Dear Great People of our nation,
1. I greet and felicitate with you all as
we enter the New Year today. As we mark the beginning of this New Year, 2015, a
new nation is being born. A new nation
is being born because of the foundations we have all laid, working together for
the good and progress of our dear fatherland.
2. I join you all in thanking God Almighty
who has brought us this far, for continually bestowing His Grace upon us and
for guiding our great nation safely through all the challenges of the past
year.
3. This year, as in the year past, I
reaffirm my commitment to work to ensure a secure future for our dear country
and the generations yet unborn.
4. Last year, we celebrated our hundredth
year of nationhood. The year brought us further progress, challenges and fresh
opportunities.
5. We have contended with the normal
challenges of nation-building and the unusual challenges of terrorism.
6. But we have continued to vigorously
confront those who seek to destroy the bonds of unity that hold us together.
7. On this first day of the New Year, I
want to pay special tribute to the gallant officers, men and women of our Armed
Forces and other security agencies who have been in the forefront of the war
against terrorism and violent extremism in our country and sub-region.
8. I also commend all Nigerians who have
remained vigilant and cooperative with our security agencies in the fight
against the common enemy.
9. We are re-equipping and re-positioning
our armed forces to enhance their capacity to win the ongoing war against
terror and insurgency.
10. Regrettably, terrorists have unleashed much
pain and agony on our land. They have made widows of our mothers and sisters
and orphans of our children. They have shut down businesses, desecrated places
of worship and brought untold hardship to both men and women. They have
violated the culture and peaceful way of life in our country, which took
generations to build.
11. They have destroyed countless schools and
displaced people from their communities, driving them into exile.
12. I want to assure you that the terrorists
will not get away with their atrocities: they will not win; they will be
routed. As President, I feel the pain of all affected communities and families.
I hear their cries and share their sorrow and pain.
13. We will not forget; we will not look the
other way. We have done a lot of painstaking planning and work to resolve the
current security challenge. We will bring justice to the savage terrorists
known as Boko Haram. They will be defeated.
14. That is the solemn commitment I make today
as President of the Federal Republic, and Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces.
15. By the Special Grace of God, the Federal
Government, under my leadership, has continued, in the past four years to lead
our country forward, even under the most trying circumstances.
16. The progress we have made in priority areas
bears us testimony.
17. Amongst other achievements, we have
rehabilitated and expanded our rail transportation network, successfully
privatized power generation and distribution, significantly reformed and
increased local participation in our oil and gas industry, and improved
nationwide access to potable water from 57% in 2010, to 70% at present.
18. We have also made significant progress in
improving access to primary, secondary and tertiary education by building and
equipping more schools, including special Almajiri schools, and establishing
additional universities to ensure that each state of the nation now has at
least one Federal University.
19. Our national economy maintained a steady
growth rate of close to seven per cent in the past four years and millions of
fresh employment opportunities were created for our people as a direct
consequence.
20. Recently, we launched the Youth Employment in
Agriculture Programme (YEAP) and the $100 million dollars Government and Donor
Fund for Agriculture Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN) to fast-track the positive
transformation of our agricultural sector.
21. The Youth Employment in Agriculture
Programme (YEAP) targets 750, 000 market-oriented young agricultural producers
while the $100 million dollars Fund is to provide affordable long-term
financing to support the development of small and medium agribusinesses in the
country.
22. This is in addition to a N50 billion Farm
Mechanization Support Fund set up by the CentralBank to establish 1,200
agricultural equipment-hiring enterprises.
23. Both funds will become fully operational
this year. Policies and programmes such
as these to boost agricultural production remain topmost on the agenda of this
administration.
24. Being very conscious of the inherent perils
of our over-reliance on income from crude oil exports for national development,
we have focused on accelerating the diversification of our economy.
25. The non-oil Sector which has grown by an
average of 8% in the last few years, is now a major driver of growth in our economy.
26. The 2015 national budget, which is now
before the National Assembly, is targeted at deepening our efforts at becoming
a non-oil economy.
27. The budget also includes measures to ensure
that the downturn in the price of oil does not affect our development plans and
our national economy too adversely. We are adjusting our financial processes to
safeguard our economy. We are also
taking steps to ensure that the poor and the low and medium income earners do
not bear the brunt.
28. In 2015, this administration will continue to
lay the foundation for a vibrant economy that attracts significant Foreign
Direct Investment and promotes policies that ensure economic stability.
29. We will ensure stability in the value of the
Naira by striving to take away speculative behaviours that cause market
exchange pressures.
30. We will continue to build and maintain a
healthy external reserves position and strengthen fiscal buffers. We will ensure the Naira remains strong, and
gives foreign investors the clarity and certainty that they need, to guide
future investment decisions.
31. We will continue to improve our payment
systems and strengthen risk-based supervision mechanism for Nigerian banks to
ensure overall health and stability of the banking system.
32. We are introducing a broad spectrum of
financial instruments to boost sector-specific enterprise areas in agriculture,
Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), manufacturing, and oil and
gas to enhance our aggregate supply capacity, reduce poverty, promote job
creation and increase the general well-being of our people.
33. These efforts and other measures being
spearheaded by relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, are geared to
ensure a secure future for Nigeria and create a much more prosperous country,
where people live more peaceful and fulfilled lives.
Fellow countrymen and women,
34. As we enter an election year, I assure you
that our administration will remain fully focused on providing good governance
and the delivery of better public services to our people.
35. The coming campaigns and elections will not
distract us from our ongoing work to significantly improve the living
conditions of our people. And I urge all
tiers of government not to be distracted as well.
36. The elections are very important for us as a
country. Their successful conclusion
will further strengthen our democratic institutions and place our beloved
country even more firmly in the comity of truly democratic nations.
37. Given the challenges that have characterized
some previous electoral contests in our country, the eyes of the world will
certainly be on the conduct and outcome of our fifth post-military rule general
elections.
38. I reassure all Nigerians and the
international community of our firm commitment to free, fair and credible
elections. My commitment to free elections and one man, one vote remains
unwavering.
39. Our administration has worked hard in
previous elections to prepare all key stakeholders including the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and the electorate
optimally, to ensure a progressively improved electoral process in the country
under my watch. We will continue to do
so for the coming elections.
40. We will continue to provide adequate funding
to INEC and maintain the Commission’s independence and isolate it from any form
of interference or meddling in its day-to-day affairs. This shall continue to guarantee its
impartiality and ability to conduct more credible and acceptable elections.
41. National security agencies will also be
given all necessary support to enhance their ability to ensure that the
elections are peaceful and violence-free. The Nigeria Police has already
established an Elections Security Planning and Monitoring Unit.
42. I am optimistic that with the cooperation of
all law-abiding citizens of the country, our commitment to have a peaceful and
violence-free election will be actualized.
43. I will like to say this, once again, to my
fellow politicians and political leaders. None of our political ambitions is
worth the blood of any of our countrymen, women and children. The improvement of their lives and living
conditions ought to be our primary motive and the driving force of our quest
for political power and leadership positions.
44. Let us not promote sectionalism, disunity,
intolerance, hate, falsehood or the malicious abuse of political opponents.
Whatever we feel or seek, we must have a nation and a people before we can
dream of political ambitions. Let us put the nation and the people first.
45. Let us all conduct our electoral campaigns
with the highest possible decorum and civility towards political opponents. Let
us give INEC the fullest possible support and cooperation it requires to
conduct credible and violence-free elections in 2015.
46. After the 2011 general
elections, some unpatriotic elements embarked on an orgy of violence, resulting
in the destruction of lives and property. That will not be allowed to happen
this time around. This government will act decisively against anyone who
disrupts the public peace, before, during or after the 2015 general elections.
47. All Nigerians, of voting age,
are free to vote based on their convictions. It is our duty to defend and
protect that basic right, and let no one be in doubt, we will.
48. Fellow Nigerians, I urge all of you to enter
the New Year with renewed zeal and patriotism, to serve our fatherland with
love, honesty, faithfulness and hope for a greater tomorrow.
49. As I have always maintained, none of the
challenges before us is insurmountable.
We must come together as a people and work with single-minded unity of
purpose to overcome them.
50. Nigeria is a key country in Africa. We must
work together to maintain our strategic position and collaborate with others to
move the continent forward. I call for peace in Africa and an end to all
conflicts in our continent. I urge all
Africans to promote democracy in their respective countries to ensure faster
development of the continent and faster economic and political integration.
51. We will continue to pray and offer hands of
fellowship and assistance to our fellow Africans suffering from the Ebola Virus
Disease. I urge all Nigerians to show
compassion and contribute in whatever way we can to help our African brothers
and sisters.
52. As we go into this New Year, I salute the
indomitable and resilient spirit of our people in Nigeria and wherever they are
in the world. Our spirit of enterprise
and the doggedness to succeed amongst all odds has been our strength.
53. With our collective prayers and efforts, we
will grow our economy and our people will become wealthier. Government will
continue with programmes deliberately designed to create more jobs for our
youth, to enable them contribute more to the growth and development of our
nation.
54. Let us continue our march to the future,
towards the attainment of our collective vision of a strong, united, prosperous
and harmonious nation – a secure nation for us and for our coming generations.
55. I wish you all a happy and fulfilling 2015.
56. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
57. Happy New Year, Nigeria!
58. I thank you all.
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