Tribune Online
Involve us in your ‘Next Level’ agenda, professionals urge Buhari
Professionals in the country, under the aegis of the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to avail himself of the services of seasoned professionals to enable him effectively carry out the ‘Next Level’ agenda of his administration.
Making the charge at the just-concluded 8th annual summit of the Association, its president, Olumuyiwa Ajibola, also stressed the need for professionals in the country to be ethical in their conducts if the journey to the ‘Next Level’ was to be sustained.
The APBN boss noted that in order to fast-track socio-economic development of Nigeria and give positive expression to the ‘Next Level’ mantra, the nation’s professionals, just like others, also have a huge role to play.
“No doubt, there is the need for us, as professionals, to remain ethical, since this will be of uttermost importance in the journey to a sustainable next level.
“It is also our belief that in order to give positive expression to the ‘Next Level’ mantra of the Federal Government, the nation’s professionals have an indispensable role to play amidst other compatriots,” he stated.
Ajibola explained that the 2019 edition of the summit was specifically designed to address the ‘Next Level’ desire as promised during the president’s electioneering campaign at the 2019 election.
“We interpret this to mean a commitment of the government to repositioning our dear nation, Nigeria, amongst the comity of nations, to a higher nexus in all aspects of governance so as to bring benefits to the people,” the APBN boss stated.
He however cautioned that without the professionals, it might be difficult to attain the Next Level dream, since professionals possess the expertise to effectively execute such plans by government.
According to him, the association’s annual retreat is designed to facilitate intra-professional interaction with a view to finding solutions to issues relating to the professional practices of member-bodies, codes of conduct and standards of presentation; as well as address external policies of government/private sectors that tend to impact on members’ practices.
Ajibola also used the opportunity to appeal to the nation’s professionals to increase their participation in national development process, by taking advantage of federal government policies which support local content, especially Executive Orders 5 and 7 declared by the president.
“In view of the low times being experienced by Nigerian professionals due to lower participation in the development of many sectors of the economy, the association’s Council and Board decided to examine government’s declared panacea for the involvement of Nigerian experts in the rapid development of infrastructure going on in the country at this time, but which appear to be mainly dominated by foreign companies,’’ he stated.
In his keynote speech, Lere Baale, a pharmacist, attributed the exodus of indigenous professionals from Nigeria to government’s failure to avail itself of their services, adding that efforts at turning the economy around might turn out a pipe dream if the government failed to arrest the negative trend.
He, however, recommended the formation of a Public Professional Partnership Forum to be situated within the Presidency to liaise between government and the association of professionals in the country.
Involve us in your ‘Next Level’ agenda, professionals urge Buhari
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
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