On Monday, the Presidency described as “misinformed” a Daily Trust editorial highlighting the worsening state of security and the economy in Nigeria.
Garba Shehu, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, said in a statement that the paper’s stance was “sheer fantasy.”
“The authors are correct that Nigeria, like every other country in the world, is going through a difficult period.
“But any suggestion that the Buhari administration is not leaving Nigeria in a better place than we found it, especially in the key pillars of the economy, security and corruption, is pure fantasy,” Shehu wrote.
PREMIUM TIMES had previously verified President Buhari’s claim that Nigeria was in a better situation now than it was in 2015.
Our fact check showed that, using internationally recognized metrics, the president’s claim was false.
The economy has worsened under the president, while security and the fight against corruption cannot be said to have improved either.
ALSO READ: FACT CHECK: How true is Buhari’s claim that Nigeria is better off today than it was in 2015?
However, on Monday the presidency doubled down on Buhari’s claim.
Read Mr. Shehu’s full statement below.
———-
DAILY TRUST, LISTEN TO US TO KNOW WHAT WE DO
The ill-informed editorial in yesterday’s Daily Trust newspaper deserves a response.
The authors are right that Nigeria, like every other country in the world, is going through a difficult period. But any suggestion that the Buhari administration is not leaving Nigeria in a better place than we found it, especially in the key pillars of the economy, security and corruption, is pure fantasy.
The facts speak for themselves. As for security, as recently as 2015, Boko Haram controlled a territory the size of Belgium in Nigeria. Today they have no Nigerian territory to speak of. In March, our military eliminated the leader of ISWAP in an airstrike using US aircraft and British intelligence, a testament to the new confidence our allies have in our administration that previous administrations did not enjoy.
Furthermore, our administration is the only one in Nigerian history to implement a solution to herder-farmer conflicts through our landmark National Livestock Transformation Plan. Already, where ranches have been established under that initiative, we are seeing a sharp reduction in disputes.
Therefore, it is incorrect to say that nothing has changed, let alone worsened. Even at the Daily Trust, things have improved. Seven years is a long time and its new managers may not know that in 2015, The Daily Trust needed barriers around its premises and strong security measures, like many other sensitive institutions, to be safe from terrorists. Now, they have removed all of that, a clear indication that the threats, as they existed at the time, have subsided.
As for corruption, this administration has seen hundreds of millions in stolen funds returned from abroad and used as welfare and social funds distributed directly to the poorest during the Covid-19 pandemic and the provision of roads, bridges, roads railways and infrastructure delayed for a long time. Energy. This is a direct result of initiatives by the Buhari administration, such as our whistleblowing policy that empowers and encourages Nigerians to report corruption without fear.
Furthermore, it demonstrates once again the new confidence that our international partners have in Nigeria, thanks to the efforts of our administration. Those same partners refused to return money stolen from previous administrations for decades, knowing it would simply be stolen again.
More importantly, what the Buhari administration has done is to implement mechanisms to stop corruption that include strengthening the Auditor General’s office, improving the capacities of anti-corruption agencies by enacting various laws and executive orders; the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, CUT, complainant; the implementation of public spending management and forensic accounting management systems and several others.
On the economy, the vast and unprecedented infrastructure development driven by our administration has put the country on a path to sustainable and, more importantly, equitable economic growth, while our policies to boost domestic food and energy production They will be key for us to navigate the world. cost of living crisis.
With global supply chains disrupted by the Covid-19 lockdown and the Russian-Ukrainian war, skyrocketing freight rates, and extreme weather events causing inflation to spike around the world, leaders are taking a beating. and we hope that ours are not saved.
But justice demands that we give credit where credit is due. President Buhari implemented a food policy, to grow what we eat and eat what we grow, that has averted the growing threat to food security that is pushing nations into a dilemma.
The President’s program has given the nation the confidence to ban rice imports, saving a daily amount of USD 5 million in Forex. We have seen pyramids of rice in many states including Kebbi, FCT, Niger, Gombe and surprisingly Ekiti state.
The country has seen the installation of 54 integrated rice mills, 1,000 small-scale rice mills and 57 fertilizer plants reactivated or rebuilt in a boost to production. Nasarawa state now competes with Niger in sugar production and Kaduna state is about to start up a steel mill. Only an efficient economy can give them.
One of the biggest mistakes opponents of President Buhari make is believing their own preconceived perceptions and propaganda about the kind of politics they believe in.
For this president, one of the greatest investments a significant government can make is to improve the lives of those at the bottom rung of the social ladder. This administration has more than 20 million people benefited from conditional cash transfers, school meals and other social investment programs, SIP.
In a time of global hardship, we face enough challenges to invent them where they don’t exist. Also, pretending that achievements don’t exist where they exist doesn’t help anyone. Rather, let us focus on what we have achieved so that we can continue to build on those achievements to meet the new challenges that continue to arise.
Finally, it needs to be said that in periods like this, when elections are in the offing, harsh and unfair criticism is to be expected, especially against a leader like President Buhari with a significant image, in which the All Progressives Congress, APC invest heavily. .
Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media and advertising)
July 11, 2022