*President Buhari's scorecard*
*ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI ON
56TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY. OCTOBER 1ST
2016*
*FULL SPEECH*
Today – 1st October is a day of celebration for us
Nigerians. On this day, 56 years ago our people
achieved the most important of all human desires –
freedom and independence. We should all therefore
give thanks and pray for our founding fathers without
whose efforts and toil we would not reap the bounties
of today.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. I ran for office because I know that good
government is the only way to ensure prosperity and
abundance for all. I remain resolutely committed to this
objective.
6. I believe that this recession will not last.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Nigerians should thank our gallant men of the
Armed Forces and Police for rescuing large areas of
the country captured by insurgents. Now, residents in
Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, as well as several
neighbouring states go about their daily business in
relative safety. People can go to mosques, churches,
market places in reasonable safety.
11. Commuters can travel between cities, towns and
villages without fear. Credit for this remarkable turn-
round should go to our Armed Forces, the Police,
various sponsored and private vigilante groups, the
local traditional leaders. Security is a top to bottom
concern and responsibility.
12. Besides Boko Haram, we are confronting other
long-running security issues, namely herdsmen vs
farmers, cattle rustling, kidnappings. This
Administration is firmly resolved to tackle these
challenges and to defeat them.
13. A new insurgency has reared up its head in the
shape of blowing up gas and oil pipelines by groups of
Niger Delta Militants. This Administration will not allow
these mindless groups to hold the country to ransom.
14. 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?
15. 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.
16. We have however, continued to dialogue with all
groups and leaders of thought in the region to bring
lasting peace.
17. Corruption is 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. Worse still, the damage perpetrated by Niger Delta
thugs on pipelines sometimes reduced Nigeria’s
production to below One million barrels per day against
the normal two point two million barrels per day.
Consequently, the naira is at its weakest, but the
situation will stabilize.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. At the same time, the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and the Central Bank have been mobilized
to encourage local production of rice, maize, sorghum,
millet and soya beans. Our target is to achieve
domestic self-sufficiency in these staples by 2018.
24. Already farmers in thirteen out of thirty six states
are receiving credit support through the Central Bank
of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme. Kebbi state
alone this year is expected to produce one million
tonnes of locally grown rice, thanks to a favourable
harvest this year. As part of the 13 states, Lagos and
Ogun are also starting this programme. Rice alone for
example costs Nigeria two billion USD to import.
25. The country should be self-sufficient in basic
staples by 2019. Foreign exchange thus saved can go
to industrial revival requirements for retooling, essential
raw materials and spare parts. It is in recognition of
the need to re-invigorate agriculture in our rural
communities that we are introducing the LIFE
programme.
26. Government recognises that irrigation is key to
modern agriculture: that is why 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 we are no longer dependent on rain-fed
agriculture for our food requirements.
27. In addition, government is introducing Water
Resources Bill encompassing the National Water
Resources Policy and National Irrigation and Drainage
Policy to improve management of water and irrigation
development in the country. We are 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
Upper Niger
28. The intention is eventually to fully commercialise
them to better support crop production, aqua –culture
and accelerated rural development.
29. This Administration is committed to the revival of
Lake Chad and improvement of the hydrology and
ecology of the basin. This will tune in with efforts to
rehabilitate the thirty million people affected by the
Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad basin
countries.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. 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.
36. 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.
37. 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.
38. Roads Construction and Rehabilitation has taken
off. The sum of twelve billion naira was allocated to
this sector in the 2015 Budget, not enough even to pay
interest on outstanding unpaid claims.
39. 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.
40. The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has
received one hundred and ninety seven point five
billion naira. Work on the following highways has now
resumed.
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.
Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Enugu – Port
Harcourt Dual carriageway, Abia/Rivers States.
Rehabilitation of Hadejia – Nguru Road, Jigawa State.
Dualization of Kano – Katsina Road, Kano State.
Dualization 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.
Construction of Oju/Lokoja – Oweto Bridge over River
Benue, Benue State.
41. Other major highways are in the queue for
rehabilitation or new construction.
42. Already contractors have recalled about nine
thousand workers laid off and Government expects that
several hundreds of thousands of workers will be
reengaged in the next few months as our public works
programme gains momentum.
43. On railways, we have provided our counterpart
funding to China for the building of our standard gauge
Lagos -Kano railway. Meanwhile, General Electric is
investing two point two billion USD in a concession to
revamp, provide rolling stock, and manage the existing
lines, including the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Line. The
Lagos-Calabar railway will also be on stream soon.
44. We have initiated the National Housing Programme.
In 2014 four hundred million naira was voted for
Housing. In 2015 nothing. Our first budget this year is
devoting thirty five point six billion naira. Much of the
house building will be private – sector led but
Government is initiating a pilot housing scheme of two
thousand eight hundred and thirty eight units uniformly
spread across the 36 states and FCT.
45. We expect these units to be completed within 4 –
6 months. These experimental Nigeria House model
Units will be constructed using only made in Nigeria
building materials and components. This initiative is
expected to reactivate the building materials
manufacturing sector, generate massive employment
opportunities and develop sector capacity and
expertise.
46. The programmes I have outlined will revive the
economy, restore the value of the naira and drive
hunger from our land.
47. Abroad, Nigeria’s standing has changed beyond
belief in the last 18 months. We are no longer a pariah
state. Wherever I go, I have been received with un-
accustomed hospitality. Investors from all over the
world are falling over themselves to come and do
business in Nigeria. This government intends to make
business environment more friendly because we can
not develop ourselves alone.
48. All countries, no matter how advanced, welcome
foreign investments to their economy. This is the
essence of globalization and no country in the 21st
century can be an island. Our reforms are therefore
designed to prepare Nigeria for the 21st century.
49. Finally, let me commend Nigerians for your
patience, steadfastness and perseverance. You know
that I am trying to do the right things for our country.
50. Thank you and may God bless our country.