₦airaland Forum

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS UNPRECEDENTED – LAI MOHAMMED
source: http://www.eyesoflagos.com/2017/05/our-achievements-unprecedented-lai.html

Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in this interview speaks on some of the achievements and challenges of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration since it assumed office two years ago. MUYIWA OYINLOLA met him.
When this government was coming to power some two years ago, it promised among other things the revamping of the nation’s economy. But two years down the line, we are still faced with hunger, unemployment, people are still losing their job, the GDP is dropping and external debt is on the increase. How do you juxtapose this with the electoral promise?
Thank you very much. The truth of the matter is this government has dramatically reversed the negative growth of the economy. The picture you have painted from your question above is far from the truth as I will prove soon.
The number of sub-sectors of the economy experiencing negative growth has almost halved; falling from 29 sub-sectors for the whole of 2016 to 16 in Q1 2017. Growth in manufacturing has returned to positive territory after five quarters of negative growth. It grew by 1.36% in Q1 2017 after falling to -7.0% in Q1 2016.
Our priority Sectors of Agriculture and Solid Minerals have seen improved performance, in spite of the recession. Agriculture grew by 4.11% in 2016, while Solid Minerals recorded a 7% increase. The contribution of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to the Federation Account tripled to about N2 billion in 2016, up from N700m in 2015.
This government has made savings even at a time of low oil prices and by implication low government revenues.
Nigeria’s External Reserves have grown by US$7 billion since October 2016. The Sovereign Wealth Fund has seen inflows of US$500m in 2016 and 2017 (the first inflows since the original US$1bn with which the Fund kicked off in 2012), and the Excess Crude Account has seen an inflow of US$87m, in 2017.
You look at phasing out of Subsidy Regimes for Petroleum Products and Fertilizers.
The Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria, combined with a newly developed soil map designed to aid fertilizer application, substantially raised local production of grains in 2016 (yields improved from 2 tonnes per hectare to as much as 7 tonnes per hectare, in some States) and produced a model agricultural collaboration between Lagos and Kebbi States.
Nigeria’s rice imports fell from 580,000 MT in 2015 to 58,000MT in 2016.
The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative which involves a partnership with the Government of Morocco, for the supply of phosphate, has resulted in the revitalization of 11 blending plants across the country. The benefits include annual savings of US$200 million in foreign exchange, and 60 billion annually in budgetary provisions for fertilizer subsidies. The Scheme has also made it possible for Farmers to purchase fertilizer at prices up to 30 percent cheaper than previously available.
What about support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises? The Administration has launched a series of funding and capacity development initiatives designed to support MSMEs across the country, as follows: · The new Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) is finally taking off, with initial funding of US$1.3bn (provided by the World Bank, German Development Bank, the African Development Bank and Agence Française de Development) to provide medium and long-term loans to MSMEs.
There is also the MSME Clinic, which brings relevant Government Agencies and their managements together with small businesses operating in various cities across the country, to enable the Agencies provide direct support to these businesses. The Interactions allow the Agencies to better understand the issues facing small businesses, and provides a platform for speedy resolution.
There is also the Ease of Doing Business Reform Programme and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment component (GEEP) of the Social Investment Programme (SIP).
Ease of Doing Business Reform is success story. The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (inaugurated by President Buhari in August 2016) implemented a 60-point National Action Plan between February and April 2017, with 70 percent of the Targets achieved, including the following.
Intending Business Owners can now search for Company names on the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Intending Business Owners can now upload their registration documents directly to the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
This has eliminated the need for SMEs to hire lawyers to prepare registration documents.
We have introduced a single form for Company Incorporation to save time and reduce cost Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) e-payment solution has been integrated with the CAC portal to facilitate e-stamping.
Interested parties can conduct online searches of secured interests on movable assets on the National Collateral Registry.
What of new Arrival and Departure forms for use at our International airports? The new forms are shorter, and have also consolidated a number of previously separate forms into single documents.
We have also simplified our Visa on Arrival (VoA) Process. Submission of VoA applications and receipt of approval letter can now be done electronically via a dedicated NIS email address: oa@nigeriaimmigration.gov.ng
Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has now been mandated to schedule and coordinate joint physical examination of cargo to ensure there’s only one point of contact between importers and officials Imports into Nigeria now required to be placed in pallets to facilitate quicker physical examination. Central Bank, Customs and banks now required to process Net Export Proceeds forms within 72 hours; and Pre-Shipment Inspection.
Agencies (PIAs) now required to issue Certificate of Clean Inspection
(CCI) within 3 days· Approval has been obtained to reduce number of documents required for imports from 14 to 8, and number of documents needed for exports from 10 to 7 Minimum container placement notice time needed by Terminal Operators for examination reduced from 24 hours to 12 hours. Minister of Interior has approved and launched a new Immigration Policy for Nigeria
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has since followed up on the National
Action Plan by signing, in May 2017, Executive Orders on Improving Efficiency in the Business Environment, and on Promoting Local Procurement by Government Agencies.
In the area of infrastructure, the Buhari Administration has demonstrated a single-minded commitment to upgrading and developing Nigeria’s Transport.
Road Projects are ongoing across every State of the country; many of these projects had been abandoned in recent years because of mounting debts owed by the Federal Government to contractors.
The Administration is also pushing ahead with the revitalization of Nigeria’s 3,500km network narrow-gauge railway. In March 2017 a consortium led by General Electric, and comprising Transnet of South Africa, APM Terminals of the Netherlands and Sinohydro Consortium of China, submitted the sole bid for the concession of the Lagos-Kano Railway narrow-gauge Line. (Transaction Advisers were approved for the project in 2016). In May 2017, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the commencement of negotiations with GE to conclude the concessioning.
In addition, Abuja’s Light Rail system will also go into operation (test-run) in 2017. The first line to be launched will connect the city center with the Airport, with a link to the Abuja-Kaduna Railway Line. The test-run will start in November 2017, ahead of full commencement of operations in Q1 2018.
The Buhari Administration successfully completed the reconstruction of the Abuja Airport runway within the scheduled six-week period (March-April 2017).

Still along that line, Apapa port generates a lot of money for the nation’s economy, yet the road that leads there is in a terrible state. What is the federal government doing to fix the The government realizes the crucial importance of the road
that links to Apapa Port and it’s a priority project of the government. However, the government is thinking beyond just fixing this road but it has also put in place a plan to link the Apapa Port by rail to the Iddo terminal. It is only by doing this that the life span of the road can be prolonged. Everywhere in the world, containers and every heavy cargo are transported by rail.

Why does this government still go for foreign loan despite the huge amount of money it has saved through TSA?
Answer: Yes it is true that the federal government has saved several billions of naira with the introduction of the Treasury Single Account. Without these savings it would have been impossible for government to pay salaries and other services. However, these savings are not enough to fund infrastructural investments in roads power, energy and aviation. The government needs to borrow to invest in these capital projects. It is not wrong to borrow as long as such loans are not used to pay salaries or to support consumption. It makes economic sense to invest borrowed money to provide infrastructure which will serve as the engine of economic growth.

The immediate past government was accused of lack of respect for court judgements, among other things. This government has been fingered to be toeing that line, especially with the continued incarceration of former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, despite series of court pronouncements that have ordered his release. How do you react to this?

You cannot compare the two. Number one, if a court gives a judgement and that judgement is appealed, you’re not in violation of a court order. That’s why we have a hierarchy of courts. You have the State and Federal High Courts, you have the Court of Appeal and you have the Supreme Court.

Another promise your party made was that it would tackle
corruption. In the last couple of months that this government has been in power there has not been any conclusive and successful corruption probe. Secondly, it has also been observed that once a top politicianis accused of corruption, the case dies the moment he crosses to your party.
I take the last leg of your question first. It is absolutely
false and not supportable by any evidence that the moment a politician decamps to APC then all corruption charges against him are withdrawn.
Let anybody give me an example of any politician who has decamped to the APC and the corruption charges against him or her have been withdrawn.
You also asked in your question, how come we have not had any conviction. That is not quite correct. A former state governor was recently convicted. However, we must appreciate the fact that there are three arms of government, the Executive, Legislative and the Judiciary. The Executive arm of government can only investigate and prosecute, only the courts can convict or discharge or acquit. We cannot be the accuser and also be the judge in our own cause.
Those, those who say that our fight against corruption has not been effective are wrong. We must acknowledge that for the first time in Nigeria, corruption has been driven under the table. Before, it used to be negotiated openly. Today, everybody, even those who are corrupt, know that they cannot flaunt it.
Secondly, we have been able to make Nigerians understand the cost of corruption to their lives. That it is largely because of corruption that we have no infrastructure; that it is largely due to corruption that thousands of young people are roaming the streets without any job; that it is largely because of corruption that we have a society that has placed value on consumption and not production.
Our goal is to put in place a strong foundation which will be irreversible by anybody; to ensure that henceforth, probity, transparency and accountability become the watchword for any public official.

No doubt this government has achieved so much in the area of security. But just a few weeks back, the Chief of Army Staff, Buratai, raised a coup alarm, what is the implication of this 18 years into this democratic experience?
I will simply say that it will be unpatriotic on the part of anybody today to start thinking of a coup d’état. It will be absolutely unpatriotic because it won’t solve any problem. I think democracy must be nurtured and this government has done its best to accommodate everybody, to accommodate opinions not necessarily our own. And anybody contemplating a coup d’état does not wish Nigeria well.

Your government has secured the release of about 103 out of about 276 Chibok schoolgirls that were abducted before your government came to power. But there are divergent reports on how their release were secured. Was it through a swap arrangement (with Boko Haram militants) or your government paid some some money?
I say with all sense of humility that what the government has achieved in the area of fight against terrorism is unprecedented. People often forget that at the time the president was being sworn-in
on May 29, 2015, over 20 out of 27 local governments in Borno State alone were under the effective control of Boko Haram. About that time also, about four local governments in Adamawa, and about two or three in Yobe states, were under the effective control of Boko Haram, to the extent that they even hoisted their flags, which means that the territorial integrity of the country had been breached. As we speak today, no single square meter of this country is under Boko Haram insurgents. Even the Ground Zero, which is Sambisa forest, has now been taken over by the army. People have forgotten that until this Administration dislodged the Boko Haram insurgents, Nigerians from the North Eastern part of the
country for many years could not visit their homes because of insecurity. Roads were blocked, lives were unsafe, schools were closed, hospitals were closed. But we have returned normalcy to these areas so much so that as we speak today, the Nigeria football league is played weekly in Maiduguri. And I think this is an achievement that is under-celebrated by Nigerians. Now, on the issue of what did we do to secure their release, we’ve always told the world exactly what transpired. In respect of the first release, involving 21 girls, no ransom whatsoever was paid. This last time around, we swapped five Boko haram commanders for the release of the 82 abducted Chibok girls. Any other story outside this is absolutely false.

People are worried about the unprofessional practice of some bloggers and others who disseminate false information via the social media. Is government also concerned and what are you doing to stem the time?
We are very concerned about it. We’re concerned about it because in recent times fake news and hate speeches have set countries on fire. The genocide in Rwanda was largely propelled by hate speeches. As much as the government would not want to stifle the press, we believe that the press as a whole has a responsibility to self-regulate otherwise they will self-destruct
The issue of fake news has now assumed alarming proportion as even some traditional media are also culpable. What the media should realize is that if this menace is not checked, it could h lead to a break down of law and order, the consequences of which none will escape.
The government on the one hand does not want to stifle the press but is very concrned about the consequences of this brand of reckless and irresponsible journalism on the security and cohesion of the nation.
Many of these stories are not only downright divisive, they are also false and absurd. These stories have the capacity to set one part of the country against the other, one religion against the other, or completely capsize the ship of state and this is what worries us.

What is the state of health of the president?
The president has traveled abroad to seek medical treatment and he said while he’s away his Vice President will be in charge and that the length of his stay would be determined by his doctors. And we know he’s in very competent hands.

I no kukuma read am self, because I know say na rubbish him go talk,

When him be APC spokes man, if him de criticise gej government e go come be like say him get solution to our problem see today we dey for hot soup

Unprecedented lies by Lai...

I know nothing relivant will come out of this old man's mouth

I wonder how this man's children look at him sef.

The lies he tells embarrasses the devil.

Lie mohammed took over the devil with lies like...

Lai was baptised by the father of lies at birth.

Jeffboi:
I no kukuma read am self, because I know say na rubbish him go talk,

When him be APC spokes man, if him de criticise gej government e go come be like say him get solution to our problem see today we dey for hot soup

Thats why I often refer to Nigerian youth as educated illiterates. The best place to hide anything from them is in a book. Most go to school to cram and pass. What a shame!

Dis man is Heartless... U see say people don get sense, U wan use lie reset Dem brain

raker300:
I wonder how this man's children look at him sef.

The lies he tells embarrasses the devil.

Lie mohammed took over the devil with lies like...

Pick one thing that is a lie up there, pls

Lai lailai, how many times did I call you? When will all this your lies stop? Haba you don old ohhhhh.

If na to criticize GEJ him go use small English wey we go understand, now him dey expect me to read all those grammar

blackpanda:
Thats why I often refer to Nigerian youth as educated illiterates. The best place to hide anything from them is in a book. Most go to school to cram and pass. What a shame!

Whats the gain reading a fabricated lies from 1 of the grandmaster of lies in Nigeria ?


Its complete waste of energy

What Buhari has changed in 24 months

Posted By: OLUKOREDE YISHAUOn: May 30, 2017 

The last two years have been filled with ups and downs. OLUKOREDE YISHAU chronicles the things that have not remained the same since President Muhammadu Buhari took the saddle.

Dynamites were thrown. Grenades caused chaos. Gunshots rented the air. The scenes were Niger Delta. The victims were not human-beings but oil facilities – strategic ones for that matter. And the effects on oil production and export were not only huge and scary, but  was costly. The economy bled and needed oxygen to be on the path of recovery.

Settling down to business, President Muhammadu Buhari and his team put up their thinking cap. The grievances of those blowing up the pipelines must be addressed. His deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, a professor of Law and now acting President, went from one creek to the other, preaching peace.

He visited oil-producing communities, listened to the people and spelt out the Federal Government’s commitment as captured in the ‘New Vision for the Niger Delta’. The vision has answers to the 16-point Demand Agenda submitted to President Buhari by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) in November, last year.

Thanks to the New Vision, the Nigerian Maritime University in Delta State is set to commence operation, additional N35 billion was approved for the Presidential Amnesty Programme,  approval has been granted for the establishment of Modular Refineries across the nine Niger Delta states and work has resumed on abandoned projects in the oil-rich region, including the East-West Road.

The engagements with the Niger Delta and the Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) have helped to raise oil revenues to the extent that external reserves have grown by about $7 billion in the last six months. Some $87 million have also been added to the Excess Crude Account and $250 million to the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).

The engagement with OPEC involved rallying the organisation and Non-OPEC members to discuss stabilisation of the global oil market in Doha and in Algiers. This led to an exemption from the OPEC production freeze and rise in oil prices to $55/pb, for the first time in 16 months.

 

Unlocking the potentials

The Buhari administration has leveraged on its goodwill to attract multi-billion investments and loans from China and Morocco. Buhari’s April 2016 visit to China unlocked billions of dollars in infrastructure funding and construction has started on the 150km/hour rail line between Lagos and Ibadan, the first major product of the collaboration.

One other potential-unlocking strategy the administration has come up with is the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (NERGP). Launched in April, it charts a course for the economy over the next four years.

The NERGP, according to the Federal Government, is to restore economic growth, invest in Nigerians, and to build a globally competitive economy. It plans to achieve these objectives by giving priority to agriculture, power, macro-economy, energy efficiency, transportation infrastructure and driving industrialisation through Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

As part of efforts to unlock the country’s potentials, power reform is being done. This has led to the launch of the N701 billion Payment Assurance Programme to guarantee payments to generating companies and gas suppliers.

The Power Sector Recovery Programme, which was launched in March, has been endorsed by the World Bank.

Another potential of the country, which was held down for years, is the capacity of the refineries. It has received serious attention in the last two years. Now, the total amount of crude being refined by the three refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna is now 10 million barrels. It was eight million barrels in 2015.

Agriculture and solid minerals have gotten their groves back. The sector grew by 4.11 per cent last year. Solid   minerals recorded a seven per cent increase. The contribution of the Ministry of Solid Minerals to the Federation Account tripled to about N2 billion in 2016 up from N700 million in 2015.

 

Other positives

Despite the low oil prices at the international market, the country’s external reserves have grown by $7 billion since October last year; the Excess Crude Account has seen an inflow of $87 million and $500 million has been added to the Sovereign Wealth Fund, which represents the first inflows since the original $1 billion with which the Fund started in 2012.

The Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and a soil map designed to aid fertilizer application has raised local production of grains. It has produced a model agricultural collaboration between Lagos and Kebbi states.  The country’s rice imports fell from 580,000 MT in 2015 to 58,000MT last year.

A partnership between Nigeria and Morocco – Presidential Fertiliser Initiative – has resulted in the revitalisation of 11 blending plants. Through  the initiative, which involves Morocco, supplying the country phosphate, the country has recorded annual savings of $200 million in foreign exchange and 60 billion annually in budgetary provisions for fertiliser subsidies. Farmers now purchase fertiliser at N5, 500, 30 per cent cheaper than before.

The administration is supporting MSMEs with $1.3 billion from the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN). The cash was provided by the World Bank, German Development Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Agence Française de Development.

 

Ease of Doing Business Reform Programme

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council implemented its 60 National Action Plan between February and April. The plan has given willing investors the platform to search for company names on the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Such investors can upload their registration documents directly to the CAC website without hiring lawyers to prepare registration documents.  A single form has been created for company incorporation to save time and reduce cost. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) e-payment solution has been integrated with the CAC portal to facilitate e-stamping. The country now has a simplified Visa on Arrival (VoA) Process.

To also ease business, a joint physical examination of cargo has been directed to ensure one point of contact between importers and officials. The CBN, Customs and commercial banks have been compelled to process Net Export Proceeds forms within 72 hours and Pre-Shipment Inspection Agencies (PIAs) must issue Certificate of Clean Inspection (CCI) within three days.

The number of documents required for imports has been reduced from 14 to eight. The ones for exports have come down from 10 to seven. Now, terminal operators are mandated to finish container’s examination in 12 hours.

Acting President Osinbajo sealed the National Action Plan by signing three Executive Orders to improve efficiency in the business environment and promote local procurement by government agencies.

 

Infrastructural development

The Buhari administration is revitalising the country’s 3,500 kilometre network of narrow-gauge railway. A consortium led by General Electric and comprising Transnet of South Africa, APM Terminals of the Netherlands and Sinohydro Consortium of China, is working on the Lagos-Kano Railway narrow-gauge Line. The Abuja Light Rail system will also go into operation later this year. The first line to be launched will connect the city centre with the airport, with a link to the Abuja-Kaduna Railway Line. The test-run is scheduled for November. Full operation is planned for the first quarter of 2018.

The reconstruction of the Abuja Airport runway was done within the scheduled six-week period (March to April 2017).

 

Giving fillip to the economy

The economy has been the major challenge of this administration. To get the country out of the economic quagmire, the CBN is reforming the forex regime and this has increased stability in the market.  The appetite for Nigerian stocks by foreign portfolio investors has also increased. Also, the Eurobond raked in more than $7.8 billion compared to a pre-issuance target of $1 billion. Analysts have described the trend as demonstration of the restoration foreign investor’s confidence in the economic reform agenda.

The CBN has created a new forex window for investors and exporters. CBN’s date has shown that the window has attracted $1.4 billion in its first four weeks of operation.

The apex bank has also reviewed the list of 41 items excluded from the CBN forex window, in line with a request from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). This is just as a Tariff-driven Tomato Policy has been introduced to promote local production.

More funds in the hands of local contractors mean more strength for the economy. N1.2 trillion was released for capital expenditure in last year’s budget — the largest capital ever spent in a single budget in the country’s history. As a result of this, work has started on several projects, hitherto stalled. These cut across road, rail and power.

 

Social Investment Programme

Regarded as the most ambitious social safety net programme, the Social Investment Programme (SIP) has over one million beneficiaries. The 160,000 N-Power beneficiaries, who have had their details validated, receive N30, 000 monthly stipends. The validation of 40,000 others is ongoing.

Significantly, 3,162,451 people in 26, 924 cooperative societies have been registered for the Government Enterprise and Empowerment (GEEP) Scheme. 57,234 interest-free loans have been issued in 28 states and Abuja, with women taking a chunk of 56 per cent.

The administration is catering for 1,051,000 in 8, 587 primary school pupils through its Homegrown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) in seven states. Over 11,000 cooks have been hired under the scheme.

Through its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme, 26,942 beneficiaries now get N5, 000 monthly stipend in nine states and 84 local government areas of Niger, Kwara, Ekiti, Kogi, Oyo, Osun, Borno, Cross River and Bauchi states.

 

Cleansing budgeting process/ BVN/ Efficiency Unit

The anti-corruption war of the current administration is one thing that is clear to all as one of the things that have changed in the last 24 months.

Aside the activities of the anti-graft agencies, the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) is one anti-corruption effort not known to many. It is to strengthen controls over government finances through a continuous internal audit of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Thanks to this initiative more than 50,000 ghost workers have been identified. N198 billion was saved as a result of this in 2016.

The anti-corruption war has generated Budget Reforms, which made the President to direct all government agencies to prepare their budgets in line with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). A budget template was developed for this purpose.

For the first time, this year’s budget was collated, using a web-based application developed by the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF). MDAs were compelled to upload their proposals on a portal.

The Bank Verification Number (BVN) has also saved the government a lot of money. All payments are done only into accounts with verifiable BVN. This helped to detect the 50,000 ghost workers using the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform.

Through the creation of Efficiency Unit (EU), efficient use of government resources has been promoted. This has resulted in saving N15 billion that would have gone into travel, sitting allowances and souvenirs.

 

TSA/ Open Government Partnership  and whistleblowing

On August 7, 2015, the President compelled MDAs to close their accounts with commercial banks and transfer their balances to the CBN on or before September 15 of that year. By this action, he gave life to a policy launched in 2012 but left unimplemented. This has resulted in the consolidation of over 20,000 bank accounts. An average of N4.7 billion is saved monthly in banking charges. Over N5.244 trillion is in the TSA.

The era of some MDAs having idle cash in banks and still borrowed exorbitantly from banks is gone for good.

The government keeps shutting corruption doors as they are discovered. One of such led to its signing on to the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Last year, President Buhari was at the International Anti-Corruption Summit organised by the Ubited Kingdom (UK) Government, where he pledged that Nigeria would join the international transparency, accountability and citizen engagement initiative. He fulfilled the promise last July when the country became the 70th  country to join the OGP.  This has led to an OGP National Steering Committee (NSC), which has developed a National Action Plan (2017–2019) to mainstream transparency in the management of public resources. The plan was submitted at the OGP Global Summit in Paris, France, in December last year.

The anti-corruption drive has led to the Whistleblowing Policy which within its first two months of operation, yielded $160 million and N8 billion in recoveries of stolen government funds.

 

A more transparent NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was indicted by independent global reports for being opaque.

One of the first steps the administration took was to reconstruct NNPC’s opaque accounting structure. This led to the closure of more than 40 accounts. Now, NNPC publishes its financial reports monthly and the operational deficits have been reduced by not less than 50 per cent. NNPC outstanding Annual Audits from 2011 to 2014 has been conducted.

The agency is also undergoing other forms of restructuring that will make it an effective entity. The restructuring, analysts said, promote competition, predictable revenue generation and compliance with global best practices.

The administration has also resolved the shadowy oil swap deals that had cost the country billions of dollars and left it at the mercy of a few rich Nigerians. The government has also introduced third party financing to eliminate direct funding of cash calls.  The administration has also renegotiated existing service contracts under Joint Venture and Production sharing contracts (PSC) Operations by about 30 per cent leading to operational efficiency improvements and cost reductions.

The administration has also eliminated the Offshore Processing Agreement (OPA) through the introduction of the Direct Sales and Direct Purchase (DSDP) scheme with reputable off-shore refineries. This has yielded annual savings of $1 billion.

The Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) put together the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, has now been passed into law by the Senate, after 17 years of failed efforts.

In 2016, the Federal Government exited the cash call arrangement with Joint Ventures (JVs) with International Oil Companies (IOCs), which put pressure on government’s finances. The failure to fully fund them resulted in more than six billion dollars arrears as at December 2015.

A new funding mechanism is being introduced to free the government from the budgetary obligation of coming up with the cash calls and increase oil production to about 2.5 million barrels per day.

The reforms have led to the negotiation of the debt arrears owed the IOCs to $5.1 billion and a long-term repayment plan has been agreed on.

 

No longer a pariah state

Unlike in the past, the international community warmed up to the Buhari administration in the last twelve months. The President has enlisted the support of multilateral institutions, such as the World Bank and IMF, security agencies, Western countries and other friendly nations to source, locate and repatriate stolen assets.

At one of his international engagements, specifically the London summit on anti-corruption, Buhari announced that Nigeria would begin the full implementation of the principles of the OPEN contracting data standards.  This was in furtherance of his trips to the Middle-East, where he had gone to sensitise the governments on the need to repatriate stolen assets and hand over the looters for trial in Nigeria. In January last year, Nigeria and UAE signed Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters.

The Federal Government and the Swiss Government in March last year signed a Letter of Intent on the Restitution of Illegally-Acquired Assets forfeited in Switzerland. Under the agreement, Switzerland will repatriate $321 million illicitly   acquired by the Gen. Sani Abacha family.

 

Boko Haram: No longer the Lord of Sambisa

One of the first things Buhari changed was the military structure, which led to the relocation of the Nigerian Military Command Centre to Maiduguri in May 2015. The results are glaring: Over 12,000 persons have been rescued by the troops, including 106 of the Chibok schoolgirls; since December 2015, all territories previously under Boko Haram control have been regained; by June 2015, Nigeria provided $21 million to the Task Force; and in June 2015, the United States (U.S.) announced a $5 million support for the fight against terrorism in the sub-region.

The seriousness with which the administration has pursued the anti-terror war has also led to the U.S. government further announcing an additional $40 million for humanitarian assistance in the sub-region.

Boko Haram’s operational and spiritual headquarters, “Camp Zero”, in Sambisa Forest, has been captured. The army has arrested Usman Mohammed, (a.k.a. Khalid Al Barnawi), leader of the Ansaru Terrorist group and one of the most wanted Terrorists in the world, on whose head the U.S. placed a $6 m bounty. Also arrested and being prosecuted is Amodu Omale Salifu, leader of an ISIS affiliate group active in Northcentral.

Presidential aides are confident that the next one year would bring better goodies for Nigerians in the area of security and others. They said the government has laid a proper foundation capable of putting the country on the right footing. Nigerians are waiting.

May Amadioha visit u and reward you accordingly.

Lai Muhammad has got some good stats about the economy, but the bottom line is APC has done nothing to improve the lives of the masses in the Southern regions, maybe his stats was for the Northern regions only.

I'll be the last person to buy into these series of Lai's lies. Who tells him that the fall in oil price was then problem when in fact oil price never fall below the budget benchmark?

Now the number of barrels/day can be makeup by the difference between the benchmark and the oil price. This government has an unquenchable penchant for propaganda, crying foul to whip up sentiment, false accusations and outright howbeit shameful lying.

Mr lie Mohammed na naija money you dey feed on... how you Wan use know Wetin the masses they feel

Your achievements are really unprecedented with the level of hunger you imposed on Nigerians

Lai Mohammed nairalander are coming for your head....This man they Lai (lie) for Africa sha.

h

Ediet minister of lies

Useless People with their ghost president.

Minister lie

see unfulfilled buhari's promises
https://afro9jaland..com.ng/2017/05/some-of-buharis-campaign-promises.html