Lai Mohammed presents Buhari’s 2019 scorecard + Full text

TEXT OF THE YEAR-ENDING PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE HONOURABLE

MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE, ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED, IN LAGOS ON

MONDAY, 30 DEC. 2019

 

Good afternoon gentlemen. Merry Christmas and best wishes for a great

2020 for all of you.

 

2.  We have called this press conference to enable us present the

major achievements of the Buhari Administration for the outgoing year

2019. We believe it is important to do this for the record, especially

against the background of the continuing efforts by the political

opposition to obfuscate the steady progress being made by the

Administration in all sectors, even in the face of dwindling

resources. The achievements we are about to highlight are by no means

exhaustive, bu they headline the progress made by the administration

in the year under review.

 

3.  THE ECONOMY

The economy continues to witness a strong performance, building on the

steady recovery seen since the last recession.

1.      OVERALL GROWTH: In 2019, the Nigerian economy grew at an

average rate of 2.2% over the first three quarters, compared to 1.7%

over the same period in 2018.

1.      OIL AND NON-OIL SECTORS: Both the oil and non-oil sectors

performed considerably better in 2019 than in 2018. The oil sector

grew at an average of 4% over the three quarters, compared to 2.4% in

2018, while the non-oil sector grew by 2%, compared to 1.7% in 2018.

1.      OIL PRODUCTION: The average daily oil production level rose

to its highest in the last 3 years, reaching 2 million barrels per day

(mbpd) in 2019, compared to 1.8 mbpd in 2016, and 1.9 mbpd in both

2017 and 2018.

1.      MAJOR GROWTH SECTORS: In particular, in the third quarter of

2019, the major growth drivers were: Information and communications,

agriculture, mining & quarrying, transportation & storage as well as

manufacturing, all of which have seen considerable focus by

government. In the third quarter of 2019, a total of 34 economic

activities witnessed positive expansion, same as in 2018.

1. INFLATION RATE: The trends indicate that overall macroeconomic

stability is being achieved, with inflation rate steadily trending

downwards.

HEADLINE INFLATION: Year-on-year headline inflation rate declined

steadily from 15.1% in January 2018 to 11.9% in November 2019.

CORE INFLATION: Year-on-year core inflation rate slowed from 12.1% to

9% between January last year and November this year.

FOOD INFLATION: Year-on-year food inflation rate decreased from 18.9%

in January 2018 to 14.5% in November 2019.

 

1.   FOREIGN TRADE PERFORMANCE

Strong performance in the external sector suggests increasing

diversification of exports and export revenue.

IMPORTS: The value of imports in 2019, as at the third quarter, stood

at 11.6 trillion naira, compared to 9.6 trillion naira as at third

quarter of 2018. This represented an annual growth rate of 21% between

2018 and 2019. Other than refined petroleum products, major imports

have been machinery and vehicles.

EXPORTS: The value of exports grew  by 2.5% between 2018 and 2019 as

at the third quarter, rising from 14 trillion Naira to 14.4 trillion

Naira. This resulted in a stronger overall performance and an increase

in the value of total trade by 10% between 2018 and 2019.

KEY EXPORTS OF NOTE: While the value of crude oil exports decreased by

3.78%, non crude oil exports rose by over 30% in value between 2018

and 2019. Non-oil exports also doubled from about 1 trillion Naira to

2 trillion Naira over this period.

 

1.  FISCAL PERFORMANCE

The 2019 budget performance shows that while revenue shortfalls

occurred in the first half of the year, capital expenditure was

prioritized, leading to higher expenditure performance.

Government revenue: As at half year 2019, actual aggregate revenue

stood at 2 trillion naira, or 58% of pro-rated target. This comprised:

1.     Oil revenue of N900 billion (49%performance);
2.    Company Income Tax (CIT) of N349 billion (86%performance);

iii.     Value-Added Tax (VAT) of N81 billion (71%performance); and

100.    Customs Collections of N184 billion (100.47%performance).

 

1.  GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE

Government expenditure: As at half year 2019, out of the total

appropriation of 8.9 trillion Naira for 2019, about 3.4 trillion Naira had

been spent, representing 76% performance for that period. Capital

spending has been prioritized in favour of critical ongoing

infrastructural projects in the power, roads, rail and agriculture

sectors.

 

NIGERIA’S PUBLIC DEBT STOCK

Recently, there have been concerns in certain circles about the

country’s growing debt, both domestic and external. In the process,

there have been some misrepresentations and scare mongering. We

therefore believe it is important to put things in the right perspective, so our

citizens will be well informed:

1.  The public debt stock is actually a cumulative figure of

borrowings by successive governments over many years. It is therefore

not appropriate to attribute the public debt stock to one

administration.

63. Nigeria’s total public debt stock in 2015 was $63.80 billion,

comprising $10.31 billion of external debt and $53.49 billion domestic

debt. By June 2019, the total debt stock was $83.883 billion, made up

of $27.163 billion of external debt and $56.720 billion domestic debt.

It is therefore not correct to say that Nigeria’s external debt alone

is $81.274 billion.

iii.   There is yet no cause for alarm. This is because Nigeria has a

debt ceiling of 25% in the total public debt stock to Gross Domestic

Product (Debt/GDP), which it has operated within. The ratio for Dec.

31 2018 and June 30 2019 were 19.09% and 18.99% respectively.

1.  The debt service to revenue ratio has however been higher than

desirable, hence the push by the government to diversify the economy

and increase oil and non-oil revenues significantly. The government is

also widening the tax base to capture more tax-paying citizens.

1.   In the face of massive infrastructural decay, no responsible

government will sit by and do nothing. This Administration’s

borrowing, therefore, is aimed at revamping our infrastructure,

including roads, bridges, railways, waterways and power, to help

unleash the potential of the nation’s economy. The loans for the

educational sector will contribute to the development of our human

capital while the loans for the agricultural sector will help the move

to diversify the economy.

 

1.  MONETARY SECTOR:

Capital importation comprises mainly foreign direct investment,

portfolio investment and other investment flowing into the country. As

at the third quarter of 2019, total capital importation had reached

nearly 20 billion US dollars, which was 34% higher than the 15 billion

US dollars recorded for the first three quarters of 2018.

While the inflow of foreign direct investment declined over the period

by 39% from 1 billion US dollars to 700 million US dollars, portfolio

investment and other investments both rose significantly by 39% and

42% respectively.

Major sectors: Apart from banking and shares, some of the major

sectors that witnessed high volume of capital inflows in 2019 were

telecommunications, production and services.

Major states: Nearly all of the total capital importation as at Q3

2019 flowed to Lagos and Abuja, as is typical.

 

1.  NEW BUDGET CYCLE

The Executive, in collaboration with the National Assembly, succeeded

in introducing the 12-month (January to December) budget cycle for the

first time since 1999. This is a major development, considering the

damage that delayed passage of budgets has done to the economy over

the years. With the new cycle, there will be a more rapid

infrastructural development, more job creation, etc

 

4.  THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
5.  The Administration’s fight against corruption is progressing on

all fronts, including institutional reforms, loot recovery and

prosecution of alleged corrupt persons. As you are aware, this is one

of the cardinal programmes of the Administration, with the others

being the revamping of the economy (which I have just dwelt on

extensively) and tackling insecurity (which I will touch on in the

course of this press conference)

 

The Administration took a major step forward in the fight against

corruption when it launched the Financial Transparency Policy and

Portal, also known as Open Government. The Transparency Policy

mandates the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) to publish a

Daily Treasury Statement, which will provide information about what

comes into the national treasury and what goes out every day. Under

the policy, the Accountant General of the Federation and all

Accounting Officers must publish Daily Payments Reports. With these

reports, the Treasury will publish payments of at least 10 million

Naira while all MDAS must publish payments above 5 million Naira made

out of all public funds in their care. The information to be published

must include the Ministry, Department and Agency (MDA) responsible,

the beneficiary, the purpose and amount of each payment. Accounting

Officers are responsible for providing answers to any questions from

the public relating to transactions completed by entities under their

charge.

 

The AGF was also mandated to publish monthly Fiscal Accounts detailing

the fiscal performance of the Federation, including receipts from all

the collection agencies and payments out of the Federation Account.

This must be done within 14 days after the end of the month. The AGF

and all Accounting Officers of MDAs must publish Quarterly Financial

Statements for the government as a whole and for individual MDAS

respectively.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari said the reason for implementing the policy

is to cement government’s commitment to improving governance and

supplementing the recently-launched Whistle-blower Policy and

equipping the general population with the tools they need to report

financial wrongdoing. This policy is unprecedented and will go a long

way in enhancing transparency in governance and curtailing public

sector corruption (The portal can be accessed through:

https:opentreasury.gov.ng)

 

b    Similarly, in its effort to block leakages and promote

transparency in the management of resources, the President this year

approved additional cost-saving measures, particularly in the area of

official travels. Under the new policy, all MDAs are required to

submit their Yearly Travel Plans for statutory meetings and

engagements to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the

Federation and/or the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the

Federation for express clearance within the first quarter of the

fiscal year, before implementation. They are further required to make

their presentation using the existing template and also secure

approvals on specific travels as contained in the plan, from the

appropriate quarters.

 

On the Nature and Frequency of travels, all public-funded travels

(local and foreign), must be strictly for official purposes backed

with documentary evidence. In this regard, all foreign travels must be

for highly-essential statutory engagements that are beneficial to the

interest of the country. Except with the express approval of Mr.

President, Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Chairmen of

Extra-Ministerial Departments, Chief Executive Officers and Directors

are restricted to not more than two (2) foreign travels in a quarter.

Also, when a Minister is at the head of an official delegation, the

size of such delegation shall not exceed four (4) including the

relevant Director, Schedule Officer and one (1) Aide of the Minister.

Every other delegation below ministerial level shall be restricted to

a maximum of three (3).

 

For Class of Air Travels, the President has approved that Ministers,

Permanent Secretaries, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants to

the President, Chairmen of Extra-Ministerial Departments and Chief

Executive Officers of Parastatals who are entitled, to continue to fly

Business Class, while other categories of Public Officers are to

travel on Economy Class. Also, travel days will no longer attract

payment of Estacode Allowances as duration of official trips shall be

limited to only the number of days of the event as contained in the

supporting documents to qualify for public funding.

 

1.   The fight against corruption also gained momentum within the

period, with high profile convictions. Between January and October

2019 alone, that’s a period of 10 months, the Economic and Financial

Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured 890 convictions. This is the highest

anywhere in the world. Recall that in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, the

EFCC was only able to secure 103, 189, 190 and 202 convictions

respectively.  The high rate of convictions in 2019 is in addition to

the billions of naira in looted funds that have been recovered by the

EFCC. For its part, the ICPC has launched a novel project of tracking

the huge resources allocated to constituency projects over the years.

The Commission has started with the education and health sectors and,

already, many contractors who abandoned their projects are returning

to site. The Commission has also launched the WAHALA DEY app, which is

a one-stop shop for daily information from the ICPC, and for Nigerians

to report acts of corruption.

 

Let me reiterate what I said before: This is not the first time

Nigeria is fighting the canker-worm of corruption, but it is the first

time that the fight is being backed by a strong political will, with a

President renowned for his honour, dignity and incorruptibility

personally leading the fight. And that is making all the difference. I

have also said that while the war against corruption is still a war in

progress, it is also fair to say that corruption has now been driven

under the table, and that the corrupt ones can no longer flaunt the

proceeds of their corruption the way they used to do in the past. That

is a major step forward. After all, every successful battle is a step

towards winning a war.

 

5.  INSECURITY

Our gallant men and women in uniform stepped up the fight against

terrorism in 2019, despite the fact that they are not just fighting

the rump of Boko Haram but also the Islamic State’s West African

Province (ISWAP). Yes, they occasional

attack soft targets from the fringe islands in Chad, where they have

been confined by our troops, but they don’t hold any territory like

they did before the advent of this Administration, when they hoisted

their flag in their Bama Caliphate, collected taxes, as well as

removed and installed Emirs. They no longer have such capabilities.

The successful attacks they carried out in Abuja and other cities are

now a thing of the past. The terrorists’ recent attempt to attack

soft targets in Damaturu, the Yobe State Capital, and Biu in Borno

State were repelled by the military, with the terrorists suffering

heavy casualties.

 

It is important that we, as citizens, do not say or do anything to

demoralize the gallant troops who are fighting to keep us safe. It’s

Christmas and New Year now and we are all with our families

celebrating the holidays. But these gallant men and women are in the

trenches to keep us safe. Let us remember them in our prayers and give

them our support always, rather than sniping at them. Terrorism is not

just a Nigerian problem. It’s a global problem and it has global

ramifications. The terrorists are as irrational as they are inhuman.

They do not subscribe to any religion, despite their pretensions. That

explains why they reportedly murdered 11 innocent men in Nigeria

recently, in a dastardly and cold-blooded manner, just to avenge the

killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by US forces. The world

must unite to fight this scourge of our time.

 

Also, thanks to a multi-dimensional approach, the incessant

farmers-herders clashes across the country, as well as banditry and

kidnapping, have been reduced to the barest minimum.

 

6.  BORDER DRILL

Undoubtedly one of the boldest decisions ever taken by any

administration in Nigeria is the decision to embark on a border drill

as part of measures to secure Nigeria’s land and maritime borders. Many

have called it border closure, but it is not. Recall, gentlemen, that

the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and Nigerian Immigration Service

(NIS), in collaboration with the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) as well

as the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and other security and intelligence

agencies, commenced a joint border security exercise, code-named

‘EXERCISE SWIFT RESPONSE’, in 4 geopolitical zones of the country,

namely; South South, South West, North Central and North West on the

20th August 2019. The exercise is being coordinated by the Office of

the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and is aimed at better securing

our borders in order to strengthen our economy and address other

trans-border security concerns.

 

Over time, Nigeria has been confronted with numerous trans-border

economic and security challenges. These challenges range from

banditry, kidnapping, smuggling, illegal migrantion and proliferation of

light weapons, among others. Meanwhile, the preference for foreign

goods, especially food items like rice, has continuously impoverished

our farmers and adversely affected domestic government policies

supporting the agricultural sector to enhance food security. It is

however disturbing that some neighbouring countries circumvent the

ECOWAS protocol on transit. For clarity, the ECOWAS protocol on

transit demands that when a transit container berths at a seaport, the

receiving country is mandated to escort same without tampering with

the seal to the border of the destination country. Unfortunately,

experience has shown that our neighbours do not comply with this

protocol. Rather, they break the seals of containers at their ports

and trans-load goods destined for Nigeria.

 

The effect of the border drill has been phenomenal and positive. I will list some of them

 

–  Today, Nigeria is closer to attaining self sufficiency in rice

production than at any time in the country’s history, thanks to the

border drill that has drastically reduced rice smuggling into the

country and catalyzed rice production by our farmers across the

country. We recently visited some of Nigeria’s 34 integrated rice

mills as well as rice clusters in Kano. The rice mills are either

operating at full capacity or have doubled their production. Before

the drill, there were 12.2 million rice farmers in Nigeria, but now

six million people, mostly youths, are venturing into rice production.

Before the drill, farmers were cultivating rice twice a year, now that

has increased to three times a year, and some rice farmers are now

venturing beyond rice cultivation to milling, packaging and marketing.

Overall, the integrated mills currently produce 150,000 bags of rice

daily and about 35 million bags per annum

 

–  The border drill has curbed the smuggling of rice and other

prohibited items into the country, led to significant seizures with

estimated monetary value of over 3,500,000 billion Naira, reduced

local fuel consumption by 30% and reduced the importation of arms,

munitions and drugs.

 

– Because of the drill, terrorists and other criminals are finding it

hard to procure arms and ammunition while criminal elements no longer

make their way into the country through the land borders. This has

resulted in reduced cases of insecurity, whether its kidnapping,

banditry, armed robbery or other violent crimes.

 

–  Smuggling of petroleum products out of Nigeria has been drastically

curtailed, and has led to a 30% reduction in domestic fuel

consumption.

 

– Before the drill, the Nigeria Customs Service was recording about

N4.5 billion daily. Since the drill started, the figure has increased

to between N5 billion and N8 billion daily.

 

– There has been a drastic reduction in illegal migration.

 

–  The exercise has provided a unique platform for the various

participating agencies to operate jointly, thereby strengthening

inter-agency collaboration and reducing animosity. It is also

necessary to place on record that this is the first exercise in recent

times, that military, paramilitary as well as intelligence and

security agencies have come together to conduct such an exercise which

is akin to a National Security exercise.

 

7.  CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE:

Gentlemen, if there is any area in which this Administration has been

consistent in terms of development, it is in the area of building and

revamping critical infrastructure. As we speak, infrastructural

projects – roads, rail, power, dams etc  – are ongoing in all the six

geo-political zones. No Administration has ever embarked on such a

massive infrastructural renewal, more so at a time of dwindling

earnings

 

a   This year, Nigeria and Siemens signed an agreement to generate

11,000 MW by 2023. The Power Agreement is to support the activities of

the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the 11 Distribution

Companies within the country, including software maintenance and

support for four years.

b  The laying of rail tracks on the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail

line has almost been completed and test run has commenced.

c   Contractors were mobilized to various construction sites across

the country to deliver on the road projects. There are heightened

activities on the Lagos-Badagry, Port Harcourt-Enugu and Port

Harcourt-Aba, Onitsha-Enugu, Ilorin-Kabba, Loko-Oweto Bridge,

Okene-Auchi Road, Kano-Katsina Expressway, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano

Expressway rehabilitation and Obajana-Benin Road, among others.

 

8.  AMENDED DEEP OFFSHORE ACT

President Muhammadu Buhari, in a landmark move, signed into law the

amended Deep Offshore Bill. This Act means that

Nigeria will now receive its fair, rightful and equitable share of

income from our own natural resources for the first time since 2003.

All these years, Nigeria has failed to secure its equitable share of

the proceeds of oil production, because all attempts to amend the law

on the distribution of income have failed. But this Administration has

broken the jinx.

For the first time under our amended law, 200 million Nigerians will

start to receive a fair return on the surfeit of resources of our

lands. Increased income will allow for new hospitals, schools,

infrastructure and jobs.

 

9.  CONCLUSION

Gentlemen, 2019 has been a momentous year, and this Administration has

taken Nigeria closer to its Next Level target. The economy has

continued to witness a strong performance, building on the steady

recovery since the last recession. Nigeria has not reached its debt

ceiling of 25% in total public debt stock to GDP (Debt/GDP), as it is

currently on 18.99%, but its debt service to revenue ratio has been

higher than desirable, which explains why the government is moving

ahead with its economic diversification efforts, in addition to

increasing oil and non-oil revenues and widening the tax base.

Security of lives and property has remained a priority of this

Administration, hence the tremendous improvement that has been

witnessed in fighting terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other acts

of criminality. It was indeed a challenging year in terms of

insecurity, but the federal government faced the challenge squarely to

cancel doomsday predictions from the political opposition and their

allies. The fight against insecurity was boosted by the border drill,

which curtailed access to weapons by terrorists and other criminals.

Thanks also to the drill, rice production has received a massive

boost, creating millions of jobs and moving Nigeria closer to

achieving self-sufficiency in rice production. The fight against

corruption has received a shot in the arm, with the launch of the

Administration’s Financial Transparency Policy and Portal, the

increased prosecution and convictions and the tracking of the huge

resources being allocated to constituency projects. The government has

continued to revamp the nation’s infrastructure, while taking more

steps to increase its earnings from its natural resources through

the amendment of the necessary laws.

We thank Nigerians for their support and perseverance, and we assure

that the Administration will continue to take all measures necessary

to secure the lives and property of all citizens while enhancing their

welfare. We urge the opposition to join hands with us to move Nigeria

to the Next Level, instead of engaging in scorched-earth opposition

that benefits no one.

 

You must have read the fake news attributed to Senator Fadahunsi that I am behind the hate speech bill at the National Assembly, and that the senator who is sponsoring the bill is fronting for me

 

This is a typical example of the fake news we are trying to fight.

 

I am not the sponsor of the hate speech bill at the National Assembly. However, I remain committed to sanitizing the social media.

 

I have said that all stakeholders will be involved in determining the modalities for regulating the social media

 

Finally, we thank you for always honouring our invitation and

we pray that 2020 brings you and your family great joy.

I thank you for your kind attention.