The change we promised Nigerians is manifesting around us – Lai Mohammed

The minister of information and culture said this at a town hall meeting for the south east organised by the Federal Ministry of Information on Monday, the 1st day of August, 2016 in Enugu.

Lai said: “Many have said they are yet to see the change we promised. Many more have called the promise a ruse.

“In fact, they are now mocking us. But we remain undaunted because we know that the change we promised is real.
“In fact, the change we promised is already here, and it is manifesting all around us.”
He said that one notable achievement of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was how it put an end to the looting of the country’s treasury.

Lai said: “Before now, public officials simply opened the public till, took as much money as they wanted and walked away without consequences.
“That explains why funds allocated to the military to fight Boko Haram ended up in the piggy banks of many unscrupulous Nigerians.
“Today, all those who looted the public treasury are being made to answer for their actions, as impunity gives way to accountability.
“Many have offered to return their loots, and many more are facing charges.”

Lai continued thus :

“We promised to diversify the economy away from oil, to ensure that other sectors are able to significantly contribute to sustainable development.
“In June 2016, for the very first time, about 70 per cent of the more than N500 billion raised from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee came from the non-oil sector, while 30 per cent came from the oil sector.
“It was the first time in 2016 that the Federal Government shared more than N500 billion among the three tiers of government.”
With regards to infrastructure, the minister said that construction firms had been mobilised to deal with major roads in the country.

He continued :

“As they move to site, they are creating thousands of new jobs. No part of the country is left out of this.
“Where the contractors have not been seen on site, it is because of the rains, not because of lack of mobilisation.

Addressing appointments, LAI said:

“There are hundreds of appointments yet to be made. It is an evolving scenario and any lopsidedness is being addressed as we progress.”

- Vanguard