By Rotimi Ijikanmi
Beyond unprecedented infrastructure development, the Muhammadu Buhari administration says it is leaving behind legacies of revamped security, social investment, self sufficiency in staples and probity among others.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this on Monday in Abuja at the resumption of the ”PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023).”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the scorecard initiative, which was launched on Oct. 18, 2022, to showcase the achievements of the Buhari administration, had featured 15 editions last year.
NAN also reports that the current edition featured the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, who reeled out the achievements of his ministry in over seven years of the administration
In his opening remarks, Mohammed said the administration’s critics who claimed that the Buhari government achieved nothing and those that admitted that it was only in the area of infrastructure that the government had performed were wrong.
He stressed that beyond infrastructure, the Buhari administration was leaving a legacy of a social investment programme that is unprecedented in Africa and had enhanced the quality of life of the beneficiaries.
“Our pace-setting social investment programmes like N-Power, School Feeding, Conditional Cash Transfer and GEEP (Government Enterprise Empowerment programme) have benefitted millions of our citizens, both young and old, and this can neither be trivialised nor denied,” he said.
According to the minister, the Buhari government was also leaving a legacy of putting Nigeria on the path of self sufficiency in many staples, including rice.
He said fertiliser blending plants in the country had increased astronomically from 10 in 2015 to 142 while the number of rice mills had increased from 10 in 2015 to 80 presently.
The minister said based on the achievements, Nigeria, which was the number one export destination for rice in 2014, according to Thai authorities, now ranked as number 79.
He faulted the campaign promise of Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate to throw open the country’s borders if elected.
The minister also said that the Buhari administration was leaving a legacy of a revamped security sector in the face of unprecedented security challenges in the country.
” Today, the Nigerian military is being restored to its glorious past, thanks to Mr. President’s foresight and doggedness in re-equipping the various services.
“And this has made it possible for the military to tackle insurgency and all other security challenges facing the country.
“As you can now see, this military has been recording successes after successes,” he said.
Mohammed added that the Buhari administration was leaving a legacy of inclusiveness, especially in the areas of infrastructure and social development.
According to him, there is no state in Nigeria that has no road, bridge or housing project irrespective of party affiliation.
The minister also said that the Buhari administration was leaving a legacy of leapfrogging Nigeria into the digital era.
He further said the president had signed into law the
Startup Bill to make Nigeria a global hub for digital talent and investment and the country had also kick-started the national rollout of 5G while increasing 4G base stations from 13,823 in 2019 to 36,751.
The minister also said that the Buhari administration was leaving a legacy of probity with zero tolerance for corruption.
He said while other administrations pampered corrupt people, the Buhari government exposed and put them on trial.
“Whereas the immediate past administration came up with such programmes as TSA (Treasury Single Account) and IPPIS (Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System), they were implemented largely on paper until we came on board and ensured total implementation.
” The EFCC, the ICPC and other anti-corruption agencies have gone beyond merely arresting and prosecuting alleged corrupt officials to institutionalising the fight against corruption through various programmes,” he said.
The minister also said that the Buhari administration was leaving a legacy of a petroleum sector that could serve the interest of the nation especially with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The Act, according to the minister, provided legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry.
According to Mohammed, the Buhari administration was leaving a legacy of enacting landmark laws, including the Harmonized Mental Health Bill and the
Discrimination Against Persons With Disability (Prohibition) Bill signed into law.
The minister stressed that irrespective of the antics of the opposition and critics, they can never erase the legacies of the Buhari administration. (NAN)
