President Muhammadu Buhari restates the determination of his administration to create a just, harmonious and prosperous country in which the safety of life and property is assured.
He stated this in his Eid greetings on the occasion of Eid El-Adha that is being celebrated across the world.
Reflecting on current challenges facing the country, the President states that “COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the economies of all countries, including Nigeria, in addition to the fact that floods have caused large scale destruction to agricultural farmlands, thereby impacting negatively on government efforts to boost local production in line with the present administration policy to drastically reduce food importation.
This, he explains, had led to food inflation which the government was working hard to address.
According to President Buhari, “no government in recent history has invested as heavily as the present administration is doing to promote local production of about 20 other commodities, through the provision of loans and several other forms of support to farmers.
He says, “apart from the destruction caused to rice farms by floods, middlemen have also taken advantage of the local rice production to exploit fellow Nigerians, thereby undermining Government goal of supporting local food production at affordable prices.
The President also notes that the current insecurity in the country “has produced severe and adverse effects on agriculture because farmers are prevented from accessing their farms by bandits and terrorists.
He also reassured Nigerians that the present administration was taking measures to address security challenges in the country.
The President stressed that they have started taking delivery of fighter aircraft and other necessary military equipment and hardware to improve the capacity of security forces to confront terrorism and banditry
Speaking on the significance of the Eid El-Kabir celebration, the President appealed to Muslims “to demonstrate the good virtues of Islam through personal examples and practices:
President Buhari urged all Muslims to continue to live in peace and harmony with their fellow Nigerians of other faiths in the spirit of peaceful coexistence.
He called on all Muslims to pray for the progress of Nigeria at all times.
He then urged all Nigerians to expose undesirable elements in the society who are creating security problems for the country.
From BELLO WAKILI