Former governors of Ekiti and Osun states, Kayode Fayemi and Rauf Aregbesola respectively, and others on Tuesday identified poor national revenue generation, unemployment and poor implementation of campaign promises as factors inhibiting Nigeria’s development.
They spoke in Abuja at the one-day dialogue and 12th anniversary of an online media platform, Nigeria Politics Online (NPO) Reporters, with the theme: ‘2023 and beyond: Tracking campaign promises for good governance ‘.
This is how the newspaper’s editor, Semiu Okanlawon, urged Nigerians to contribute significantly to national development.
Aregbesola, who is the Home Minister, said Nigeria’s slow pace of development over the years was due to a lack of proper organization of its local government structures.
He asked: “Why does Nigeria still have challenges? Is it because we have no income? A country of 200 million people, less than five percent is working and earning and do you think there will be progress?
Fayemi, speaking about why most governors and other political leaders fail to follow through on their campaign promises, said they face extenuating circumstances that they cannot explain.
“Even when they can explain it, time goes by and they’re not able to do it.”
A former Kwara state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, urged Nigerians not to be swayed by sugar-coated campaign promises, but to investigate the quality, ability, mental alertness and suitability of the activist.
He said that for campaign promises to be easily implementable, they must fit within the content of the national and state budgets.
