In a series of tweets, Atiku has simultaneously given Nigerians a slap on our faces and yet another reason to distrust him completely because of his never-ending string of lies. He has publicly insulted Nigerians with the flimsy reason he gave for not attending the Presidential debate. Is he running for President because he wants to move Nigeria forward or because he wants to "win" Buhari? Is this a high school inter-house sports competition or a pissing contest? Atiku has disrespected his party, his fellow contestants and the entire country by referring to a presidential debate as an "attack" on Buhari. Is his reason for participating in the Presidential debate proving himself to Nigerians as a suitable candidate or is his reason to "attack" and attempt to ridicule the President? From his response today, I think it's safe to say that Atiku is a man who will continually put his ego above the needs of the country he wants to govern.

When Buhari or Oshiomole say its impossible for him to lose, they are confident cos of what the polls say. Buhari has 8 million supporters in the North and has the support of 55% of voters in the South West. Even PDP knows this, do your research.

kennygee:
Rotfl.

From Oshiomole blatantly announcing their rigging to PMB making that kind of blunder.

These people don't even know what they are doing.

Meeting with Trump as what? Ah Ahn oga fear God. Lie small small

EmmanuelNwo:
Breaking. Photos: Atiku Abubakar Arrives USA For Meeting With Trump

The Presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party in the forthcoming general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar just arrived the United States of America for a meeting with US., Government officials

See Photos Here
http://www.theeasterntelegraph.com/2019/01/breaking-photos-atiku-abubakar-arrives.html?m=1

Incoming president where? Definitely not Nigeria. We reject that incoming call

AcuraZDX:
God willing, the incoming President of Nigeria, @Atiku Abubakar, making a call in Washington DC five minutes ago. With Him is his son and other family members #AtikuInAmerica

Who knows if it's just an old picture. A thief can also be a liar. He should take a picture with today's newspaper

Asshurbanipall:
https://twitter.com/atiku/status/1085981600024797185?s=19


Just arrived Washington D.C for meeting with US government officials, Nigerians living in D.C metropolis and the business community. -AA https:///EafM47B83A

https://twitter.com/thesignalng/status/1085985159688736768?s=19

Lalasticlala

Oshey English Teacher. I hope you're using your English degree to educate the youth.

igwe699:
A viral video release by PDP official twitter account where President Buhari hands over flag to Presidential, Senatorial and Governatorial candidate.

Buhari made the error as he was about to present APC flag to Ogboru at the party’s rally held at the Warri Township stadium.

Buhari said: “I am handing over this flag of honour to our presidential candidate.”


A man to his left corrected him, saying “gubernatorial”, Buhari responded with “to our senatorial candidate”.

Again, the man attempted to correct the president, who then said: “governortorial candidate”.

Watch video here: https://ugobestiky.com/2019/01/17/uhari-made-the-error-as-he-was-about-to-present-apc-flag-to-ogboru-at-the-partys-rally-held-at-the-warri-township-stadium-buhari-said-i-am-handing-over-this-flag-of-honour-to-our/

Buhar has 8 million supporters in the North and has the support of 55% of the voters in the South West. When he says its "impossible" for him to lose, he's not talking about rigging. Check the polls and brace yourself [quote author=LZAA post=74861922][/quote]

I feel sorry for how disappointed you will be when Buhari wins. What list will you make then?

brainhgeek:



Buhari has been scammed. The same way he deceived Nigerians with fake identity before the last election, so are people deceiving him with fake love.
I know there are 4 types of people in that gathering.
1. Those who came to collect money
2. Those who came to see buhari with their naked eyes
3. Those who came for 1&2
4. Few who are loyalists

Next Level 2019! Buhari for President!

post=74861663:
NOTHING BUT TRUE LOVE

BUHARI! BUHARI!! BUHARI!!! 

Under 4 years of Buhari administration, 
Ajaokuta is back,
Railway is back,
Refineries are back,
Farming is back,
Smuggling is blocked,
Progressives are happy.
Criminals are crying.
Looting is blocked. 

‬Any time I see Buhari, 
I see hope, 
I see humility, 
I see integrity, 
I see leadership
I see charisma, 
I see a rebirth, 
I see impending joy, 
I see resolution, 
I see sincerity, 
I see sobriety, 
I see restoration, 
I see prosperity, 
I see determination, 
I see patriotism, 
I see national
consciousness, 
I see national awarenesses, 
I see passion and above all, 
I see an indivisible Nigeria.

May God bless the day we voted Buhari to power, God bless his tenure and we will do it again in 2019 by the grace of God. Amen

4 + 4 = 2023.
Live with it criminals!

WE LOVE YOU OUR DARLING DADDY!

Man's heart is wicked because it is corrupt

Lifediary:
Nigeria's problems stem from the wickedness of man's heart.

NIGERIA’S PROBLEMS ARE COS OF CORRUPTION
In the latest Corruption Perception Index released by Transparency International in 2018, Nigeria has relapsed deeper into corruption. In 2001, we were ranked the 2nd most corrupt nation in the world.

Even our anti-corruption agencies are corrupt- Former EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde was accused of diverting N1trn from recovered proceeds of corruption. The warriors of corruption are corrupt themselves.

US Senators make approximately $174,000 annually while Nigerian Senators make $2,183,685 making them the highest paid lawmakers in the world which is ironic because we seem to be such a lawless country.

Some years ago, during election periods in Nigeria, little children across the country always went missing. These children were kidnapped by corrupt politicians to perform ritual killings for their protection and victory during elections.

Election rigging: During elections, candidates hire thugs who steal ballot boxes and buy voters’ card to manipulate the elections to favor them.

In Nigeria, bribery seems to be the order of the day. From civil servants to government officials and police officers, bribes are unfortunately becoming more necessary than National ID cards.

Even our courts are not exempted from the corruption menace. A place where the oppressed go to seek justice has become unreliable because the rich are now able to bribe judges and attorneys. Who, then, will uphold the law?

Some problems we have in Nigerian Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges is because of corruption. Funds allocated to these schools are rarely used for the right purpose, lecturers also take advantage of their position and demand material and sexual favors from students for good grades. If our legal system was as efficient as it should be, these vices would be curtailed, it is however, on a rise.

Most Nigerians would disagree with the popular saying “The Police is your friend” because the police force is inundated with bribery, corruption, intimidation, sexual harassment of inmates, half-truths. While there may be some good eggs in the force, the rotten ones have left a permanently bad taste in Nigerians’ mouths.

Police checkpoints which are supposed to be a security measure have been turned into toll gates for extorting motorists.

In the Nigerian Football Federation, match fixing and corruption have led to sanctions against clubs, referees and officials. A Catholic priest officiating a local league football match narrated how he was threatened by some officials to sway the odds in their favor.

Many churches in Nigeria are as corrupt as the government. Individuals now pose as men of God in order to extort money and gifts from the hopeful.

Internet fraud: Young Nigerians now scam unsuspecting people online using via different techniques. Some use host websites claiming to offer employment for a fee, or pose as someone else and extort people on social media sites.

In the Nigerian Customs, bribes are as important as licenses. Hardworking Nigerians are subjected to paying huge bribes to clear their goods. This discourages and hinders business men and women from carrying out their business operations.

According to the World Bank Group, 68% of Nigerians are living in poverty. The harsh business environment in the country makes it difficult for the average Nigerian to earn a living and cater for basic needs.

Poor National Development: Our economy is crippled, infrastructure is lacking, development is stunted because any country with high corruption levels is likely to experience developmental bankruptcy.

Oga I'm with you. I'm not hating

oyebanji44:
The SW and N are matching buhari to the next level.don't be an hater,join us now

The Committee of Youth on Mobilisation and Sensitisation (CYMS), supporting the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, says it has officially received a group- the South West Arise for Atiku (SWAT), into its fold.
CYMS disclosed this in a statement by its Director of Media, Mr Gabriel Otobong, on Saturday in Abuja.
It stated that SWAT with 800,000 members, formerly supporting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, was officially received by CYMS Director-General, Mr Obinna Nwaka, at the committee’s head office in Abuja.
It disclosed that the SWAT was received into CYMS after a meeting between national executives of the two organisations in Abuja.
It quoted Nwaka as commending the group for its courage, while highlighting some of the reasons why Nigerians should support the re-election of Buhari.
Nwaka assured the group of support and promised to integrate them officially into the CYMS programmes.
He said that SWAT has officially collapsed its structure into CYMS to ensure the re-election of Buhari.
It added that SWAT and its members led by the Coordinator General, Mr Henry Adegoke, had collectively agreed to change the group name to South West Arise for Buhari (SWAB) in a letter addressed to Mr Festus Uchenna, the CYMS’s Chairman, Board of Trustees.
It added that the group described Abubukar’s political ambition as “fetching water with a basket.”
Adegoke in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) confirm the collapse of the structure of SWAT into CYMS, noting that discussion about it was still ongoing.
He said that he had directed members of the group not to attend campaign rallies of Abubakar even though PDP was still inviting them.

If the PDP governments led Nigerians to prosperity and peace, what motivated Atiku’s betrayal of the same party he co-founded and its governments severally in 2007 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ) and in 2013 under former President Goodluck Jonathan? Atiku speaks and does not listen to himself; he hardly realizes that he often contradicts in the frenzy of campaigns.

For eight years, Atiku deputized OBJ as President. What legacies did that administration bequeath to Nigerians? None! Atiku as a leader presided over the rape and plundering of Nigeria. As chairman of the National Council on Privatization and Commercialization (NCPC), the former Vice President dubiously sold critical national assets to himself for personal enrichment and to cronies.

Atiku criminally undervalued national assets and dashed them out. None was functioning optimally when APC came on board. These establishments laid off tens of thousands of workers and eventually shut their doors to business. It is the foundation of the pervasive unemployment afflicting Nigeria today. Is that the prosperity the PDP government brought to Nigerians?

It was under the PDP government he served as Vice President that Boko Haram terrorism was formed in 2002 and nurtured into a monster by 2015. President Muhammadu Buhari inherited a country, where Boko Haram insurgents seized and effectively occupied 24 LGAs in the Northeast region

Atiku has been accused of money laundering and fraud in the United States, reports say. For context, Atiku has visited so many nations and cities on earth since he left power in 2007. But he’s never visited the United States or a city in the United States. Why so? The name Atiku Abubakar came up in a Siemens broadband contract scandal involving Nigerian and American officials in the mid-2000s. According to sundry reports, from 2000 to 2008, Jennifer Douglas, a U.S. citizen and fourth wife of Atiku, helped her husband transfer over $40 million in suspicious funds into the United States. The money was sent by offshore corporations to U.S. bank accounts. A chunk of the money was used by the Atiku's to pay consultants for the setting up of the American University in Nigeria. The Nation reports that: “of the $40 million in suspect funds, $25 million was wire transferred by offshore corporations into more than 30 U.S. bank accounts opened by Ms. Douglas, primarily by Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria Ltd., LetsGo Ltd. Inc., and Sima Holding Ltd." Two of the offshore corporations' wire transferred about $14 million over five years to American University in Washington, D.C., to pay for consulting services related to the development of a Nigerian university founded by Mr. Abubakar. American University accepted the wire transfers without asking about the identity of the offshore corporations or the source of their funds, because under current law, the University had no legal obligation to inquire. Investigators say U.S. authorities probed the Siemens broadband contract because it was awarded to iGATE, an American company in which Williams Jefferson, then U.S. federal lawmaker from Louisiana, retained considerable interest. Jefferson and Atiku were best of friends at the time and it is believed in intelligence circles that the contract went on without glitches in Nigeria because Jefferson had agreed to pay bribe money to top political figures in Nigeria, including Atiku. In a secretly recorded conversation with the FBI, Jefferson disclosed that Atiku was promised $500,000 if he influenced the broadband deal from the Nigerian end of things. The case against Jefferson was premised on bribery, influence-peddling and contract inflation. Jefferson was found guilty and served jail time in the United States for his part in the transaction, but Atiku has never been prosecuted in Nigeria. There are insinuations that should Atiku visit the United States, he’ll be promptly arrested and prosecuted for his part in the transaction.

Atiku Abubakar granted an interview to some journalists and expressed utmost displeasure to Buhari’s anti-corruption fight, saying corruption is not Nigeria’s number one problem. By saying this, Atiku has explicitly shown that he doesn't intend to fight the vicious circles of corrupt elements. And also that if he becomes president, he will abandon all defense mechanisms used by Buhari in fighting corruption, and reset us back to the days of blemished ruling.

It would cost N12 trillion to complete all projects abandoned by the PDP across the country provided there are no cost overruns or further delays.

There are 56,000 projects abandoned by the PDP because the award of most contracts under the PDP administration did not follow due process and none of these contractors were held liable when the projects were abandoned.

One must wonder, despite all hardships we endured courtesy of corrupt government officials, why all the PDP’s presidential hopefuls chose to ignore this when soliciting for votes from delegates during their presidential primary election? They definitely don't intend to fight this problem.

At least 800 companies closed down in Nigeria between 2009 and 2011, due to the harsh operating business environment and corrupt practices in the country.

Michelin and Dunlop tyres dumped Nigeria because of epileptic power supply even though billions had been assigned for the power project. The moneys this current government has expended on power could've been channeled elsewhere if the past administration had not been corrupt.

Over 84,000 Nigerians have lost their jobs in the cocoa value chain industry in the last 10 years. That manpower would have contributed a lot into the economy. If the cocoa industry was properly coordinated, it could've contributed more than N1 trillion annually into the economy through the multiplier effects.

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) has disclosed that the Nigeria has lost over $100 billion since 2008 over its inability to produce, process and export additional cocoa beans, palm oil, groundnuts and cotton. Moneys meant for these projects were being syphoned to individual's pockets.

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS in its latest report has revealed how states across Nigeria are performing in terms of internally generated revenue, IGR. NBS noted that the total IGR generated by states across the country in 2017 was N931.23bn, a figure higher than the amount generated in 2016 by N100.04bn, an increase of 12.03%. At the end of second half of 2017 (H2 2017), total revenue generated by states had already hit N432.65bn, a figure higher than that generated in first half of the year (H1 2017), which was N409.09bn.



Nigeria grew its internally generated revenue by 27.7 percent in the first half of 2018, recording a total of N579.5 billion by June 2018, over N453.833 billion posted in corresponding period of 2017, a newly released data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows.

According to the data body, in its Half Year 2018 Internally Generated Revenue report published Tuesday, 28 states recorded growth in IGR while eight states, including Abia, Anambra, Benue, Taraba, Kebbi, Kwara, Ebonyi and Enugu, recorded a decline in 2018 H1.

The report which tracks revenue performance of the Africa’s largest economy’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, indicated that in the first and second quarters of the year, the states generated N280.835 billion and N263.343 billion respectively, with Lagos, Rivers, Ogun, FCT and Delta being the best five performers during the period under review.

Lagos State generated N196.395 billion, up by 16.88 percent from N168.025 billion in H1 2017, to top the list, while Rivers state, with N60.906 billion, an increase of 36.13 percent, from the N44.742 billion recorded last year, came send.

Ogun state came third with a 6.70 percent improvement to N42.519 billion from N39.849 billion in the comparable period of 2017, while the FCT generated N35.311 billion during the period, and Delta state posted N29.797 billion, a growth of 17.80 percent from N25.103 billion in 2017.

The revenues generated by the 36 states came mainly from Pay-As-You-Earn Tax (N352.509 billion), Direct Assessment (N26.293 billion), Road Taxes (N11.681 billion), Other Taxes (N84.033 billion) and revenues from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (N104.972 billion), the NBS data shows.

The President said apart from saving $500m in the Sovereign Wealth Fund and investing another $500m in the SWF, the country’s external reserve presently stands at $35bn, the highest in the past four years.

According to him, the Federal Government has saved about N18bn within one year after the establishment of an Efficiency Unit under the Federal Ministry of Finance in early 2016 to reduce wastage, plug leakages and foster greater fiscal transparency

Buhari, who was represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), stated this on Saturday in Jos, during the graduation of 66 participants in the 2017 Senior Executive Course 39 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru.

He said, “For the first time in five years, we saved $500m, and invested another $500m in the Sovereign Wealth Fund. Today, our external reserves stand at $35bn, the highest in the past four years. Today, we can see light at the end of the tunnel; darkness is giving way to light.”

He added that the Presidency stopped the siphoning of funds through ghost workers by insisting that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies must be on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System in all tiers of government and mandated the use of Bank Verification Numbers.

He said over 461 federal MDAs had been captured on the system thus far, with the objective of being able to enroll all of them.

The revenue collected by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) from January to August 2018, was N792billion.

A breakdown of the revenue collection shows that it generated N96.6 billion in Jan., N79.26 billion in Feb., N87.58 billion in March and N94.3 billion in April.

The organization also generated N100.5 billion in May, N98.4 billion in June, N94.9 billion in July and N140.4 billion in August.

This was contained in a data that The Nation sighted yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, yesterday blamed the apparently high debt profile of Nigeria to the challenges of low revenue generation that the country is presently grappling with.

He made the disclosure during a visit to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) headquarters, Abuja.

She said that in order to achieve the economic programme of the country, there must be improvement of revenue generation.

Her words: “People have raised concerns about our debt profile, but we do not have a debt problem. Our Debt ratio to GDP is still below 3 per cent, which is the threshold set by the Fiscal Responbility Act. What we have is a revenue problem. We don’t have the revenue to pay salaries, to meet the recurrent as well as the capital expenditure.”

Ahmed said that the functions of the Nigeria Customs Service in regard to revenue generation were key to the success of the Buhari Administration.

She noted that it was for this reason that the Customs Service was constantly being pushed to improve revenue collections.

Ahmed said that the government had considered raising Value Added Tax, Excise Duty and also include more items on the Excise Duty list.

However, she said that the government decided to hold on to the idea, until the economic condition in the country improves.

Ahmed also told the Customs Comptroller General and his team, that she would look into the salary structure of the Service as a way of incentivising the officers.

Earlier, the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) highlighted some of the reforms he had undertaken to improve revenue generation.

He said that because human development was vital, the NCS had invested in training schools to improve the capacity of its officers.

In addition, he said that the Service had deployed the use of technology in blocking avenues of revenue leakages.

The Nigerian government says it has spent N250 billion on its Social Investment Programme (N-SIPS) since the beginning of the scheme in 2016.

This claim was made on Thursday at a media roundtable by the presidential aide on N-SIPS, Mariam Uwais, in Abuja.

N-SIPS was set up by the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration to improve the living conditions of millions of Nigerians across the country.

According to Mrs Uwais, N500 billion was requested by the Social Investment Programmes Office for its four component programmes in 2016, 2017 and 2018 budgets.

However, only N250 billion has so far been released, she said.

The programmes include N-Power, National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), National Cash Transfer Project (NCTP), and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).

Mrs Uwais said over 9,300,892 children in 49,837 government schools in 26 states are being fed under the School Feeding Programme. She said this requires 6.8 million eggs, 594 cattle and 83 metric tons of fish to be supplied to cooks every week.

îWe have also engaged 96,972 cooks with over a 100,000 small-scale farmers being part of the value chain, supplying locally sourced ingredients. It is noteworthy that currently, public schools require 6.8 milion eggs, 594 cattle and 83 metric tons of fish to be supplied to the cooks, every week.

îThe Home Grown School Feeding Programme is a programme that is aimed at feeding young children in our public primary schools, with the aim of improving their nutrition, increasing school enrollment and reducing the incidence of malnutrition.

îSo far, we are feeding over 9,300,892 children in 49,837 government schools in 26 States. Being a programme that also aims at empowering communities, we have also engaged 96,972 cooks with over a 100,000 small-scale farmers being part of the value chain, supplying locally sourced ingredients.

ëîThese statistics do not take into account the boost that is evident in the production and supply of rice, wheat, soya bean, orange-flesh potatoes, fruit and vegetable by farmers, to mention a few,î Mrs Uwais said.

She furthered said the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme is giving out N5,000 monthly to 297,973 households in Nigeria and is being implemented in 20 states, adding that they have trained 3,000 community cash transfer facilitators in every ward where the programme is ongoing.

îThis programme is giving out 5,000 Naira monthly to 297,973 households in Nigeria. It is currently being implemented in 20 States.

îWe have trained almost 3,000 community cash transfer facilitators in every ward where the programme is ongoing, to build the capacities of our beneficiaries and support them to become productive and take ownership of their lives.

îThe methodology of selecting our beneficiaries is deliberate, tried and tested to assure of credibility, as well as aimed at enabling the capturing of biometric data for financial and social inclusion.

îBeneficiary households are selected by the communities directly, with their household and community data being uploaded onto Social Registers by trained enumerators at State and LGA levels, as a means of ensuring that we continue to keep a keen eye on their progress, towards weaning them out of poverty.î

She said that the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) which comprises the MarketMoni, FarmerMoni and the TraderMoni have spent N27.4 Billion in interest-free loans reaching over 1.1 million beneficiaries across the 36 states of the Federation, with N27.4 billion in interest-free loans

îThe Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) comprises the MarketMoni, FarmerMoni and the TraderMoni. We are making available to micro-businesses credit facilities to improve their businesses through this scheme. It is managed by the Bank of Industry, who have the wherewithal to recover loans.

îWe have so far reached over 1.1 Million Beneficiaries across the 36 States of the Federation, with N27.4 Billion in interest-free loans, ranging from N10,000 Naira to N350,000 Naira disbursed so far. In particular, the aim of the Trader Moni programme is to take financial inclusion to the grassroots, considering the daily contributions of millions of petty traders to our economic prosperity and development.

îIndeed, especially because this category of citizens has hitherto had no access to credit to support their businesses, this is a deliberate effort at assuring of financial credit and a sense of belonging as an entitlement of these citizens, who are also Nigerians deserving of support. She said.

According to Mrs Uwais, the N-power scheme has employed 500,000 youth graduates which are paid a monthly stipend of N30,000

ìN-Power is currently employing 500,000 youth graduates. It is the largest post-tertiary employment programme in Africa, where beneficiaries are paid a monthly stipend of N30,000 and deployed as volunteers into various sectors of need in the public space, such as health, agriculture, education and public finance.

îThey are given devices to facilitate their service delivery, and as a continuous learning avenue. We have also supported 20,000 N-Power non-graduate volunteers, who have been trained in skill centres in every State, and given tool boxes to enable them to apply their newly-acquired expertise in the building and automotive industries.

îBoth schemes have assured of volunteers in all the Local Government Areas of the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT.

Mrs Uwais noted that government was having challenges of some beneficiaries not getting the stipends because they did not enter their correct details.

She also said government learnt some people who posed as Social Investment Programme staff threatened to remove beneficiaries out of the system just to extort money from them.

She, however, asserted nobody can remove anyone from the system who has been registered in it.

Say what you want about him but Buhari has actually saved (and made) a lot of money for Nigeria

Thus, at every opportunity, Onochie takes to the social media to list what her principal achieved in various sectors. It was no wonder that recently, when the Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation alleged non-performance on the part of President Buhari, she was quick to come out with another long list contained in a statement, where she enumerated 64 achievements of the government in the agricultural sector. Agric sector loses N20bn annually due to lack of insurance cover As a foundation for all other things done in the sector, first, she noted that the anti-corruption drive of President Buhari has blocked exogenous leakages in the agricultural sector to encourage, empower, and enhance the locally made farm produce thereby increasing Nigeriaís internally generated revenue (IGR) index and foreign exchange capacity as well as reserve to over $45bn in cash and bonds. According to her, the home grown feeding programme, designed to end importation and market monopoly of farm produce that could be grown here in Nigeria, is a pilot vehicle to sustainable economic, agricultural, academic and job creation across the length and breadth of the nation. Other very important developments she noted included the inauguration of the Standing Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee on Zero-Reject of Agricultural Commodities and Produce/Non-oil Exports in Nigeria; Nigeria benefitted from 13.1billion Euros honeybee project and commencement of steps to improve the standards of Nigeriaís agricultural exports to align with global standards due to the rejection of our produce at the EU border controls by developing standards and quality control measures. ìUnder President Buhari administration, at the end of 2016, agricultural goods as share of total trade got N212.73bn and 4.02 per cent and agricultural goods exports were 2.7 per cent higher in Q4 2016 than Q3 2016, Sesame seeds contributed N6.46billion to agricultural product exports in the fourth quarter of 2016. In 2017, and first, second and third quarters of 2018, the agricultural sector has continued to contribute to Nigeriaís GDP. ìIn the fourth quarter of 2016, frozen shrimps and prawns chipped in N4.4billion to agricultural product exports under PMBís administration, flour and meals of soya beans contributed N2.59bn to agricultural product exports and cashew nuts in shell contributed N0.95billion to agricultural product exports with the Buhari-led administration and crude palm kernel accounted for N0.62 billion of the total Agricultural exports under the President Buhari administration in the fourth quarter of 2016,î Onochie listed. Subsidy: Buhariís NNPC as cesspool of corruption She is optimistic the agricultural universities coordinating agency is being revitalised as stipulated in the enabling Act, and that it would work closely with the Nigerian University Commission and development partners to re-focus the universities of agriculture in the country to continue to boost the sector. In her views, the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises (LIFE) programme initiated by the Buhari administration to bring life back into rural communities through the empowerment of youth, women and other vulnerable groups across the country would actualise its mandate and further help in agricultural production. Noting that through the Anchor Borrowerís Programme (ABP), the Buhari administration has been providing money for dry and wet season farming in many states, she said the ìAnchor Borrowersí Programme is an intervention of the Buhari administration aimed at fast-tracking access of rural farmers to finance productivity.î The Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Buhari-led administration has made available N82billion 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. There has also been provision of agricultural credit for financing the production of rice, wheat, ginger, maize and soybeans in Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Benue, Zamfara, Anambra and Kwara States. The administration has established 40 large scale rice processing plants and 18 high quality cassava flour (HQCGF) plants with a stake commitment of China EXIM (85 per cent) and Nigeria Bank of Industry (BoI) (15 per cent) through concessional credit facilities of US$383,140,375.60 for the rice mills and US$143,722,202.40 for the HQCF plants. Added to that, through the Ministry of Agriculture, the government is distributing rice mills of ten tons per day capacity, 20 tons a day, 40 tons a day, 50 tons and a few 100 tons. This is to collectively increase the capacity for rice milling a day nationwide and it is expected to close the gap between paddy availability and mills to process it. 2019: North Central Youths back, vow to mobilize 10m votes for Buhari ìUnder President Buhari, the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has been strengthened for improved delivery of services through consolidation and recapitalisation in collaboration with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to ensure loan disbursement at a single digit interest regime in the agricultural sector as obtainable in developed and emerging economies. ìThe President Buhari administration has approved the restructuring, re-capitalising and repositioning of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and has secured the approval of a grant of $1.1 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the restructuring of the Bank of Agriculture, aimed at staff training to strengthen service delivery. ìNow, the government is embarking on National Soil Map Data, and the aim is to use soil-specific fertiliser formulations and application in prescribed dosages based on soil types, and the government has signed an agreement with Morocco to supply fertilizer, raw materials on concessionary terms to boost local blending that will facilitate the production of soil and crop-specific fertilisers,î she said. The Buhari-led administration has revived 11 moribund plants with a combined capacity of over two million metric tonnes and in 2017, the Presidential Fertilser Initiatives (PFI) delivered 10m 50kg bags (500,000MT) of NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer at a price of N5, 500 in time for the wet season, which is down from the price of N9, 000 per 50kg bag in 2016, a 40 per cent reduction in price. The Executive Secretary, Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Alhaji Ahmed Rabiu Kwa jas, recently said the PFI activities had brought dramatic changes in agriculture and particularly the fertiliser industry in the country. Other things according to her is that government was facilitating timely access of farmers to appropriate quality seeds, local and international seed trading, National Irrigation Policy and Strategy designed to overcome the irrigation challenges and established a N50 billion mechanisation fund to facilitate the second phase of Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise (AEHE) to roll-out 6,000 tractors and 13,000 harvest and post-harvest equipment units across the country. The administration has assessed the status of infrastructure in all the 12 River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) and as such, commenced immediate and effective use of the facilities for commercial farming, tractors and Implements have been rolled in parts of the country to support targeted commodity value chains. 2019: Show your scorecard in the North, PDP challenges Buhari Worried about the rising spate of hostilities and attendant insecurity arising from clashes between farmers and nomadic herdsmen, the Buhari administration has commenced efforts towards resolving the conflicts through the provision of 55,000 hectares of land by 11 states as part of the 5,000 hectares each expected from the 19 northern states for the development of pasture/paddocks grazing reserves. The list of these achievements and the ripple effect is almost endless but in totality, there is a conspicuously growing positive effect in the agricultural sector that presidential aides as Onochie are proud of. In conclusion, the Buhari-led administration will boast that it has cut down on imports of agricultural products due to self-sufficiency in food production and consumption and it consequently created jobs. The PFI alone has created over 60,000 direct jobs and even a higher number of indirect jobs. The bag-making sector of the economy has been boosted, with over 10m packaging bags produced exclusively for PFI. Generally, the Buhari administration has resurrected interest in agriculture particularly, among small holder farmers.