Group hails Tinubu’s early moves on good governance

*Assures security agencies of cooperation

By Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

A civil society group, the Project Rescue Nigeria Team, has hailed the steps taken so far by President Bola Tinubu in the past few weeks since taking over from the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari.

The group has similarly promised to avail security agencies in the country of intelligence reports that would help in tackling criminality in the land.

The group made the pledge at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday addressed by its National Coordinator, Ibrahim Bala Aboki.

While commending President Tinubu for the bills recently signed into laws as well as political appointments made so far, Aboki urged Nigerians to be patient with the new government, assuring that the hardship occasioned by the removal of petroleum subsidy would soon give way to a robust and productive oil sector for the nation.

His words, “Mr President has started very well and we urge Nigerians to be a bit patient with this government because the policies are in the interest of the people.

“The oil sector will be better for it in no distant future. The Project Rescue Nigeria Team is committed to supporting the security architecture by making intelligence available where necessary.

“To advance collaboration and create a synergy, we observed that the President has convened a meeting of all the 36 State Governors, and this would enable him to reach out to all states, including the ones govern by opposition parties.

“To activate the administrative functions of the President’s office and to establish a good coordination between him and the public, Mr. President appointed Femi Gbajabiamila, as his Chief of Staff. Gbajabiamila comes to this job with vast interpersonal exposures and deep experience.

“Mr President struck a great national balance by instituting a sense of equity, fairness and justice when he made Senator George Akume the Secretary to the Government of Federation. Akume’s appointment is a case of a round peg in a round hole,” he said.

The group further noted that the Federal Government’s negotiations with the Joint Health Workers Union of Nigeria and Nigeria Labour Congress is a departure from the recent past which was characterized by workers going on strike for conflicts that could have been resolved on a negotiating table.

Commenting on the bills recently assented to by the President and Commander-in-Chief, Mr Aboki said, “These bills will reposition the Nigerian economy in no distant time. The three bills assented to by Mr President so far, are outstanding and encompassing. “These are the 2023 Electricity Bill, which deregulates the power sector to enable active private and indigenous participation. With this move, power will become abundant in Nigeria and the darks days of power in Nigeria will soon become a thing of the past.

“Also assented to is the bill on new retirement age for judicial officers. We cannot forget the Student Loan Bill which was initiated to bring relief to the lives of the indigent and less privileged ones. Now, anybody can aspire to higher education in Nigeria.

“The widening gap between the rich and poor in education has now been mitigated by the Tinubu/Shettima government.”

He called on Nigerians to support the new government in its quest to rid the country of official corruption starting with the ongoing interrogation of the Godwin Emefiele and Abdulrasheed Bawa, suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, respectively.