30 days: Lai Mohammed scores Buhari high

…says no force can sabotage the change mantra

CHIKA NWABUEZE

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has described as eventful President Muhammadu Buhari’s first thirty days in office. Buhari was inaugurated on May 29 and is exactly one month in office as President. But his Presidency has been described by the opposition as motionless and annoyingly slow in many respects.

However, addressing the journalists at Ikeja GRA, Lagos Tuesday, National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said contrary to claims in some quarters the one month of President Buhari’s administration has witnessed motion, and movement.

In a message titled tackling insecurity, corruption and restoring Nigeria’s respect, Mohammed said that the Buhari’s government has started to tackle some of the challenges confronting the nation, such as insecurity, corruption fight and the revitalization of the economy to provide jobs and restore hope.

He said “It’s been about one month now since President Buhari assumed office and I can tell you that there has been motion, and there has been movement, contrary to what is being peddled in some quarters. Continuing the APC scribe noted that the APC, understands and appreciates the concerns of Nigerians as far as the perceived pace of the administration is concerned.

“We understand that they repose so much confidence in the party and the governments to act quickly, justifiably the expectations are high and urgent, and the Buhari administration has started addressing them, despite the enormous challenges that it faces, including an empty treasury and an economy that has virtually collapsed.

Mohammed stressed that while the APC would make no excuses, it is important for the party to put things in perspective for a better understanding.

“The Buhari administration got the handover notes from the former government just four days before the inauguration, hampering its efforts to have a clear understanding of the situation on the ground before taking the necessary measures to address it.

“Secondly, Nigeria has never before witnessed this kind of transition. What the country has been accustomed to is transition from one government to another under the same ruling party, not from the ruling party to the opposition as we have now. The implication is that this is a new learning curve, with its attendant hiccups.

He pointed out that even with these challenges, the Buhari administration has availed itself creditably within one month of assuming office in tackling insecurity and the fight against terrorism.

“This is one area in which the Buhari administration has hit the ground running. The President had hardly been sworn into office than he embarked on a shuttle diplomacy to rally Nigeria’s neighbours to act as a common front against the terror group Boko Haram. The President travelled to Chad and Niger, and then hosted a summit of the Lake Chad Basin Commission that comprised Cameroon, Chad and Niger, with Benin also invited.

“The result is the decision to deploy the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), with headquarters in N’Djamena, Chad, on July 30th to pep up the fight against Boko Haram! This is the same force that the past administration could not get off the ground in six years. That’s what we meant when we said what the Jonathan administration could not do in six years; the Buhari administration has done in three weeks.

Other achievements of the Buhari administration according to Mohammed include the President’s travel to Germany to meet with G7 leaders to present to them a wish list that included getting their support for the battle against Boko Haram and the donation of $5 million to Nigeria by the U.S government to support the fight against terrorism.  This is in addition to the relocation by the Nigerian military of the command centre to Maiduguri, he said.

In the fight against corruption, Mohammed said it ranks high on the list of the Buhari administration priorities. “Nothing, not even the fight against terror, can succeed without putting an end to the kind of prodigious and sickening corruption being witnessed in these climes.

“That is why the President also included it on the wish list he took to Germany during the last G7 summit.  Only yesterday, it was revealed that the President has ordered revenue-generating agencies, including the NNPC, FIRS, Customs and NPA, to close all Illegal Revenue Accounts and to also remit all funds generated to the Federation Account. This is a momentous step considering that those illegal accounts are being used to siphon public funds.

“Nigerians now know that out of 8.1 trillion naira generated by the NNPC in three years, 3.8trillion aira was not remitted to the Federation Account. Nigerians now know that the cash in the Excess Crude Account has been depleted by $2 billion dollars without explanation. A panel of four governors has been set up to investigate what happened to the money that was not remitted to the Federation Account. The rot met by the Buhari Administration is sickening, and the President is working hard to plug all loopholes for siphoning public funds, in addition to recovering looted public funds.

“Since President Buhari’s election on March 28th, 2015, Nigeria has been moving fast to regain its deserved place in the comity of respected nations. Leaders who once shunned Nigeria have been inviting President Buhari to visit their countries. The latest is US President Barack Obama, who will play host to our President at the White House on July 20th.

“There is no better indication of how much Nigeria is regaining its lost glory than the recent election of former Agriculture Minister, Akinwumi Adesina as the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB). Recall that Nigeria has never before led the continental bank, despite its front-line role there.  Adesina’s election is a testimony to the perception of Nigeria under President Buhari’s leadership.

Mohammed maintained that despite the laudable achievements of the Buhari administration within the past few weeks, Nigerians are right to demand even a faster pace. “Nigerians are right to ask that a government be quickly put in place. Nigerians are right to demand that looters be exposed and brought to justice. Nigeria is long suffering, and our compatriots can’t wait for a paradigm shift in the way we do things.”

He assured that there is no cause for alarm as the administration is determined and able to effect the change that Nigerians voted for, despite the initial challenges. He added that no one, not even the reactionary forces that are rampaging now, can sabotage the APC’s change mantra.