Carry indigenous professionals along in next level, APBN urges Buhari

Professional organisations in the country, under the aegis of Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) said the Next Level agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari administration may be difficult to achieve if indigenous professionals in the country are not carried along.

The Association, therefore, urged the president to carry professionals along in the formation and implementation of his policies.

Speaking at the ongoing 8th annual summit of the Association, President of APBN, Olumuyiwa Alade Ajobola, an Engineer, called on professionals in the country to be ethical in their conducts, stressing that “overall, the necessity for the professionals to remain ethical will be of uttermost importance in the journey to a sustainable next level.

He said: “it is our belief that in order to give positive expression to the Next Level mantra of government, the Nigerian professionals have an indispensable role to play amidst other compatriots

“This year, the summit has been designed specifically to address the Next Level desire of President Muhammadu Buhari, promised at the 2019 election. We interpreted 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 and hence benefits to the people.”

He, however, cautioned that without the professionals, it may be difficult to attain the Next Level, saying they have the expertise to execute the government plans.

According to him ‘’Our annual retreat was envisioned to facilitate intra-professional interaction with a view to finding solutions to issues internal to the professional practices of member-bodies, codes of conduct and standards of presentation; as well as address external policies of Government/Private sectors which tend to impact on our practices.

The Association also charged professionals to increase their participation in the national development process by taking advantage of federal government policies which support local contents, especially Executive Order 5 and 7 declared by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“This year, in view of the low times being experienced by Nigerian Professionals, due to lower participation in the development of many sectors of the economy, in which professionals practice, the 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. The president’s Executive Orders 05 and 07 were declared to facilitate the rapid bridging of the infrastructure gap.”

In his keynote speech, Pharm. Lere Baale said it is crucial that the professionals are carried along. He expressed concerns that indigenous professionals are leaving the country because they feel their contributions are not appreciated by the government.

He said, “The Next Level is more like a dream, but in implementing the strategies that are contained inside the Next Level document, it is crucial that the professionals are carried along. Even if they are not carried along, the professionals should proactively engage government. We are all together to build a better nation.

“The professionals, working with the government can take our country even beyond what is contained in the Next Level documents.”

According to him, Nigeria is blessed with professionals making global impacts.

He 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