My Dear
Compatriots,
Today marks
a new decade. It is a time of hope, optimism and fresh possibilities. We look
forward as a nation to the 2020s as the opportunity to build on the foundations
we have laid together on security, diversification of our economy and taking on
the curse of corruption. These are the pledges on which I have been twice
elected President and remain the framework for a stable, sustainable and more
prosperous future.
Elections
are the cornerstone of our democracy. I salute the commitment of the millions
who voted in peace last February and of those leaders who contested for office
vigorously but fairly, submitting to the authority of the electorate, the
Independent National Electoral Commission and judicial process. I understand
very well the frustrations our system has in the past triggered. I will be
standing down in 2023 and will not be available in any future elections. But I
am determined to help strengthen the electoral process both in Nigeria and
across the region, where several ECOWAS members go to the polls this year.
As
Commander-in-Chief, my primary concern is the security of the nation and the
safety of our citizens. When I assumed office in May 2015 my first task was to
rally our neighbours so that we could confront Boko Haram on a coordinated
regional basis. Chaos is not a neighbour any of us hope for.
We have been
fighting on several fronts: violent extremists, cultists and organised criminal
networks. It has not been easy. But as we are winning the war, we also look to
the challenge of winning the peace, the reconstruction of lives, communities
and markets. The North East Development Commission will work with local and international
stakeholders to help create a new beginning for the North East.
The Federal
Government will continue to work with State Governors, neighbouring states and
our international partners to tackle the root causes of violent extremism and
the networks that help finance and organise terror. Our security forces will
receive the best training and modern weaponry, and in turn will be held to the
highest standards of professionalism, and respect for human rights. We will use
all the human and emerging technological resources available to tackle
kidnapping, banditry and armed robbery.
The new
Ministry of Police Affairs increased recruitment of officers and the security
reforms being introduced will build on what we are already delivering. We will
work tirelessly at home and with our allies in support of our policies to
protect the security of life and property. Our actions at all times will be
governed by the rule of law. At the same time, we shall look always to engage
with all well-meaning leaders and citizens of goodwill to promote dialogue,
partnership and understanding.
We need a
democratic government that can guarantee peace and security to realise the full
potential of our ingenious, entrepreneurial and hard-working people. Our
policies are designed to promote genuine, balanced growth that delivers jobs
and rewards industry. Our new Economic Advisory Council brings together
respected and independent thinkers to advise me on a strategy that champions
inclusive and balanced growth, and above all fight poverty and safeguard
national economic interests.
As we have
sat down to celebrate with friends and family over this holiday season, for the
first time in a generation our food plates have not all been filled with
imports of products we know can easily be produced here at home. The revolution
in agriculture is already a reality in all corners of the country. New
agreements with Morocco, Russia and others will help us access on attractive
terms the inputs we need to accelerate the transformation in farming that is
taking place.
A good
example of commitment to this inclusive growth is the signing of the African
Continental Free Trade Area and the creation of the National Action Committee
to oversee its implementation and ensure the necessary safeguards are in place
to allow us to fully capitalise on regional and continental markets.
The joint
land border security exercise currently taking place is meant to safeguard
Nigeria’s economy and security. No one can doubt that we have been good
neighbours and good citizens. We have been the helpers and shock-absorbers of
the sub-region but we cannot allow our well-planned economic regeneration plans
to be sabotaged. As soon as we are satisfied that the safeguards are adequate,
normal cross-border movements will be resumed.
Already, we
are making key infrastructure investments to enhance our ease of doing
business. On transportation, we are making significant progress on key roads
such as the Second Niger Bridge, Lagos – Ibadan Expressway and the Abuja – Kano
highway. 2020 will also see tangible progress on the Lagos to Kano Rail line.
Through Executive Order 007, we are also using alternative funding programmes
in collaboration with private sector partners to fix strategic roads such as
the Apapa-Oworonshoki Express way. Abuja and Port Harcourt have new
international airport terminals, as will Kano and Lagos in 2020. When
completed, all these projects will positively impact business operations in the
country. These projects are not small and do not come without some temporary
disruption; we are doing now what should have been done a long time ago. I
thank you for your patience and look forward to the dividends that we and
future generations will long enjoy.
Power has
been a problem for a generation. We know we need to pick up the pace of
progress. We have solutions to help separate parts of the value chain to work
better together. In the past few months, we have engaged extensively with
stakeholders to develop a series of comprehensive solutions to improve the
reliability and availability of electricity across the country. These solutions
include ensuring fiscal sustainability for the sector, increasing both
government and private sector investments in the power transmission and
distribution segments, improving payment transparency through the deployment of
smart meters and ensuring regulatory actions maximise service delivery.
We have in
place a new deal with Siemens, supported by the German government after German
Chancellor Angela Merkel visited us in Abuja, to invest in new capacity for
generation, transmission and distribution. These projects will be under close
scrutiny and transparency – there will be no more extravagant claims that end
only in waste, theft and mismanagement.
The next 12
months will witness the gradual implementation of these actions, after which
Nigerians can expect to see significant improvement in electricity service
supply reliability and delivery. Separately, we have plans to increase domestic
gas consumption. In the first quarter of 2020, we will commence work on the AKK
gas pipeline, OB3 Gas pipeline and the expansion of the Escravos – Lagos
Pipeline.
While we
look to create new opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing and other long
neglected sectors, in 2020 we will also realise increased value from oil and
gas, delivering a more competitive, attractive and profitable industry,
operating on commercial principles and free from political interference. Just
last week, we were able to approve a fair framework for the USD10 billion
expansion of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, which will increase exports by 35 percent,
restore our position as a world leader in the sector and create thousands of
jobs. The Amendment of the Deep Offshore Act in October signalled our intention
to create a modern, forward-looking industry in Nigeria. I am confident that in
2020 we will be able to present a radical programme of reform for oil and gas
that will excite investors, improve governance and strengthen protections for
host communities and the environment.
We can
expect the pace of change in technology only to accelerate in the decade ahead.
Coupled with our young and vibrant population, this offers huge opportunities
if we are able to harness the most productive trends and tame some of the
wilder elements. This is a delicate balance with which many countries are
struggling. We are seeking an informed and mature debate that reflects our
rights and responsibilities as citizens in shaping the boundaries of how best
to allow technology to benefit Nigeria.
During my
Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2019, I promised to lay the enduring
foundations for taking a hundred million Nigerians out of mass poverty over the
next 10 years. Today I restate that commitment. We shall continue reforms in
education, health care and water sanitation. I have met international partners
such as GAVI, the vaccine alliance, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
who support our social welfare programmes. I will continue to work with State
and Local Governments to make sure that these partnerships deliver as they
should. Workers will have a living wage and pensioners will be looked after. We
are steadily clearing pensions and benefits arrears neglected for so long.
The new
Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development
will consolidate and build on the social intervention schemes and will enhance
the checks and balances necessary for this set of programmes to succeed for the
long term.
I am able to
report that the journey has already begun with the passage and signing into law
of the 2020 Appropriation Act. As the new decade dawns, we are ready to hit the
ground running. Let me pay tribute to the Ninth National Assembly who worked
uncommonly long hours to make sure that the 2020 budget scrutiny is both
thorough and timely. The close harmony between the Executive and Legislature is
a sharp contrast to what we have experienced in the recent past, when the
Senate kept the previous budget for 7 months without good reason just to score
cheap political points thereby disrupting the budgetary processes and overall
economic development plans.
Our policies
are working and the results will continue to show themselves more clearly by
the day. Nigeria is the most tremendous, can-do market, offering extraordinary
opportunities and returns. Investors can look forward with confidence not only
to an increasing momentum of change but also to specific incentives, including
our new visa-on-arrival policy.
They can
also be certain of our unshakeable commitment to tackle corruption. As we
create an environment that allows initiative, enterprise and hard work to
thrive, it is more important than ever to call out those who find the rule of
law an inconvenience, or independent regulation an irritation. We are doing our
part here in Nigeria. We will continue to press our partners abroad to help
with the supply side of corruption and have received some encouragement. We
expect more funds stolen in the past to be returned to us and they will be
ploughed back into development with all due transparency.
This is a
joint initiative. Where our policies have worked best, it has been because of
the support of ordinary Nigerians in their millions, numbers that even the most
powerful of special interests cannot defy. I thank you for your support.
Transition by its very nature carries with it change and some uncertainty along
the way. I encourage you to be tolerant, law abiding and peace loving. This is
a new year and the beginning of a new decade – the Nigerian Decade of
prosperity and promise for Nigeria and for Africa.
To
recapitulate, some of the projects Nigerians should expect to come upstream
from 2020 include:
47 road
projects scheduled for completion in 2020/21, including roads leading to ports;
Major
bridges including substantial work on the Second Niger Bridge;
Completion
of 13 housing estates under the National Housing Project Plan;
Lagos, Kano,
Maiduguri and Enugu international airports to be commissioned in 2020;
Launching of
an agricultural rural mechanisation scheme that will cover 700 local
governments over a period of three years;
Launching of
the Livestock Development Project Grazing Model in Gombe State where 200,000
hectares of land has been identified;
Training of
50,000 workers to complement the country’s 7,000 extension workers;
Commissioning
of the Lagos – Ibadan and Itakpe – Warri rail lines in the first quarter;
Commencement
of the Ibadan – Abuja and Kano – Kaduna rail lines also in the first quarter;
Further
liberalisation of the power sector to allow businesses to generate and sell
power;
Commencement
of the construction of the Mambilla Power project by the first half of 2020;
and
Commencement
of the construction of the AKK gas pipeline, OB3 gas pipeline and the expansion
of the Escravos – Lagos pipeline in the first quarter of 2020.
Thank you
very much!
President
Muhammadu Buhari,
State House,
Abuja.
January 1,
2020