The Buhari administration has scored itself high on the economy, security and provision of infrastructure.
It said its impact can be felt in the security architecture, roads and bridges, housing, aviation, railway and social intervention such as school feeding and social safety provision in the outgoing year, 2021.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, spoke in Lagos while briefing journalists on the activities of the government in the outgoing year.
He said despite the enormous challenges posed by insecurity, the military has continued to live up to its billing by tackling insecurity headlong and bringing bandits and other criminal activities across the country to its knees.
He listed 100 achievements of the Buhari administration in the year, urging Nigerians to continue to support the military in its efforts to keep the Nation safe.
He said: “To keep our country safe, the Armed Forces have set up various operations across the country.
“These include the Joint Task Force (JTF) Northeast, tagged Operation Hadin Kai, covering the Northeast region; the JTF SS, tagged Operation Delta Safe, covering the Southsouth region; the JTF NW, known as Operation Hadarin Daji, covering the Northwest region; Operation Safe Haven, covering Plateau, parts of Kaduna and Bauchi states; Operation Whirl Stroke, covering Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States; JTF SW, referred to as Operation Awatse and covering Lagos and Ogun states; Operation Thunder Strike, covering Abuja-Kaduna Highway and Operation Whirl Punch, covering parts of Kaduna State.”
He said the various operations have recorded appreciable successes.
He said no fewer than 10,000 Nigerians were recruited into the Nigeria Army in the year, while the Army procured 160 MRAPS, 60 APCs and 150 trucks, to strengthen their equipment holding.
Mohammed said the Navy launched the FALCON EYE, and a locally built seaward defence boat, while the Nigeria Air Force took delivery of 12 Super Tucanos and three fighter jets, with which it has conducted several air interdictions.
He said the nation’s armed forces also contributed to international peace and security through the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the regional initiative, the ECOWAS Military Intervention in Gambia (ECOMIG).
The Nigerian military’s continued participation in these Missions Mohammed further explained has ensured their viability and sustenance towards achieving their military and political goals.
On the economy, the Information Minister said the rollout of effective fiscal, economic and health policies all contributed to the early rebound of the nation’s economy from the clutches of COVID-19, which plunged the nation into a recession.
He said the signing into law of the Petroleum Industry Act, by President Muhammadu Buhari and its painstaking implementation, has begun to impact the economy, as for the first time in over four decades, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) posted a N287 billion whopping profit.
He said the economy would continue to wax strong as a number of initiatives are being injected to stimulate the economy.
“Inflation rate has continued to decline on a year-on-year basis since April 2021 when 18.12 per cent was recorded.
“Looking at the trend, a declining rate was recorded from 17.93 per cent in May to 17.01 per cent in August, 15.99 per cent in October and 15.40 per cent November 2021.
“It is projected that proper implementation of the proposed 2022 project of N17.13trillion, and Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper 2022-2024 are likely to improve the performance of the economy.
“The economic performance in 2021 shows a steady improvement in growth over the last three quarters of 2020, and this can be attributed to government policies and strategies such as the Economic Sustainability Plan; the N500 billion COVID 19 Crisis Intervention Fund etc.
“On infrastructure, Mohammed said the government continued to record appreciable success in the area of road rehabilitation, with the delivery of no fewer than seven major highways, among them the Kano- Maiduguri road, section II, the Nnewi- Nduma road, the Kano- Maiduguri road Section III, among others as well as ongoing bridge projects across the six geo-political zones, among them the legacy second Niger Bridge.
“Still on infrastructure, the Minister said the key infrastructure in aviation was the construction of the Boeing 737 full motion flight simulator at the Aviation college, Zaria, Kaduna State and the training and retraining of pilots, the aircraft fire fighter training simulator and the installation of CAT III at the airports in Lagos and Abuja.”
He listed the most outstanding achievement of the government in the area of transportation as the delivery of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge train, the groundbreaking of the rehabilitation of the railway narrow gauge which is the Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri Eastern line, the flag-off of the Kano-Maradi rail line, which was contracted to Mota Engil Contractors among others.
The Ministry of Transportation, according to the minister, also launched the National security and Waterways protection also known as the Deep Blue Assets, aimed and controlling, managing and protecting the nation’s waters.
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