President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that the present economic recession in the country would not last, stressing that his administration was
doing everything possible to pull the nation back on track.
Buhari in his 56th Independence Anniversary nationwide broadcast admitted that Nigerians are finding things difficult and making incredible sacrifices.
“I know that uppermost in your minds today is the economic crisis. The recession for many individuals and families is real. For some It means not being able to pay school fees, for others it’s not being able to afford the high cost of food (rice and millet) or the high cost of local or international travel, and for many of our young people the recession means joblessness, sometimes after graduating from university or polytechnic.
“I know how difficult things are, and how rough business is. All my adult life I have always earned a salary and I know what it is like when your salary simply is not enough. In every part of our nation people are making incredible sacrifices”, he said.
According to him, he ran for the office of President four times in order to prove a point that the nation can be governed with honesty and transparency, adding that good government was the only way to ensure prosperity and abundance for all.
“But let me say to all Nigerians today, I ran for office four times to make the point that we can rule this nation with honesty and transparency, that we can stop the stealing of Nigeria’s resources so that the resources could be used to provide jobs for our young people, security, infrastructure for commerce, education and healthcare”
“I believe that this recession will not last. Temporary problems should not blind or divert us from the corrective course this government has charted for our nation. We have identified the country’s salient problems and we are working hard at lasting solutions.
“To re-cap what I have been saying since the inception of this administration, our problems are security, corruption and the economy, especially unemployment and the alarming level of poverty.
“On Security, we have made progress. Boko Haram was defeated by last December – only resorting to cowardly attacks on soft targets, killing innocent men, women and children”, he added
Buhari, however said apart from Boko Haram,neThe nation was confronting other long-running security issues, namely herdsmen vs farmers, cattle rustling, kidnappings, stressing that his administration would tackle the challenges and defeat them.
The President also warned the Niger Delta militants blowing up gas and oil pipelines, saying that his administration “will not allow these mindless groups to hold the country to ransom”
“What sense is there to damage a gas line as a result of which many towns in the country including their own town or village is put in darkness as a result? What logic is there in blowing up an export pipeline and as a result income to your state and local governments and consequently their ability to provide services to your own people is reduced?
“No group can unlawfully challenge the authority of the Federal Government and succeed. Our Administration is fully sympathetic to the plight of the good people of Niger Delta and we are in touch with the State Governments and leaderships of the region. It is known that the clean-up of the Ogoniland has started. Infrastructural projects financed by the Federal Government and post amnesty programme financing will continue”, the President said.
He, however, stressed that the government would continue to dialogue with all groups and leaders of thought in the region to bring lasting peace.
On the fight against corruption, the President noted that corruption was “a cancer which must be fought with all the weapons at our disposal. It corrodes the very fabric of government and destroys society. Fighting corruption is key not only to restoring the moral health of the nation, but also to freeing our enormous resources for urgent socio-economic development”
“In fighting corruption, however, the government would adhere strictly by the rule of law. Not for the first time I am appealing to the judiciary to join the fight against corruption”, he added.
“The Third Plank in this Administration’s drive to CHANGE Nigeria is re-structuring the economy. Economies behaviour is cyclical. All countries face ups and downs. Our own recession has been brought about by a critical shortage of foreign exchange. Oil price dropped from an average of hundred USD per barrel over the last decade to an average of forty USD per barrel this year and last.
” Worse still, the damage perpetrated by Niger Delta thugs on pipelines sometimes reduced Nigeria’s production to below One millionbarrels per day against the normal two point two million barrels per day. Consequently, the naira is at its weakest, but the situation will stabilize.
“But this is only temporary. Historically about half our dollar export earnings go to importation of petroleum and food products! Nothing was saved for the rainy days during the periods of prosperity. We are now reaping the whirlwinds of corruption, recklessness and impunity.
“There are no easy solutions, but there are solutions nonetheless and Government is pursuing them in earnest. We are to repair our four refineries so that Nigeria can produce most of our petrol requirements locally, pending the coming on stream of new refineries. That way we will save ten billion USD yearly in importing fuel”, he said.
Buhari pointed out that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Bank have been mobilized to encourage local production of rice, maize, sorghum, millet and soya beans, saying that the target was to achieve domestic self-sufficienc by 2018.
He said farmers in 13 out of 36 states are receiving credit support through the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme,
According to him, Kebbi state alone this year is expected to produce one million tonnes of locally grown rice because of the favourable harvest, saying government spends $2 billion on rice importation
He said he country should be self-sufficient in basic staples by 2019 while the foreign exchange saved would go to industrial revival requirements for retooling, essential raw materials and spare parts. It is in recognition of the need to re-invigorate agriculture.
Buhari stated that since irrigation was key to modern agriculture, the Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources are embarking on a huge programme of development of lakes, earth dams and water harvesting schemes throughout the country to ensure that the country no longer depend on rain-fed agriculture for food requirements.
He said the government was already reviving all the twelve River Basin Authorities, namely : Anambra – Imo, Benin – OwenA, Chad Basin, Cross River, Hadejia – Jama’are, Lower Benue, Lower Niger, Niger Delta, Ogun – Osun, Sokoto – Rima, Upper Benue and Upper Niger
According to him, the intention was to eventually fully commercialise them to better support crop production, aqua –culture and accelerated rural development.
The President also said, “the second plank in our economic revival strategy is centred on the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. The Ministry will lead and oversee the provision of critical infrastructure of power, road transport network and housing development.
“Power generation has steadily risen since our Administration came on board from three thousand three hundred and twenty four megawatts in June 2015, rising to a peak of five thousand and seventy four megawatts in February 2016.
“For the first time in our history the country was producing five thousand megawatts. However, renewed militancy and destruction of gas pipelines caused acute shortage of gas and constant drop in electricity output available on the grid.
“There has been during the period June 2015 to September 2016 big improvement in transmission capacity from five thousand five hundred megawatts to the present seven thousand three hundred megawatts.
“There were only two system collapses between June and December 2015, but due to vandalism by Niger Delta militants the over-all system suffered 16 system collapses between March and July 2016 alone. As I have said earlier, we are engaging with responsible leadership in the region to find lasting solutions to genuine grievances of the area but we will not allow a tiny minority of thugs to cripple the country’s economy.
“In the meantime, government is going ahead with projects utilizing alternate technologies such as hydro, wind, and solar to contribute to our energy mix. In this respect, the Mambilla Hydro project, after many years of delay is taking off this year. Contract negotiations are nearing completion with Chinese firms for technical and financial commitments.
“The project is to be jointly financed by Nigeria and the Chinese-Export-Import Bank. In addition, fourteen Solar Power Projects have had their power purchase agreements concluded. Hence the plan to produce one thousand two hundred megawatts of solar electricity for the country would be realized on schedule.
“And in line with the objective of government to complete all abandoned projects across the country, the Rural Electrification Agency’s projects needing completion are provided for in the 2016 Budget. Bringing electricity to rural areas will help farmers, small scale and cottage industries to integrate with the national economy”, he added.
Buhari also stated that roads construction and rehabilitation has taken off while the sum of N12 billion was allocated to the sector in the 2015 budget was not enough to pay interest on outstanding unpaid claims.
“Notwithstanding the budgetary constraints, the current budget allocated two hundred and forty billion naira for highway projects against twelve billion naira in 2015. Many contractors who have not been paid for three years have now remobilized to sites. Seven hundred and twenty point five billion naira has so far been released this budget year to capital projects.
“The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has received one hundred and ninety seven point five billion naira. Work on major highways in the country has resumed”, he said.
According to him, they include Dualization of Calabar – Itu Road in Cross River/Akwa Ibom States, Dualization of Lokoja – Benin Road, Ehor – Benin city, Edo State, re-construction of outstanding sections of Benin – Shagamu Express way, Edo/Ogun States, expansion works on Lagos – Ibadan Dual carriageway, Ogun/Oyo States; rehabilitation of Onitsha – Enugu Expressway, Anambra/Enugu States.
Other projects are rehabilitation and reconstruction of Enugu – Port Harcourt dual carriageway, Abia/Rivers States, rehabilitation of Hadejia – Nguru Road, Jigawa State; dualisation of Kano – Katsina Road, Kano State; dualisation of Kano – Maiduguri Road, Borno State; dualization of Azare – Potiskum Road, Azare – Sharuri Road, Bauchi State; rehabilitation of Ilorin – Jebba – Mokwa – Birnin Gwari road, Kwara State and construction of Oju/Lokoja – Oweto Bridge over River Benue in Benue state.
The President explained that government has committed funds to railway projects while also initiating a pilot housing scheme of 2,838 units uniformly spread across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to him, the programmers of his administration would revive the economy, restore the value of the naira and drive away hunger from the country.