Why I Am Supporting Together Nigeria – Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa

I, like many others, have witnessed first-hand the progress of
Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari. He is fighting
corruption, making our country safer, and investing in vital
infrastructure like no other President in the history of Nigeria.
That is why for the past few months, I have been proud to support
Together Nigeria, an advocacy group for the re-election of
President Buhari.

We gathered last week to launch Together Nigeria at State House,
with the support of Her Excellency, Dr. Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu
Buhari, wife of the President of Nigeria. We were thrilled to
welcome former Nigerian football stars, Daniel Amokachi, Peter
Rufai, Garba Lawal, as well as some Nollywood royalty, including
Chinedu Ikedieze (a.k.a Aki), Jide Kosoko, Oga Bello, and artists
Olu Maintain, Korede Bello, Jide Kosoko, Iyanya, Joke Silva and DJ
Jimmy Jatt and many, many more.

These celebrities, like millions of others, have declared their
support for President Buhari’s re-election and Together Nigeria,
because they are immensely proud of the work that he has done since
2015, and they want to see this continue.

In his speech, the Nollywood Filmmaker Desmond Elliot said “Mr
President has started the good work, Mr President will end it
well.” Olu Maintain went further in his passioned speech, saying
President Buhari is “incorruptible”. “Corruption is a plague that
has infected this country for decades. This is the one man that has
taken up the mantle that corruption in this country has to stop.
This man has made it his overall principle to fight this, he has
fought this effectively for his first term, let us give him the
mantle to now rebuild this economy in his second term”.

When President Buhari came to office in 2015, the various
Ministries, Departments and agencies of the Nigerian Government had
over 17,000 accounts in commercial banks across the country. The
level of waste in charges and fees, and scope for corruption and
abuse, was breath-taking. President Buhari responded with the full
implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system, a
unified banking arrangement to consolidate and manage government
cash resources.

Not only has this saved some N4 billion monthly in banking
charges associated with indiscriminate borrowing, but for the first
time, it gives the Ministry of Finance complete overview of cash
flows across the entire Government. And this has ran alongside
President Buhari’s pioneering Whistle Blowing Policy, which has
recovered N7.8 billion and undertaken 791 investigations into
corruption.

President Buhari has also made great strides towards restoring
economic growth in Nigeria and building a globally competitive
economy, having succeeded in securing Nigeria’s place as one of the
World Bank’s top 10 most improved economies in the world for ease
of doing business in 2017, moving up 24 places in its ranking
during the year.

And these economic gains have been invested in improving the
lives of all Nigerians. The Buhari administration has dedicated a
significant proportion of the budget to the provision of basic
infrastructure and capital projects. This has benefited Nigerians
in all parts of our country. Funds have supported the construction
of roads in each of the six Geopolitical Zones, from the Kaduna
Eastern Bypass in the North West, to the rehabilitation of
Enugu-Port Harcourt Road Section III in the South East.

But President Buhari’s achievements extend beyond the economy.
The Buhari administration’s Social Investment Programme is the
largest and most ambitious in Nigeria’s history. It has fed over
nine million primary school pupils and paid out over N66 billion to
states participating in the Home-Grown School Feeding
Programme.

At our launch event, President Buhari commended the hard work of
the volunteers, and gave thanks for the support he has received
during his re-election campaign. And the President is right, thanks
to the hard work of teeming and passionate supporters we will
continue to educate the world about the good work of Nigeria’s
federal government and the achievements of President Buhari.

Over the past three and a half years, we have come a long way in
realising the potential of our rich nation, but I do not deny there
remains more to be done.

The global collapse in oil prices a year before President Buhari
took office in 2015 had a severe impact, and many Nigerians still
feel they have less money in their pockets – to invest in crops, to
send their children to school, and to put food on their plates. We
must do more to help bring all Nigerians with us on a journey to
prosperity, to change the situation in our country for the
better.

In the months ahead we must secure the future, our future, by
voting President Muhammadu Buhari, a man who can truly bring
Nigeria together and continue the journey he has started towards a
safe, fair, and prosperous Nigeria.

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa is the Spokesperson of Together
Nigeria, and Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari
on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora.

I, like many others, have witnessed first-hand the progress of
Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari. He is fighting
corruption, making our country safer, and investing in vital
infrastructure like no other President in the history of Nigeria.
That is why for the past few months, I have been proud to support
Together Nigeria, an advocacy group for the re-election of
President Buhari.

We gathered last week to launch Together Nigeria at State House,
with the support of Her Excellency, Dr. Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu
Buhari, wife of the President of Nigeria. We were thrilled to
welcome former Nigerian football stars, Daniel Amokachi, Peter
Rufai, Garba Lawal, as well as some Nollywood royalty, including
Chinedu Ikedieze (a.k.a Aki), Jide Kosoko, Oga Bello, and artists
Olu Maintain, Korede Bello, Jide Kosoko, Iyanya, Joke Silva and DJ
Jimmy Jatt and many, many more.

These celebrities, like millions of others, have declared their
support for President Buhari’s re-election and Together Nigeria,
because they are immensely proud of the work that he has done since
2015, and they want to see this continue.

In his speech, the Nollywood Filmmaker Desmond Elliot said “Mr
President has started the good work, Mr President will end it
well.” Olu Maintain went further in his passioned speech, saying
President Buhari is “incorruptible”. “Corruption is a plague that
has infected this country for decades. This is the one man that has
taken up the mantle that corruption in this country has to stop.
This man has made it his overall principle to fight this, he has
fought this effectively for his first term, let us give him the
mantle to now rebuild this economy in his second term”.

When President Buhari came to office in 2015, the various
Ministries, Departments and agencies of the Nigerian Government had
over 17,000 accounts in commercial banks across the country. The
level of waste in charges and fees, and scope for corruption and
abuse, was breath-taking. President Buhari responded with the full
implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system, a
unified banking arrangement to consolidate and manage government
cash resources.

Not only has this saved some N4 billion monthly in banking
charges associated with indiscriminate borrowing, but for the first
time, it gives the Ministry of Finance complete overview of cash
flows across the entire Government. And this has ran alongside
President Buhari’s pioneering Whistle Blowing Policy, which has
recovered N7.8 billion and undertaken 791 investigations into
corruption.

President Buhari has also made great strides towards restoring
economic growth in Nigeria and building a globally competitive
economy, having succeeded in securing Nigeria’s place as one of the
World Bank’s top 10 most improved economies in the world for ease
of doing business in 2017, moving up 24 places in its ranking
during the year.

And these economic gains have been invested in improving the
lives of all Nigerians. The Buhari administration has dedicated a
significant proportion of the budget to the provision of basic
infrastructure and capital projects. This has benefited Nigerians
in all parts of our country. Funds have supported the construction
of roads in each of the six Geopolitical Zones, from the Kaduna
Eastern Bypass in the North West, to the rehabilitation of
Enugu-Port Harcourt Road Section III in the South East.

But President Buhari’s achievements extend beyond the economy.
The Buhari administration’s Social Investment Programme is the
largest and most ambitious in Nigeria’s history. It has fed over
nine million primary school pupils and paid out over N66 billion to
states participating in the Home-Grown School Feeding
Programme.

At our launch event, President Buhari commended the hard work of
the volunteers, and gave thanks for the support he has received
during his re-election campaign. And the President is right, thanks
to the hard work of teeming and passionate supporters we will
continue to educate the world about the good work of Nigeria’s
federal government and the achievements of President Buhari.

Over the past three and a half years, we have come a long way in
realising the potential of our rich nation, but I do not deny there
remains more to be done.

The global collapse in oil prices a year before President Buhari
took office in 2015 had a severe impact, and many Nigerians still
feel they have less money in their pockets – to invest in crops, to
send their children to school, and to put food on their plates. We
must do more to help bring all Nigerians with us on a journey to
prosperity, to change the situation in our country for the
better.

In the months ahead we must secure the future, our future, by
voting President Muhammadu Buhari, a man who can truly bring
Nigeria together and continue the journey he has started towards a
safe, fair, and prosperous Nigeria.

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa is the Spokesperson of Together
Nigeria, and Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari
on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora.