Roundup: Nigerian gov't rolls out president's achievements in two years

The two years of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's administration has been result-oriented, though challenging, top cabinet members has said.

At a special Town Hall Meeting held in Abuja, the nation's capital on Tuesday, nine ministers appointed by the president gave reports of performances of their ministries and governance in general.

The event was organized by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, headed by Lai Mohammed.

President Buhari would deliver on its promises of tackling corruption, restoring security, and fixing the depressed economy, said the ministers, adding that the President has remained irrevocably committed to keeping these promises.

ECONOMY

Okechukwu Enelamah, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment told his audience that his ministry had recorded some achievements, though there had been challenges occasioned by the battered economy inherited from the previous administration.

The minister said part of the vision of the ministry, was to champion the course of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through the implementation of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan, in line with the aspirations of the government.

He said the ministry was also working on an executive order on "Ease of Doing Business," adding that the idea was to make Nigeria one of the most attractive destinations for investment in Africa.

According to him, his ministry was leveraging on its comparative advantage by collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to make the country competitive in food production.

He said the administration had set up an industrial council with a mandate of bringing about government-private sector synergy in the interest of the country.

Enelamah said the ministry had already attained local sugar production proficiency in Niger and Adamawa states and had started the establishment and upgrading of existing industrial parks across the geopolitical zones.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Babatunde Fashola, the Minister in charge of Power, Works and Housing said it has created 193,469 jobs, with 40,429 direct and 153,040 indirect jobs, within the two years of Buhari's administration.

He said the construction of roads, power project, housing project and macro impact on jobs is gradually increasing the purchasing power and money in the economy.

TRANSPORTATION

In his accounts, Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi said the ministry has awarded three contracts which are Lagos-Ibadan rail, Kano-Kaduna rail and Port Harcourt-Calabar, which were based on the loan collected from the China EXIM bank.

The minister added that China EXIM bank has approved 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, while the government has released its own counterpart funding for Lagos-Ibadan rail, which be completed in December 2018.

Amaechi said the ministry would introduce the single window which is between Nigerian Customs and Nigeria Ports Authority to move goods within 48 hours.

BUDGET AND PLANNING

Udoma Udo Udoma, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, said his ministry had empowered no fewer than 174,160 youths out of 200,000 selected for N-power program in the country.

The N-Power program recruits and trains young unemployed graduates as teachers, agricultural extension workers and health support workers, etc.

He said all beneficiaries from 36 states had been engaged and had started receiving payments as part of the implementation of the N-power program.

The minister said the N-power was implemented under the Social Investment Programs as promised by President Buhari during his campaigns to help the poor and vulnerable people.

ANTI-CORRUPTION FIGHT

Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed told the gathering that the anti-corruption fight of the government is yielding fruits, contrary to opinions in certain quarters that it is failing.

Mohammed, the host minister who gave the overview of government performance, said that government had successfully taken on corruption at its core, contrary to what many may want to believe.

Mohammed, however, said: "there are more prosecutions and there will be more convictions for public sector corruption than Nigeria has ever seen."

The minister recalled that before Buhari took over, corruption level in the society and the brazenness and impunity of those involved had become completely unacceptable.

According to him, the government is restoring the sanctity of the judicial system and implementing Economic Recovery and Growth Plan designed to reset the economy.

Mohammed said the administration had also achieved a lot in its agenda of economic recovery and restoring security to the entire country and the North-East in particular.

RECESSION

Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun said the government was taking measures that would get the country out of recession, adding that Nigeria would come out stronger.

The minister said "the whistle-blowing policy has made every Nigerian a detective" and many of them were not even requesting for any compensation.

According to Adeosun, the government has gotten more than 2,500 tips that they are working on that will lead to the recovery of looted funds and blocking of leakages.

Adeosun said the anti corruption fight was not only yielding fruit but had become acceptable among Nigerians. Endit