The President has assured Nigerians change will come,noting it may take
sometime.In a statement released last night by the Presidential
spokesman,Mallam Garba Shehu,the presidency said they difficult times
were caused by lack of planning by the previous administration. The
statement reads
The Presidency firmly rejects the insinuations that poverty and lack are
products of the Change mantra. This should be dismissed as an erroneous
and misplaced opposition criticism. The President understands the pain
and the cries of the citizens of this country and he is spending
sleepless nights over how he can make life better for everyone.
Contrary to assertions by a faction of the opposition
Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, the President’s energy
and focus are on changing the lives of Nigerians, with a view to making
it better than he met it.
“Change is a process. Change does not happen overnight. Change can be
inconvenient. Change sometimes comes with pain. Over the past year, the
government has been working night and day to deliver on its promise of
change to Nigerians, and the painful process is still ongoing. “This is
work in progress
. As life gradually returns to normal in much of the country and the
northeast in particular, agriculture will resume and traders from
neighbouring African countries will once again feel safe to do business
with us. “It is estimated, for instance, that three Northeast states of
Nigeria alone have so far lost about three trillion Naira (Nine billion
US Dollars) to the Boko Haram insurgency.
The previous administration at the center said Federal Government losses
amounted to about USD18 billion. “It would have been a miracle for our
country’s economy not to feel the effects of this. And, in addition to
the thousands of lives lost to the insurgency, thousands have also lost
their means of livelihood.
The northeast region of Nigeria is a mostly agrarian society, which
means Nigeria has lost billions of naira in agricultural produce. Many
communities, which have had their yearly planting and harvesting cycle
disrupted by Boko Haram attacks or occupation are still yet to return to
their farms. In many of these communities, there have not been planting
and consequent harvest for between two to five years.
“At the time this government came to power, about 600 billion naira was
owed to fuel marketers in subsidy payments. Strategic fuel reserves were
depleted and local refineries not functioning. “One of the President’s
first steps was to pay off the marketers, leaving an outstanding of
about N150 billion which is captured in the 2016 budget. The Port
Harcourt and Kaduna refineries are being brought back to life. Shortly,
Nigeria will resume refining its own fuel rather than depending on
imports.
” As part of the permanent solution of recurring cycle of petroleum
products shortages, government is working on a plan to ensure that some
of the newly-licensed independent refineries start coming on stream from
2018.” “Government is also turning its attention to the sabotage of the
oil and gas infrastructure that has taken so much away from the
generation and distribution of electricity.”
“These are just some aspects of the change that Nigerians voted for, a
change that is happening and which will soon be felt by Nigerians in
every nook and cranny of our country. “Nigerians are a people renowned
for our inner strength and our ability to triumph. These are just the
darkest days before the dawn. The change Nigerians voted has indeed
begun.”
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