President Muhammadu Buhari, in his acceptance speech following his nomination by the All People’s Congress (APC) as its flagbearer for the 2019 elections highlighted his achievements since assumption of office.
According to him, his administration had made great strides in the areas of the economy, agriculture, and security. Here are highlights from his speech.
On Security
The President stated that the country had made great progress in tackling Boko Haram.
We have arrested and checked the slide to anarchy on the security and economic fronts. Boko Haram is reduced to dastardly attacks on soft targets. Normalcy has returned to much of North East and neighbouring North West states.
On Agriculture
The Government through its Anchor Borrowers Programme and other incentives has empowered more than 2 million farmers to go back to the land. We now produce 80% of our rice requirements. Many farmers who nearly lost hope are now millionaires.
In addition, the government had also increased production capacity for fertilizer in the country.
On Foreign Reserves
Our currency has stabilized. Our reserves are now $44 billion, a lot higher than we had in 2015
Ongoing plans
The President also disclosed that the government was executing several Independent Power Plants in select tertiary institutions in the country.
We are executing Independent Power Projects in 9 Federal Universities to deliver uninterrupted power supply and we intend to expand to a total of 37 Universities. We have repaired and are repairing major arterial roads and starting major railway projects with the aim of linking the 36 states with efficient road and rail transportation systems.
The President also gave an update on the government’s plans for the power sector.
As we invest in new power generation infrastructure we are strenuously working to address the legacy deficiencies and challenges of transmission and distribution networks across the country
The National Convention of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently ongoing in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Presidential elections in the country are billed to hold in February 2018.