A Board of Trustee (BoT) member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Ismaila Ahmed says Nigerians are entitled to constructively criticise the Federal Government.
He said this in Abuja on Sunday at an interactive session organised by Citizens Support for Good Governance (CSGG) in Nigeria.
CSGG is a coalition of Non Governmental Organisations and Civil Society Organisations in the country.
The programme which was attended by students of the University of Abuja, Nasarawa State University, Keffi and Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, was used to identify the achievements of the APC-led Federal Government.
“As government, we have to be open to criticism, some people are not happy and they have to express their frustration, people have to express their anger.
“We cannot and should not have problem with that, we have done many things right and we also have so many things we have done wrong; there is no doubt about that.
“But the things we have done right, we will continue to strengthen them, those we have done wrongly please tell us. “What we can do, we will do, where we make mistakes we will admit, but the essence of governance is to ensure the welfare of the people.”
He advised Nigerians to feel free to ask questions on what they felt were wrong with government, adding that every issue raised would be addressed in the interest of all.
Ahmed, however, said that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari had done a lot that should be celebrated.
According to him, the government is fixing the system and the various institutions in the country to enable it tackle the menace of corruption effectively and deliver on its campaign promises.
To this end, the APC-led Federal Government was working to earn the trust and confidence of Nigerians, Ahmed said.
Ealier, Alhaji Tahir Umar, a panellist, identified greed, poverty and illiteracy among others as reasons responsible for corruption in Nigeria.
According to him, the country has lost trillions of naira to corruption; this is a sad development.
Umar said it was unfortunate that those who were not comfortable with the anti corruption stance of Buhari in the country were wishing him dead.
He advised the Federal Government not to be deterred by the antics of corrupt individuals in the country.
Mr Chinedu Okpala, another panellist, said the President Buhari-led administration had laid a good foundation which had created fear in the minds of those who may wish to perpetrate evil in public offices.
He, however, said that while citizens had the right to criticise government, it was also their civic responsibility to show patriotism by supporting it.
Mr Moses Abdullahi, CSGG National Convener, said that Nigerian youths were at the receiving end of the looting of public funds that had taken place in the past.
This, he said, was the reason they should support the Buhari-led government to fight corruption to a standstill.
He encouraged youths in the country to build their self value, realise themselves and give support to government at all levels.
Abdullahi said that the Buhari-led administration was building a foundation that would ensure that youths in the country would not need a godfather to get to the top or achieve their desires.
The programme was organised for youths to air their views about the present administration and the way forward for Nigeria.
