The Federal Government has responded to the explosive letter former President Olusegun Obasanjo sent to President Buhari yesterday
in which he condemned President Bhari’s style of government and advised
him not to seek reelection but to rather resign now and proceed on a
peaceful retirement.
Reacting to Obasanjo’s letter, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, in a statement released today, said Obasanjo is ignorant of all the laudable achievements of the Buhari led administration.
Read full statement below;
We have read the press statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the State of the Nation.
For the record, Chief Obasanjo is a patriot, and he has proven this
time and time again. We appreciate what he said concerning the
Administration’s performance in two out of the three key issues that
formed the plank of its campaign: Fighting corruption and
tackling insurgency. Specifically, the former President said President
Buhari must be given credit for his achievement so far in these two
areas. We thank him for this.
Apparently, the former President believes that the Administration
does not deserve a pass mark in the area of the economy, which is the
third of our three-pronged campaign promises.
We have no doubt that in the face of massive challenges in this area,
this Administration has availed itself creditably. We believe that
Chief Obasanjo, because of his very busy schedule, may not have been
fully availed of developments in the government’s efforts to revamp the
economy, which was battered by the consequences of over-dependence on a
commodity as well as unprecedented pillaging of the treasury.
Today, most of the indices by which an economy is measured are
looking up. Permit me to say, however, that Nigeria would not have
exited recession through a mere order or if the Administration had not
made use of ”good Nigerians” who could help.
This Administration is making steady progress in its determined effort to revamp the economy, and the results are showing:
* Foreign Reserves have peaked at $40b, the highest level in about
four years, and up from $24 billion just a year ago, even though when we
came in, the price of oil had crashed woefully.
* According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBC), headline
inflation has fallen for 11 consecutive months, standing at 15.37% as at
Dec. 2017. This is the lowest inflation rate since Jan 2017, and it has
met and surpassed the target set for inflation in the Administration’s
Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
* Our determined implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA)
has stopped the haemorrhaging of the treasury. Some 108 billion Naira
has been saved from removal of maintenance fees payable to banks,
pre-TSA. The nation is being saved 24.7 billion Naira monthly with the
full implementation of the TSA.
* The elimination of ghost workers has saved the nation 120 billion Naira
* At about 1.8 billion dollars, the capital inflows in the second
quarter of 2017 were almost double the $908 million in the first
quarter.
* In the wake of a stable Naira and increased investment inflows,
Nigeria’s stock market emerged one of the best-performing in the world,
delivering returns in excess of 40 percent.
* Nigeria rose 24 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing
Business ranking,and earned a place on the List of Top 10 Reformers in
the world.
* According to Q3 2017 figures, agriculture export is up year-on-year
by 25%, solid minerals exports are up year-on-year by 78%, raw
materials exports are up 70% year-on-year and manufactured goods exports
are up 22% year-on-year.
* Government agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service are
reporting highest-ever revenue collection, while JAMB, under the new
management appointed by President Buhari in 2016, remitted N7.8 billion
to the coffers of the federal government. The total amount remitted by
JAMB between 2010 and 2016 was a paltry N51 million!
These positive indices may not have immediately impacted positively
on Nigerians, but Nigerians will definitely get a new lease of life a
short while from now. This is because the good news from the
agricultural sector, which is recording a bumper harvest, will bring
down the cost of foodstuffs, especially such staple as rice, and our
massive Social Investment Programme will ease the pain of the most
vulnerable in the society.
When we assumed office in 2015, some 6 million farmers were involved
in rice production. Thanks to the Anchor Borrowers’ programme of this
Administration, we have grown that number to over 12 million farmers.
The result is that our rice import from Thailand alone has dropped from
644 metric tonnes to 22,000 MT in just two years. This is phenomenal.
Apart from rice, Nigeria is also doing well in other grains,
especially Millet, Sorghum and Maize. We are now the second largest
producer of sorghum after the US, the third in millet after India and
our breweries are now enjoying local sourcing of those commodities.
For maize, we are producing 10 million tons while we need about 13
million tons for both human and animal nutrition. Nigeria leads the
world in the yam and cassava production. We account for 70% of the
world’s yam production. In two years, we hope to be the world’s largest
exporter of yam! Overall, our ambition is that agriculture should rise
from 25% to 40% of GDP so that we can banish poverty and overcome our
economic anxiety.
Our Social Investment Programme is Nigeria’s most ambitious social
welfare programme ever. Currently, 5.2 million primary school children
in 28,249 schools in 19 states are being fed daily; 200,000 unemployed
graduates have enlisted into the N-power Job Scheme, and a quarter of a
million loans already distributed to artisans, traders, and farmers.
Finally, our investment in infrastructure is simply unprecedented.
This is because infrastructure is key to faster economic growth and
development.
Here is a synopsis of what we have done in this area:
* Power Generation at an all-time high of 7,000mw and all can be transmitted
* RAIL: Lagos-Kano Standard Gauge is on. Lagos-Ibadan sector ready
2019, Kano-Kaduna ready 2019; The entire stretch ready 2021;
Negotiations on for Coastal Rail covering 15 cities from Lagos to
Calabar.
* ROAD: 25 major highways being funded with the N100b Sukuk Bond, and all geopolitical zones are benefitting equally
This Administration is not unaware of the enormity of the challenges
facing the nation, but we are up to the task. We have taken the bull by
the horns, and long-suffering Nigerians will begin to experience a new
lease of life as our efforts yield fruits. We will not go into a state
of funk for whatever reason.
On the Herders/Farmers’ clashes, this Administration is determined to
end the crisis resulting from this once and for all, not minding that
fact that the clashes predate us. I will urge Nigerians to have faith in
the Administration’s ability to resolve the crisis and to watch out for
concrete measures in this regard.
On whether or not President Muhammadu Buhari should run for another
term, it is true that many Nigerians have been calling on the President
to run again, while others are opposed to his return.
However, we believe this issue is a distraction for the President at
this time. This is because Mr President spends every
waking hours tackling the enormous challenges facing the nation, most of
which were bequeathed to his Administration by successive past
Administrations. He is committed to fulfilling the mandate given to him
by Nigerians in 2015. And that’s where we are right now!
Finally, we have no reason to believe that former President Obasanjo
has any motive beyond the well-being of the nation in issuing his
Special Press Statement. We have also taken his admonition in good
faith, and we thank him most sincerely for taking time off his busy
schedule to pen such a long statement.
