President Muhammadu Buhari, Tuesday, warned that his administration would not tolerate mediocrity from any public or private citizens but promised to go out of his way to reward excellence.
Buhari, who gave the warning at the 17th National Productivity Order of Merit, NPOM, Awards at the Nigerian Airforce Conference Centre, Abuja, presented awards to Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, and other Nigerians drawn from the corporate and public sectors.
The President frowned at the menace of corruption which, according to him, has affected the economic well being of the country and warned that his government would not compromise on policies that would ultimately help to sustain the productive capacity of the country.
He used the occasion to reel out some of his achievements in office in the last three years, saying under a recessed economy, he built Nigeria’s foreign reserves from about $29.6 billion in 2015 to $47.5 billion as at May18, 2018.
According to the President, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nigeria stood at 1.95 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2018, a feat his predecessors could hardly boast of, even while the economy was buoyant with huge capital inflow from oil resources.
He noted that with the Treasury Single Account, TSA, policy, there had been greater accountability in his government, stressing that the policy has saved the country N200billion.
Speaking on the theme: “Productivity for Economic Recovery and Sustainable Growth,” Buhari said no nation can attain prosperity without vibrant and productive citizens.
In her presentation, Ibukun Awosika, a foremost industrialist and banker, identified gaps in Nigeria’s bilateral policies which she said was militating against its growth.
She said more often than not, Nigeria signs bilateral deals with foreign multinational firms but feign ignorance of the need to leverage on such deals to provide jobs for its teaming population.
Awosika also noted that the nation’s leadership ought to devise means of harnessing potentials in the youth population, adding that ideas that boost productivity should be made to trickle down from the central government to the federating states.
Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, however, took a swipe at the opposition.
Apparently referring to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ngige said the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, government would never be perturbed by letters of criticism coming from the former President.
In his remarks, Dr. Kashim Amor, the Director-General of National Productivity Centre, stated that the process of selecting the awardees was a rigorous one, adding that the award should spur the awardees to a greater height in the service of their fatherland.
