wednesday at the induction of new members of the national assembly organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies in Abuja.


The challenges he listed are:
*General insecurity and insurgency “that has caused extreme human hardship and destruction of lives, livelihoods” in the north-east and north-west

*Environmental degradation in the Niger Delta

*Decline in revenues due to fall in oil prices

*Endemic corruption “which has crippled human and infrastructure development for decades”

*Poor provision of power supply “which has had a crippling
effect on development of small businesses”

*Deindustrialization for the past three decades leading to closure of many industries and migration of many to other African countries

*High levels of unemployment and especially youth unemployment which Buhari put at 40%

*High cost of governance “that has been crowding out capital and human development”

*Erosion of public social services such as infrastructure, health and education.

*Lack of development in the agricultural and solid mineral sectors.


He said he hoped to work closely with legislators to tackle
the challenges, noting that the legislature is a critical
component and necessary ingredient of democracy and
good governance.

Buhari told the lawmakers: “The legislature by nature is
inherently democratic in the sense that all members are
equal and are elected representatives of the Nigerian
people. As President-elect, I recognise this fact and believe
that legislators carry this heavy burden of representation
with all the seriousness it deserves.

“For a president to be successful in addressing community
development and general welfare of the various people of
the country, he or she would benefit from working closely
and in harmony with the legislative arm of government.
“I therefore commit myself to working with the legislature
as development partners motivated by the desire to deliver
good governance.”

He commended Nigerians for their role during the general
election, and commended President Goodluck Jonathan for
accepting the results of the election “before final
announcement was made”.