Information Minister calls for unity, progressive engagements
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, says with the final judgment of the Supreme Court on election petitions, Nigerians from different social, political and ethnic backgrounds should embrace unity for progress.
Idris, in Abuja, urged Nigerians to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, to build the country of our dream.
He explained that the rulings by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on Thursday had put to rest the petitions filed regarding the 2023 Presidential Election that brought President Bola Tinubu to office.
“The courts have spoken and the president and the ruling party, APC have welcomed this judicial victory as pronounced.
“We thank the Judiciary for the painstaking work that they have done, and for rising up to the occasion in fulfilment of their constitutional mandate as the final arbiters of electoral proceedings in the country.
“Now that the legal contest regarding the outcome of the presidential election is now behind us, it is time for all of us to come together and build the Nigeria of our dream.
“President Bola Tinubu has made it clear that he will be a President for all Nigerians, regardless of regional, ethnic, partisan, or religious affiliations,” Idris said.
The minister explained that since Tinubu assumed office on May 29, he has been working tirelessly to actualise the Renewed Hope Agenda that formed the basis of his coming into office.
He added that the president has implemented unprecedented reforms that, while tough and painful in the short term, were necessary foundations for the economic growth and prosperity that the people of Nigeria deserved.
He said the removal of petrol subsidies, which was already envisaged by the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021, was freeing up significant resources for Federal and State Governments to invest in infrastructure and welfare programmes for the benefit of citizens.
“Similarly, the ongoing liberalisation of the foreign exchange regime is designed to close loopholes and gaps that have been exploited in very unscrupulous ways over the years.
“These have led to the loss of billions of dollars in our scarce, hard-earned resources.
“The combined impact of these reforms has no doubt produced pain for many of our citizens, which the president and the administration have never shied away from acknowledging.
“No serious government seeks to inflict burdens on its people.
“We are very clear in explaining that these pains being felt are a short-term sacrifice to make for the kind of country that we want and that we deserve,” Idris said.
Heads of agencies under the ministry, including the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Alhaji Ali M. Ali, were also in attendance.
