The Presidency in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to
the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu in Abuja said
that the government was still focused on delivering the mandate for
change.
It stated that 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.
According to the statement, President Buhari realizes the burden so many
citizens carry just to make ends meet, and the suffering they endure.
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 per cent of the total votes cast over
his closest opponent.
” It was then – and is today – a mandate for change. ” 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.”
The Presidency said that since last year, President Buhari had strived
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 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 world.
“Thanks to reforms in governance, our war on corruption and the hard
work and trust of the Nigerian people, we are better positioned as a
nation than ever before to seize new opportunities that await us to
trade, build, make and export with the world.
“I thank you, the people of Nigeria, for your wisdom and your
determination for change. We go forward, together.”