NATIONAL BROADCAST BY PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI ON DEMOCRACY DAY, JUNE 12TH 2020
Fellow Nigerians,
1.
The 2020 celebration of Democracy Day marks 21 years of
uninterrupted civil administration in our dear country. This day
provides us an opportunity to reflect on our journey as a nation, our
achievements and struggles.
2.
It is a day to honour our founding fathers who toiled to establish
our republic and every Nigerian who has worked tirelessly to sustain it.
3. We are celebrating this year's Democracy Day despite the COVID-19 pandemic which afflicts our nation and the whole world.
4.
It is indeed a very difficult time for everyone especially those who
have lost loved ones to the virus and those whose sources of livelihood
have been severely constrained by the stringent measures we introduced
at every level of government to contain the virus and save lives.
5.
The dedication of our health and other essential services staff
towards containing this virus is a testament of our courage and
resilience as a people and as a great nation, and I use this opportunity
to say thank you to all of you for your service to the nation.
6.
Sustaining our democracy thus far has been a collective struggle,
and I congratulate all Nigerians and particularly leaders of our
democratic institutions on their resilience and determination to ensure
that Nigeria remains a shining example of democracy.
7.
In my 2019 Democracy Day address, I promised to frontally address
the nation's daunting challenges, especially insecurity, economy and
corruption. I therefore find it necessary to give an account of my
stewardship on this day.
8.
We have recorded notable achievements in the course of implementing
our nine priority objectives and are establishing a solid foundation for
future success.
9.
On the economic front, our objectives have remained to stabilize the
macroeconomy, achieve agricultural and food security, ensure energy
sufficiency in power and petroleum products, develop infrastructure,
fight corruption and improve governance.
10.
We have witnessed eleven quarters of consecutive GDP growth
since exiting recession. The GDP grew from 1.91% in 2018 to 2.27% in
2019 but declined to 1.87% in the first quarter of 2020 as a result of
the decline in global economic activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
11. Every single economy in the world has suffered a decline. Ours has been relatively moderate.
12.
In order to stabilize the economy, the Monetary Authority
took steps to build the external reserves which resulted in improved
liquidity in the foreign exchange market. The external reserves grew
from $33.42 billion on April 29th 2020 to about $36.00 billion in May, 2020 which is enough to finance seven months of import commitments.
13.
Agriculture remains the key to our economic diversification
strategy. The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative programme continues to
deliver significant quantities of affordable and high-quality
fertilizers to our farmers. This initiative has also revived 31 blending
plants and created a significant number of direct and indirect jobs
across the value chain.
14.
Government is also revamping the cotton, textile and garment
sector via a CBN Textile Revival Intervention Fund that would
considerably reduce foreign exchange spent on cotton and other textile
imports.
15.
Through the food security initiative, we are promoting "Grow What We
Eat" and "Eat What We Grow". I am also delighted that more and more
Nigerians are taking advantage of the opportunities in the agriculture
and agri-business sector. I assure you that government will continue to
support the Agriculture sector through the CBN Anchor Borrowers
Programme and similar schemes.
16.
To protect our farming investments, we have deployed 5,000
Agro-Rangers and employed 30,289 in our para-military agencies.
17.
We are also integrating rural communities to the formal
economy by extending access to credit and inputs to rural farmers and
building feeder roads.
18.
Our efforts on growing non-oil exports have started to yield
some results. For instance, in the past year, our revenue from Cocoa and
Sesame Seed increased by $79.4 million and $153 million.
19.
Africa presents a huge opportunity for our export base
diversification and we are developing our strategy to grow intra-Africa
trade through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement.
20.
Nigeria has risen by 25 places on the World Bank's Ease of
Doing Business ranking from 146th to 131st and is now rated as one of
the top ten reforming countries.
21.
This development is due to the Visa on Arrival policy,
consistent promotion of initiatives that expand facilities available to
Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, robust electronic registration
and payment system, seamless processing of business registration and
reduction of cost of registering business by 50%. We are confident that
on-going efforts would result in further improvement of this rating.
22.
We remain committed to expanding our mining sector. To this
end, I have directed the resuscitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant based
on Government-to-Government financing and a Public-Private Sector
financing.
23.
With foreign and domestic investments and the participation of Small
Scale Miners, we are harnessing the supply value chain in gold
production.
24.
We would also be launching a fully digitized mineral rights management
platform for quick processing of mineral rights application,
digitization of records and plugging revenue leakages.
25.
The Power Sector remains very critical to meeting our
industrial development aspirations and we are tackling the challenges
that still exist in the delivery of power through different strategies.
26.
We are executing some critical projects through the
Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Programme including the:
a. Alaoji to Onitsha, Delta Power Station to Benin and Kaduna to Kano;
b. 330kv DC 62km line between Birnin Kebbi and Kamba;
c. Lagos/Ogun Transmission Infrastructure Project;
d. Abuja Transmission Ring Scheme; and
e. Northern Corridor Transmission Project.
27.
Our agreement with Siemens will transmit and distribute a
total of 11,000 Megawatts by 2023, to serve our electricity needs.
28.
On transportation, another critical sector to improving our
economic competitiveness, we are growing the stock and quality of our
road, rail, air and water transport infrastructure.
29.
Through the SUKUK-Funded Road Projects, a total of 412km of
the targeted 643km road projects have been completed, representing 64%.
30.
The Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund projects are
also progressing very well. On the 2nd Niger Bridge, piling work has
been completed and the approach roads are being constructed. 48% of work
on this bridge has been achieved. We have constructed 102km of the
376km Abuja – Kaduna – Kano Road, representing 38%, and the 42.9km
Obajana – Kabba Road is 87.03% complete.
31.
Furthermore, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency has
completed routine maintenance on over 4,000km of federal roads out of
the 5,000km targeted.
32.
We are extending and upgrading our railway network too. We
are introducing more locomotives, coaches and wagons for the
Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line. The Central Ajaokuta – Itakpe - Warri Line has
been completed and is being extended from Itakpe to Abuja on one end and
from Warri Town to Warri Port on the other.
33.
The Lagos-Ibadan Rail Line is 90% completed and would be
extended to the Lagos Port which would help address the long-standing
grid-lock at the Apapa port.
34.
The Kano – Maradi Single Track Standard Gauge Railway,
Coastal Railway Project and Port Harcourt – Maiduguri Standard Gauge
Railway, with its associated branch lines running through the South
Eastern and Gombe States, industrial park and Bonny Deep Sea Port are
all ready for concessioning.
35.
Government continues to make investments in the Aviation
sector to position it as a travel and trade hub in West Africa and the
wider African continent.
36.
Airport Terminals in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt are
being expanded, while the rehabilitation of the Enugu Airport is almost
completed. All our airports are being raised to international standards
with the provision of necessary equipment, especially navigational
aids, to guarantee world class safety standards.
37.
For the first time in over ten years, Nigeria is conducting
bidding process for 57 Marginal Oil Fields to increase revenue and
increase the participation of Nigerian companies in oil and exploration
and production business.
38.
We continue to grow local content in other areas of the oil
and gas sector with the disbursement of funds from the $200 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund to indigenous manufacturers and service providers.
39.
With sustained engagement of youths, opinion leaders and
other stakeholders, we have restored peace in the Niger Delta Region and
maintained our oil production levels.
40.
The Head office of the Niger Delta Development Commission
will be commissioned shortly. The Funding of sections I–IV of the
East-West Road shall be pursued with a view to completing the project by
the end of 2021.
41.
Furthermore, I am determined to ensure that development meant for
the people of the Niger Delta get to them so I have authorised a
Forensic Audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
42.
Digital Economy continues to play an important role in our
development agenda as we move into the age of Artificial Intelligence.
43.
Since the creation of the Ministry of Communication and
Digital Economy, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy has
been launched. Steps have been taken to achieve a reduction of
connectivity cluster gaps from 207 to 114 as well as increase the level
of 4G coverage by 30%.
44.
Nigeria remains committed to expanding access to quality
education to enhance the productivity of its citizens and would continue
to pursue the enforcement of free and compulsory basic education for
the first 9 years of schooling.
45.
In pursuit of this, we have launched the Better Education
Service Delivery for All in 17 states, established additional 6 Federal
Science and Technical Colleges and currently executing a pro-active
Teacher Training Plan with all states of the Federation.
46.
In our revision of the operations of specialized education
funds and to implement reforms that would optimize their benefits to the
sector, we have adopted a Public-Private Sector Partnership for
provision of infrastructure and also collaborate with the private sector
to create jobs.
47.
Our pursuit of affordable housing for the low and middle-income
earners has received a boost with the delivery of 1,200 housing units,
provision of 520 service plots with infrastructure through a Public
Private Sector partnership and the issuance of 868 mortgages totaling
N7.7 Billion. Similarly, Home Renovation Loans totaling N16.2 Billion
have been granted to 19,210 people.
48.
To enable sustainable access to safe and sufficient water to
meet the social, cultural, environmental and economic development needs
of all Nigerians, we continue to expand our water supply, irrigation and
dam facilities.
49.
The Completion of Amauzari, Amla Otukpo and other 42 Earth Dams
with combined job creation of about 43,354 direct jobs and 71,172
indirect jobs, would provide more support for irrigation agriculture and
water supply.
50.
To further institutionalize our effort in this regard, I signed the
Executive Order 009 on Ending Open Defecation in Nigeria.
51.
In order to improve our forest cover and in fulfilment of my
commitment at the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in
2019, we have commenced the planting of 25 million trees. This
initiative will also contribute to our effort to mitigate the effect of
climate change.
52.
In the area of security, we remain unshaken in our resolve to
protect our national infrastructure including on-shore and off-shore oil
installations, secure our territorial waters and end piracy in the Gulf
of Guinea.
53.
Ending insurgency, banditry and other forms of criminality across the
nation is being accorded appropriate priorities and the men and women of
the Armed Forces of Nigeria have considerably downgraded such threats
across all geo-political zones.
54.
All the Local Governments that were taken over by the Boko
Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have long been recovered and
are now occupied by indigenes of these areas who were hitherto forced
to seek a living in areas far from their ancestral homes.
55.
The total collapse of the economies of these areas, which
constituted a threat to our food security, has also been reversed with
the gradual recovery of farming and other economic activities.
56.
I regret recent sporadic incidents with tragic loss of lives
in Katsina and Borno States as a result of criminals taking advantage of
COVID-19 restrictions. Security Agencies will pursue the perpetrators
and bring them to swift justice.
57.
I must implore state and local governments to revamp their
intelligence assets so that the Security Agencies can nip in the bud any
planned attacks in remote rural areas. I send my heartfelt condolences
to all the relatives and communities affected.
58. As part of the strengthening of our internal security architecture, the Ministry of Police Affairs was created.
59.
Amongst others, Government has expanded the National Command
and Control Centre to nineteen states of the federation, resuscitated
the National Public Security Communication System and commenced the
implementation of the Community Policing Strategy.
60.
Government has similarly established a Nigerian Police Trust
Fund as a public-private sector vehicle for alternative sources of
funding security activities.
61.
To reduce security challenges through our external borders
especially smuggling of oil products out of the country, inflow of small
arms and drugs into the country and equally protect our local
manufacturers, we introduced operation "Ex-Swift Response" closing our
borders from August 20th 2019, and have considerably succeeded in
meeting its objectives as well as improving our national revenue.
62.
Our Government has continued to work to reduce social and
economic inequality through targeted social investment programmes,
education, technology and improved information.
63.
Our Social Investment Programme has continued to be a model
to other nations and has engaged 549,500 N-Power beneficiaries, 408,682
beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme and 2,238,334
beneficiaries of the Growth Enhancement and Empowerment Programme. This
is being done in collaboration with the States.
64.
Similarly, "Marketmoni" and "Tradermoni" Programmes have
provided affordable loans to small and micro scale enterprises to grow
their businesses. Under the National Home-Grown School Feeding
Programme, over 9,963,729 children are being fed to keep them in school
and improve their nutritional status.
65.
Fellow Nigerians, the year 2020 has been like none other. In
January 2020, the COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World
Health Organization. The number of global infections has risen from less
than 8,000 shared between China and eighteen other countries to over
7million spread over 216 countries and on all continents.
66.
Nigeria recorded its first case of COVID-19 on February 27th
2020 and within the first 100 days, I have had cause to address the
nation on three occasions within one month, which underscores the
gravity of this pandemic.
67.
There is no doubt that this pandemic has affected the global
economy and all known socio-economic systems. It has also brought grief
and pain to families that have lost their loved ones. Like many
Nigerians, I feel the grief and pain not only as your President but also
as someone who has lost a close member of my staff and some relatives
and friends.
68.
In order to have a robust National response, I approved a
Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to provide guidance and leadership
in tackling the pandemic nationwide.
69.
State Governments also constituted their own COVID-19 Task
Forces. Complementing this was the establishment of a National
Emergency Operations Centre responsible for providing technical and
professional guidance in the National Response.
70.
The overall objective of the PTF COVID-19 is to ensure that
the pandemic does not overwhelm our health systems, while ensuring that
we maintain an effective Case Management System to help in containing
the spread of the virus.
71.
The impact of the pandemic has disrupted our economic system
and to ensure its functioning while still addressing the spread, the
Federal Government put in place a number of various non-pharmaceutical
measures to slow down the spread of the virus, in addition to a
progressive re-opening of the economy.
72.
As part of the strategy to create jobs in reducing the effect
of COVID-19 on our youths, I directed the employment of 774, 000
Nigerians. These youths will be engaged in Special Public Works
Programme aimed at cushioning the effects of economic downturn. Each of
the 774 local government areas in the country will be allotted 1,000
slots. I am pleased to report that this programme has commenced.
73.
I receive regular briefing from the PTF on COVID-19. I note
that the National Response relies on Science, Data and Experience in
taking decisions. This informed my approval for the ease of lock down
phase to ensure a balance between lives and livelihoods.
74.
I am confident that the steps being taken by the PTF would
result in flattening the COVID-19 curve. I, therefore, implore all
Nigerians to abide by the approved guidelines and protocols. There is
hope for us all if we take individual and collective responsibility.
75.
Government is determined to turn this COVID-19 challenge into
a motivation to action by building a nation-wide public health care
system that will help us overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for
any future outbreak.
76.
Already, we have begun to look inward and I charge our
inventors, researchers and scientists to come up with solutions to cure
COVID-19.
77.
Government has continued to implement accountability and transparent
policies through the Open Government Partnership and the transparency
portal on financial transactions. Similarly, we have strengthened
auditing and accountability mechanisms so as to ensure that rules and
regulations are followed strictly.
78.
Anti-Corruption Agencies have secured more than 1,400
convictions and also recovered funds in excess of N800 billion. These
monies are being ploughed into development and infrastructure projects.
79.
The Public Service of Nigeria remains the bedrock for the
formulation and implementation of policies, programmes and projects in
the country. This accounts for why it continues to evolve especially as
new socio-economic challenges emerge for Government to address.
80.
I will continue to give all the necessary support for the
on-going reforms designed to return discipline, integrity and patriotism
as the hallmark of the public service.
81.
In the face of dwindling resources and rising cost of
governance, I have authorized that the White Paper on the
Rationalisation of Government Parastatals and Agencies be reviewed for
implementation.
82.
Our youth population remains a source of strength in achieving
development objectives. In this regard, we would continue to concentrate
in developing their skills, providing them with opportunities to
express their entrepreneurial, research and industrial capacities as
well as ample opportunity to take leadership positions in the service of
the nation.
83.
The commitment of this Administration to the well-being of people
living with disabilities remains unwavering. Government recognises their
contributions to development. I have directed that all relevant
Government agencies pay special attention to the peculiarities of
persons with disabilities in the formulation and implementation of their
policies and programmes, and where suitable their employment.
84.
Nigerian women remain a particular treasure to this nation
and for this reason this Administration has continued to give them a
place of pride in the affairs of our country.
85.
I salute your courage, enterprise and resilience as well as
your contributions to national development. I wish to assure all our
women of this administration's determination to fight Gender Based
Violence through the instrumentality of the law and awareness creation. I
am particularly upset at recent incidents of rape especially of very
young girls. The Police are pursuing these cases with a view to bringing
perpetrators of these heinous crimes to swift justice.
86.
Government continues to recognize and harness the power of
the media for positive development. The reforms of the broadcast and
advertising industries including digital switch over and continuous
engagement through town hall meetings remain central to accurate and
credible information dissemination.
87.
Our culture provides the basis for our existence as a people
and a nation. In preserving iconic aspects of our national culture, this
government has been pursuing the recovery of artefacts removed from
Nigeria, promoting heritage sites and festivals and working towards
designating some of our heritage sites as UNESCO World Heritage
Centres.
88.
This administration is focused on ensuring that Nigeria would always be
governed by the Rule of Law and I would do my utmost to uphold the
constitution and protect the lives and property of all Nigerians.
89.
Government has initiated a number of policies and programmes
designed to promote the legal rights of Nigerians, facilitate the
institutionalization of a responsive legal system, provide support to
all constituted bodies in implementing their mandates and improve our
custodial system of justice.
90.
The National Assembly has been an important partner in our
quest to sustain our democracy and achieve our development objectives.
91.
I therefore greatly thank the leadership and members of the
Senate and the House of Representatives for their invaluable support at
all times.
92.
I will also like to convey our deep appreciation to members of the
Press for your doggedness in the struggle for attainment of democracy
since the beginning of our nationhood.
93.
I must admit that the relationship between the media and
successive governments has not always been perfect. But there is no
denying the fact that you have been an effective watchdog for the
society especially in holding public officers to account. It is sad that
in the course of securing our democracy, some of your colleagues have
had to pay a heavy price.
94.
We will continue to guarantee freedom of the Press as we
place high premium on responsible journalism that is devoid of hate
speech, fake news and other unethical professional conduct.
95.
Fellow Nigerians, as we celebrate this year's Democracy Day,
let us remember that, notwithstanding our aspirations, humanity and
indeed democracy is under the threat of COVID-19. Nigeria has survived
many crises before and came out stronger. I am confident that by God's
grace we shall overcome this one and emerge stronger and more
purposeful.
96. Thank you for listening. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.