Tag: President Buhari

Outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari has apologised to citizens over the negative effects of some economic policies implemented by his administration in the course of revamping the nation’s economy.

The most recent of such policy was the implementation of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) naira redesign policy which was suspended on March 13.

The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had in October 2022 announced that the bank would redesign N200, N500 and N1,000 notes and discontinue the old ones.

The implementation of the policy, which caused scarcity of the naira notes nationwide, caused hardship, agony, humiliation, social uprising and deaths of Nigerians.

Banks and their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across the country were attacked by angry youths and other protesters.

However, on March 3, the Supreme Court extended the validity of the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes till Dec. 31, thereby restoring sanity into the various socio-economic activities in the country.

The president, however, said: ”In the course of revamping the economy, we made some difficult choices, most of which yielded the desired results.

“Some of the measures led to temporary pains and sufferings for which I sincerely apologised to my fellow countrymen, but the measures were taken for the overall good of the country.”

According to the president, the Nigerian economy has become more resilient due to the various strategies put in place to ensure that the economy remained afloat during cases of global economic downturns.

“You would all recall the supply chain disruptions and economic downturn that the world witnessed between 2020 and 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The deftness of our response to the pandemic still remains a global best practice.

“Furthermore, we increased the ability of the poor and rural Nigerians to earn a living, provided more food for millions in our villages and gave our women opportunities to earn a living.

“Young men and women in urban centres were also supported to put their skills into productive use.”

The president affirmed that his administration also provided an enabling environment for the private sector to engage in businesses for which their return on investments is guaranteed.

According to him, the private sector proved a strong partner in the drive to build a resilient and sustainable economy as evidenced by the growing number of turnkey projects in various sectors of the economy.

On infrastructural development, Buhari disclosed that his administration had successfully completed some legacy projects to drive economic growth in the country.

“Mindful of the need to ensure adequate infrastructure to drive economic growth, we completed age-long projects and processes notably amongst which are the Petroleum Industry Act, completion of some power projects, completion of the Second Niger Bridge and various important roads linking cities and states,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said he is confident that he is leaving office with Nigeria better in 2023 than it was in 2015.

The president stated this in a farewell broadcast to the nation on Sunday in Abuja.

Buhari, therefore, expressed appreciation to all those that provided their support and encouragement to help him navigate the exciting journey in moving Nigeria forward.

“I also want to use this opportunity to express my appreciation to a good number of Nigerians who provided their support and encouragement to help me navigate the exciting journey in moving Nigeria forward.

“I cannot and will not forget the millions who prayed for me during my illness in my first term of office. I am constantly praying for you and for Nigeria to thrive in peace.

“As I retire home to Daura, Katsina State, I feel fulfilled that we have started the Nigeria re-birth by taking the initial critical steps and I am convinced the incoming administration will quicken the pace of this walk to see a Nigeria that fulfils its destiny to be a great nation,” he said.

The outgoing Nigerian leader also used the opportunity of the broadcast to briefly list some of the achievements of his administration in the last eight years.

On the international scene, Buhari noted that Nigeria’s influence had continued to grow as exemplified by notable Nigerians occupying headship and leadership positions in renowned global bodies.

He also saluted the cordial relationship between the executive and legislative arms of the government, while commending the leadership and members of the National Assembly for their support and cooperation.

He said: ”Our democracy is built on and continues to thrive on the principles of separation of powers.

“The leadership and members of the National Assembly deserve my appreciation for their patriotism which did not detract from their roles as a check to the executive arm.”

To improve service delivery, the president stated that his administration began the implementation of a number of reforms aimed at producing ”an Efficient, Productive, Incorruptible and Citizen-oriented (EPIC) Federal Civil Service and the results are beginning to show.”

On security challenges, Buhari said his administration had been able to reduce the incidences of banditry, terrorism, armed robbery and other criminal activities considerably.

“Our battle to ensure that all Nigerians live in a safe and secure environment has achieved considerable results.

“As I complete my term in office, we have been able to reduce the incidences of banditry, terrorism, armed robbery and other criminal activities considerably,” he said.

The president, however, called on the citizens to sustain the gains made so far by being more vigilant and support the security agencies by ensuring that ”nation’s values defined by being your brothers’ keeper govern our actions.”

Buhari again expressed sadness over those citizens still in captivity, saying the security agencies had intensified efforts to rescue them unharmed.

“’Up till now, I still grieve for our children still in captivity, mourn with parents, friends and relatives of all those that lost loved ones in the days of the senseless brigandage and carnage.

“For all those under unlawful captivity our security agencies are working round-the-clock to secure their release unharmed.”

On the fight against corruption in the last eight years, Buhari said: ”Fellow Nigerians, you know how dear the desire in my heart is, to rid the country of corrupt practices that had consistently diminished our efforts to be a great country.

“I did pursue this commitment relentlessly, in spite of the expected push back.

“I am happy that considerable progress had been made in repatriating huge sums of money back to the country and also taken over properties illegally acquired from our commonwealth.”

By Garba Shehu

The latest in a series of some partisan editorials by some of this country’s newspapers seeking to rewrite recent history was published by the Punch newspaper this weekend, painting a bleak, pessimistic and frequently inaccurate picture of the state of our nation and outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership.

In this post-election period of heightened tension and disinformation, we see it fit to set the record straight.

First let’s start with the one thing the editorial gets right: that President Buhari inherited an economy in disarray. Corruption ran rampant, oil-prices were nose-diving and – astoundingly – an international terror cell, the Boko Haram controlled territory the size of Belgium within our country’s borders.

That so-called country, the Caliphate is unrecognizable from today’s Nigeria.

Today, corruption is thrust out in the open by Buhari’s landmark whistleblowing policy, empowering Nigerians to report it without fear and seeing the repatriation of hundreds of millions of dollars stolen by corrupt politicians and stashed in banks abroad.

Terrorists no longer hold any territory in Nigeria whatsoever, and their leaders have been neutralised by our security forces.

Economy has witnessed growth. External reserves have maintained a healthy growth throughout these eight years.

Within two years of the Buhari administration, exports more than doubled from the 2015 records. Agriculture exports grew 180.7% by 2017 above the value in 2015.

Raw material exports grew 154.2% in the same period; solid minerals grew 565% and exports of manufactured goods 26.8%.

The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the Federal Government’s medium-term Economic Plan, launched by President Buhari in April 2017, successfully ushered in a macroeconomic environment and helped the country to achieve food security.

The editorial begrudgingly credits President Buhari for the “massive success” of pushing through the Petroleum Industry Bill – a staggering achievement attempted but failed by myriad previous administrations – as well as the vast improvements to national infrastructure that have set our country on course for sustainable and equitable growth.

The reality of President Buhari and his legacy is a far cry indeed from what the editorial describes as a leader who “failed to demonstrate any real grasp of modern economic ideas, and lacked the presence of mind or leadership acumen required to turn the ailing economy around”. Goodness!

Which economic miracle worker in Punch newspaper can turn round an economy which suffers from collapse of oil prices, COVID-19 lockdown and associated supply chain crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war?

Look around the world and see how practically every country struggles from these disasters.

But President Buhari is not a North Korean dictator. He would be scornful of any world leader who claimed a perfect record and would be the last person to make such claims for himself.

He had his strengths and his weaknesses, and applied the former and mitigated against the latter to achieve his overarching goal: to leave Nigeria a better place than he found it. In that he succeeded.

He presided over the most turbulent period in modern Nigerian history, helping our nation navigate through global shocks such as volatile oil prices, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the global cost of living crisis.

He kept the ship steady, and paved the way for his successor, President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to take the reins at the end of this month and build upon what he has already achieved.

The editorial states that Buhari will not be missed. We shall see. But, countless Nigerians whose futures he has improved, will fondly remember him for good.

Among these, to take just one aspect or two- the two million poor and vulnerable Nigerian households that are currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, which pays a bimonthly stipend of N10,000 per household; the 355,000 vulnerable persons have received a special one-off grant of N20,000 each in the 36 states and the FCT; the beneficiaries of Nigeria’s Micro-Pension Scheme which allows self-employed persons and persons working in organisations with less than 3 employees to save for the provision of pension at retirement or incapacitation.

Punch possibly doesn’t have a record of the government’s Survival Fund, the National Youth Investment Fund, and National Special Public Works Program (774,000 beneficiaries across 774 LGAs nationwide), and the Central Bank’s COVID-19 N300 billion Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) to support millions of small businesses, households, and young people, with federal grants, loans, and stipends.

This Survival Fund has provided grants (Payroll Support, Artisan and Transport Sector grants, and General MSME grants) to more than 1.2 million beneficiaries, since the last quarter of 2020. It has also provided free business registration to 250,000 MSMEs across the country.

Nor will he be forgotten by the owners of the new 40 plus fertilizer companies and the thousands of people they employ, producing locally to service the more than 12 million new rice growers who in turn provide six million tons of paddy processed by more 100 new rice mills with Kano alone having 62, and others spreading far and wide to Ebonyi, Lagos, Ekiti, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina and others.

No, Punch should stop living in denial. These ones and their kith and kin making up the 200 million plus citizens of our country, the teachers whose backlog of unpaid salaries were paid and the pensioners from years yore, denied payment and treated with contempt now smiling their way to the banks will remember positively that Muhammadu Buhari came, saw and he conquered.

*Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)

The Federal Government has released a 1,564-page compendium detailing the numerous achievements of the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023

The compendium which came in two volumes and documented by the Ministry of Information and Culture was made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in the preface said the compendium was one of the outcomes of the multi-dimensional programmes designed by the Ministry to showcase the administration’s achievements.

According to the minister: “The compendium contained the aggregation of the scorecards of the various ministries, making it the most authentic and detailed collection – in a written form – that anyone can have on the achievements of the Buhari Administration from its assumption of office in 2015 to the end of its two-term tenure in 2023.

Mohammed said the collection came under the Administration’s Scorecard Series
(2015-2023)’, launched by his ministry in October last year to consolidate the propagation of the government’s achievements.

The scorecard series, according to him, provided the platform for ministers to tell Nigerians how they had fared in executing the policies and programmes of the Administration from their various sectors.

Mohammed said other components of the multi-layer programmes included a Documentary showcasing in vivid terms the giant strides of the Administration in all spheres of life.

He said a Testimony Series was also organised, which gave ordinary Nigerians the opportunity to express how they had benefitted from the Administration’s policies.

The minister said the ministry equally launched a Legacy Portal that would preserve for posterity all the achievements of the administration.

“I can boldly say that we have achieved our objective of launching the entire Scorecard Series, which is to tell Nigerians what the Buhari Administration has done in all the sectors to positively impact on their lives.

“Prior to the launch of this Scorecard Series, the refrain from the opposition was that the APC and the Buhari Administration have nothing to campaign with in the run-up to the 2023 general elections.

“But we have proven them wrong. Not only do we have achievements to campaign with, we are spoilt for choice,” he said.

The minister appreciated all the ministers for their support and cooperation in making the compendium and all the other components of the scorecard series a reality.

He also expressed gratitude to the members of staff of his ministry, heads of the agencies under the ministry as well as the media, which consistently reported the presentations.

On behalf of other Ministers, Mohammed gave gratitude to President Buhari for his unflinching support for them to deliver on their mandates

President Muhammadu Buhari believes that the main reason the opposition parties, the PDP, Labour Party and others lost the recent presidential election was because they were over-confident.

He said the opposition became victims of their over confidence, while in contrast the All Progressives Congress worked hard to retain power.

Buhari spoke Thursday at his residence in the State House where he received the Progressive Governors Forum led by their Chairman, Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State.

The President said: “They were already telling their foreign backers that they would defeat the APC. Our Party blended confidence with caution, we worked hard and won.

“Now, their over confidence is creating more problems for the opposition than anyone else. They are finding it hard to convince those who supported them from outside why they are unable to beat us.

“A combination of over confidence, complacency and bad tactical moves made them lose, plain and clear. This has created more problems in their camp. Why did they fail to remove us?”

Speaking in response to an issue raised by Governor Bagudu, the leader of the Forum, President Buhari said “an important reason I congratulate Asiwaju on winning is because the opposition got support and false hope from outside and went on to create the impression that they will win, that they will defeat us. How more wrong could anyone be?” he asked.

The President charged the Progressive Governors to stick together and openly address issues among themselves.

“Try and keep solving problems. Be courageous to discuss them openly between yourselves. This is the best way to survive politically in Nigeria,” said the President, urging that “you (Governors) have a program to meet regularly and to discuss issues and how to maintain the Party nationwide.”

President Buhari spoke at length about his retirement proposal, saying that he intended to be at home in Daura for six months before moving eventually to Kaduna.

He thanked Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State for the infrastructure he has provided that would make life for his retirement and that of the people of the state much better, adding that the Governor of Kano had equally done the same.

The Chairman, Atiku Bagudu said the visit was ostensibly to say “Happy Sallah” to the President and to thank him for the leadership he had given to the Party and the nation.

This being their first visit since the elections, they congratulated the President on the Party’s victory in the Presidential Polls, saying, “Congratulations, your Party won the Presidency, a majority in the Senate and for being the leading Party in the House of Representatives. These successes would not have happened without your support.

“History will remember you kindly. Around the world, the election is being celebrated because of the turbulence in the region and in the developing world, all courtesy of your leadership. We won by sheer hard work, the same thing you have always encouraged us to do. We thank you immensely for everything,” he added.

The Governors in attendance in addition to Kebbi were from Plateau, Imo, Kwara, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kogi, Lagos, Cross Rivers , Jigawa, Katsina, Ogun and Nasarawa States.

The Deputy Governors of Kano, Gombe, Borno and Ebonyi were in attendance, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.