Bebe Akinboade

CHECK OUT THE HANDOVER NOTES FROM FORMER PRESIDENT JONATHAN TO THE NEW PRESIDENT, MUHAMMADU BUHARI

Spread the love
President
Goodluck Jonathan Thursday presented handover notes to President-elect, General
Muhammadu Buhari, at a formal ceremony inside the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The
President also took the President-elect, who returned to Nigeria this morning
after a 6-day holiday in London, on a tour of the Presidential Villa.
Below is the
address delivered by President Jonathan at the ceremony.
1. I welcome
you all to this occasion of the formal presentation of the Hand-over notes of
my Administration to the in-coming Administration of the President-Elect,
General Muhammadu Buhari.
2. This
event and tomorrow’s inauguration of a new administration are truly historic as
it is the first time in the history of our nation that we are witnessing the
democratic and orderly transfer of power at the Federal level from one
political party to another.

3. The
Hand-over notes which we now present, contain the governance philosophy,
strategies, policies, programmes and activities of my Administration for the
period – 2011-2015. Also to be found in the notes are the objectives, targets
and implementation strategies, achievements and challenges of our key policies,
schemes, initiatives as well as the status of commitments and liabilities of
the various MDAs.
4. As we
hand over the affairs of the nation, it is appropriate to recall that at
inception, in May 2011, we committed ourselves to consolidating national unity
through democratization and good governance. Our assessment then, and our firm
belief ever since, is that the unity of Nigeria, the security, well-being,
greater freedoms and opportunities for all citizens must remain the primary
objectives of government.
5. The
Agenda for National Transformation which we did our best to implement consisted
of clear and consistent governance strategies, policies, plans, programmes and
projects, in all facets of our national life. Emphasis was placed on human and
state security, democratization, sound economic management, as well as
structural and institutional reforms.
6. Our
foremost concern was the unity of Nigeria. In keeping with that concern, we
engineered a process that began with a review of issues outstanding from
previous Constitutional Conferences by the Belgore Committee. After that, we
widened political consultations through a National Dialogue that was
orchestrated through the Okurounmu Committee. These culminated in the
all-inclusive National Conference which unanimously reaffirmed that Nigeria
must remain united and indivisible.
7. The
Conference also made resolutions and recommendations for serious
constitutional, political and governance reforms, which we have forwarded to
the National Assembly for appropriate legislative action. It is our hope that
the incoming Government will accord the Report of the National Conference the
very high priority that it deserves, as a genuine expression of the will of our
people.
8. The
recognition that the starting point for good governance is the legitimacy of
the government itself informed our commitment to promoting free and fair
elections.
9. It also
motivated innovations in the management and conduct of elections which we
undertook. Hopefully, in the years ahead, those innovations will be properly
and fully implemented so that Nigerians will be even more assured of the
integrity of the electoral system and the legitimacy of any government that it
produces.
10. To
strengthen the social contract between the government and the governed, we
institutionalized the rule of law as well as the independence of the
legislature and the judiciary. We also promoted group and individual freedoms.
As a result, there is vast expansion in democratic, social and economic space
for all citizens.
11. Our
nation and citizens faced many new challenges over the past four years but the
greatest was the vastly increased menace of Boko Haram with their mindless
terror, mass killings, utter ruthlessness, kidnapping of innocent children and
other unspeakable acts of brutality.
12. We
should all remember that Boko Haram’s emergence predated our administration
going as far back as 2002. The group however became extremely malignant with
the killing of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf in July 2009.
13. It
therefore became an urgent task for us to effectively confront the great threat
Boko Haram posed to the security and well-being of our people. To do so, we
overhauled and virtually reinvented our security architecture to confront Boko
Haram and its insurgency. We re-organized our security apparatus. We
re-equipped and fully motivated our forces.
14. Victory
is now in sight and within our reach. However, the cost in blood of citizens
and heroes; and the diversion of national treasure from urgent needs for
development have been very high. While more than 500 women and children have
been rescued from the clutches of Boko Haram thus far by our security forces,
it remains my sincere hope and prayer that our beloved daughters from Chibok
will soon be reunited with us.
15. I wish
to thank the Nigerian people for their resilience and patience. I also wish to
pay very special and personal tribute to all the men and women of our valiant
armed forces and security agencies. Their sacrifice and dedication have brought
us thus far.
16. While
striving to overcome our national security challenges, we still gave necessary
attention to economic development. Our goal was to achieve long-term economic
growth and stability, improve the quality and quantum of infrastructure and
enhance human capital development.
17. Our
financial system reforms included the Treasury Single Account [TSA] that
unified the structure of government accounts for all MDAs and thereby brought
order to cash flow management; and Government Integrated Financial Management
Information System [GIFMIS] was introduced to plug leakages and waste of
resources. The Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System [IPPIS]
weeded out 60,450 ghost workers in 359 out of 425 MDAs, yielding N185.4 billion
in savings to the Federal government.
18. Improved
Revenue Mobilization was achieved through improvements in the laws and
compliance measures. In 2013 alone, these measures resulted in a 69% rise in
Federal tax revenues from N2.8 trillion to N4.8 trillion. Also, Waiver Policy
and Trade Facilitation were reformed to create a more rational regime. Our
emphasis shifted to granting waivers to specific sectors instead of individual
companies and the Sovereign Wealth Fund was established to provide
stabilization from external shocks, provide funding for critical infrastructure
and savings for future generations.
19. Our
Financial Sector reforms addressed the issues of inefficiencies in the
coordination and monitoring of the financial system. Our policies promoted
transparency, better risk management, new banking models and payment systems.
We established the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria as a resolution
mechanism for toxic banking assets. We strengthened banking supervision and
enhanced public confidence in Nigerian Banks.
20.
Similarly, we undertook innovative reforms for job creation and repositioned
the manufacturing, agriculture and housing sectors. Specifically, it was
observed that over the years, job creation did not keep pace with economic
growth. Thus unemployment, especially amongst the youth was assuming alarming
dimensions.
21. To
address this, my administration made job creation a key consideration for all
programmes in the Transformation Agenda. Emphasis was also shifted towards
empowering youths to become entrepreneurs rather than job seekers, through such
initiatives as Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOU-WIN), Graduate
Internship Scheme (GIS), the SURE-P Technical Vocational Education and Training
Programme (TVET) and the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP).
22.
Manufacturing in Nigeria faces many challenges, including poor power supply,
high cost of input, high cost of doing business, multiple taxation, poor
infrastructure and lack of synergy with the labour market. To address these
problems, we launched several programmes and initiatives including the National
Industrial Revolution Plan and a new National Automobile Policy designed to
boost domestic car production and expand existing capacity. Since then, five
new private vehicle assembly plants have been established.
23.
Agriculture is critical to national survival and yet the sector was besieged
with many problems. By year 2010, Nigeria was the second largest importer of
food in the world, spending about N1.3 trillion on the importation of fish,
rice and sugar alone.
24. The
reforms we introduced in agriculture dramatically increased local production of
staple food and saved us vast amounts of money that we would have spent on the
importation of food items.
25. To
address the glaring inadequacy of critical national infrastructure, we focused
on the Power Sector, Roads, Railways, Aviation, Ports and Harbours as well as
on Water and Sanitation, Information and Communication Technology.
26. My
government introduced the Power Sector Roadmap in 2010. Since then, we have
privatized the generation and distribution aspects in a most transparent
process. Obstacles to the private sector investments in power supply were
removed and we developed cost effective electricity tariff to make the sector
more attractive. It remains our hope that the successor companies to PHCN and
also the private sector will step forward with the necessary investment to make
the power reform work.
27. The
major challenge in the road sector in Nigeria is the high cost of building
roads and it continues to rise. The other challenge is the fact that because of
regular use, roads are one of the fastest depreciating assets in developing
countries.
28. To
address this, Government has developed the required legal and regulatory
framework and created opportunities for Private Public Partnership (PPP) in
road construction and maintenance.
29. From
Ore/Benin Road, Lagos/Ibadan Expressway to the Kano/Maiduguri dualisation
projects, we made concerted efforts to address age-long problems of delays in
construction, design defect, neglect and ineffective maintenance. The
construction of the historic Second Niger Bridge has also commenced, and on
completion, it will open new and far-reaching opportunities for greater trade
and interaction among our people.
30. In the
Aviation Sector, our government developed a Master Plan to institutionalise
safety and security, and to develop infrastructure at the airports and local
airlines. We embarked on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 22 airports
nationwide. Construction work on five new international terminals in Lagos,
Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu are also on-going.
31. There
has been a revolution in rail transportation. We rehabilitated the old narrow
gauge network and ensured that it has served our people steadily for three
years running with new coaches and improved expanded services nationwide.
32. We are
in the construction stages of a new national network for standard gauge
speed-train services, with the new rail line segment, from Abuja to Kaduna,
successfully completed. In addition, we have initiated the process for the
construction of an ultramodern coastal rail line that will run from Lagos to
Calabar, with a link to Onitsha.
33. We have
also successfully completed the dredging of River Niger, from Warri in Delta
State to Baro in Niger State, and completed construction works for the Onitsha
River Port. Other River Ports at Baro, Lokoja and Oguta, are at advanced
construction stages. Working with the states and development partners, we have
facilitated the process towards the development of two new deep sea ports at
Lekki in Lagos, and Ibaka in Akwa Ibom. We have also implemented reforms to
streamline the clearing regime in existing ports, increasing cargo turnover
time and easing business for all users.
34. In the
oil and gas sector, our local content policy has continued to empower Nigerian
companies, particularly in technical and engineering projects. The Gas
Revolution Industrial Park in Delta State is unprecedented in the subsector,
and will not only deliver Africa’s biggest industrial park, but all the
accompanying benefits to local industry and job creation.
35. We
recognized Human Capital as the most important agent for transformational
development. Our reforms in this sector focused on Health, Education and Social
Development and also on Women and Youth Empowerment and Social Safety Nets.
36. In the
Health sector, the comprehensive National Strategic Health Development Plan
(NSHDP) of 2011 laid the foundation for widening access and improving the
quality of healthcare with lower infant mortality rates and higher life
expectancy for the populace. Our effective curtailment of the Ebola epidemic
has continued to receive worldwide acclaim as an example in prompt and
effective national disease management. On our watch, guinea-worm has been
eradicated from Nigeria and we are on the verge of wiping out polio entirely.
37. In the
Education sector, our objectives are clear and precise. They emphasise
expansion of access and the upgrade of quality. I am proud that we have widened
access by establishing 18 more Federal Universities and other specialized
polytechnics. We strengthened TETFUND and used it to boldly address the
problems of inadequate infrastructure in the existing institutions.
38. I am
particularly proud of our efforts with regards to Early Childhood Education and
Out-of-School Children. We provided modern hybrid Almajiri Education Programme
in the North, attended to schooling needs of boys in the South-East and ensured
the construction of special girls’ schools in 13 States of the Federation to
improve girl-child education. We expanded opportunities for open and distance
learning and provided scholarships at all levels to help improve access to
quality education for bright and promising Nigerians.
39. We have
promoted gender-mainstreaming with commensurate priority and opportunities for
our womenfolk, beginning with ensuring that not less than 30 per cent of key
Federal appointments go to women. Other initiatives that we have taken include:
the National Gender Policy, Establishment of Gender Units in Federal MDAs,
Women Empowerment Training Programmes, Micro-Credit for Women, Social Safety
Net Programmes and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Scheme.
40. My
Administration has emphasized giving a free hand to our Anti-corruption
agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the
Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). We preferred that they mature
into strong institutions instead of being the images, the hammer and the anvil
of a strong man. We must encourage them to abide by the rule of law and due process
instead of resorting to dramatic or illegal actions orchestrated for cheap
applause.
41. Beyond
the very impressive records of enhanced convictions by statutory
anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC and ICPC, our other strategy has been to
fashion economic policies that deliver higher deterrence and frustrate
concealment. In this regard, the Bureau of Public Procurement has played a
central role and impacted strongly on the fight against corruption.
42. In
Sports, we have improved our national performance in team and individual
events. The disappointment of not qualifying to defend our African Football
Championship was cushioned by a decent FIFA World Cup appearance, an Under-17
World Cup win in addition to other victories in other international football
tournaments and the Paralympics. We have also encouraged excellence in other
sports, apart from football, resulting in exceptional performance in
international sporting events, especially in athletics.
43. Our
foreign policy position remains strong. In October 2013, Nigeria was elected as
a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the second
time on our watch. Our country had only served in that capacity thrice before
2011, since independence in 1960. Our Administration also played a leading role
in the resolution of security and political challenges in our sub-region,
particularly in Niger, Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Guinea-Bissau and Burkina Faso.
44. In
addition, we increased engagement with Nigerians in the diaspora who contribute
so much in remittances to their fatherland. Our Administration successfully
encouraged more of them to invest in Nigeria and others to return home and join
in the task of nation-building.
45. In
summary, Your Excellency, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, our
administration has done its best to intervene robustly and impact positively on
key aspects of our national life.
46. There is
no doubt that challenges still abound, but they are surmountable and
overwhelming national transformation remains realisable, with continuity,
commitment and consistency.
47. Nigeria
is blessed with citizens that will always remain faithful, firmly committed to
national unity, accelerated political, social and economic development.
48. As we
hand over the reins of government, I believe that our nation is secure, our
democracy is stable, and the future is bright. Let us all work together, and with
greater resolve, continue to build a stronger and more prosperous nation.
49. May God
Almighty continue to bless our dear country, Nigeria.
50. I thank
you all.
bebeakinboade