Presidency releases Third Year Factsheet of Buhari administration

As the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government set to begin its fourth year in office, the presidency on Monday released what it called the ‘Buhari Administration 3rd Year Report/Factsheet’, highlighting the achievements of the current administration in various sectors.

The Report/Factsheet released by the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr. Femi Adesina, listed the administration’s achievements in critical areas such as the economy; agriculture; infrastructure; power; Niger Delta; anti-corruption and transparency fiscal reforms; justice reforms; security; diplomacy and international relations.

The report said economic growth was back and consolidating. Listing some of the progress made in the economy, the report noted that inflation had fallen for the 15th consecutive month, from 18.7 per cent in January 2017 to 12.5 percent in April 2018; while external reserves had risen to $47.5 billion, the highest in five years.

The report noted that total exports in 2017 were 59.47 percent higher than 2016. Comparing the value of exports in specific sectors, the report said agriculture exports grew 180.7 percent in 2017, above the value in 2016, while raw material exports grew 154.2 percent in 2017, above the value in 2016.

It also noted that solid minerals exports grew 565 percent in 2017, above the value in 2016; while exports of manufactured goods grew 26.8 percent above the value in 2016.

The report said as part of efforts to diversify government revenues, five million new taxpayers were added to the tax base since 2016, while tax revenue increased to N1.17 trillion in Q1 2018, a 51 percent increase on the Q1 2017 figure.

It also noted that N2.7trillion was spent on infrastructure in 2016 and 2017 fiscal years, describing it as an unprecedented allocation in Nigeria’s recent history.

The report said 14 moribund Blending Plants had been revitalised so far under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI), with a total capacity of 2.3 million MT of NPK fertiliser.

It also noted the contribution of Solid Minerals’ to the Federation Account rose five-fold from N700 million in 2015 to N3.5 billion in 2017.

In the area of security, the report noted the revitalization of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) which is combating trans-border crime and the Boko Haram insurgency.

It also cited the capture of Boko Haram’s operational and spiritual headquarters, “Camp Zero”, in Sambisa Forest, in December 2016; return of more than a million displaced persons to their homes and communities across the Northeast, since 2015; rescuing of more than 13,000 Boko Haram hostages from captivity, including 106 of the Chibok Girls abducted in April 2014, and 105 of the Dapchi Girls abducted in February 2018; and the reopening of Maiduguri-Bama-Banki Road in March 2018, four years after it was seized by Boko Haram.

Others include, the return of El-Kanemi Warriors Football Club to their home base in Maiduguri in April 2016, two years after relocating to Katsina State because of the insurgency; reopening of public secondary schools in Borno State in September 2016, after two years of closure; reopening of Maiduguri-Gubio and Maiduguri-Monguno Roads in December 2016, after being closed for three years; and resumption of Arik Air flights to Maiduguri in May 2017, three years after suspending operations to the city.

Other achievements listed in the area of security included the arrest of 20 Boko Haram terrorists (including bomb experts) by the DSS in Lagos, Kano, Plateau, Enugu and Gombe States in July and August 2015. ThThe arrested Boko Haram suspects included those responsible for coordinating and executing suicide attacks in Potiskum, Kano, Zaria and Jos.

Also listed was the arrest in April 2016 of Usman Mohammed, (aka Khalid Al-Barnawi), leader of the Ansaru terrorist group and one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, with a US$6m United States bounty on his head.

Another arrest listed was that of Amodu Omale Salifu, in March 2017. Salifu is the leader of an ISIS affiliate group active in North Central Nigeria, plotting to bomb foreign embassies.