The Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, has said Nigeria is currently passing through a crucial moment.
He, however, said that he was happy to know that despite this, the country was facing all the challenges with the needed vigour.
The UN scribe spoke in Abuja when he
held a meeting with Nigerian governors under the aegis of the Nigeria
Governors Forum on Sunday.
He pledged the support of the UN to the desire of the leadership of the country’s leaders to move the nation forward.
Ki-Moon
said governors also played pivotal roles in the country and the world,
noting that they made policies and implement programmes for the people.
He said, “This is a crucial moment for
Nigeria. And you have to take crucial steps to move the country forward.
The United Nations is ready to help you. We have to work together to
move the country forward.
“You (the governors) understand the
peoples’ challenges and you have the power to help the people on
education, power, development, institution building, security and others
“Nigeria occupies a pivotal place in the comity of nations. This is time of hope when we have a lot of challenges.
“I want to commend you for a successful
election. Elections should serve as a rallying point for the people. But
most often, it serves as a means of destruction but Nigeria has done
well.”
He said he hoped that the governors would use the sustainable development goals for the development of their states.
While saying that local governments also
play important roles in the implementation of the policy, he reminded
the governors that no leader had the capacity of achieving this alone,
and that leaders must carry the people along.
“No country or leader can do it alone. You have to build a relationship with the people to achieve your aims,” he said.
The governors in their welcome address, told Ki-Moon, that there had been no case of polio in the country for the past one year.
The Chairman of the Forum, who is also
the Governor of Zamafara State, Alhaji Abdulazizi Yari, stated this
while welcoming the UN scribe to the meeting with the governors.
He assured Ki-Moon of the resolve of the governors to eradicate polio from the country.
Yari said he was happy that the NGF was a
product of the success recorded in the last general elections and that
the governors had come together irrespective of party affiliation, to
cooperate, collaborate and share ideas on how to bring development to
Nigerians.
Yari said, “Let me reassure Your
Excellency of the collective resolve of the governors to eradicate polio
from our country, our states and local governments.
“In this wise, I’m delighted to inform
Mr. Secretary General that since the last time you were here, Nigeria
has made unprecedented strides in the fight against this scourge.
“In fact, this month marks one full year without any report of a new case of polio in any part of the country.”
He said governors and other stakeholders
were already “working tirelessly through the instrumentality of
campaigns, through vaccination, and the development of critical
resources to ensure that by 2017, Nigeria will be certified polio-free.”
The Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, spoke on the challenges facing states, using his state as a case study.
The visiting Secretary General and the governors later went into a close-door meeting.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday play host to Ki-Moon at the Presidential Villa, Abuja at noon on Monday (today).
According to a media advisory signed by
Mr. Oche Egwa on behalf of the Office of the Special Adviser to the
President on Media and Publicity, Buhari and Ban Ki-Moon will address a
joint press conference at the end of their closed-door session.
Ban Ki-Moon, according to the statement,
will later return to the Presidential Villa for a dinner to be hosted
in his honour by the President by 7pm.
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