President Goodluck Jonathan has urged Nigerians to remain patriotic in their support for the Armed Forces fighting the insurgents in the North-eastern part of Nigeria.
The president condemned the actions of the terrorists, saying it is now obvious that they do not mean well for anyone.
In his Independence Day broadcast on Wednesday, Jonathan thanked Nigerians for the support and faith they have shown in the country, highlighting what his administration is doing to halt terrorist activities in the country and what it is doing to relieve the victims.
“While we continue to deploy our resources in the fight against the terrorists, we do recognise the great toll the conflict is taking on our people,” he said.
“This is why, to assist the afflicted, we have launched the Victims Support Fund, an independent multi-sectoral charity, which will aggressively solicit resources to augment Government’s statutory intervention, in bringing succour to the injured, the displaced and the bereaved.
“In partnership with Nigerian business leaders and international partners, we have also introduced the Safe Schools Initiative which is aimed at promoting safe environments for education nationwide, starting with the North East region.”
He assured that the government’s overall objective is to do all it can to sustain the momentum of economic advancement in the North-eastern region of the country “despite the machinations of the terrorists and their sponsors.”
He enjoined Nigerians to continue keeping faith with the government on the fight notwithstanding political, religious or other such affiliations.
Moving on in the broadcast, the president pointed out that he has delivered on promises he made during the last independence speech.
Confab
First he mentioned the Sovereign National Conference, describing it as a centenary gift to Nigerians.
“We have successfully delivered on that promise as we established the 2014 National Conference headed by Justice Legbo Kutigi,” Jonathan said. “After months of deliberations, which did not come without its challenges, the conference concluded its assignment and has handed its Report to me.”
He assured that he has made a firm commitment that the government would act on the recommendations of the conference.
“ This, I have started by setting up the Ministerial Committee headed by the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation to work out the modalities for implementing the Report. Every promise I make, God willing, I will see to its fulfilment. I assure you, we shall implement the report,” he said.
He said a major lesson the confab has instilled in the mind of Nigerians is that a multi-ethnic country like must learn to embrace painstaking dialogue until consensus is established.
“To me, the National Conference is the greatest centenary gift to our country that we must cherish and sustain,” he said.
Robust Democracy
Next he commented on the achievement of 16 uninterrupted years of democratic rule, emphasising that the elections that have been conducted under his administration have been regarded both locally and internationally as transparent, free and fair.
“Our Administration has made a commitment to ensure that we build and sustain a democratic infrastructure anchored on free and fair elections. International and local observers have attested to the positive evolution of electoral credibility and we cannot afford to relent,” he said.
“We will continue to ensure that the will of the electorate prevails so that political leaders would be reminded at all times that there is a day of reckoning when they have to go back to the people at the polls. Election days must not be days of violence and death. We must remain vigilant to ensure that our electoral process is characterised by peace, security and transparency.”
He enjoined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), all security agencies, politicians and the electorate to work conscientiously and peacefully, together, to consolidate on the gains of the recent elections.
“Free and fair elections have come to stay; nothing else will be acceptable to our people,” he declared.
Local Content
On the economy, the president mentioned the significant moves that has been made in the power, agricultural and oil and gas sectors saying the consolidation of these and many others has secured a place for the country as the biggest economy in Africa.
“Our power sector reform is on course with the ultimate objective of generating enough electricity to power our homes, industries and businesses,” he said. “We are making giant strides in the Agricultural Sector which we are re-positioning to diversify our economy. We will continue to upgrade our infrastructure to make life easier for all and create an enabling environment for enterprise to flourish.”
He explained that over the last four years, the implementation of the Nigerian Content Act in the Oil and Gas Sector has ensured major increase in the participation of indigenous Oil and Gas companies in the industry.
He said several critical infrastructure projects have been commissioned and commenced, pointing out that the level of indigenous asset ownership has hugely increased while utilisation of Nigerian-owned and built assets such as marine vessels and rigs is being progressively enforced.
“There has been maximised local value addition by encouraging the manufacture of equipment components and parts within the country,” he explained.
“There has also been massive growth in indigenous participation in the provision of goods and services to the upstream sector from 10 percent to 60 percent within the last four years.
“Today, following the rebasing of our economy, every international monitoring and ratings agency now acknowledges Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa, with a Gross Domestic Product of five hundred and ten billion dollars ($510 billion) which also places us as the 26th largest economy in the world.”
Access To Funds For SMEs
He mentioned that earlier in the year, the administration launched the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) with the stated objective of fast tracking inclusive growth, job creation, enterprise development and industrialisation.
“The success of these policies is already evident in the increased value addition in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors,” he said.
He said the one of the objectives of the administration was to make the country a regional hub for automobile production and that the objective is still being achieved since the country can now boast of made-in-Nigeria vehicles.
“A number of foreign auto manufacturers have established plants in Nigeria, complementing the laudable efforts of our local vehicle manufacturers who have also demonstrated great innovation and competitiveness,” he said.
On access to funds for small and medium scale enterprises, he said the administration has launched a special support programme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises with an initial intervention fund of N220 billion.
“This is in addition to the Presidential Job Creation Board which I inaugurated recently with the charge to create three million jobs annually,” Jonathan said.
“In demonstration of our Administration’s commitment to addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit, we have commenced the new mortgage re-finance programme with the establishment of the Nigerian Mortgage Re-finance Company. It is expected that, in addition to creating additional housing units across the country, this initiative also represents a huge job creation opportunity.
MDGs
“We have recorded notable success in the social sector. Nigeria has been globally acknowledged for reducing extreme hunger by more than half, with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) formally presenting the country with an award for achieving the Millennium Development Goal on Hunger three years ahead of the 2015 target date set for the Millennium Development Goals.”
Agriculture
He said the progress made in the agricultural sector especially, is a results of deliberate government policy to increase capacity in the country’s agricultural sector of which the first step was to address and eliminate the graft in fertilizer procurement system and ensure that the product gets directly to the farmer.
“We are expanding our irrigation infrastructure to ensure that our farmers have sufficient water supply for dry season farming,” he said.
“A benefit of these combined actions is that our national food import bill has declined from 1.1 trillion naira (6.9 billion dollars) in 2009 to 684.7 billion naira (4.35 billion dollars) by December 2013, and continues to decline.”
Education
On Education, he said modern hybrid schools are being provided for less privileged children across the country, resulting in significant increase in the national school enrolment figure
He said in order to further enhance access to education at the tertiary level, fourteen new Federal Universities have been established; and, to encourage persons of exceptional abilities, a Presidential Scholarship Scheme based strictly on excellence and merit has been established.
Infrastructure
Jonathan said: “On infrastructure, we are building roads, bridges, and new rail lines to make it easier to traverse Nigeria and increase the integration of our people and our ability to do business with each other. In this regard, we have commenced the process of building the Second Niger Bridge. The Loko-Oweto Bridge over River Benue in Nasarawa and Benue States, will significantly reduce travel time by road between Northern and Southern Nigeria. The on-going dredging of the River Niger up to Baro in Niger State is opening up large parts of the Nigerian hinterland to maritime activity.
“The Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro-electric power projects are on course, and the Kashimbilla dam which we started a few years ago, is nearing completion. The successful privatisation of our power sector will in the long run enhance industrial growth. Policies such as this and others have raised Nigeria to the enviable status of being the number one recipient of Foreign Direct Investment in Africa in the past year.
“The result of this infrastructure drive is that two and a half million jobs have been created over the past two years. This is a record, which we are committed to improve upon to continue to provide jobs for our youth.
“An unprecedented number of Airports across the country, are not only being reconstructed at the same time, but being re-equipped and reassessed with emphasis on maintaining global standards.
Ebola
The president thanked the ministry of health and all Nigerians for the parts they all played in keeping the deadly Ebola virus at bay. He pointed out that the Ebola battle is still raging elsewhere in our sub-region and therefore enjoin all our Nigerians to continue to adhere strictly to all the guidelines that have been given by health officials to keep Ebola out of our country.
“I appreciate and welcome the spirit of collaboration, unity and partnership with which we confronted the threat of the Ebola Virus Disease. I thank all Nigerians for working together to prevent what could have become a major epidemic. I particularly thank the medical personnel, some of whom made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said.
“This is the spirit which we must demonstrate at all times as we face up to our challenges as a nation: one people, united by a common resolve, in the pursuit of one common national interest.”
He said one major goal of his administration is for all Nigerians to have access to the good things of life.
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