The CHANGE agenda

• Increased infrastructure – No records of any completed FG road but the Abuja – the Kaduna rail that was partially executed was completed a few weeks ago. Should I mention the degenerated electricity power supply blamed on lack of gas supply due to militant activities or the hospital facilities that are still obsolete and so on and so forth.

• Low unemployment – Well, we heard of the CBN jobs case and FAAN also recruited more than 200 people into level 6 grade. Meanwhile, NBS reported 4.3 Million jobs lost in 10 months. Intelligence also has it that 41 foreign companies mostly in service industry have left Nigeria

• Naira stability – My take on this is that the President shouldn’t be the major decision maker regarding the Naira, because this is purely monetary. However, I will still add it to his score sheet as some of his statements and his ideological beliefs contributed to the FX crisis.

• Greater security – Fulani herdsmen killings, Boko Haram – well relegated with just pockets of activities, “One Chance” is back, blame it on economic hardship, Niger Delta bombings. Food scarcity that was last experienced in Nigeria between 1983 to 1985 has returned back to our country (No food security). We are now experiencing militant attacks in Lagos?… I mean!!!

• Improved governance and transparency – Budget passage delay due to tussles between Senate and Presidency, War on Corruption turned into war against perceived enemies, reopening of Bola Ige assassination perceived against Omisore and could also touch Fayose (reflect on this), Fund collected from looters: Who knows the total?

• Economic diversification – Well I heard that not a grain of corn or tomato seed was provided to farmers. Meanwhile, fertilizer subsidy taken away and handed back to ex-military men, though I want to believe this fertilizer issue  is just hearsays.

• Social safety net – N5,000 to the poor and unemployed; Lunch for school children – Please where are we on this? Even so, with rural inflation at 15.1% from 9.1% a year ago when the promise was made, the value of N5,000 has declined to N4,245. So the poor is expected to leave on N4,000 Naira per month which is N141 per day when $1 is N370 (black market – where there is availability). This implies that the poor in Nigeria are actually living twice below the poverty line.

• Investment in human capital development: Unfortunately, I don’t have info on this but I am very sure being a loud administration, if anything has been done in this regard, it would have been all over the news. At least recently we heard our State Governors were planning to travel abroad for vocational training.

Well some will say the government is broke, revenue has dropped, past government were extremely extravagant etc. I actually confirmed these records recently circulated on what was handed over to Buhari as follows:

– $30billion in our Foreign Reserves – Now $27bn

– $2.5billion Sovereign Wealth Fund,

– $1.4billion in the ECA,

– $4.65b back taxes from NLNG.

– Buhari met an approved budget of N4.5trillion and got a supplementary of N500bn

Some said that within the one year of assuming the office, the PMB administration has received the following:

– $2.7billion collected by Inland Revenue in his first 8 months.

– $2.1billion Borld Bank loan.

– $850million Grants from UK, USA and Europe.

– Excluding crude oil sales, Joint Venture profits, Royalties, Income from Customs, NIMMSA, NPA, NACHO.

– 3trilion on STA.

But this needs further confirmation.

Meanwhile…

• Nigeria dropped from No.1 Investment destination in Africa to No.27 before South Sudan.
• The African Biggest economy shrink from a GDP of about 4% to -0.36% in Q1 2016
• And from No.3 fastest growing economy in the world we dropped to No.83 in 365days.

We are going into the second year of the administration and the political landscape is still tight between the Executive and the Legislature. So ask yourself these questions:

• Has the PMB administration performed up to your expectation?
• Can this administration get a pass mark above the condemned “prodigal” GEJ’s administration at the end of its first term?
• Will this APC be worth a second chance in 2019?
• Is this CHANGE mantra really a change?

I leave us to our conscience.

–  Adeyemi S.