The Presidency yesterday reviewed its performance in 2013 and awarded itself a pass mark, adding that its achievement in the outgoing year is unprecedented.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, gave the presidential score card in a statement last night in Abuja.
In the statement Okupe said that President Goodluck Jonathan has moved significantly forward in many sectors than it was in 2011 adding that the transformation which took place in the economy, transportation, agriculture, power and other critical sectors were the routes which all developed nations had taken before now but which unfortunately had not been taken by Nigeria before now.
The statement read in part: “It is an incontrovertible fact that Nigeria under Jonathan has reduced its food imports by about 40 per cent and increased its local production of rice, cassava, sorghum, cotton and cocoa in percentages ranging from 25 to 56 in the last two years.
“For the first time since independence, the Nigerian agricultural sector is attracting unprecedented Foreign Direct Investment. Over the past two years, the sector has attracted $ 4 billion in private sector executed letters of commitment to invest in agricultural value chains, from food crops, to export crops, fisheries and livestock.
“The number of private sector seed companies grew from 10 to 70 within one year. Over $ 7 billion of investments from Nigerian businesses have been made to develop new fertilizer manufacturing plants, which will make Nigeria the largest producer and exporter of fertilizer in Africa. It is also noteworthy that agricultural lending as a share of total bank lending has risen from two per cent to six per cent in two years.
“On the power sector reforms initiated by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010, Okupe explained that the major component of the reform which is the privatization of the generation and distribution power infrastructure was successfully accomplished in 2013 thus putting Nigeria on a sure path of steady power supply in a no distant future.”
However, the opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) denied the Presidency’s claims, saying the citizenry are worse off on account of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party’s alleged bad rule.
Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Joe Igbokwe who spoke on behalf of the party said all the indices of a failed state are present in Nigeria.
Igbokwe said: “What do you expect Okupe to say? You should not have expected them to score themselves low or to have agreed that they have failed. There is nobody in the presidency who will have the courage to say that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP-led Federal Government is not doing well. I am not surprised. There is no need wasting time on Okupe’s claims. He is just earning a living, that is why he feeds the nation with lies.
“The fact is that the President is not in charge. All the indices of a failed state are present in the country at the moment. Our economy is not doing well, the hospitals are still mere consulting clinics, security is a luxury, while oil theft is on the rise. I was reading an article on Sahara Reporters and the author of the article listed all the contracts that have been awarded by the present administration and there is nothing to show for it. He specifically mentioned the Benin/Ore Highway which is still dilapidated and they award the contract yearly. Maybe they are claiming the glory of Lagos because the state is doing well. Same applies to all APC states. Maybe they are claiming the glories of the APC states,” Igbokwe added.
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