Tinubu to Buhari: Don’t discard ‘Next Level’ promises after election victory

Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has advised the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to work in a way that would grow the nation’s economy.

Delivering his speech at the colloquium held in commemoration of his 67th birthday, Tinubu said the “Next Level” is not a phrase that should quickly be discarded once victory has been achieved, adding that it has much deeper and profound meaning.

He said it must be seen as a part of the global world in which progressive politicians are trying to help the people change things for the better.

“Our pursuit of the Next Level cannot be achieved by blindly following the economic path of other nations,” he said.

“Instead, we must construct our Next Level on a progressive ideology and vision that will take our people out of penury, diversify our economy more aggressively, empower and retrain our youth.

“To be the great nation we purport to be, we must reform and retool our economy according to our definition of what is best for our own people. We cannot assign that duty to anyone else. Next Level is not just a trendy campaign phrase to be quickly discarded once victory has been achieved.”

The APC leader said the government must “work for the people in a way that enables them to better work for themselves.”

“We must amend our basic ideas about the economy. We must divorce ourselves from our fixation with GDP rates and similar statistics. We have misinterpreted these road maps by treating them as if they were the destination itself,” he said.

“Our economy must be redefined to be an efficient yet moral social construct with the primary goal of optimizing the long-term welfare of the people through the sustained, productive and full employment of labour, land, capital and natural resources.”

Singling out infrastructure as an important sector for the government to focus on, he said the country’s most important infrastructural demand is power.

He said there should be an end to estimated billing for electricity that was never received, saying people should be charged accurately and only for the power used.

“Affordable and reliable power will drive the industrialization that shall provide jobs in our cites and produce needed goods for all our people,” he said.