By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
Ahead of May 29 handing-over ceremony, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has presented a comprehensive report on five key sectors of the economy, security, power, education and infrastructure to the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), for consideration.
The vice chairman of the committee, former Minister of Finance, Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, presented volumes of the report to Buhari at a brief closed door meeting yesterday at the campaign support group’s office in Abuja.
Chairman of the governing board, Centre for Human Security of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Professor Akin Mabogunje, told journalists that the committee “is being working on a number of critical issues for the development of this country and they have now sent a delegation of those who’ve been involved with the preparation of those policy documents to talk to the president-elect and get him to appreciate what is being done to help his administration.
“We have looked at education, security, economy, power and infrastructure. Those are the areas we have made recommendations and which we hope the new administration will be able to work on.”
He explained further that the President-elect was very happy that they have been thinking about how to help him hit the ground running.
When contacted for clarification, the Director of APC presidential campaign team, Malam Garba Shehu, said: “The whole idea was that Obasanjo set up his own think-tank with the aim of carrying out a study on challenges facing the country in five key areas of education, power sector, economy, security and infrastructure. The study was commissioned four months ago so that the outcome would be made available to the incoming administration after the election”.
He also revealed that Dr. Christopher Kolade, who heads the power committee, gave various stages of the proposed power sector development plan to include short term, medium term, long term solutions.
Under the short term solution, the plan seeks to raise the country’s power generation to 10,000 MW within a very short period of time.
Shehu added that Buhari expressed gratitude to Obasanjo and his team, describing their intervention as a great impetus for the incoming government.
Buhari regretted that the out-going government that is supposed to give him tips on how to take-off has done nothing so far.
He thanked the Obasanjo committees for their gesture, assuring them that his incoming administration would need their advices as time goes on.
