Buhari addresses the nation on Democracy Day – Presidential media aide Adesina unveils Buhari’s speech Democracy Day – The president speaks about first year in office, says his government inherited a state near collapse – However, President Buhari listed what was done to improve state of nation.
More..
- Nollywood stars you still may not know have died – This list will leave you in a big shock! (+Photos)
- 15 Times Nigerian women deceived men with their makeup (With Pictures)
- 13 Nigerian celebrities and their parents (With Pictures)
- 10 things you can do to make women obsess over you – Guys, see this now!
President Muhammadu Buhari has addressed the nation in his speech on Democracy Day on May 29, 2016.
The statement was published by the presidential media aide Femi Adesina.
Read the full speech below:
“My compatriots,
It is one year today since our administration came into office. It has been a year of triumph, consolidation, pains and achievements. By age, instinct and experience, my preference is to look forward, to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead and rededicate the administration to the task of fixing Nigeria. But I believe we can also learn from the obstacles we have overcome and the progress we made thus far, to help strengthen the plans that we have in place to put Nigeria back on the path of progress.
We affirm our belief in democracy as the form of government that best assures the active participation and actual benefit of the people.
Despite the many years of hardship and disappointment the people of this nation have proved inherently good, industrious tolerant, patient and generous. The past years have witnessed huge flows of oil revenues. From 2010 average oil prices were $100 per barrel. But economic and security conditions were deteriorating. We campaigned and won the election on the platform of restoring security, tackling corruption and restructuring the economy. on our arrival, the oil price had collapsed to as low as $30 per barrel and we found nothing had been kept for the rainy day. Oil prices have been declining since 2014 but due to the neglect of the past, the country was not equipped to halt the economy from declining.
The infrastructure, notably rail, power, roads were in a decrepit state. all the four refineries were in a state of disrepair, the pipelines and depots neglected. Huge debts owed to contractors and suppliers had accumulated. twenty-seven states could not pay salaries for months. in the north-east, Boko Haram had captured 14 local governments, driven the local authorities out, hoisted their flags. Elsewhere, insecurity was palpable; corruption and impunity were the order of the day. In short, we inherited a state near collapse.
On the economic front, all oil dependent countries, Nigeria included, have been struggling since the drop in prices. many oil rich states have had to take tough decisions similar to what we are doing. The world, Nigeria included has been dealing with the effects of three significant and simultaneous global shocks starting in 2014:
A 70% drop in oil prices.
Global growth slowdown.
Normalization of monetary policy by the United States federal reserve.
Our problems as a government are like that of a farmer who in a good season harvests ten bags of produce. The proceeds enable him to get by for rest of the year. However, this year he could only manage 3 bags from his farm. He must now think of other ways to make ends meet.
From day one, we purposely set out to correct our condition, to change Nigeria. We reinforced and galvanized our armed forces with new leadership and resources. We marshaled our neighbours in a joint task force to tackle and defeat Boko Haram. By the end of December 2015, all but pockets and remnants had been routed by our gallant armed forces. Our immediate focus is for a gradual and safe return of internally displaced persons in safety and dignity and for the resumption of normalcy in the lives of people living in these areas.
EFCC was given the freedom to pursue corrupt officials and the judiciary was alerted on what Nigerians expect of them in the fight against corruption. On the economy, in particular foreign exchange and fuel shortages, our plan is to save foreign exchange by fast tracking repair of the refineries and producing most of our fuel requirements at home. And by growing more food in Nigeria, mainly rice, wheat and sugar we will save billions of dollars in foreign exchange and drastically reduce our food import bill.
Watch the speech below and continue reading the text:
CLICK HERE to join our BBM Channel for faster updates
TOP POSTS YESTERDAY
- Top 25 Nigerian celebs and their cute kids (With Photos)
- 9 A-List Nigerian artistes that really don’t like themselves but pretend to (With Pictures)
- 15 Foods that will make you look 15 years younger than your real age
- 12 popular Nigerian foods and their hilarious English names (photos)
- How to know a lady that is madly in love with you – The signs don’t lie!
- 12 Nigerian female celebrities you won’t be able to recognise without makeup (With Pictures)
- 14 Nigerian celebrity look alikes – This will shock you! (With Pictures)
- Meet the richest students in UNILAG
- 11 More crazy pre-wedding pictures of Nigerian couples that will leave rolling on the floor!
- 10 Nigerian celebrity marriages that will never get a divorce (With Pics)
Discussion about this post