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Tag: Transformation

  • NLC hails Fayemi on Ekiti’s transformation

    NLC hails Fayemi on Ekiti’s transformation

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday said Ekiti State has witnessed “physical transformation” under the leadership of Governor Kayode Fayemi.

    In a letter to the governor, NLC President Abdulwaheed Omar said the recent hosting of the National Administrative Council (NAC) by Ekiti afforded labour leaders the opportunity to see the projects executed by the Fayemi administration.

    He hoped that the electorate would re-elect the governor for a second term.

    Omar said: “Your Excellency, our stay in Ekiti State availed us the opportunity to witness, first-hand, your developmental projects. It is instructive that you have placed emphasis on human capital development. Your stewardship of Ekiti has, within a short period of time, transformed the state.

    “This is a cherished value of identifying with the masses and the poor throughout your life as an activist. The congress and the working people of Nigeria have no doubt that you have more service to render and we believe the Ekiti working people will return you to service after your first term.

    “While appreciating your kind gesture for making us feel at home in Ekiti State, rest assured that we will always support your administration and the people of Ekiti State.”

     

  • NDLEA supports transformation

    NDLEA supports transformation

    The Nigerian Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has promised to partner with Ekiti State University (EKSU) in its transformation agenda and make the institution a drug-free zone.

    The NDLEA team made the promise during a visit to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Patrick Oladipo Aina. The leader of the team Mr. Dele Akingbade, promised the presence of its members during the orientation programme for fresh students who would be enlightened on dangers of taking hard drugs.

    The leader of the team further stressed that the NDLEA was interested in sensitizing youths on the dangers of drug abuse.

    Mr. Akingbade revealed that over 1,000 Indian hemp plantations had been destroyed in Ekiti State while 69 suspects had been prosecuted in the last one year.

    The Vice-Chancellor praised the NDLEA team and approved its partnership with EKSU in the transformation agenda of his administration.

    Professor Aina said that the University was in a haste to develop adding that his administration would always welcome organizations and individuals ready to support the Institution.

     

     

  • ‘APGA set for transformation’

    ‘APGA set for transformation’

    The Acting National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Maxi Okwu, has unfolded his vision for the party,

    saying that it will become the indisputable “third leg” of the party system.

    Okwu, a former national leader of the Citizens Popular Party and Convener of Save Enugu Group (SEG), said he would embark on what he described as the “three Rs”, which are reconciliation, rapprochement and reintegration.

    He stressed: “What we intend to do is to ensure that, through the three Rs, we will move APGA from its present parlous state to a level where, as a party, it will constitute the third leg of the Nigerian political life.

    “Nigerian politics has been built on a tripod since the days of the pre- independence period. Let me concede that, if you take the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as one leg and the proposed All Progressives Congress (APC) as the second leg, APGA will be the third leg. This is my vision for now.”

  • Alaafin hails rural transformation

    Alaafin hails rural transformation

    Infrastructural growth in his domain has impressed the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III.

    Once impassable roads in rural parts of Oyo-West Local Government Area of Oyo State are paved, boosting not just human trasportation but also movement of agricultural produce.

    Run-down schools are having a new lease of life. Teachers and pupils are loving every minute of it.

    Alaafin hailed the efforts of the council’s caretaker chairman, Mr. Richard Adesoji Ojoawo, saying such achievement was rare.

    The revered monarch was particularly impressed by the council chairman’s interest in helping the poor, many of who were given various jobs tools.

    Oba Adeyemi blamed the high rate of poverty in the country on lack of effective policies and absence of political commitment, in addition to ineffective co-ordination of activities as well as insufficient data.

    The monarch was speaking in Ojongbodu at the poverty alleviation programme organised by the Oyo-West Local Government Area.

    He said proper understanding of the social cost of poverty is necessary for comprehensive policy formulation and implementation.

    His words: “Poverty should be seen as a social problem which reduces patterns of behaviour with important negative repercussions on individuals and society as a whole. There are many young people who are not gainfully employed, some of them being highly educated. For survival, they may resort to crime and will tend to rationalise this act on the grounds of economic survival. Criminal involvement should be relatively high whenever legitimate opportunities to achieve success are closed to the individuals.”

    Poverty, Alaafin asserted is a threat to economic and social stability, adding that a situation whereby substantial percentage of the citizenry lives below the poverty line, suggests that human resources are underdeveloped and under-utilised.

    “There is need for drastic modification of the development strategy, both at the macro- and micro-levels.”

    While commending Caretaker Chairman of Oyo-West, Ojoawo, for his concerted efforts in stemming the rural/urban migration, and imparting positively on the lives of the down-trodden through reduction in poverty, the paramount ruler said he was particularly delighted to be part of such “monumental and unprecedented achievements in the history of the local government.

    “Three of the 10 wards in the council area are in the villages with undulating rural feeder roads and lack of social amenities before the present administration came on board. But I’m surprised to see that within a few months in office, these impassable rural feeder roads have been graded, while primary schools which were dilapidated put into proper shapes, thus providing the enabling environment for the pupils to learn.”

    Also speaking, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Political Matters, Princess Adebisi Adegoke, extolled the leadership qualities of the council’s caretaker chairman, saying his “passion for the less privileged is uncommon”.

    In his address, Mr. Adesoji Ojoawo disclosed that apart from the sum of N6.5million expended on the provision of poverty alleviation materials, an additional N2million has also been disbursed to indigenous Oyo students in tertiary institutions across the country as bursary awards.

    “Similarly, over 3,000 kilometres of rural feeder roads have so far been graded, while a new and well-equipped maternity centre has been provided for the people of Soku community.”

    Poverty alleviation materials distributed to the people included 15 motorcycles, 15 refrigerators, 25 grinding machines, 25 hairdressing equipment, 200 cell phones, and 20 medium generating sets.

    Others were agricultural spraying tools with chemicals, cutlasses, hoes, and barbing kits.

     

  • Experts enjoin Fed Govt to be committed to transformation

    Federal Government has been enjoined to show commitment to the transformation of the country, rather than aiming to rank among the top 20 richest and leading nations in the world.

    The Director, Monitoring and Research Division, United Nations-Habitat, Prof. Banji Oyeyinka-Oyelaran, gave the advice yesterday in a lecture entitled: “The praxis and perils of the oil economy: A proposal for equitable development in Nigeria”, at the monthly lecture of the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan.

    Oyeyinka-Oyelaran lamented that “every political arrangement and all manners of electoral system have been shaped around oil discovery. If you don’t detach the emphasis on oil, it will determine everything we do, including our pace of development.”

    He went on: “Except in countries where oil is sufficiently available and the left over is sufficient to keep the citizens silent, there will always be crisis and developmental challenges.

    “In Nigeria, there is a diagnosis of helplessness and prognosis of optimism. We have to find a new trajectory for development. Government should provide the right environment for advancement.”

    Prof. Oyeyinka-Oyelaran said the political elite are partly responsible for the myriads of problems confronting the nation.

    Said he: “We have a huge level of unemployment and inequality. In Germany, youth employment is around four per cent because of the structure, which ensures training system for the youth. Even now that there is economic recession, you can work and go to school in Germany.”

    He said the political elite in the country enjoyed privileges and access to decision-making at the expense of the masses.

    Added he: “The bureaucracy, political elite and private vested interest are factors affecting the nation.

    “In Nigeria, when people get to power, they take the money and emoluments attached to the offices as their own. It is not new to Nigerians that people regard state allocation as their money and believe that it should be plundered.”

    The lecturer, who said there was hope on the horizon, referred to the experience in China where 100 million people were bailed out of poverty through industrialisation and exportation.

    The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, who was the chairman of the occasion, Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, said the recommendation made by the lecturer should be considered, “if Nigeria will not relapse into a failed state.”

    The Director-General, NISER, Prof. Olufemi Taiwo, recalled that the nation’s oil boom emerged in the early ‘70s.

  • Waiting for Jonathan’s transformation

    Waiting for Jonathan’s transformation

    When President Goodluck Jonathan took over as President in May 2010 following the demise of his principal, Umaru Yar’adua, expectations were high. Despite the fact the he appeared unprepared for the task fate and circumstances had placed on his shoulders, a good number of Nigerians expected him to be different from his predecessors. Perhaps because of his saintly visage, peculiar name and the fact he was from a minority ethnic group, they believed that he was the messiah destined to lead the country out of the cesspool of failure where it had found itself.

    In those early days of his administration, Jonathan carried himself with the air of a messiah. Without talking much, he hoodwinked Nigerians into believing that he was heaven’s answer to their prayers. Between when he was sworn in as Acting President till when he declared his intention to contest the 2011 election, he did nothing other than firing his perceived enemies and planting his cronies in key areas of government in order to establish a firm hold.

    After about 10 months as President without any credible achievements, Jonathan threw his hat in the ring for the 2011 elections. Even though the decision clearly contravened the zoning principle of his party and almost threw the country into a political turmoil, he didn’t care a hoot because he felt it was his time.

    After a protracted battle with some northern political elites who were opposed to his ambition, he won his party’s ticket and embarked on a heavily funded campaign to become Nigeria’s president. It was in the peak of that campaign the he came up with this thing called ‘Transformation Agenda,’ with which he hoped to turn the country around for good.

    Lest we forget, what Jonathan did before the election cannot be described as a campaign. It was simply a jamboree where people ate, drank and got free souvenirs. As he crisscrossed the length and breadth of the country in search of votes, there was nothing inspiring in his speeches. There was no blueprint of what he wants to achieve and how he intended to go about it. The most memorable aspect of his entire campaign was that ‘I had no shoes’ speech in Abuja which has now become a satire for critics of his administration.

    When the time finally came to elect the country’s president it, many Nigerians voted for a man they barely knew. They willingly gave their nods to a man who had no direction, destination or commitment other than an abstract document called transformation agenda. Many of those who voted for him were naïve and overly sentimental. They stood for hours in the scorching sun to elect him not because his achievements but because like him, they felt it was his time and nobody should stand in his way.

    Now that the euphoria of winning a presidential election so cheaply has subsided, the real Goodluck Jonathan is gradually unveiling himself. He is showing Nigerians that there is more to a man beyond the look on his face and the clothes on his skin. What many citizens are experiencing today is the exact opposite of what they anticipated when they defied harsh weather conditions to cast their votes for him.

    Under Jonathan’s watch, things seem to have gone from bad to worse. The transformation agenda he spoke passionately about is fast becoming a forlorn dream that may never materialise.

    Counting from when he was sworn in as acting president till date, it almost two years and there is no worthwhile achievement that can be traced to Jonathan’s administration.

    In his inaugural speech as President, Jonathan promised to hit the ground running and almost 19 months down the line, he is yet to get his bearing not to talk of running. He promised to make some reforms in power, economy and other critical sectors but nothing has changed.

    With all the mouthed reforms of the Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s economy is still at its nadir. Even now that the fuel subsidy has been partially withdrawn, ours is still one of the poorest economies in the world where thousands of citizens are unemployed and live below the poverty line. Like other Jonathan apostles, she goes about analysing improvements in figures and graphs when the realities on ground show otherwise.

    The President recently gloated that Nigeria now generates 4,500 Megawatts of electricity, yet the entire country still languish in darkness. Somebody needs to remind him that South Africa generates almost 50,000 Megawatts which has made life better in the country. Because of the epileptic power situation in Nigeria, industries are collapsing and moving out of the country. The few surviving ones spend a chunk of their profits to run generators and it is only a matter of time before they collapse too. Yet, the president thinks he is working.

    In education, it is the same tale of woes. Jonathan established six new universities when he came on board but they are not different from the other derelict ones. Is it not a shame that no Nigerian institution is ranked among the first 20 universities in Africa?

    With the ways things are today, one can’t help but ask what Jonathan’s transformation agenda is all about. Is it a plan by Jonathan and his acolytes to make the country worse than they met it? If this is how he hopes to turn the country around, then we are on a journey to nowhere.

  • Is transformation agenda on course?

    Is transformation agenda on course?

    There are two major categories of stakeholders in the Nigeria project today. The few, who call the shots at the highest rung of the ladder in the nation’s political over on one side. On the other are the helpless masses at the receiving end of the (mis) actions of the former.

    The privileged category is being led by the nation’s number-one citizen, President Goodluck Jonathan, who holds the knife and the yam, deciding the beleaguered nation’s fate. This category believes it deserve some applause for putting the sick nation on a “steady path to full socio-economic and political recovery”. However, to the suffocating majority in the other category, who knows where the shoe pinches, the country has been doing a ballroom dance – a step forward and two backwards!

    In a manner suggestive of chest-beating, last Sunday, the President gave his administration a tacit pass mark. It was while responding to questions from some select journalists on a Presidential Media chat in Abuja.

    “The future of this country is quite bright. The outlook is positive and we’re committed. By the time we get to May 29, 2015, Nigerians will know that Jonathan and his team meant well for the country,” he maintained emphatically.

    Of course, not a few Nigerians, who have had their own shares of the quakes in the various sectors of the nation’s life, notably insecurity, high-profile looting, poverty et cetera, would doubt that submission by the President.

    In trying to explain the “wonders” his administration had been performing to checkmate activities of the Boko Haram sect that had made a habit out of bomb throwing in the northern part of the country, the President “bombed” his predecessor, former President Olusegun Obasanjo who had dubbed his handling of the Boko Haram crisis, “slow,” citing the dispatch with which he handled the infamous Odi invasion in 1999 in Bayelsa State. “It was old men and women and children that were killed. None of the militants was killed,” he had replied.

    Contrary to the popularly held view in the public arena, he said that his government was not into dialogue with the troublesome group. Reason: Its is a faceless group. But he was not forthcoming as regards what his government has up its sleeves to put a stop to the mindless waste of precious human lives in that part of the country.

    On the ripple in the oil sector that has never ceased to midwife fuel scarcity, Jonathan promised that the problem of fuel scarcity would be solved. How? The sanitisation of the oil sector, he hinted.

    In an I-deserve-some–credit posture, he disclosed that his administration had begun the cleansing of the nation’s stinking oil industry even before the House of Representatives inaugurated the Farouk Lawan-led Committee on Subsidy Regime.

    “By the time we’re done with sanitising the oil sector, the issue of fuel scarcity will be a thing of the past,” again, another promise by Jonathan.

    The terrorism of hunger is, no doubt, why most Nigerians won’t go to bed today with their hearts in proper place. And the speculation is rife in various quarters that food crisis is imminent. But to the President, it is nothing but false alarm. The nation, he assured, would never experience a food crisis, but would rather record bumper harvests through massive dry season farming.

    Trying to explain his government’s perceived siddon look stance while the monster of corruption is threatening to completely overrun the nation to the disadvantage of its defenceless victims, the President, as would be expected, gave his word that the fight against corruption “is still ongoing”; another promise. In his wisdom, it is sometimes better to move slowly and do the right thing than move too fast and do the wrong.

    This government, he said, was tackling corruption frontally, adding that his administration had solved the corruption problem that bedeviled fertiliser subsidy, and had shifted focus on the oil sector.

    It is incontrovertible that the President conceded in a way, that the nation is currently suffering some rheumatism on all fronts when he warned that the ongoing constitution amendment and people’s call for a referendum must align with the provisions of the constitution. He also spoke on the vexed issue of Sovereign National Conference (SNC), saying that “when you mention the word ‘sovereign,’ people get frightened. But he added: “People need to know that the President swore to an oath to defend the constitution. Whatever we do should be in line with the constitution.”

    The collapsing state of infrastructure across the country has for long remained another sore in the heart. Only God knows how many souls had been helped to an early grave by the decrepit Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Jonathan fumed at developments on the route and pledged to do something. On Tuesday, he announced a change in the handlers of the road. Judging from the disclosure that he had directed some agencies to resolve the oil well disputes between Rivers and Bayelsa on one hand, and Kogi, Anambra and Enugu states on the other, the fact remains that there is a major crisis to resolve there.

    On the lingering unemployment in the country, the President scored himself high, saying that there had been “positive trends” in job creation, adding that the textile and footwear industries “are coming up” as power supply stabilises.

    “Of course, for power, it is one area that I know that Nigerians appreciate that we are moving. We are yet to get to power all our cities, but … the difference is clear. There has been improvement, significantly. And we will continue to improve. The only problem we have is that our transmission lines are weak. We have a lot of infrastructure projects that are going on and we believe that before the end of the first quarter of next year, we would have completed a number of infrastructure. We moved from approximately below 2000 megawatts to above 5000 megawatts but because of weakness of infrastructure we cannot evacuate and we have seen a reasonable stability. So, before the middle of next year when most of the transmission infrastructure might have been completed, power will stabilize tremendously,” Jonathan said.

    Yet, most of the stable power-dependent companies across the country have packed up, with their premises giving way to churches as the latter proliferate.

    His ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he enthused, is the best thing to happen to the nation in its dire quest for recovery. “PDP is doing wonderfully well,” he submitted among other things.

    His pledge did not leave out the somersaulting standard of education in the country as he said no stone would be left unturned to return it to the golden era of those good days of yore.

    Admitting that the situation with the nation’s aviation industry is not straight of legs, the President hinted that a retreat was being planned for January next year where the challenges militating against the sector would be ironed out.

    However, ostensibly worried that 18 months into his administration, Jonathan had been dancing round the nation’s woes, no fewer than 50 eminent southern and northern Nigerian leaders left their homes for Abuja on Tuesday. Their mission: To deliberate on the cheerless state of the nation. It was at a closed-door parley held at the Yar’Adua Centre. They resolved to meet with Jonathan and the leadership of the National Assembly. The elders met under the aegis of Project Nigeria. It is being chaired by Prof. Ben Nwabueze.

    Present at the meeting were: former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Adamu Ciroma; a former head of the Nigerian Security Organisation, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi; ex Senate President, Iyorcha Ayu; former Delta State Governor, Chief Felix Ibru; a former Education Minister, Senator Jubril Aminu; the spokesperson of the Ijaw Republican Assembly, Annkio Brigg; former President of the Ijaw National Conference, Prof. Kimse Okoko; activist lawyer Dr. Tunji Abayomi and the Secretary, Project Nigeria, Wale Okunniyi.

    Alhaji Bashiru Dalhatu; Solomon Asemota (SAN); Prince Tony Momoh; Sen. Adamu Abdulahi; Hajia Nahatu Mohammed; Nkoyo Toyo; Sen. Ewa Henshaw; Alhaji Yayale Ahmed and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) also reportedly attended the meeting.

    A source from the meeting revealed the concern of the elders: “The essence of the meeting was to build national unity and consensus. The country is fast declining; we must save this country from collapse. We must close ranks and ensure that things are done properly.”

    Participants at the meeting, it was gathered, faulted the ongoing constitution review, saying it would bear no fruits, and restated the urgent need for a national conference on corruption and good governance.

    On the Abuja parley, Abayomi was quoted as confirming: “There was a meeting of eminent Nigerians in Abuja on good governance, and the concerns of the people about corruption which is the consequence of poor governance. We are concerned about the rising frustration of the people, the high level of poverty and the gap between the governed and the leaders, between the people and government officials. Those are the issues that preoccupied the meeting. It was quite an interesting session about the desires of ordinary Nigerians.”

    Besides the frightening indices of retrogression starring Nigerians in the face as the nation totters on the precipice, mutual distrust is one daunting problem in the hands of Jonathan and his lieutenants. Thus, the deafening calls for a discussion of the nation’s future.

    Affirming the need for a national conference, Abayomi said: “There is need for a national conference because what the National Assembly is trying to do is not actually a national conference; rather, they are embarking on a piecemeal review of some sections of the constitution. The issue at stake is beyond the National Assembly, because it has to do with the very structure of the Nigerian state … it is pertinent that a national conference should hold so that the component nations that make up the Nigeria state can seat down amicably and agree upon the structure which shall become part of Nigeria.”

    Who is that Nigerian that matters that has not spoken in support of the calls for a national parley, across all professions? Agitation for the creation of more states has remained a major feature of people’s daily discourse. Kidnappers and armed robbers are still feeling good. Just two days ago, Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi restated call for state police as an effective panacea for the insecurity plaguing the country. Now, the latest poser is: With the seeming imperfections of the President and his administration, will he run again in 2015? If he does, what hope for the oneness of the nation as an entity? All these point to one fact: That most Nigerians are not having a good laugh, contrary to feelings in government quarters.

  • NICO holds workshop on transformation

    As part of its mandate to boost the core confidence and service of cultural officers, the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) will organise a national workshop between October 31 and November 2 at the NICO Training School Complex, National Theatre Annex, near APCON, Iganmu, Lagos. The programme starts at 9 am. The workshop, the fifth in the series, with the theme: “Cultural festivals as tools for socio-economic transformation”, is designed to reposition Nigerian cultural workers for improved productivity.

    The resource persons include the Executive Secretary/CEO, NICO, Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, Head, Department of Theatre & Cultural Studies, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura, Director of Administration & Human Resources, NICO, Abuja, Mr. Abayomi Oyelola, Director, NICO Training School, Lagos, Prince Bamidele Olusa, Head, NICO Liaison Office, Lagos, Mrs. Bridgette Yerima, Head, Academic Unit, NICO Training School, Lagos, Dr. Dipo Kalejaiye and a lecturer at NICO Training School, Lagos, Mr. Law Ikay Ezeh.

  • Floods hamper our transformation agenda, says Wada

    Kogi State Governor Idris Wada yesterday said the floods in the state have disrupted the implementation of the Transformation Agenda.

    The governor spoke in Lokoja, the state capital, when he hosted the President of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. Jeremiah Kado.

    He said: “The recent flooding that destroyed property worth billions of naira and displaced several persons happened when this administration was settling down to implement its Transformation Agenda.”

    Wada said the government was positioning Kogi to become one of the most developed through the 20:2020 plan, when the floods occurred.

    The governor noted that the floods did not only devastate the state but also surpassed the early warning and government’s preparation.

    The state, he assured, would overcome the challenges.

    Wada hailed ECWA for sharing in the state’s moment of grief.

    The governor also praised the church for its archievements in the educational, health and other sectors.

    He noted that ECWA has remained a worthy partner in the state’s Transformation Agenda.

    Wada congratulated Rev. Kado, the ninth ECWA President, as well as his predecessors for their contributions to the state and the nation.

    The governor urged them not to relent in building the people and spreading the gospel.

    Rev. Kado said the church commiserated with the government and the people over the hardship the floods caused.

    The cleric said the church would support the states in its Transformation Agenda.

    He urged the residents to protect their environment.

  • Transformation’s score card

    Title: Sure & Steady Transformation:

    Progress Report of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Volume One

    Publisher: GDP Associates Ltd

    Pages: 155

    Year of Publication: 2012

    Reviewer: Otive Igbuzor, PhD

     

    The book Sure & Steady Transformation is an attempt by Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Research, Documentation and Strategy to document the highlights of the progress report of 30 ministries under the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

    In this review, we shall follow the normal pattern of reviewing intellectual contributions. We will therefore describe the content of the book and its contribution to knowledge. We will then do a critique and make suggestions for future edition and the way forward for the transformation of our country.

    The 155-page book is beautifully laid out with good pictures. It is easy to read with very bold prints. The book is divided into thirty two sections containing President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan inauguration address on 29th May, 2011; highlights of 30 ministries and a section on building strong institutions. In his inauguration address, the President thanked all Nigerians for the mandate given to him and declared that our decade of development and transformation had begun. He made a commitment to demonstrate the leadership, statesmanship, vision, capacity, and sacrifice to transform Nigeria in all the critical sectors by harnessing the creative energies of our people. He vowed to fight for the future of all Nigerians and in all sectors to improve the standard of living of all Nigerians.

    The focus of the ministry of Agriculture is to assure food security, reduce expenditure on foreign exchange on food imports, diversify the economy, generate foreign exchange and create jobs. Within the first 12 months, it has recorded great achievements in agricultural policy reforms; transformation of several crops; institutional reforms and international donor support for the agricultural transformation agenda. Corruption in fertilizer distribution has been eliminated, a database of 4.5 million farmers developed, a growth enhancement programme launched to provide targeted support for seeds and fertilizers; electronic wallet system developed using mobile phones to deliver subsidized seeds and fertilizers to farmers and thirty billion naira leveraged from commercial banks to finance seed and fertilizer supply. The crops with specific transformation programmes include cassava, rice, sorghum, cocoa, cotton and oil palm.

    The Ministry of Aviation is implementing an Aviation Master Plan designed to provide a safe, secure, profitable and self sustaining world class industry with a distinct airport experience for travelers. The ministry has developed a business code for engaging domestic and foreign operators on the flag carrier and national carrier models; an enhanced safety programme/projects; improved regulatory oversight; massive remodeling and reconstruction of airports across the country and capacity building for workers in the sector.

    The Ministry of Communication Technology is developing ICT infrastructure and policy for the country. The ministry has launched the NigComSat-IR satellite; deployed PCs to 766 secondary schools; PCs and internet access to 193 tertiary institutions; IT centres in 240 locations; scholarship scheme for masters and PhD students and many other projects.

    The Ministry of Defence has rehabilitated several infrastructure including the national war museum; workshops and equipment for the armed forces. There has also been construction and rehabilitation of several barracks, hospitals, cemeteries and procurement of patrol vehicles and vessels. It has also tried to tackle the problems confronting the country including measures to curb the activities of terrorists and criminals and proliferation of small arms and weapons.

    The Ministry of Education has developed a 4 year strategic plan for the development of the education sector. The ministry is implementing an Almajiri Education programme; Girl Education programme; back to school programme in South East geo-political zone; technical/vocational education and training and capacity strengthening for principals and teachers. It has also developed library resources; constructed classrooms; awarded scholarships and developed centres of excellence.

    The Ministry of Environment within the period of one year has completed the first phase of National Forest for biodiversity conservation; tackled deforestation in seven Northern states by raising six million tree seedlings; engaged in erosion and flood control projects in 62 locations nationwide and increased policy efforts towards the revival of Lake Chad.

    The Federal Capital Territory has developed a roadmap for sustainable development of FCTA. It is also engaging in land administration reform; re-established the Satellite Towns Development Agency and massive infrastructural development. The FCT has increased internally generated revenue by 35 percent since 2011.

    The Ministry of Finance is focused on restoration of fiscal prudence and steady and successful macroeconomic management resulting in lowering of government fiscal deficit from 3.35 percent of GDP in 2010 to 2.85 percent by 2012; reduction in recurrent expenditure from 77.18 percent of Federal Government budget in 2010 to 71.47 percent by 2012 and raising capital expenditure from 22.82 percent of budget in 2010 to 28.53 percent by 2012 and development of a fiscal framework for 2013 budget that will reduce fiscal deficit to 2.17 percent of GDP, reduce recurrent expenditure to 68.7 percent of budget and increase capital expenditure to 31.3 percent of the budget. Other achievements of the ministry include improved management of government debt; improvement in Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating by Fitch Ratings Agency and Standard and Poor; reinvigorating the capital market; sovereign wealth fund; establishment of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment (SURE-P) programme and spearheading the YouWIN programme.

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs pursued a strong commitment to the promotion of democracy and democratic values in foreign policy, promotion of good neighbourliness, regional security and ensuring the election of Nigerians into international organisations.

    The Ministry of Health is implementing the National Strategic Health Development Plan. It is rehabilitating and equipping several teaching hospitals including OAU Teaching Hospital, Nnamdi Azikiwe University and University of Calabar. It has procured syringes, ambulances, blood banks, etc. It is also implementing programmes on disease control and surveillance as well as treatment of diseases and developing human resources for the health sector.

    The Ministry of Information has developed a comprehensive communication strategy to communicate government programmes and policies to the public. In addition, the ministry has developed a multi-media communication plan, campaign for nationwide security awareness and anti-terrorism, promotion of vision 20:2020 and the transformation agenda, and capacity building for staff of the ministry.

    The Ministry of Interior has formulated a new investor/tourist friendly visa policy; and has been involved in control of illegal immigrants; and control of private guards companies. It has also constructed paramilitary villages and offices across the country.

    The Ministry of Justice has articulated a strategy for implementation of Justice Reforms in Nigeria. It has also drafted and gazetted subsidiary instruments to give effect to principal laws and collaborated with various organizations on the anti-corruption crusade.

    The Ministry of Labour and Productivity managed the fuel subsidy removal crisis and negotiated with several labour unions on the national minimum wage and other labour issues. It has also constructed training centres and conducted training on entrepreneurial skills, industrial relations etc.

    The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban development has developed national housing policy and national urban development policy. It has initiated contractor financed initiatives under Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) in ten states of the federation. It has also established a factory to produce light gauge steel, enabled mortgage financing, pursuing urban renewal and slum upgrading and creating jobs in the housing sector.

    The Ministry of Mines and Steel has issued a new mineral and mining regulation as guidance on the Mineral and Mining Act 2007. It has issued 2,476 active mineral titles, provided infrastructural facilities to 33 mining communities and supported 24 Artisanal and Small Scale Miners (ASM) and trained a lot of people on the sector.

    The Ministry of National Planning has championed results based management in programme and project planning and implementation. It has also institutionalised monitoring and evaluation system for enhanced performance and has improved donor co-ordination.

    The Ministry of Niger Delta has organized security and consultative meetings; building infrastructures in the Niger Delta especially road, housing, water supply and electrification. It is also intervening in environmental management, skill acquisition and economic empowerment.

    The Ministry of Petroleum Resources is pursuing the Petroleum Industry Bill. It launched a gas revolution in 2011 and developed the framework for local content and encouraging indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry. It is also promoting investment through the gas value chain. It has also established various task forces to reform the petroleum sector.

    The Ministry of Police Affairs is building an integrated digital trunking communication network for the police. It is working on the modernization of the police academy and the commencement of activities of transforming the Police Academy to a degree awarding institution. It has also provided several equipments to the police including vehicles, bullet proof vests, radios and two helicopters.

    The Ministry of Power has launched a roadmap for power sector reform. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has been strengthened and there is an on-going privatisation of the sector. Several memorandum of understanding have been signed with several companies to invest in the sector. The country attained a new peak generation of 4,322 MW by December, 2011.

    The Ministry of Science and Technology has launched three low earth observation satellites namely NigeriaSat-1, NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X and launched one communication satellite NigComSat-IR. It has also promoted space technology, renewable energy technology, biotechnology, technology management, building and roads research technology, material science technology and leather technology. The Ministry of Sports has developed a National Sports policy to guide the management and administration of sports in Nigeria. It has also constructed 17 mini sports centres and 26 are still under construction.