The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday, in Abuja, said no administration had done as much as his’ in the creation of a climate best suited for big and small businesses to thrive.
He also said his government would continue to count on the support of the private sector to improve economic growth and create new job opportunities for Nigerians.
The president, who urged all political parties in the country to keep elections and election-related differences aside, also appealed to their leaders to join his government’s drive to defeat insecurity in the country.
According to a statement signed late Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari was speaking at an Iftar dinner with members of the business community and the leadership of political parties.
The statement was titled ‘Let’s join hands to fight insecurity, President Buhari urges political party leaders’.
The president told captains of industry and political leaders at the dinner that ‘‘No administration has done as much as we have done in the creation of a climate best suited for business, big and small, to thrive.
‘‘The ease of doing business index that is globally recognised has acknowledged that the ease with which business is carried out in the country has never been better than it is today. We will continue to make it better.
‘‘We will equally continue to count on the support of the private sector to improve economic growth and create new job opportunities for our teeming population.”
He added that the government and the private sector working together would transform the lives of people in ways that were hard to imagine in the past.
On insecurity, Buhari told party leaders that without mass, popular support for the country’s hard-working Armed Forces, it will take much longer to “finish off the successful war we are waging against terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping.”
‘‘I look forward to seeing the reflection of this spirit in the relationship between the parties and the government, especially as the electioneering season will soon be on us,’’ he said.
The President also recounted that last week’s National Executive Committee meeting of the All Progressives Congress recorded tremendous success, ending with a clear message that the party would continue to push for the establishment of democratic principles at all levels.
‘‘Today, we can proudly say that we have a political system that allows political parties of all views and persuasions, reflecting the diversity of our nation to co-exist, and contest for elections at all levels of government without fear or institutional bias and pressure,” he said.
In his remarks, the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, urged leaders of political parties to make firm commitments toward a peaceful and successful 2023 general election and challenged them to work in unison to achieve the purpose.
Adamu said as leaders, leadership demanded that they took responsibility for ensuring peace and stability and inspiring the party faithful and Nigerians to conform to the laws of land in matters relating to electioneering and the elections.
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