Press Release: President Buhari Felicitates With FRSC at 30; Lauds Reduction in Road Crashes

President Muhammadu Buhari felicitates with the management and staff of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) as the organisation celebrates 30 years of its establishment.

The President commends the vision of its founding fathers in February 1988 in response to the unacceptable level of road crashes in the country.

President Buhari notes with delight that after three decades of operations, the Corps reduced road crashes from an alarming 40,881 in 1976 to 5,993 in 2016 and 4,418 in 2017.

He further lauds the significant reduction in the emergency response time of the Corps from 50 to 15 minutes to accident scenes on the nation’s highways.

The President commends the FRSC’s deployment of international best practices and use of technology in its uniform licensing scheme, tracking, vehicle plate numbering and other services.

According to President Buhari, “the recent United Nation’s commendation of Nigeria’s road safety action plan, affirms the Federal Road Safety Corps’ leading role not only in West Africa but the entire African continent.”

He pledges the Federal Government’s continued support to the FRSC to enable the organisation achieve the goal of United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety of 50 per cent fatality reduction by 2020, thereby placing Nigerian roads among the league of 20 global safest roads by the target year.

Declaring that road safety is a shared responsibility, the President enjoins the FRSC to intensify its public education role, while urging other government and private organisations and the entire public to support the FRSC to further make road travels safer and more pleasurable.

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
February 17, 2018

Press Release: Economic Recovery and Growth Plan: Buhari Administration To Launch Initiative To Boost Job Creation, Investments

Determined to push forward with the economic progress recorded so far, the Buhari administration is set to inaugurate the Joint Working Group for the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) Focus Labs on Tuesday, February 6.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, will inaugurate the first set of the policy labs tomorrow at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The establishment of the Focus Labs is expected to further boost economic growth and ensure Nigeria continues its journey of building a competitive economy.

The objectives of the Buhari administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan include eradicating corruption in government procurement and processes, prudent management of resources, social inclusion, overcoming power constraints and skills shortages, and further promoting private sector inclusion.

In less than a year, following its launch by President Muhammadu Buhari, the implementation of the ERGP has seen the country’s economy record significant strides, including its exit from recession last year and improved stability in the fiscal and monetary markets.

Also, in last year’s World Bank Doing Business index, Nigeria jumped 24 places and was listed among the 10 most reforming economies globally, feats that have attracted wide applause and commendation for the economic policies of the Buhari administration.

In line with the administration’s economic focus and direction, which includes restoring growth and building a competitive economy, the ERGP Focus Labs are aimed at driving new investments that would create hundreds of thousands of jobs for Nigerians across the 36 states of the federation and, in the long-term, continue to grow the economy.

A Central Steering Committee and Joint Working Group of the ERGP Focus Labs will be formed comprising nine ministers in Agriculture, Transport, Solid Minerals, Industry Trade and investment, Power Works and Housing, Petroleum Resources, Finance, Justice and of course Budget and National Planning.

The responsibilities of the Central Steering Committee will include steering the labs and ensuring active collaboration with the private sector to remove inhibitions that may have impeded some of the priority investment projects that have been stalled for too long.

In the same vein, the Joint Working Group will comprise senior public officers from the six aforementioned pilot Ministries, and their agencies. They are expected to work with the Senior Special Assistants to the President in the ERGP Implementation Unit to plan the labs successfully and address the inter-agency bottlenecks the investors bring to the labs.

Other tasks of the members of the core sector teams in the Group include generation and validation of sector data, provision of sector specific information and context, provision of technical perspective and government policy position.

The Working Group would also be tasked with making decisions on behalf of the government that promotes investment and national interest, build Institutional memory, strengthen Institutional capacity, and encourage institutional ownership.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
05 February, 2018

Speech: President Buhari’s Address At the 30th Ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union

It gives me great pleasure to address you on the occasion of the launch of the African Union theme: “Winning the fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”. I congratulate the African Union for dedicating the theme of the year to the noble cause of fighting corruption on our Continent.

I also take this opportunity to thank you, on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and on my own behalf, for entrusting me with the responsibility of serving as the Champion of the theme of the year.

I pledge that I shall do my very best to ensure that the anti-corruption agenda will receive the attention it deserves and make the impact we all hope for, during 2018 and beyond.

Excellencies,

Corruption is indeed one of the greatest evils of our time. Corruption rewards those who do not play by the rules and also creates a system of distortion and diversion thereby destroying all efforts at constructive, just and fair governance.

In tackling corruption, the Continent has made significant strides, putting in place legal and policy frameworks, notably the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC). However, the adoption of the legal and policy frameworks have not had the desired success in tackling this evil.

Excellencies,

Fifteen (15) years after the adoption of the African Union Convention, 2018 provides a good starting point to take stock of progress made so far, assess what still needs to be done and devise new strategies to address new corruption challenges.

It is true that our continent has witnessed sustained growth over the past two decades. Nonetheless, public confidence has been eroded by a focus on short-term priorities and payoffs, propelled by corruption, which too often leaves projects uncompleted and promises unfulfilled.

Corruption and its effects have many sides. It poses real threat to national security, unity and survival of the African State and people. The African Union Agenda 2063, under Aspiration 3 recognizes that corruption erodes the development of a universal culture of good governance, democratic values, gender equality, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of the law.

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, under Goal 16, calls on all countries to promote and develop accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, notably, by reducing bribery and corruption.

In this connexion, I cannot over-emphasize the value of strong institutions. A Judiciary which stands firm against arbitrariness and injustice by the executive is a vital pillar in the anti-corruption fight.

As leaders, we must build synergy between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial arms of government in order to entrench good governance, transparency and accountability.

Your Excellencies,

Strong institutions are a necessary condition in any society which aims to fight corruption. In building strong national and regional institutions, we must adequately empower our national anti-corruption agencies and insulate them from political influence. We have to encourage increased institutional collaboration between Law Enforcement Agencies and anti-corruption Agencies in order to win this fight.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is evident that Corruption has a devastating impact on marginalized communities especially the youth, women and children. Corruption breeds unequal societies, renders vulnerable groups prone to human trafficking, as well as recruitment into armed groups and militia. In effect, corruption deprives our young citizens of opportunities to develop meaningful livelihoods.

We must therefore, work together to defeat this evil. With the endorsement of Your Excellencies, during the course of 2018, I wish to prioritize the following initiatives, to help us in the fight against corruption.

a) to organize African Youth Congresses against Corruption, in order to sensitize and engage our youth in the fight against corruption,

b) mobilizing all African Union Member States to implement the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, and

c) advocating for the strengthening of the criminal justice system across Africa through exchange of information and sharing best practices in the enforcement of anti-corruption laws.

The African Union Advisory Board on Corruption should be strengthened in order to play a more proactive role in the anti-corruption fight.

We also propose to enlist as partners, important actors such as parliamentarians, women associations, the media, the business community, faith-based groups, the youth, educational institutions and traditional leaders, among others.

Excellencies,

We also need to redouble our efforts in addressing the causal relationship between corruption and illicit financial flows. The Report of the AU High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, chaired by H.E Thabo Mbeki, former President of South Africa, in partnership with United Nations Economic Commission (UNECA) revealed that Africa loses about 50 billion dollars annually.

The High Level Panel has also pointed out the corrosive role that tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions play in concealing ill-gotten assets.

The African Union must do more to stop the continuous assault on our economic and financial resources by multinationals in collusion with some of our citizens.

It is also important that one of the goals of this year’s theme should be the development of a Common African Position on Asset Recovery.

The manifestation of corruption in Africa is also a reflection of the need for stronger leadership and oversight institutions. Tackling corrupt acts and greed require a reorientation of our attitudes and perceptions.

To win the fight against corruption, we must have a CHANGE of mind set.

Changing the state of play requires retraining a greater awareness as a means to instill better and more transparent values in the political class and the citizenry, especially people in positions of trust.

In Nigeria we have gone far into the implementation of our CHANGE Agenda, which is primarily aimed at fighting corruption.

Excellencies,

As we set off on this honorable path, let us also bear in mind that fighting corruption is not going to be a straightforward task and that corruption does fight back. While we may face some setbacks, we should remain resolute. Our common goal is to eradicate corruption in the best interest of our societies.

Let me end my remarks by reiterating Nigeria’s abiding commitment to the fight against corruption today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Excellencies, Chairperson of the African Union,

I am truly inspired in this task by the commitment, encouragement and support of my fellow African Heads of State to succeed in this noble cause.

On this note, I officially launch on the theme of the year.

I thank you for your kind attention.