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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