Former Governor of Abia State and Senator-elect, Abia North Senatorial district, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu on Thursday said there was an urgent need for the country to practice true fiscal restructuring to address the myriads of challenges facing it.
He called on political leaders in the country to put the issues of the 2019 elections behind them and focus on the real issue of good governance.
Kalu gave the charge in Lagos while speaking at the 2nd Annual Lecture of Swaaya Limited, publishers of Freedom Online Newspapers.
Igbere TV learnt that the lecture had as a theme, ‘Fixing the Economy: Less Politics, More Substance’.
Igbere TV reports that the former governor, who was elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was chairman of the lecture.
The Igbere born politician pointed out that the purpose of elections was to elect leaders to make positive changes in the society and not to play politics for eternity.
Kalu said now that elections were over, the people expected their leaders to face the real issues of governance to improve their lot.
He said it was surprising that some politicians were already talking about 2023, rather than commence earnest work to justify the mandate given to them in the last election.
Kalu said though politics and governance were almost inseparable, the latter was more important than the former.
“I want to advise our political leaders that elections are gone, we should now think about governance.
“Nigerian politicians have forgotten about governance and are still talking about politics after the elections.
“Some people are already talking about 2023 even when they have not done anything about the mandate they got in the last election.
“There is time for everything. There is time for politics and there is time for governance.
“This is the time for governance and that is what we should focus on as political leaders across parties,” he said.
Kalu said that the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari was one good thing that had happened to the country, as he was committed to service to the people.
He urged political leaders to emulate the president and dedicate themselves to the service of the people.
Igbere TV reports that Kalu, who was also awarded with a plaque for his support towards the lecture, said the only way Nigeria will make progress is when the private sector drives the economy.
On the economy, the former governor said there was a need to diversify and expand it to achieve growth and sustainable development.
He said there was a need for the government to allow the private sector to control most businesses, as they had the expertise to do so and create jobs.
“We need to expand the economy for growth, and I have always argued that we need to remove every business from the government for better economic performance.
“It is not possible for the government to do policy formulation and do policy implementation at the same time, so businesses are better left with the private sector,” he said.
He commended Swaaya Limited for organising the lecture, saying the programme was a platform for discourse on issues of development.
