Buhari changing Nigeria as promised —Presidency

The presidency said on Friday President Muhammadu Buhari had been making the changes Nigerians demanded.

In a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, the presidency said the government was still focused on delivering the mandate for change.

The presidency said because of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures put in place to halt its spread, much of what the administration strove for and delivered may seem at risk.

It said President Buhari realised the burden so many citizens carried just to make ends meet and the hardship they endured we.

The statement read: “On the first year anniversary of his second term in office, President Muhammadu Buhari assures all Nigerians that the mandate for change remains relevant and will be steadily followed to improve livelihoods.

“The campaign had been hard-fought, yet the mandate the people of this country gave him was decisive. He won that election with a distance of nearly four million votes or 15 percent of the total votes cast over his closest opponent.

“It was then – and is today – a mandate for change.

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“For many years Nigerians have yearned for something different: less of the corruption and immoral greed of those who once governed; more decency in public life and fairness, and a chance to succeed. Nigerians yearned for improved security and end to terrorist bombings and for long-delayed infrastructure.

“Day by day, step by step, the President and his team are making the change that Nigerians have demanded.

“And it is a demand. Elected officials are servants, not masters. They govern at your discretion. The authority is yours to grant – and it is yours to take away.”

According to the presidency, President Buhari had since last year strove to implement the plan Nigerians endorsed with their votes.

“He has overseen an increase in foreign investment; construction of new roads, bridges and rails, and put structures in place to improve employment, and accomplished the diversification of the national economy through a massive growth in agriculture.

“The President secured the long-overdue return of taxpayers’ monies from overseas, stolen in the 1990s, and put this to use in supporting citizens in dire need.

“Because of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown measures implemented to stem and halt its spread, much of what the administration strives for and delivered may seem at risk.

“President Buhari realizes the burden so many citizens carry just to make ends meet, and the suffering they endure.

“The President assures Nigerians that this too shall come to pass.

“As he said in a recent speech: ‘we are bolstering our capacity to contain the virus. Soon, when we overcome our present troubles, the work to build Nigeria will start anew. And as we do, we find ourselves before the gates to a new, post-COVID-19 world.”

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