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Nigerian President urges creative thinking against Poverty
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of Nigeria has declared that the panacea to poverty among Nigerians requires more creative thinking and the active contributions of all sectors of the nation’s economy noting that the fight against poverty transcends throwing money haphazardly into anti –poverty projects.
The President who spoke through the Labour Minister, Hassan Lawal, on Thursday March 28 at the Ninth Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) in Abuja, stated that unless the nation moves away from the esoteric approach to seeking solutions to national economic challenges and embraces that of mass participation, the country may continue to grope in economic darkness.
He stated, "It is something that requires creativity, a sense of personal responsibility and resoluteness to defeat. Against this background therefore, there must be appropriate sensitisation and partnerships in the fight against poverty, so that we can have quality economic growth through massive participation in the economy."
While lamenting the deplorable state of the textile industry in the country, President Yar’Adua disclosed that efforts were underway to re-focus the sector for optimal performance adding that, government's determined effort to ensure success of its poverty eradication and wealth generation agenda, informed the prompt approval of the textile revival fund by the Federal Executive Council.
The immediate past President of the Nigeria Labour Congress who is also the out-going General Secretary of NUTGTWN, Adams Oshiomhole, commended President Yar'Adua for releasing the N80 billion-textile fund. He however emphasized the need to live up to the challenges of the power sector and smuggling of textile products.
He lauded the administrative style of President Yar’Adua, which he noted ‘speaks by action’, and urged him to sustain the current achievements. He also expressed support for the on-going public investigation of the power sector by the House of Representatives noting that Nigerians would only appreciate the import of the probe through its implementation by the government. |
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