Presidency Lists Buhari’s Achievements

 

The Presidency on Friday said it has released a document outlining the policy and programme achievements of the Muhammadu Buhari administration since its inception three years ago.

According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the 41-page document highlights the administration’s successes in the economy, security and the fight against corruption, “which are the three priorities of the government’s change agenda.”

“The document is organised into the following sections: Resetting the Economy; Restoring Growth, Growing What We Eat; Making Business Work; Doing More With Less; Investing In People; New Vision for the Niger Delta; Plugging Leakages; and Justice Reforms.

“The fact sheet, which will be updated regularly, showcases improving economic indices, rising investment in agriculture and infrastructure, successes in the fight against terrorism, and ongoing efforts to improve security in the North Central.

“In addition, it lists the several measures taken to promote transparency and accountability in government finances,” the statement read in part.

According to the highlights of the statement, Nigeria’s economy is back on the path of growth under Buhari, after the recession of 2016-17 (1.95 percent growth in Q1 2018).

It added that the present administration’s priority sectors  — agriculture and solid minerals — maintained consistent growth throughout the recession.

It also noted that inflation has fallen for the 15th consecutive month, from 18.7 percent in January 2017 to 12.5 percent as of April 2018.

External reserves of $47.5bn, the statement said, are the highest in five years and double the size as of October 2016.

It added, “Total exports in 2017 were 59.47% higher than for 2016

“The first quarter of 2018 saw the fourth consecutive quarterly increase in capital importation since Q2 2017. The total value of capital imported in the quarter stood at $6.3bn, which is a year-on-year increase of 594.03%, and a 17.11% growth over the figure reported in the previous quarter.

“The new FX Window introduced by the CBN in April 2017, now sees an average of $1bn in weekly turnover, and has attracted about $25bn in inflows in its first year (and a total turnover of $47.14bn) – signalling rising investor confidence in Nigeria.

“Nigeria’s Stock Market ended 2017 as one of the best-performing in the world, with returns in excess of 40 percent.

“Five million new taxpayers added to the Tax Base since 2016, as part of efforts to diversify Government revenues.

“Tax Revenue increased to N1.17trn in Q1 2018, a 51% increase on the Q1 2017 figure.

“N2.7trn spent on Infrastructure in 2016 and 2017 fiscal years, an unprecedented allocation in Nigeria’s recent history.

“Fourteen moribund Blending Plants revitalised so far under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative; with a total capacity of 2.3 million MT of NPK fertilizer.”

According to the highlights the Federal Government inaugurated the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund in May 2018 under the management of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.

The PIDF, it added, is kicking off with seed funding of $1.3bn.

It noted that the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority in March 2018 invested $10m to establish a world-class Cancer Treatment Centre at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and $5m each in the Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital and the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, to establish modern Diagnostic Centres.

It disclosed that the centres should be completed before the end of 2018.

It said the present administration issued a N100bn Sukuk Bond in 2017, deacribing it as Nigeria’s first sovereign Sukuk Bond.

“Proceeds from that Bond are funding 25 major road projects across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria,” it added.

The statement indicated that the complete document had been uploaded to the State House website.