… Observes A Minute Silence For Chukwuma Onuekwusi
… Power Deterioration Didn’t Start With Current Govt
By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA, (Sundiata Post) – The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina has described as unfair the rating of All Progressives Congress, APC, government led by President Muhammadu Buhari, as failure when it was only in its mid-term of a four-year mandate.
Adesina who briefed alongside the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu and Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Office of the Vice President, Laolu’ Akande, as part of activities to mark two years in office, said no scientific survey has been conducted that concludes that the Buhari’s administration has failed, adding that “you cannot write the report card of this administration in two years. The mandate is four years and is too early in the day, you don’t reach definite term in the mid-term.”
While calling on Nigerians to remain patient and give the Buhari administration time to fulfill his promises to them, “We will have a lot more to fulfill. If anybody tells you APC has failed, tell them it’s too early in the day, we still have two years, it’s a four year term,” he added.
The Presidential Spokesman who called for a minute silence in honour of Chukwuma Onuekwusi, Channels Television State House correspondent who died early Wednesday, said while people are at liberty to expressed their opinion but in as much a survey has not been conducted to back the assertion, it is not a popular position.
“The person that asked the question said there is a buzz in town, I am sure that you have not conducted a scientific survey that shows you that is a popular position. People can always expresses their opinions, there is liberty on that but you don’t have a scientific survey that has given you the percentage of people that believed that the APC has failed.
“The second point is that, when a government via a party is voted into office, it is voted for a four year term under our own democratic arrangement. When you have spent two years which is like a midterm, the first half of a game, you don’t then determined that it has succeeded or it has failed. No. You can be accused of being atomistic using a small part to determine the whole. You can’t write the report card of this administration when it is just hitting the half way mark, that will not be fair.
“The term is four years and the promises are going to be stretched over that four year at period. Like the minister of transport said recently, APC did not promise to solve all the country’s problems in one year or two years. The mandate the party has is four years and it is pacing itself as it goes along and I am sure that by the end of those four years we will have a lot more to record. It is not by a sudden flight, it will not come by a snap of a finger but will the promises be fulfilled? Yes, I believe it will be fulfilled. This administration will take Nigeria far beyond how it met it. So if anybody says APC has failed just tell them is too early in the day because is a four year-term and this is just two years. You don’t reach definitive conclusions in two years.”
On alleged coup plot, Adesina described the remark by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai was only “a routine warning from the army”. He asked Nigerians not to take it beyond what it is.
“The Army has spoken and let us take that position. What the Chief of Army Staff said was a routine warning that goes to military officers, ‘don’t hobnob with politicians’ and the army has explained the position, let’s take that position and not stretch it beyond what the military has said because they are the ones that can give us the definitive position and they have spoken on it.”
Akande on his part explained that the Federal Government has set up National Coordination Team to review the criminal justice system.
“The truth of the matter is that our criminal justice system does need a profound and deep reform. The important thing is that this government is working on it. As a matter of fact now, the acting president has put together a national coordination prosecution team for all the prosecution trying to see how in the medium term we can bring some progress but also working on justice sector reforms on the long term on criminal justice system to strengthen both the investigation and prosecution at the courts. And I know it going to take a while for us to address it.
On power deterioration in the country Shehu said: “It is also a mistake to say power has deteriorated under this administration because when we came in 2015, power generation was 3,324MW, it increase to 4,357MW as at August 2015, barely three months after President Buhari came to power and rose to the peak of 5,077MW in 2016, it was the highest power generated in the country. Presently, the average generation is about 3,000 this is as a result of vandalism of gas pipeline infrastructure and also low water in our dams. The power sector is also gaining gradually from the peace in the Niger Delta. Usually we experience low generation of power during dry season and this is not because of Buhari’s administration.
“Government is investing heavily in power and has been licensing a lot of renewable energy projects, which is the future. We are doing what is called energy mix, we are not just doing gas power, we are doing hydro, etc. you cover some of these decisions from FEC you have covered them,” he said.