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Buhari replies Obasanjo

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7 years ago

January 24, 2018

Olu Emmanuel

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Lists achievements in the economy

The All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled Federal Government has responded to the statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday where he remarked on the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari, telling the incumbent president not to contest for re-election in 2019.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, in a statement on Wednesday,

That the government has read the press statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the State of the Nation.

He acknowledged that for the record, Chief Obasanjo is a patriot, and he has proven this time and time again. “We appreciate what he said concerning the Administration’s performance in two out of the three key issues that formed the plank of its campaign:

Fighting corruption and tackling insurgency. Specifically, the former President said President Buhari must be given credit for his achievement so far in these two areas. We thank him for this,” Mohammed acknowledged.

The Minister observed that apparently, the former President believes that the Administration does not deserve a pass mark in the area of the economy, “which is the third of our three-pronged campaign promises.” He was of the view that despite the challenges, the Buhari administration has made achievements on the economy since inception in 2015.

“We have no doubt that in the face of massive challenges in this area, this Administration has availed itself creditably. We believe that Chief Obasanjo, because of his very busy schedule, may not have been fully availed of developments in the government’s efforts to revamp the economy, which was battered by the consequences of over-dependence on a commodity as well as unprecedented pillaging of the treasury.

“Today, most of the indices by which an economy is measured are looking up. Permit me to say, however, that Nigeria would not have exited recession through a mere order or if the Administration had not made use of “good Nigerians” who could help,” Mohammed said.

The Minster insisted that the Administration is making steady progress in its determined effort to revamp the economy. He highlighted that the results are showing:

Foreign Reserves have peaked at $40 billion, the highest level in about four years, and up from $24 billion just a year ago, even though when we came in, the price of oil had crashed woefully.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBC), headline inflation has fallen for 11 consecutive months, standing at 15.37% as at Dec. 2017. This is the lowest inflation rate since Jan 2017, and it has met and surpassed the target set for inflation in the Administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
Our determined implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has stopped the hemorrhaging of the treasury. Some N108 billion has been saved from removal of maintenance fees payable to banks, pre-TSA. The nation is being saved N24.7 billion monthly with the full implementation of the TSA.
The elimination of ghost workers has saved the nation N120 billion
At about 1.8 billion dollars, the capital inflows in the second quarter of 2017 were almost double the $908 million in the first quarter.
In the wake of a stable Naira and increased investment inflows, Nigeria’s stock market emerged one of the best-performing in the world, delivering returns in excess of 40 percent.
Nigeria rose 24 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking, and earned a place on the List of Top 10 Reformers in the world.
According to Q3 2017 figures, agriculture export is up year-on-year by 25%, solid minerals exports are up year-on-year by 78%, raw materials exports are up 70% year-on-year and manufactured goods exports are up 22% year-on-year.
Government agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service are reporting highest-ever revenue collection, while JAMB, under the new management appointed by President Buhari in 2016, remitted N7.8billion to the coffers of the federal government. The total amount remitted by JAMB between 2010 and 2016 was a paltry N51 million!

The minster, however, admitted that these positive indices may not have immediately impacted positively on Nigerians, assuring that Nigerians will definitely get a new lease of life a short while from now.

He pointed out that the success in the agricultural sector, which is recording a bumper harvest, will bring down the cost of foodstuffs, especially such staple as rice, adding that government’s massive Social Investment Programme will ease the pain of the most vulnerable in the society.

The minister revealed that the Buhari administration grew farmers involved in rice production through the Anchor Borrowers’ programme of this Administration, from six million to over 12 million farmers. “The result is that our rice import from Thailand alone has dropped from 644 metric tonnes to 22,000 MT in just two years,” he said.

The minster also disclosed that Nigeria leads the world in the yam and cassava production. We account for 70% of the world’s yam production.

“Our Social Investment Programme is Nigeria’s most ambitious social welfare programme ever. Currently, 5.2 million primary school children in 28,249 schools in 19 states are being fed daily; 200,000 unemployed graduates have enlisted into the N-power Job Scheme, and a quarter of a million loans already distributed to artisans, traders, and farmers,” Mohammed said.

He further remarked that government’s investment in infrastructure is simply unprecedented.

He presented a synopsis of what government has done in this area as follows

Power Generation at an all-time high of 7,000mw and all can be transmitted
RAIL: Lagos-Kano Standard Gauge is on. Lagos-Ibadan sector ready 2019, Kano-Kaduna ready 2019; The entire stretch ready 2021; Negotiations on for Coastal Rail covering 15 cities from Lagos to Calabar.
ROAD: 25 major highways being funded with the N100b Sukuk Bond, and all geo-political zones are benefitting equally

The minster reiterated that the Administration is not unaware of the enormity of the challenges facing the nation, stating that government is up to the task.

He stated that the Administration is determined to end the crisis of Herders/Farmers’ clashes once and for all, not minding the fact that the clashes predate the APC regime. “We urge Nigerians to have faith in the Administration’s ability to resolve the crisis, and to watch out for concrete measures in this regard,” Mohammed said.

“On whether or not President Muhammadu Buhari should run for another term, it is true that many Nigerians have been calling on the President to run again, while others are opposed to his return.

“However, we believe this issue is a distraction for the President at this time. This is because Mr. President spends every waking hour tackling the enormous challenges facing the nation, most of which were bequeathed to his Administration by successive past Administrations.

He is committed to fulfilling the mandate given to him by Nigerians in 2015. And that’s where we are right now,” the minster declared.

The minster said the federal government has taken Obasanjo’s admonition in good faith, saying, “We thank him most sincerely for taking time off his busy schedule to pen such a long statement.”