Dear Great People of our nation,
1.
I greet and felicitate with you all as we enter the New Year
today. As we mark the beginning of this New Year, 2015, a new nation is
being born. A new nation is being born because of the foundations we
have all laid, working together for the good and progress of our dear
fatherland.
2. I join you all in thanking God Almighty
who has brought us this far, for continually bestowing His Grace upon
us and for guiding our great nation safely through all the challenges of
the past year.
3. This year, as in the year past, I
reaffirm my commitment to work to ensure a secure future for our dear
country and the generations yet unborn.
4. Last year, we celebrated our
hundredth year of nationhood. The year brought us further progress,
challenges and fresh opportunities.
5. We have contended with the normal challenges of nation-building and the unusual challenges of terrorism.
6. But we have continued to vigorously confront those who seek to destroy the bonds of unity that hold us together.
7.
On this first day of the New Year, I want to pay special
tribute to the gallant officers, men and women of our Armed Forces and
other security agencies who have been in the forefront of the war
against terrorism and violent extremism in our country and sub-region.
8.
I also commend all Nigerians who have remained vigilant and
cooperative with our security agencies in the fight against the common
enemy.
9. We are re-equipping and re-positioning our armed
forces to enhance their capacity to win the ongoing war against terror
and insurgency.
10. Regrettably, terrorists have
unleashed much pain and agony on our land. They have made widows of our
mothers and sisters and orphans of our children. They have shut down
businesses, desecrated places of worship and brought untold hardship to
both men and women. They have violated the culture and peaceful way of
life in our country, which took generations to build.
11. They have destroyed countless schools and displaced people from their communities, driving them into exile.
12.
I want to assure you that the terrorists will not get away with
their atrocities: they will not win; they will be routed. As President, I
feel the pain of all affected communities and families. I hear their
cries and share their sorrow and pain.
13. We will not forget; we will not look the other way. We have
done a lot of painstaking planning and work to resolve the current
security challenge. We will bring justice to the savage terrorists known
as Boko Haram. They will be defeated.
14. That is the solemn
commitment I make today as President of the Federal Republic, and
Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces.
15. By the Special
Grace of God, the Federal Government, under my leadership, has
continued, in the past four years to lead our country forward, even
under the most trying circumstances.
16. The progress we have made in priority areas bears us testimony.
17.
Amongst other achievements, we have rehabilitated and expanded our
rail transportation network, successfully privatized power generation
and distribution, significantly reformed and increased local
participation in our oil and gas industry, and improved nationwide
access to potable water from 57% in 2010, to 70% at present.
18. We have also made significant progress in improving access to
primary, secondary and tertiary education by building and equipping more
schools, including special Almajiri schools, and establishing
additional universities to ensure that each state of the nation now has
at least one Federal University.
19. Our national economy
maintained a steady growth rate of close to seven per cent in the past
four years and millions of fresh employment opportunities were created
for our people as a direct consequence.
20. Recently, we
launched the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) and the
$100 million dollars Government and Donor Fund for Agriculture Finance
in Nigeria (FAFIN) to fast-track the positive transformation of our
agricultural sector.
21. The Youth Employment in Agriculture
Programme (YEAP) targets 750, 000 market-oriented young agricultural
producers while the $100 million dollars Fund is to provide affordable
long-term financing to support the development of small and medium
agribusinesses in the country.
22. This is in addition to a
N50 billion Farm Mechanization Support Fund set up by the Central Bank
to establish 1,200 agricultural equipment-hiring enterprises.
23.
Both funds will become fully operational this year. Policies and
programmes such as these to boost agricultural production remain topmost
on the agenda of this administration.
24. Being very
conscious of the inherent perils of our over-reliance on income from
crude oil exports for national development, we have focused on
accelerating the diversification of our economy.
25. The
non-oil Sector which has grown by an average of 8% in the last few
years, is now a major driver of growth in our economy.
26. The
2015 national budget, which is now before the National Assembly, is
targeted at deepening our efforts at becoming a non-oil economy.
27. The budget also includes measures to ensure that the downturn
in the price of oil does not affect our development plans and our
national economy too adversely. We are adjusting our financial processes
to safeguard our economy. We are also taking steps to ensure that the
poor and the low and medium income earners do not bear the brunt.
28. In 2015, this administration will continue to lay the
foundation for a vibrant economy that attracts significant Foreign
Direct Investment and promotes policies that ensure economic stability.
29.
We will ensure stability in the value of the Naira by striving to
take away speculative behaviours that cause market exchange pressures.
30. We will continue to build and maintain a healthy external
reserves position and strengthen fiscal buffers. We will ensure the
Naira remains strong, and gives foreign investors the clarity and
certainty that they need, to guide future investment decisions.
31.
We will continue to improve our payment systems and strengthen
risk-based supervision mechanism for Nigerian banks to ensure overall
health and stability of the banking system.
32. We are
introducing a broad spectrum of financial instruments to boost
sector-specific enterprise areas in agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium
Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), manufacturing, and oil and gas to enhance
our aggregate supply capacity, reduce poverty, promote job creation and
increase the general well-being of our people.
33. These efforts and other measures being spearheaded by relevant
Ministries, Departments and Agencies, are geared to ensure a secure
future for Nigeria and create a much more prosperous country, where
people live more peaceful and fulfilled lives.
Fellow countrymen and women,
34.
As we enter an election year, I assure you that our administration
will remain fully focused on providing good governance and the delivery
of better public services to our people.
35. The coming campaigns
and elections will not distract us from our ongoing work to
significantly improve the living conditions of our people. And I urge
all tiers of government not to be distracted as well.
36. The
elections are very important for us as a country. Their successful
conclusion will further strengthen our democratic institutions and place
our beloved country even more firmly in the comity of truly democratic
nations.
37. Given the challenges that have characterized some
previous electoral contests in our country, the eyes of the world will
certainly be on the conduct and outcome of our fifth post-military rule
general elections.
38. I reassure all Nigerians and the
international community of our firm commitment to free, fair and
credible elections. My commitment to free elections and one man, one
vote remains unwavering.
39. Our administration has worked
hard in previous elections to prepare all key stakeholders including the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and
the electorate optimally, to ensure a progressively improved electoral
process in the country under my watch. We will continue to do so for
the coming elections.
40. We will continue to provide adequate
funding to INEC and maintain the Commission’s independence and isolate
it from any form of interference or meddling in its day-to-day affairs.
This shall continue to guarantee its impartiality and ability to
conduct more credible and acceptable elections.
41. National
security agencies will also be given all necessary support to enhance
their ability to ensure that the elections are peaceful and
violence-free. The Nigeria Police has already established an Elections
Security Planning and Monitoring Unit.
42. I am optimistic
that with the cooperation of all law-abiding citizens of the country,
our commitment to have a peaceful and violence-free election will be
actualized.
43. I will like to say this, once again, to my fellow
politicians and political leaders. None of our political ambitions is
worth the blood of any of our countrymen, women and children. The
improvement of their lives and living conditions ought to be our primary
motive and the driving force of our quest for political power and
leadership positions.
44. Let us not promote sectionalism,
disunity, intolerance, hate, falsehood or the malicious abuse of
political opponents. Whatever we feel or seek, we must have a nation and
a people before we can dream of political ambitions. Let us put the
nation and the people first.
45. Let us all conduct our
electoral campaigns with the highest possible decorum and civility
towards political opponents. Let us give INEC the fullest possible
support and cooperation it requires to conduct credible and
violence-free elections in 2015.
46. After the
2011 general elections, some unpatriotic elements embarked on an orgy of
violence, resulting in the destruction of lives and property. That will
not be allowed to happen this time around. This government will act
decisively against anyone who disrupts the public peace, before, during
or after the 2015 general elections.
47. All Nigerians, of voting age, are free to vote based on their
convictions. It is our duty to defend and protect that basic right, and
let no one be in doubt, we will.
48. Fellow Nigerians, I urge
all of you to enter the New Year with renewed zeal and patriotism, to
serve our fatherland with love, honesty, faithfulness and hope for a
greater tomorrow.
49. As I have always maintained, none of the
challenges before us is insurmountable. We must come together as a
people and work with single-minded unity of purpose to overcome them.
50.
Nigeria is a key country in Africa. We must work together to maintain
our strategic position and collaborate with others to move the continent
forward. I call for peace in Africa and an end to all conflicts in our
continent. I urge all Africans to promote democracy in their respective
countries to ensure faster development of the continent and faster
economic and political integration.
51. We will continue to
pray and offer hands of fellowship and assistance to our fellow Africans
suffering from the Ebola Virus Disease. I urge all Nigerians to show
compassion and contribute in whatever way we can to help our African
brothers and sisters.
52. As we go into this New Year, I
salute the indomitable and resilient spirit of our people in Nigeria and
wherever they are in the world. Our spirit of enterprise and the
doggedness to succeed amongst all odds has been our strength.
53.
With our collective prayers and efforts, we will grow our economy and
our people will become wealthier. Government will continue with
programmes deliberately designed to create more jobs for our youth, to
enable them contribute more to the growth and development of our nation.
54. Let us continue our march to the future, towards the
attainment of our collective vision of a strong, united, prosperous and
harmonious nation – a secure nation for us and for our coming
generations.
55. I wish you all a happy and fulfilling 2015.
56. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
57. Happy New Year, Nigeria!
58. I thank you all.
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