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1. I welcome you all to this occasion of the formal presentation of the
Hand-over notes of my Administration to the in-coming Administration of
the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.
2. This event and tomorrow’s inauguration of a new administration are
truly historic as it is the first time in the history of our nation that
we are witnessing the democratic and orderly transfer of power at the
Federal level from one political party to another.
3. The Hand-over notes which we now present, contain the governance
philosophy, strategies, policies, programmes and activities of my
Administration for the period - 2011-2015. Also to be found in the notes
are the objectives, targets and implementation strategies, achievements
and challenges of our key policies, schemes, initiatives as well as the
status of commitments and liabilities of the various MDAs.
4. As we hand over the affairs of the nation, it is appropriate to
recall that at inception, in May 2011, we committed ourselves to
consolidating national unity through democratization and good
governance. Our assessment then, and our firm belief ever since, is that
the unity of Nigeria, the security, well-being, greater freedoms and
opportunities for all citizens must remain the primary objectives of
government.
5. The Agenda for National Transformation which we did our best to
implement consisted of clear and consistent governance strategies,
policies, plans, programmes and projects, in all facets of our national
life. Emphasis was placed on human and state security, democratization,
sound economic management, as well as structural and institutional
reforms.
6. Our foremost concern was the unity of Nigeria. In keeping with
that concern, we engineered a process that began with a review of issues
outstanding from previous Constitutional Conferences by the Belgore
Committee. After that, we widened political consultations through a
National Dialogue that was orchestrated through the Okurounmu Committee.
These culminated in the all-inclusive National Conference which
unanimously reaffirmed that Nigeria must remain united and indivisible.
7. The Conference also made resolutions and recommendations for
serious constitutional, political and governance reforms, which we have
forwarded to the National Assembly for appropriate legislative action.
It is our hope that the incoming Government will accord the Report of
the National Conference the very high priority that it deserves, as a
genuine expression of the will of our people.
8. The recognition that the starting point for good governance is the
legitimacy of the government itself informed our commitment to promoting
free and fair elections.
9. It also motivated innovations in the management and conduct of
elections which we undertook. Hopefully, in the years ahead, those
innovations will be properly and fully implemented so that Nigerians
will be even more assured of the integrity of the electoral system and
the legitimacy of any government that it produces.
10. To
strengthen the social contract between the government and the governed,
we institutionalized the rule of law as well as the independence of the
legislature and the judiciary. We also promoted group and individual
freedoms. As a result, there is vast expansion in democratic, social and
economic space for all citizens.
11.Our nation and citizens faced many new challenges over the past four
years but the greatest was the vastly increased menace of Boko Haram
with their mindless terror, mass killings, utter ruthlessness,
kidnapping of innocent children and other unspeakable acts of brutality.
12. We should
all remember that Boko Haram’s emergence predated our administration
going as far back as 2002. The group however became extremely malignant
with the killing of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf in July 2009.
13. It
therefore became an urgent task for us to effectively confront the great
threat Boko Haram posed to the security and well-being of our people.
To do so, we overhauled and virtually reinvented our security
architecture to confront Boko Haram and its insurgency. We re-organized
our security apparatus. We re-equipped and fully motivated our forces.
14. Victory is
now in sight and within our reach. However, the cost in blood of
citizens and heroes; and the diversion of national treasure from urgent
needs for development have been very high. While more than 500 women and
children have been rescued from the clutches of Boko Haram thus far by
our security forces, it remains my sincere hope and prayer that our
beloved daughters from Chibok will soon be reunited with us.
15. I wish to
thank the Nigerian people for their resilience and patience. I also wish
to pay very special and personal tribute to all the men and women of
our valiant armed forces and security agencies. Their sacrifice and
dedication have brought us thus far.
16. While
striving to overcome our national security challenges, we still gave
necessary attention to economic development. Our goal was to achieve
long-term economic growth and stability, improve the quality and quantum
of infrastructure and enhance human capital development.
17. Our
financial system reforms included the Treasury Single Account [TSA] that
unified the structure of government accounts for all MDAs and thereby
brought order to cash flow management; and Government Integrated
Financial Management Information System [GIFMIS] was introduced to plug
leakages and waste of resources. The Integrated Payroll and Personnel
Information System [IPPIS] weeded out 60,450 ghost workers in 359 out of
425 MDAs, yielding N185.4 billion in savings to the Federal
government.
18. Improved
Revenue Mobilization was achieved through improvements in the laws and
compliance measures. In 2013 alone, these measures resulted in a 69%
rise in Federal tax revenues from N2.8 trillion to N4.8 trillion. Also,
Waiver Policy and Trade Facilitation were reformed to create a more
rational regime. Our emphasis shifted to granting waivers to specific
sectors instead of individual companies and the Sovereign Wealth Fund
was established to provide stabilization from external shocks, provide
funding for critical infrastructure and savings for future generations.
19. Our
Financial Sector reforms addressed the issues of inefficiencies in the
coordination and monitoring of the financial system. Our policies
promoted transparency, better risk management, new banking models and
payment systems. We established the Assets Management Corporation of
Nigeria as a resolution mechanism for toxic banking assets. We
strengthened banking supervision and enhanced public confidence in
Nigerian Banks
.
20. Similarly,
we undertook innovative reforms for job creation and repositioned the
manufacturing, agriculture and housing sectors. Specifically, it was
observed that over the years, job creation did not keep pace with
economic growth. Thus unemployment, especially amongst the youth was
assuming alarming dimensions.
21. To address
this, my administration made job creation a key consideration for all
programmes in the Transformation Agenda. Emphasis was also shifted
towards empowering youths to become entrepreneurs rather than job
seekers, through such initiatives as Youth Enterprise with Innovation in
Nigeria (YOU-WIN), Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), the SURE-P
Technical Vocational Education and Training Programme (TVET) and the
Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP).
22.
Manufacturing in Nigeria faces many challenges, including poor power
supply, high cost of input, high cost of doing business, multiple
taxation, poor infrastructure and lack of synergy with the labour
market. To address these problems, we launched several programmes and
initiatives including the National Industrial Revolution Plan and a new
National Automobile Policy designed to boost domestic car production and
expand existing capacity. Since then, five new private vehicle assembly
plants have been established.
23. Agriculture is critical to national survival and
yet the sector was besieged with many problems. By year 2010, Nigeria
was the second largest importer of food in the world, spending about
N1.3 trillion on the importation of fish, rice and sugar alone.
24. The reforms we introduced in agriculture
dramatically increased local production of staple food and saved us vast
amounts of money that we would have spent on the importation of food
items.
25. To address the glaring inadequacy of critical
national infrastructure, we focused on the Power Sector, Roads,
Railways, Aviation, Ports and Harbours as well as on Water and
Sanitation, Information and Communication Technology.
26. My government introduced the Power Sector Roadmap in 2010.
Since then, we have privatized the generation and distribution aspects
in a most transparent process. Obstacles to the private sector
investments in power supply were removed and we developed cost effective
electricity tariff to make the sector more attractive. It remains our
hope that the successor companies to PHCN and also the private sector
will step forward with the necessary investment to make the power reform
work.
27. The major challenge in the road sector in Nigeria is the high
cost of building roads and it continues to rise. The other challenge is
the fact that because of regular use, roads are one of the fastest
depreciating assets in developing countries.
28. To address this, Government has developed the required legal
and regulatory framework and created opportunities for Private Public
Partnership (PPP) in road construction and maintenance.
29. From Ore/Benin Road, Lagos/Ibadan Expressway to the
Kano/Maiduguri dualisation projects, we made concerted efforts to
address age-long problems of delays in construction, design defect,
neglect and ineffective maintenance. The construction of the historic
Second Niger Bridge has also commenced, and on completion, it will open
new and far-reaching opportunities for greater trade and interaction
among our people.
30. In the Aviation Sector, our government developed a Master Plan
to institutionalise safety and security, and to develop infrastructure
at the airports and local airlines. We embarked on the reconstruction
and rehabilitation of 22 airports nationwide. Construction work on five
new international terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and
Enugu are also on-going.
31. There has been a revolution in rail transportation. We
rehabilitated the old narrow gauge network and ensured that it has
served our people steadily for three years running with new coaches and
improved expanded services nationwide.
32. We are in the construction stages of a new national network
for standard gauge speed-train services, with the new rail line segment,
from Abuja to Kaduna, successfully completed. In addition, we have
initiated the process for the construction of an ultramodern coastal
rail line that will run from Lagos to Calabar, with a link to Onitsha.
33. We have also successfully completed the dredging of River
Niger, from Warri in Delta State to Baro in Niger State, and completed
construction works for the Onitsha River Port. Other River Ports at
Baro, Lokoja and Oguta, are at advanced construction stages. Working
with the states and development partners, we have facilitated the
process towards the development of two new deep sea ports at Lekki in
Lagos, and Ibaka in Akwa Ibom. We have also implemented reforms to
streamline the clearing regime in existing ports, increasing cargo
turnover time and easing business for all users.
34. In the oil and gas sector, our local content policy has
continued to empower Nigerian companies, particularly in technical and
engineering projects. The Gas Revolution Industrial Park in Delta State
is unprecedented in the sub
-
sector, and will not only deliver Africa’s biggest industrial park, but
all the accompanying benefits to local industry and job creation.
35. We recognized Human Capital as the most important agent for
transformational development. Our reforms in this sector focused on
Health, Education and Social Development and also on Women and Youth
Empowerment and Social Safety Nets.
36. In the Health sector, the comprehensive National Strategic
Health Development Plan (NSHDP) of 2011 laid the foundation for widening
access and improving the quality of healthcare with lower infant
mortality rates and higher life expectancy for the populace. Our
effective curtailment of the Ebola epidemic has continued to receive
worldwide acclaim as an example in prompt and effective national disease
management. On our watch, guinea-worm has been eradicated from Nigeria
and we are on the verge of wiping out polio entirely.
37. In the Education sector, our objectives are clear and
precise. They emphasise expansion of access and the upgrade of quality. I
am proud that we have widened access by establishing 18 more Federal
Universities and other specialized polytechnics. We strengthened TETFUND
and used it to boldly address the problems of inadequate infrastructure
in the existing institutions.
38. I am particularly proud of our efforts with regards to Early
Childhood Education and Out-of-School Children. We provided modern
hybrid Almajiri Education Programme in the North, attended to schooling
needs of boys in the South-East and ensured the construction of special
girls’ schools in 13 States of the Federation to improve girl-child
education. We expanded opportunities for open and distance learning and
provided scholarships at all levels to help improve access to quality
education for bright and promising Nigerians.
39. We have promoted gender-mainstreaming with commensurate
priority and opportunities for our womenfolk, beginning with ensuring
that not less than 30 per cent of key Federal appointments go to women.
Other initiatives that we have taken include: the National Gender
Policy, Establishment of Gender Units in Federal MDAs, Women Empowerment
Training Programmes, Micro-Credit for Women, Social Safety Net
Programmes and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Scheme.
40. My Administration has emphasized giving a free hand to our
Anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission
(ICPC). We preferred that they mature into strong institutions instead
of being the images, the hammer and the anvil of a strong man. We must
encourage them to abide by the rule of law and due process instead of
resorting to dramatic or illegal actions orchestrated for cheap applause
.
41. Beyond the very impressive records of enhanced convictions
by statutory anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC and ICPC, our other
strategy has been to fashion economic policies that deliver higher
deterrence and frustrate concealment. In this regard, the Bureau of
Public Procurement has played a central role and impacted strongly on
the fight against corruption.
42. In Sports, we have improved our national performance in team
and individual events. The disappointment of not qualifying to defend
our African Football Championship was cushioned by a decent FIFA World
Cup appearance, an Under-17 World Cup win in addition to other victories
in other international football tournaments and the Paralympics. We
have also encouraged excellence in other sports, apart from football,
resulting in exceptional performance in international sporting events,
especially in athletics.
43. Our foreign policy position remains strong. In October 2013,
Nigeria was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council for the second time on our watch. Our country had only
served in that capacity thrice before 2011, since independence in 1960.
Our Administration also played a leading role in the resolution of
security and political challenges in our sub-region, particularly in
Niger, Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Guinea-Bissau and Burkina Faso.
44. In addition, we increased engagement with Nigerians in the
diaspora who contribute so much in remittances to their fatherland. Our
Administration successfully encouraged more of them to invest in Nigeria
and others to return home and join in the task of nation-building.
45. In summary, Your Excellency, distinguished ladies and
gentlemen, our administration has done its best to intervene robustly
and impact positively on key aspects of our national life.
46. There is no doubt that challenges still abound, but they are
surmountable and overwhelming national transformation remains
realisable, with continuity, commitment and consistency.
47. Nigeria is blessed with citizens that will always remain
faithful, firmly committed to national unity, accelerated political,
social and economic development.
48. As we hand over the reins of government, I believe that our
nation is secure, our democracy is stable, and the future is bright. Let
us all work together, and with greater resolve, continue to build a
stronger and more prosperous nation.
49. May God Almighty continue to bless our dear country, Nigeria.
50. I thank you all.
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