In his democracy day message to the nation on Friday, President Yar'Adua listed seven key areas the government was making progress since he came to power in 2007.
These are on power generation, road, rail and water transportation, police reform, the Niger Delta and Oil and Gas.
According to Yar'Adua, Nigeria, in partnership with the private sector, "We have made a tremendous impact on our country’s agricultural sector in the last two years. Apart from the five agro-export conditioning centres under construction for the handling of key export commodities, 10 rice-processing centres are also under construction and they will account for the processing of one million metric tonnes of processed rice or about 50 per cent of the nation’s total demand."
He said "We have increased our irrigated land from 4,000 hectares in 1999 to 150,000 hectares today to enhance the capacity of farmers to produce all-year. To f u rther encourage higher agricultural production, we have instituted a N200 billion long-term, concessionary loan for large-scale farmers and provided 50% subsidy on 500 metric tonnes of fertilizers distributed last year."
On the Niger Delta, where the Joint Task Force is currently involved in a military operation, Yar'Adua said the government had continued to work for the establishment of the peace and security that are essential for the successful implementation of "our agenda for the resolution of the developmental problems of the region".
He cited the creation of the Federal Ministry for the Niger Delta, saying that this was done with the specific mandate of attending to the infrastructural needs and the challenge of youth unemployment in the area.
"We also have retained the Niger Delta Development Commission as a Federal Government intervention agency and ensured that its statutory allocations are paid in full," the President said.
According to Yar'Adua, "Knowing that these efforts and other developmental efforts will be ineffectual if there is no peace in the region, we are taking necessary steps to ensure greater security in the area."
He said "Our offer of amnesty to militants in the region who lay down their arms remains on the table. I urge them to avail themselves of this offer and join hands with us and their peaceful and law-abiding compatriots to develop the Niger Delta for the benefit of its people."
On Oil and Gas, Yar'Adua said the sector remained the backbone of the nation's economy, contributing over 30% of the Gross Domestic Products, 85% of government revenues and over 95% of the foreign exchange earnings.
"This strategic industry", the president said "is in dire need of reforms and this administration has presented before the National Assembly a comprehensive Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that will govern the industry in the areas of policy, regulations, and commercial asset management.
"This is going to be complemented by efforts to rid the downstream petroleum sector of the fraudulent activities and racketeering that have not only allowed corruption and inefficiency to fester but have equally made attempts to develop the sector by establishing domestic self-sufficiency in refining petroleum products practically impossible.
On the electoral reform, which suffered a setback recently at the National Assembly, Yar'Adua said "Our administration remains strongly committed to the electoral reform as an essential means of strengthening our democracy and I cannot but commend members of the National Assembly for the seriousness with which they are treating the seven Bills I submitted to them on the issue.
"But it should be apparent that we must complement the proposed institutional re form with an attitudinal one. Systems alone will not give us free and fair elections. All of us, especially the political elites, must be ready to play by the rules. We must not stick to the instinct to win at all cost and the impulse to dismiss as fraudulent any process that does not produce the outcome we want. We must be ready to be democrats in thoughts, in words and in deeds.
"I sincerely believe that with the continued support and cooperation of all Nigerians, the initiatives we have undertaken in the last two years to strengthen democracy in our country and promote rapid development will yield visible and positive results for the benefit of our people.
"As we go through the arduous task of nation-building and democratization, all of our critical stakeholders need to have a heightened sense of perspective. We need to acknowledge the progress made so far, appreciate the magnitude of the existing challenges and focus on how to get to our preferred destination."
Yar'Adua restated that the government had set a target of generating 6,000 megawatts of electricity by December 2009 as an initial measure for ensuring relatively stable power supply across the country.
"I am pleased to report that we have taken concrete steps towards meeting this target and achieving 10,000MW by early 2011," Yar'Adua pledged, adding that "The t argets will be met by building on the latent power generation capacities that are now being restored through our aggressive plant rehabilitation programme.
"We have also provided US$ 1.5 billion for investment in gas network infrastructure which will, among other things, ensure the adequate supply of gas to our thermal stations."
On roads, Yar'Adua disclosed that contracts had been awarded for the rehabilitation and construction of 34 Federal Highways in the six geo-political zones of the country at the cost of about 140 billion naira.
He said "We have completed 13 of the major highway works inherited from the previous administration which cuts across four geo-political zones and span over 1,000 kilometres.
"Today’s commemoration of 10 years of uninterrupted democratic rule in our beloved country and the second anniversary of the present administration is an occasion to reflect on the steady progress we have made as a nation over the past decade and the challenges that still lie ahead of us a people.
"We have certainly made steady progress over the past 10 years in the consolidat ion of democratic governance in our country. We have conducted three successive general elections and peacefully transferred power from one civilian administration to another.
"Building on the significant work done in the first eight years of our present democratic dispensation, we have begun interventions in critical areas that will enhance the capacity of Nigerians to create wealth and live healthy, productive and prosperous lives," Yar'Adua added.
Abuja - 29/05/2009
Pana
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