Importers call for support for Buhari’s transformation programmes

The Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) on Friday urged Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s practical transformation programmes.

Dr Osita Okereke, the president of the association, said in Enugu that the programmes were targeted at wealth redistribution and to check social inequality.

He said it was wrong and too early for people to begin to castigate the president’s programmes as slow in yielding the desired results.

“Time has not come for us to start castigating Mr President on the realisation of his programmes for a better Nigeria; we should give him at least two years to be able to know where he is taking us.

“However, going by his positive and practical economic transformation programmes so far, we believe that with our collective support, Buhari will be able to transform Nigeria in a very short time,’’ Okereke said.

The IMAN president urged Buhari to go all out in his current efforts to fully recover the country’s looted funds in the hands of a few corrupt individuals.

He said the association fully supported him in the fight against corruption while lamenting that the previous administrations did not do much to curb corruption but only paid lip service to it.

Okereke said the rot increased because past administrations lacked the political will to curb corruption which led to the embezzlement of trillions of naira meant for the welfare of the generality of Nigerians.

“Buhari is not a man you can intimidate or a man who will shield anyone from prosecution.

“For now, the anti-graft agency is only probing the arms deal; more corruption cases are still in the pipeline.

“So, if we cannot give Mr President the encouragement needed to prosecute this war, why are we shouting corruption.

“We should remove sentiments and tell Nigerians the truth,’’ he said.

Okereke said that past governors and former ministers would still have to answer corruption probes on their alleged embezzlement and misappropriation cases. (NAN)