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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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