One of the main responsibilities of any journalism business is to serve as link between the government and the governed, making government know what the needs of the people are, advising them on needs assessment as the first line of action to be followed with execution of projects leading to provision of those needs after having been identified.  The media outfit then comes in to play a role, essentially in situation of politically motivated hate speeches, dangerous rumours and twisted facts capable of misleading or pushing the people to difficulty knowing or seeing what their government has done or is doing in terms of economic, infrastructure, security and anti-corruption needs, and feed the government back on how positively or otherwise the needs provided so far have affected their lives with a view to knowing how to either makes amends on areas of shortcoming and continue in areas of psotive performance.  This is what the Media Office of President Muhammadu Buhari has made available to The DEFENDER among other Nigerian Media and, because we promised on Saturday to serialise the Factsheet about the Buhari’s achievements in three years, we hereby serve you with the first series of it.  Excerpts:

Just before we present to you our first series of the Muhammadu Buhari 3rd Year Administration’s Factsheet, we consider it necessary to take our readers from a particular report which summarises where this Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government is coming from.  And on this note we serve you with an excerpt from Chief Foreign Correspondent of The Telegraph, Colin Freeman, who in his report punished in the foreign tabloid on May 29, 2015 just ahead of the then new President’s inauguration wrote in the report headlined,  “Can Muhammadu Buhari succeed where Goodluck Jonathan has failed?” that, The man that is now Nigeria’s new president faces formidably tough challenges in office.

“Today Nigeria is suffering not just from the problems of corruption and poverty that have dogged it for decades, but also an unprecedented terrorist threat in the face of Boko Haram.

“As well as its infamous kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in north-east Nigeria last year, the Islamist movement has slaughtered anything up to 10,000 people in the last five years, seizing control of an area the size of Belgium and bringing the horror of international jihadism to a country that already has more than its fair share of problems.

“That Mr Jonathan has failed to get to grips with the threat properly is not purely his fault. The Nigerian army he inherited is a dysfunctional one not best suited to fighting insurgencies. But as the de facto commander-in-chief, many Nigerians took the view that the buck stopped with him. Mr Buhari, they hope, will stand a rather better chance against the militants.

“The other big hope is that Mr Buhari can fight the country’s endemic problems of corruption in public office, which continue to be one of the main reasons why a country blessed with one of Africa’s greatest reserves of oil wealth continues to be one of its poorest.” – The Telegraph May 29, 2015.

The Buhari Administration’s 3rd Year Factsheet

ECONOMY

Economic growth is back, and consolidating:

• The Economy is back on the path of growth, after the recession of 2016-17 (1.95 percent growth in Q1 2018)
• The Buhari Administration’s priority Sectors of Agriculture and Solid Minerals maintained consistent growth throughout the recession.
• Inflation has fallen for the fifteenth (15th) consecutive month, from 18.7 percent in January 2017 to 12.5 percent as of April 2018.
• External Reserves of US$47.5 billion are the highest in 5 years, and double the size as of October 2016.
• Total exports in 2017 were 59.47% higher than for 2016
• In 2017, agriculture exports grew 180.7% above the value in 2016
• In 2017, raw material exports grew 154.2% above the value in 2016
• In 2017, solid minerals exports grew 565% above the value in 2016
• In 2017, exports of manufactured goods grew 26.8% above the value in 2016
• The first quarter of 2018 saw the fourth consecutive quarterly increase in capital importation since Q2 2017. The total value of capital imported in the quarter stood at US$6.3 2 billion, which is a year-on-year increase of 594.03%, and a 17.11% growth over the figure reported in the previous quarter.
• The new FX Window introduced by the CBN in April 2017 now sees an average of US$1 billion in weekly turnover, and has attracted about US$25 billion in inflows in its first year (and a total turnover of $47.14 billion) – signaling rising investor confidence in Nigeria.
• Nigeria’s Stock Market ended 2017 as one of the bestperforming in the world, with returns in excess of 40 percent.
• Five (5) million new taxpayers added to the Tax Base since 2016, as part of efforts to diversify Government revenues.
• Tax Revenue increased to N1.17 Trillion in Q1 2018, a 51% increase on the Q1 2017 figure.
• N2.7 Trillion spent on Infrastructure in 2016 and 2017 fiscal years, an unprecedented allocation in Nigeria’s recent history.
• Fourteen (14) moribund Blending Plants revitalized so far under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI); with a total capacity of 2.3 million MT of NPK fertilizer
• The contribution of Solid Minerals’ to the Federation Account rose five-fold from N700 million in 2015 to N3.5 billion in 2017.

RESETTING THE ECONOMY, RESTORING GROWTH

The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the Federal Government’s medium-term Economic Plan, was launched by President Buhari in April 2017. It charts a course for the Nigerian economy over the next four years (2017–2020). The Vision of the ERGP is to restore economic growth, invest in Nigerians, and to build a globally competitive economy, and the Plan aims to achieve these by focusing on five execution priorities:

• Stabilizing the macroeconomic environment;
• Achieving Agriculture and Food Security;
• Ensuring energy efficiency (especially in power and petroleum products);
• Improving transportation infrastructure; and
• Driving industrialization, primarily through SMEs.

To fast-track the implementation of the ERGP, the Federal Government launched the ERGP Focus Labs, as a targeted 6- week intervention (March to April 2018) bringing together all stakeholders to identify bureaucratic bottlenecks impacting medium-scale and large-scale investment projects in Nigeria, and then generate ideas and resources to resolve them.

The just-concluded Phase 1 of the ERGP Focus Labs identified private-sector projects worth about US$22.5 billion – and with a potential for 500,000 jobs (in Agriculture, Transportation, Manufacturing and Processing, Power and Gas) – for unlocking by 2020.

Aligning of Monetary, Fiscal and Trade Policies:

Landmark initiatives here include:

• The creation in April 2017 of a New FX Window for Investors and Exporters has helped stabilize the market. The new Window has attracted inflows of more than US$45 billion in its first year of operation.
• The Buhari Administration has implemented a new Debt Management Strategy which targets a ratio of 60% to 40% between Domestic and External Debt. The other objectives of the strategy are to moderate growth in Debt Service Costs, free up space in the domestic market so that the private sector can have increased access to loans, and, to shore up External Reserves.
• The strategy has been implemented through increased external capital raising to part finance the deficits in the 2017 and 2018 Budgets and the refinancing of short term high cost Nigerian Treasury Bills (interest rate of 16-18%) with lower cost External Debt (of 6.5% to 7.875%.)
• Through the implementation of the strategy the Domestic to External Debt Ratio which stood at 84% to 16% as at June 30, 2015 improved to 73% to 27% as at December 31, 2017. Also, interest rates on FGN Bonds and NTBs have dropped from their previous levels of 16-18% to 13-14% per annum.
• Establishment of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations by the Economic Management Team (EMT). The NOTN has produced Nigeria’s first Annual National Trade Report, and is now compiling, for the first time in Nigeria’s history, a comprehensive database of Nigerian Trade Deals and Agreements.
• The Renminbi-Naira Swap Agreement between the Peoples Bank of China and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Bond Issuance in the International Capital Market

• In 2017, the Federal Government successfully issued US$4.5 billion Eurobonds in the International Capital Market (ICM), US$4 billion was for the part financing of the deficits in the 2017 Budget (US$1.5 billion) and 2018 (US$2.5 billion).
• The Eurobonds were not only highly oversubscribed, but Nigeria was able, for the first time to issue a tenor of 30 years. The significance of the US$1.5 billion Eurobond issued in November 2017 for 30 years is that Nigeria became the second country in Africa (after South Africa) to issue a tenor that long. In addition, the 30-year tenor was also ideal for financing capital projects which are long-term in nature.
• The balance of US$500 million was used to redeem NTBs which matured in December 2017.
• Also for the first time, Nigeria issued a Diaspora Bond in the ICM. The Diaspora Bond was US$300 million with a tenor of 5-years. The proceeds were used to part–finance the 2017 Budget.

New Securities issued in the Domestic Market

• Under President Buhari’s administration, the Federal Government introduced 3 new products in the domestic market to promote financial inclusion, finance specific capital projects and offer local investors more products to enable them diversify their investment portfolio.
• These were N100 billion Sukuk to finance 25 Road Projects across the country, N10.69 billion debut Green Bond to fund infrastructure projects that tackle climate change and the FGN Savings Bond.
• A total of N8.126 billion from 11,366 retail investors has been raised through the Savings Bond since it was launched in March 2017.

Awards from External Institutions

• The Government of Nigeria received multiple awards from reputable international bodies from its capital raising activities. Nigeria won three awards from EMEA Finance and one award from Global Capital.
• These are: Best Sovereign Bond in Africa (Nigeria’s US$3 billion Dual-Tranche 10 and 30 year Eurobonds issued in November 2017); Most Innovative Bond (Nigeria’s US$300 million Diaspora Bond issued in June 2017); Best Naira Bond (Nigeria’s N100 billion 7-year Inaugural Sukuk issued in September 2017); and Global Capital Award (Best African Borrower).

Payment of Outstanding Pension Arrears & Claims

The Buhari Administration has released the sum of N54 billion to settle outstanding pension arrears from 2014, 2015 and 2016, as well as clear pensions claims up to March 2017.

Support to State Governments:

• The Buhari Administration has extended more than N1.9 Trillion to State Governments, to enable them meet their salary and pension obligations, especially in the face of dwindling oil revenues over the last two years. The support has come in the form of the following:

*Budget Support Facility (Total of N606.55 billion extended to the States as of May 2018; in exchange for reforms in budgeting, IGR, debt management, overheads, etc.

*Paris Club Refunds

*Infrastructure Loans

* Loan Restructuring for Facilities with Commercial Banks: In 2015, the DMO restructured Commercial Bank loans with a total value of N575.516 billion for 23 States to reduce the debt service burden on the states. In exchange for their loans to State Governments, the banks were issued 20-year FGN Bonds at a yield of 14.83% per annum. The Restructuring Exercise benefited the States through:

– Reduction in the monthly debt service burden of States from between 55% to 97% for various States;

– Interest rate savings for the States ranging from 3% to 9% per annum;

– Longer repayment period for the loans now converted into Bonds; and, § Freeing up of needed cash to run the machinery of Government.

GROWING WHAT WE EAT

• The Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (details below) has made available N82 billion in funding to 350,000 farmers of Rice, Wheat, Maize, Cotton, Cassava, Poultry, Soy Beans and Groundnut; who have cultivated about 400,000 hectares of land.
• The ABP has substantially raised local production of rice; yields have doubled from 2-3 tonnes per hectare in areas; Nigeria’s paddy production has doubled compared to 2014 levels.
• Between 2016 and 2018, eight new rice mills have come onstream in Nigeria.
• More than a billion dollars of private sector investments in the production of Rice, Wheat, Sugar, Poultry, Animal Feed, Fertilizers, etc, since 2015.
• Nigeria’s milled rice production has increased by about 60 percent, from 2.5 million MT in 2015, to 4 million MT in 2017.
• The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (which involves a partnership with the Government of Morocco, for the supply of phosphate), has resulted in the revitalization of 14 blending plants across the country, with a total installed capacity in excess of 2 million MT. The benefits include annual savings of US$200 million in foreign exchange, and ₦60 billion annually in budgetary provisions for Fertilizer subsidies. The Scheme has also made it possible for Farmers to purchase Fertilizer at prices up to 30 percent cheaper than previously available.

MAKING BUSINESS WORK

Support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises: The Administration has launched a series of funding and capacity development initiatives designed to support MSMEs:

• The new Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has finally taken off, with initial funding of US$1.3 billion (N396.5 billion); to provide medium and long-term loans to MSMEs.
• Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun led the Nigerian delegation that negotiated with the World Bank Group (WBG), African Development Bank (ADB) and European Investment Bank (EIB), at the 2016 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and IMF, for the US$1.3 billion take-off loan.
• The CBN approved the operating license of the Bank in March 2017, subject to the provision of a minimum capital requirement of N100 billion and other conditions, which have since been satisfied.
• As a wholesale bank, the DBN lends wholesale to microfinance banks, which in turn on-lend medium to longterm loans to MSMEs. Already, the DBN has a N5 billion line of credit available to be accessed by MSMEs through its partner institutions.
• Bank of Industry has disbursed more than N160 billion in loans since 2016. It has also established a N5 Billion Fund for Artisanal Miners, as part of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals Development’s Programme to boost Mining activities in Nigeria.
• The MSME Clinics, which bring relevant Government Agencies together with small businesses operating in various cities across the country, to enable the Agencies provide direct support to these businesses. The interactions 10 allow the Agencies better understand the issues facing small businesses, and provide a platform for speedy resolution. Fifteen (15) editions of the MSME Clinic have been held nationwide since it was launched in 2017.
• The Ease of Doing Business Reform Programme (see below)
• The Government Enterprise and Empowerment component (GEEP) of the Social Intervention Programme (SIP)

Ease of Doing Business Reform Successes:

• The work of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (inaugurated by President Buhari in August 2016) and the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) resulted in Nigeria moving up 24 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings in 2017, and earning a place on the List of 10 Most Improved Economies.
• The Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) has compiled a comprehensive listing of all investment incentives in Nigeria, making it easier for existing and potential investors to have equal access to the information.
• NIPC has also launched an online, multilingual, investors guide with the kind of basic information about starting a business, labour laws, taxes, land, etc that investors need to better understand Nigeria.
• The Buhari Administration has, since 2017, issued three Executive Orders that positively impact Nigeria’s small business environment, as follows:

*Executive Order on Improving Efficiency in the Business Environment

* Executive Order on Promoting Local Procurement by Government Agencies

* Executive Order on planning and execution of projects, promotion of Nigerian content in contracts and science, engineering and technology

• Some of the specific Ease of Doing Business Reform achievements are as follows:

* Passage, by the Senate, of the Companies and Allied Matters (Repeal & Re-enactment) Bill 2018 in May 2018, giving legal backing to some of the reforms already launched and being implemented by PEBEC/EBES.

* The new Bill permits the use of electronic signatures for company registration documents; provides for the submission of applications for reservation of names through electronic means; allows for a new form of legal entity known as Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), and makes it possible for a single person to form a private company in Nigeria; among other reforms.

* Creation of a National Collateral Registry (NCR). A NCR or Movable Assets Registry was established by the Central Bank of Nigeria, in May 2016. In May 2017, the Senate passed a Bill to give the NCR legal backing.

* A Palletization Policy issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance, which ensures that goods entering into Nigeria are properly stacked according to global best practices for efficient inspection and to discourage the usual rent seeking that comes with an outdated standard of 100% physical inspection of goods.

* Automation of business name reservation, submission of registration documents, payment of registration fees, generation of Tax Identification Numbers (TIN), and filing of federal Taxes.

* Implementation of functioning Visa-on-Arrival system for Business Visitors

DOING MORE WITH LESS

N1.219 Trillion was released for capital expenditure in the 2016 budget, and N1.476 trillion so far in the 2017 budget, making a total of N2.7 Trillion (about US$9 billion) in two years. This investment has enabled the resumption of work on several stalled projects — road, rail and power projects — across the country.

Savings:

Even at a time of low oil prices (and by implication low government revenues):

• Nigeria’s External Reserves have doubled since October 2016, from US$24 billion to US$48 billion.
• The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has seen inflows of US$1.15 billion under the Buhari Administration (the first government inflows since the original US$1 billion which the Fund kicked off with in 2012).

Infrastructure:

• The Buhari Administration has demonstrated a singleminded commitment to upgrading and developing Nigeria’s Transport, Power and Health Infrastructure.
• In May 2018, the Federal Government launched the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), under the management of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority. The PIDF is kicking off with seed funding of US$1.3 billion.
• Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) in March 2018 invested US$10m to establish a world-class Cancer Treatment Center at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital 13 (LUTH), and US$5m each in the Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital and the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, to establish modern Diagnostic Centres. These Centers should be completed before the end of 2018.
• In 2014, the Federal Government spent these sums on the following sectors: Transport (N14 billion), Agriculture & Water (N34 billion), Power, Works & Housing (N106 billion). In 2017 those figures jumped to: Transport (N127 billion), Agriculture & Water (N130 billion), Power, Works & Housing (N325 billion).
• Road Projects are ongoing across every State of the country; many of these projects had been abandoned in recent years because of mounting debts owed by the Federal Government to contractors.
• The Buhari Administration issued a N100 billion Sukuk Bond in 2017, Nigeria’s first sovereign Sukuk Bond. Proceeds from that Bond are funding 25 major road projects across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
• Upgrade of Nigeria’s 3,500km network narrow-gauge railway network has commenced, with the signing, in April 2018, of the interim phase of a concession agreement between the Government of Nigeria and an International Consortium led by General Electric (GE). The target of this Interim Phase is that within the next 12 months, passengers will experience reduced travel time by rail between Lagos to Kano, and, for the first time in over a decade, contracted and scheduled freight rail services will be available.
• Abuja’s Light Rail system has been completed and will go into operation in 2018. The first line to be launched will connect the city center with the Airport, with a link to the Abuja-Kaduna Railway Line.
• The Buhari Administration successfully completed the reconstruction of the Abuja Airport runway within the scheduled six-week period (March – April 2017).
• The following Water Supply Projects and Dam/Irrigation Projects have been completed by the Buhari Administration:

* Central Ogbia Regional Water Project, in Bayelsa

* Sabke/Dutsi/Mashi Water Supply Project, in Katsina

* Northern Ishan Regional Water Supply Project, serving Ugboha and Uromi communities of Edo State.

* Kashimbila Dam, Taraba State

* Ogwashi-Uku Dam, Delta State o Shagari Dam Irrigation Project, Sokoto State

* Rehabilitation of Ojirami Dam Water Supply Project, Edo State

• More than 70 Ecological Fund projects awarded and completed by the Buhari Administration, across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria (Flood Control, Erosion Control, Bridges and Dams, Channelization and Desilting, etc)
• The 25 Road Projects being funded by the N100 Billion Sukuk Bond:

* Construction of Oju/Loko–Oweto bridge over River Benue to link Loko (Nasarawa state) and Oweto (Benue state) along route F2384

* Dualisation of Abuja–Abaji–Lokoja Road section I (International Airport link road junction–Sheda Village)

* Dualisation of Suleja–Minna Road in Niger State Phase II (km 40+000-km101+000)

* Dualisation of Abuja–Abaji–Lokoja Road: Section IV Koton Karfe–Lokoja in Kogi State 15

* Dualisation of Lokoja-Benin Road: Obajana–Okene in Kogi State o Dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road linking Kano– Jigawa–Bauchi–Yobe

* Dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road linking Kano– Jigawa–Bauchi–Yobe–Borno States. Section III (Azare– Potiskum) in Bauchi

* Dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road linking Kano– Jigawa–Bauchi–Yobe–Borno States. Section IV (Potiskum–Damaturu road) in Yobe

* Dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road linking Kano– Jigawa–Bauchi–Yobe–Borno States. Section V (Damaturu–Maiduguri)

* Dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road linking Kano– Jigawa–Bauchi–Yobe–Borno States. Section I (Kano– Wudil–Shuari) in Kano

* Dualisation of Kano–Katsina Road Phase I, Kano Town at Dawanau roundabout to Katsina border in Kano

* Construction of Kano Western Bypass as an extension of dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road Section I

* Construction of Kaduna Eastern Bypass

* Rehabilitation of outstanding section of Onitsha–Enugu Expressway: Amansea–Enugu border

* Rehabilitation of Enugu–Port Harcourt dual-carriage Section I: Lokpanta–Umuahia in Abia

* Rehabilitation of Enugu–Port Harcourt dual-carriage Section II Umuahia tower–Aba Township Rail

* Rehabilitation of Enugu–Port Harcourt Road Section III: Enugu–Lokpanta o Rehabilitation of Enugu–Port Harcourt Road Section IV: Aba–Port Harcourt in Rivers

* Dualisation of Yenegwe Road Junction–Kolo–Otuoke– Bayelsa Palm in Bayelsa o Dualisation of Lokoja–Benin Road: Obajana Junction– Benin Section II Phase I: Okene–Auchi, Kogi/Edo states

* Dualisation of Lokoja–Benin Road: Obajana Junction– Benin Section III Phase I: Auchi–Ehor in Edo

* Dualisation of Lokoja-Benin Road: Obajana junction– Benin Section IV Phase I: Ehor–Benin City, Edo state

* Reconstruction and asphalt overlay of Benin–Ofosu– Ore–Ajebandele–Shagamu dual-carriage Phase IV

* Reconstruction of outstanding section of sections of Benin–Ofusu–Ore–Ajebandele–Shagamu dual-carriage Phase III

* Dualisation of Ibadan–Ilorin Road. Section II: Oyo– Ogbomosho Road in Oyo 17

Power Sector:

• More than 2,000MW of additional power generation capacity by the end of 2018 – some of it via publicly owned plants (Afam Fast Power, 240MW); others through private sector investment supported by the Federal Government.
• Launch of the Energizing Economic Programme which is bringing reliable and efficient power to economic clusters / markets around the country. Pilot projects currently being implemented in Aba (Ariaria Market), Lagos (Shomolu Printing Community, (Sura Shopping Complex), Kano (Sabon Gari Market) and Akure (Isinkan Market).
• Launch of the N701 billion Payment Assurance Programme designed to resolve the liquidity challenges in the Power Sector by guaranteeing payments to Generating Companies and Gas Suppliers
• Transmission Expansion and Rehabilitation Programme has resulted in a 50 percent expansion in Grid Capacity since 2015, from 5,000MW to 7,125MW as at December 2017.
• Distribution Expansion Programme (DEP) was approved by the Federal Executive Council in February 2018 to increase distribution capacity in collaboration with the DisCos. Implementation of the DEP has commenced, with the issuance, in May 2018, of a call for tenders for the procurement of distribution substations and electrical equipment.
• ‘Beyond the Grid’ Programme, a Public-Private Partnership scheme championed by the Presidency and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), successfully deployed 20,000 units of ‘solar home systems’ to power rural households across 12 States, between July 2017 and April 2018.

INVESTING IN PEOPLE

All 4 components of the Social Investment Programme (SIP) have now taken off.

• The SIP is the largest and most ambitious social safety net programme in the history of Nigeria, with 140 billion released and more than 9 million direct beneficiaries so far —
• 200,000 N-Power beneficiaries currently participating and receiving N30,000 in monthly stipends (another 300,000 new enrolments being processed, to take the number to 500,000 this year)
• Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP): N15.183 billion in interest-free loans ranging from N50,000 to N350,000 disbursed to more than 300,000 market women, traders, artisans, farmers across all 36 States of the country and the FCT, under GEEP. (56 percent of the loans have gone to women).
• In terms of advancing the financial inclusion goals of the Buhari Administration, GEEP has led to the opening of 349,000 new bank accounts/wallets for beneficiaries and intending beneficiaries.
• In November 2017, GEEP was chosen as the pilot programme for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Policy Innovation Unit in Nigeria.
• Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP): Currently a total of 8.2 million pupils in 45,394 public primary schools across 24 states: Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo (South East); Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Delta (South South); Osun, Oyo, Ondo and Ogun (South West); Benue, Niger and Plateau (North Central); Kaduna, Katsina, 19 Kano, and Zamfara (North West); Bauchi, Taraba, Borno, Gombe and Jigawa (North East).
• Over 80,000 direct jobs have since been created from the School Feeding Programme; with 87,261 cooks currently engaged in the 24 participating states. All 36 states of the Federation and the FCT will eventually benefit from the Programme.
• The Health aspect of the programme has seen over 3 million pupils dewormed in 6 states, the deworming programme is a bi-annual programme aimed at eradicating and reducing the burden of worms.
• Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT): 297,973 families benefiting from the CCT Scheme, which pays N5,000 monthly to the poorest and most vulnerable households in the country.

 NEW VISION FOR THE NIGER DELTA

The Buhari administration’s ‘New Vision for the Niger Delta’ brings together a robust set of promises, solutions, targets and initiatives aimed at ensuring that the people of the Niger Delta benefit maximally from the region’s oil wealth.

The New Vision offers a detailed response to the 16-point Demand Agenda submitted to President Buhari by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) in November 2016.

Tangible results of the New Vision so far include:

• Take-off of the Nigerian Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta State. The University was granted approval in January 2018 by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to commence undergraduate degree programmes effective 2017/18 session, and commenced academic activities on April 12, 2018.
• President Buhari had last year approved an increase in the take-off grant allocated to the Maritime University from the N2 billion earlier announced, to N5 billion. Similarly, in November 2017, an additional N1 billion was approved by the President to support essential infrastructure works and staff recruitment in the University.
• Setting aside of US$170m seed funding for the Ogoni Clean Up, in an Escrow Account established for that purpose. The Escrow Agreement Signing Ceremony took place in April 2018.
• Approval by President Buhari of an additional N35 billion for the 2016 budget of the Presidential Amnesty Programme
• Approval for the establishment of Modular Refineries across the nine States of the Niger Delta – the first two Refineries are already under construction, and will be completed by the end of 2018.
• Resumption of construction work on abandoned projects across the Niger Delta, including the all-important East-West Road.