Buhari Charges Ministers to Work Harder As Exco Marks One Year

President Muhammadu Buhari has charged his ministers to work harder to endear themselves to Nigerians.

The ministers would have spent one year in office by tomorrow.

The President gave the charged during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting ‎where members took a look at the progress the administration has so far made, the sundry challenges among others and the commitments the government has to the people.

The FEC yesterday gave approval for the purchase of 38 units of four-wheel Nissan Patrol at the cost of N326.781 million for the inspectorate division of the Ministry of Mines and Steel.

The council also ratified the Lake Chad Basin Water Charter, paving the way for the document to be sent to the National Assembly for enactment into law.

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting said: “We will be one year in office in two days so this was an anniversary FEC meeting. And it gave us the opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made as a government. Also on the challenges that we still have to tackle and the commitment we have.

“The President’s charge is simple. You know he is not a man of many words. His charge to us was ‘get on with it.’ Ensure that you earn the trust of Nigerians by doing the best you can to serve the country.”

On the 38 units of four-wheel Nissan Patrol vehicles, Fayemi said the 36 states of the federation as well as, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would get one each while Lagos would get two of the vehicles because of its size.

“For a decade, no vehicle has been purchased for the mines and steel inspectorate division to oversee what is going on in our various states,” he explained.

The Minister of Defence, Brig Gen Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd) pleaded for more time for the military to completely neutralise Boko Haram insurgency in the north east.

Ali was apparently reacting to last Friday’s killing of a commander in the Nigerian Army and six other soldiers during a shoot-out with Boko Haram in Borno State. Four other soldiers sustained severe injuries during the attack.
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Gen Dan-Ali said though the military had recorded about 95 per cent success in the fight against Boko Haram in the north east, ‎it needed more time to completely eliminate the insurgency.