The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has said he has solved and reduced inflation, corruption and insecurity in the country in fulfillment of the promises he made while contesting for the presidency in 2015 and 2019.
Newsonline reports that President Buhari stated this in a state address on the occasion of 62 Independence Day of Nigeria in Abuja.
President Buhari said from the time Nigerians elected him to pilot the affairs of the country in 2015 and re-election in 2019, he committed himself to address all economic and security problems of the country.
In a 47 paragraphs state of the nation address to mark the year’s independence, Buhari, amid the economic downturn and 20% inflation rate said he has said a strong foundation for Nigeria in line with the call of God.
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The president said, “When you elected me, I readily acknowledged that the tasks before me were daunting but surmountable because of the growing national consensus that our chosen route to national development was democracy.”
He recalled, “I then pledged to Improve the Economy, Tackle Corruption and Fight Insecurity and this was further strengthened by my commitment to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years as the central plank of my second term in 2019.”
“To the Glory of God and His Grace as well as the commitment and passion displayed by many Nigerian supporters, we have made appreciable progress in these areas but not yet at our destination.
“Mindful of the task before us, we took some time in settling down and we re-positioned the Economy by providing strategic interventions in core areas at both the Federal and Sub-National levels.
“One of the areas where we have made significant progress is in the eradication of deeply entrenched corruption that permeates all facets of our national development.
“We strengthened the Institutions for tackling corruption and also cultivated international support, which aided the repatriation of huge sums of money illegally kept outside the country.
“The increasing number of prosecutions and convictions, with associated refunds of large sums of money is still ongoing. Furthermore, we would continue to block opportunities that encourage corrupt practices.”
On insecurity Buhari said with the decimation of insurgency in the North East, Niger Delta Militancy, banditry and secessionist groups, the country has been set on a peace foundation.
“In order to address Insecurity, we worked methodically in reducing Insurgency in the North East, Militancy in the Niger Delta, Ethnic and Religious Tensions in some sections of Nigeria along with other problems threatening our country.”
On economic performance and inflation, the president said with strategic economic management, his administration was able to save the country from recession two consecutive times in his administration.
“Our efforts in re-setting the economy manifested in Nigeria exiting two economic recessions by the very practical and realistic monetary and fiscal measures to ensure effective public financial management. In addition, the effective implementation of the Treasury Single Account and cutting down on the cost of governance also facilitated early exits from recessions,” Buhari stated.
The president concluded that, “I was called to serve, along with my team, I saw an opportunity to create a better Nigeria which we have done with the support of Nigerians. Almighty God and the good people of Nigeria supported us in laying a solid foundation for the Nigeria of our dreams.”
