Ahead of Sunday, May 29 celebration of President Muhammadu Buhari one year in office, the presidency, Saturday, rolled out a number of achievements it said Buhari’s administration has surmounted in the past one year.
The presidency, which highlighted the ‘achievements’ under seven headings, said Buhari’s has made giant strides in the area of security, corruption war, economy, national image, environment, judiciary and power.
On security, the presidecy said: “The relocation of the Nigerian Military Command Centre to Maiduguri, since May 2015, contributed to the success in the fight against insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country”
It stated further that this administrative was able to reorganise the rag tag army it met on assumption to a formidable force.
“As at February 2016, the total number of persons rescued by the Nigerian troops during the ongoing operations in the North East came to 11,595
“Since December 2015, the well-motivated and rejuvenated Nigerian Military have regained all Nigerian territories previously under Boko Haram control.
“Prioritized regional cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency and violent extremism, through the operations of the 8,500 strong Multi-National Joint Task Force in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, currently headed by a Nigeria military general.
“Nigeria has provided $21million USD to the Task Force since June 2015 and is committed to an additional $79 million USD, bringing the total of Nigeria’s commitment to the Task Force to 100 million USD.
“Cohesive international support in the fight against terrorism and assistance to victims and communities affected by terrorism, following President Buhari’s meeting with G7 leaders and other world powers.
“In May 2016, Nigeria hosted a Regional Security Summit to boost military operations against Boko Haram and forge a global support for the rehabilitation of the IDPs and rebuilding of the North East”, it said.
It stressed that right from the moment Buhari won the Presidential Election in 2015, the impression of the President as a ‘‘no nonsense and incorruptible leader’’ sent a signal to looters of public funds, with many of them returning funds that had been stolen under the previous administration.
“To create a frame work for prosecuting the war against corruption and institutionalize probity, President Buhari set up an Advisory Committee on War Against Corruption.”
The anti-corruption battle is gaining ground with several high profile cases already in the courts. The administration is being guided by the rule of law in the prosecution of corruption cases, it said.
“President Buhari enlisted the support of multilateral institutions like the World Bank and IMF, security agencies, Western countries and other friendly nations to locate and repatriate stolen assets.
“At a London summit on anti-corruption, President Buhari announced that Nigeria will begin the full implementation of the principles of the OPEN contracting data standards.
“In the first quarter of 2016, President Buhari embarked on trips to the Middle East to sensitize the governments on the need to repatriate stolen assets and hand over the looters for trial in Nigeria. In January, Nigeria and UAE signed Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters.
In March 2016, the Federal Government and the Swiss Government signed a Letter of Intent On the Restitution of Illegally-Acquired Assets forfeited in Switzerland. Under the agreement, Switzerland will repatriate $ 321 million USD illicitly acquired by the Gen. Sani Abacha family.
“In March 2016, the Presidential Committee set up to probe contracts awarded by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) from 2011 to 2015 announced the recovery of over N7 billion from indicted companies and individuals”, it explained.
On security the presidency has this to say.
“As at February 2016, the total number of persons rescued by the Nigerian troops during the ongoing operations in the North East came to 11,595
“Since December 2015, the well-motivated and rejuvenated Nigerian Military have regained all Nigerian territories previously under Boko Haram control”
According to the statement, prioritized regional cooperation in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency and violent extremism, through the operations of the 8,500 strong Multi-National Joint Task Force in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, currently headed by a Nigeria military general, was a plus to the war on Boko Haram.
“Nigeria has provided $21million USD to the Task Force since June 2015 and is committed to an additional $79 million USD, bringing the total of Nigeria’s commitment to the Task Force to 100 million USD.
“Cohesive international support in the fight against terrorism and assistance to victims and communities affected by terrorism, following President Buhari’s meeting with G7 leaders and other world powers.
“In May 2016, Nigeria hosted a Regional Security Summit to boost military operations against Boko Haram and forge a global support for the rehabilitation of the IDPs and rebuilding of the North East.
“In June 2015, the United States announced a 5-million-dollar support for the fight against the terrorists in the sub-region.
“In April 2016, during the visit to Ms Samantha Power, the U.S Ambassador to the UN to Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, the U.S Government further announced an additional $40 million USD for humanitarian assistance in the sub-region
“Recruitment of additional 10,000 persons into the Nigeria Police Force is ongoing. The recruitment will address the manpower gap which currently exists in the Nigeria Police
“Overhaul of the dysfunctional topmost hierarchy of the Nigerian military which resulted in optimal result and degradation of the Boko Haram elements.”
Speaking on the economy, it said the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has provided greater visibility of government revenues and cash flows, adding that between June 2015 and April 2016, the Federal Government TSA collection totaled N3trillion.
It said in the power sector, the signing of a 50 million Euro (about N11.15 billion) loan agreement with French government for capacity-building and upgrade of power training facilities in Nigeria, was significant march toward attaining regular power supply in the country.
“Nigeria signed a $237 million agreement with World Bank to improve power. Chinese solar power manufacturers agreed with the Federal Government to set up solar panel manufacturing business in Nigeria. President Buhari has signed an agreement with the Chinese government to improve Nigeria’s power infrastructure “, it stated.
The presidency noted that Buhari’s diplomatic shuttles across the globe have earned the country positive image
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