Nigerians must prepare for a rough ride as some of the measures taken to rebuild the country may bring more hardship, President Muhammadu Buhari hinted on Sunday, during his democracy day broadcast.
His real challenge has been to reconstruct the spine of the Nigerian state, the President said adding that the last twelve months have been spent collaborating with the different arms of government to revive the nation’s institutions to ensure that they are efficient and fit for purpose.
Giving an early broadcast, live on national stations the President said he had resolved to keep the Naira steady, as in the past, devaluation had done dreadful harm to the Nigerian economy, hence his support for the monetary authority’s decision to ensure alignment between monetary policy and fiscal policy.
“We shall keep a close look on how the recent measures affect the Naira and the economy.
“But we cannot get away from the fact that a strong currency is predicated on a strong economy.
And a strong economy pre-supposes an industrial productive base and a steady export market.
“The measures we must take, may lead to hardships. The problems Nigerians have faced over the last year have been many and varied. But the real challenge for this government has been reconstructing the spine of the Nigerian state. The last twelve months have been spent
collaborating with all arms of government to revive our institutions so that they are more efficient and fit for purpose:
“That means a bureaucracy better able to develop and deliver policy.That means an independent judiciary, above suspicion and able to defend citizen’s rights and dispense justice equitably.
“That means a legislature that actually legislates effectively and Above all; that means political parties and politicians committed to serving the Nigerian people rather than themselves.”
He said his government is working to introduce vital structural reforms in the running of government business and to lay a solid foundation for change.
“An important first step has been to get our housekeeping right. So we have reduced the extravagant spending of the past. We started boldly with the treasury single account, stopping the leakages in public expenditure.
“Every little saving helps. The reduction in the number of ministries and work on restructuring and rationalization of the MDAs is well underway. When this work is complete we will have a leaner, more efficient public service that is fit for the purpose of changing Nigeria for the good and for good” he said.
Buhari said besides trying to save more money for the government, he had changed the way public money was spent and with the new budget, Nigerians could now expect more development especially in infrastructure.
Speaking on some of the economic policies made by his government, he decided to address the nation “on the very painful but inevitable decisions we had to make in the last few weeks specifically on the pump price of fuel and the more flexible exchange rate policy
announced by the central bank.
“It is even more painful for me that a major producer of crude oil with four refineries that once exported refined products is today having to import all of its domestic needs. This is what corruption and mismanagement have done to us and that is why we must fight these ills.”
Elizabeth Archibong
