The first hundred days of the second term of the Buhari administration signposts great achievements, as it is filled with positive milestones that have firm roots in the President’s first four years in office.
According to the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), the 100 days milestones include a deal with Siemens for a more reliable power supply in the country, as well as the inauguration of Africa’s largest hybrid solar power plant.
BMO said in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, that this is contrary to the position of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that President Buhari had done nothing worthwhile since his inauguration for the second and final term in office.
“We are not surprised that a party that has never seen anything good in the Buhari administration is repeating what it has always said about the ruling APC and the President.
“It would have been surprising if PDP elements had said something different, especially as the opposition party and its former presidential candidate had been on an unceasing mission to brand the Buhari administration as a failed government.
“But we make bold to say that contrary to the misrepresentation, President Buhari and his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had done a lot since their inauguration to build on what earned the administration the mandate of Nigerians for a second term in office.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the President, within the first few days of his second and final term, concluded plans for improved electricity supply by signing a six-year power deal with German energy giant Siemens, which will result in the production of at least 25,000 megawatts of electricity by the year 2025.
“The deal was first outlined in a meeting between him and Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel in August 2018, and this, more than anything, shows that all that the administration is doing have their roots in the first term.
“Still on power, the Vice President was in Kano to launch what is perhaps the largest ‘hybrid’ plant of its kind on the African continent at the Bayero University Kano (BUK).
“The 7.1mw power project may indeed be Africa’s largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant which all Nigerians should be proud of, especially the more than 55,000 students and over 3,000 university staff who will benefit from the project. This is aside from the first megawatt-scale hybrid project that went into action at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), Ebonyi State in August.
“Like the Siemens deal, the hybrid projects are the culmination of a plan that was mooted between 2015 and 2018, but are now bearing fruit and would be extended to 37 federal universities and seven university teaching hospitals,” the group said.
BMO also noted that aside projects that were designed to change lives, the Buhari administration also took several measures to make life easier for Nigerians.
“Many Nigerians are aware that History was removed from the country’s educational curriculum in 2007, and in line with a promise made in 2018, the government has reintroduced it as a stand-alone subject in primary and secondary schools.
“The Buhari administration has kicked off programmes for the redesigned education curriculum with a view to preparing the average Nigerian child and youth with the necessary skills to be competitive, using the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) approach to learning.
“Outside of education, President Buhari has signed no fewer than ten bills into law, including the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Amendment) Act which has given AMCON more sweeping powers. He has also set the ball rolling for the long-awaited Prisons reforms by ensuring that the Nigerian Correctional Service Bill is not only a change of name for the Prisons service.”
The Buhari group also noted that the current administration has been supportive to state governments to ensure that they deliver on the dividends of good governance.
“In Kaduna, the federal government spent N11.8bn to build Galma Dam to ensure the realisation of the Zaria water project which was virtually abandoned by previous administrations.
“Now, residents of that ancient city who may not have seen water flow from public taps for about 30 years have a new lease on life with the 150 million litres per day water source as a result of the collaboration with the state government.
“And in Ebonyi, the Buhari administration is set to cooperate with the state government to develop an airport and a stadium in a state that is one of the least –developed in the south of Nigeria.
“These are just a few steps the Federal government has taken within the first few days of President Buhari’s second term in office to the admiration of millions of Nigerians who gave him a resounding mandate on February 23, 2019, yet opposition elements, as usual, have refused to accept that the country is on the path to greatness,” BMO added.
