President Muhammadu Buhari said Friday that his administration has made significant impacts on the lives of Nigerians in line with its campaign promises.
In a nationwide broadcast to mark June 12 as Democracy Day, the president said the present administration has delivered in the areas of security, anti-corruption war and economic growth in the last five years.
He said sustaining the nation’s democracy has been a collective struggle, stressing that the resilience and determination of Nigerians have ensured that Nigeria remains a shining example of democracy.
“Sustaining our democracy thus far has been a collective struggle, and I congratulate all Nigerians and particularly leaders of our democratic institutions on their resilience and determination to ensure that Nigeria remains a shining example of democracy.
“In my 2019 Democracy Day address, I promised to frontally address the nation’s daunting challenges, especially insecurity, economy and corruption. I therefore find it necessary to give an account of my stewardship on this day.
“We have recorded notable achievements in the course of implementing our nine priority objectives and are establishing a solid foundation for future success.
“On the economic front, our objectives have remained to stabilize the macroeconomy, achieve agricultural and food security, ensure energy sufficiency in power and petroleum products, develop infrastructure, fight corruption and improve governance.
“We have witnessed eleven quarters of consecutive GDP growth since exiting recession. The GDP grew from 1.91% in 2018 to 2.27% in 2019 but declined to 1.87% in the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the decline in global economic activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Every single economy in the world has suffered a decline. Ours has been relatively moderate.
“In order to stabilize the economy, the Monetary Authority took steps to build the external reserves which resulted in improved liquidity in the foreign exchange market. The external reserves grew from $33.42 billion on April 29th 2020 to about $36.00 billion in May, 2020 which is enough to finance seven months of import commitments,” he said.
Agriculture reforms
On agriculture, the president said the Presidential Initiative on Fertilizer has continued to deliver significant quantities of affordable and high-quality fertilizers to farmers.
He said the strategy has revived 31 blending plants and created a significant number of direct and indirect jobs across the value chain.
He said the federal government was revamping the cotton, textile and garment sector via a CBN Textile Revival Intervention Fund that would considerably reduce foreign exchange spent on cotton and other textile imports.
“To protect our farming investments, we have deployed 5,000 Agro-Rangers and employed 30,289 in our para-military agencies.
“We are also integrating rural communities to the formal economy by extending access to credit and inputs to rural farmers and building feeder roads.
“Our efforts on growing non-oil exports have started to yield some results. For instance, in the past year, our revenue from Cocoa and Sesame Seed increased by $79.4 million and $153 million,” he said.
Economic growth
On the economic front, the president said government has initiated a Visa on Arrival policy and consistent promotion of initiatives that expand facilities available to Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, robust electronic registration and payment system.
“We remain committed to expanding our mining sector. To this end, I have directed the resuscitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant based on Government-to-Government financing and a Public-Private Sector financing.
“With foreign and domestic investments and the participation of Small Scale Miners, we are harnessing the supply value chain in gold production.
“We would also be launching a fully digitized mineral rights management platform for quick processing of mineral rights application, digitization of records and plugging revenue leakage,” he said.
Power sector
The president said the federal government would deliver at least 11,000 megawatts by 2023, stressing that the power sector remains very critical to meeting industrial development aspirations.
“We are executing some critical projects through the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Programme including the: Alaoji to Onitsha, Delta Power Station to Benin and Kaduna to Kano;330kv DC 62km line between Birnin Kebbi and Kamba;Lagos/Ogun Transmission Infrastructure Project;Abuja Transmission Ring Scheme; and Northern Corridor Transmission Project.
“Our agreement with Siemens will transmit and distribute a total of 11,000 Megawatts by 2023, to serve our electricity needs,” he said.
Transport sector
The president, who described transportation as critical sector to improving economic competitiveness, said the present administration is growing the stock and quality of roads, rail, air and water transport infrastructure.
“Through the SUKUK-Funded Road Projects, a total of 412km of the targeted 643km road projects have been completed, representing 64%.
“The Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund projects are also progressing very well. On the 2nd Niger Bridge, piling work has been completed and the approach roads are being constructed. 48% of work on this bridge has been achieved. We have constructed 102km of the 376km Abuja – Kaduna – Kano Road, representing 38%, and the 42.9km Obajana – Kabba Road is 87.03% complete.
“Government continues to make investments in the Aviation sector to position it as a travel and trade hub in West Africa and the wider African continent,” he said.
Niger Delta
The president said, for the first time in over ten years, Nigeria is conducting open bidding process for 57 Marginal Oil Fields to increase revenue and increase the participation of Nigerian companies in oil and gas exploration and production business.
He said the a new Head Office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) would be commissioned shortly, adding that the Funding of sections I–IV of the East-West rad shall be pursued with a view to completing the project by the end of 2021.
“I am determined to ensure that development meant for the people of the Niger Delta get to them so I have authorised a Forensic Audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission,” he said.
Digital economy
He said digital economy would continue to play an important role in the present administration’s development agenda as the country moves into the age of Artificial Intelligence.
He said since the creation of the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, the national digital economy policy and strategy has been launched.
He said steps are being taken to achieve a reduction of connectivity cluster gaps from 207 to 114 and increase the level of 4G coverage by 30%.
Educational index
The president said Nigeria remains committed to expanding access to quality education to enhance the productivity of its citizens, and would continue to pursue the enforcement of free and compulsory basic education for the first nine years of schooling.
He said in pursuit of this policy, government has launched a Better Education Service Delivery for All in 17 states of the federation.
He said government had also established additional six Federal Science and Technical Colleges established.
“We are currently executing a pro-active Teacher Training Plan with all states of the Federation. In our revision of the operations of specialized education funds and to implement reforms that would optimize their benefits to the sector, we have adopted a Public-Private Sector Partnership for provision of infrastructure and also collaborate with the private sector to create jobs,” he said.
Anti-corruption policy
The president said anti-corruption agencies in the country have secured more than 1,400 convictions and recovered funds in excess of N800 billion.
He said the recovered funds are being ploughed into development and infrastructure projects.
He said the country’s public service remains the bedrock for the formulation and implementation of government policies and programmes, and accounts for why it continues to evolve, especially as new socio-economic challenges emerge for Government to address.
“I will continue to give all the necessary support for the on-going reforms designed to return discipline, integrity and patriotism as the hallmark of the public service.
“In the face of dwindling resources and rising cost of governance, I have authorized that the White Paper on the Rationalisation of Government Parastatals and Agencies be reviewed for implementation,” he said.
