Welcome to Geophilworld's blog: 03/25/15

Wednesday 25 March 2015

Goods being shared by campaigners.

Na wao! this is serious. Politicians will not kill us...lol

(photos) Naeto C's son looks just like him

Naeto C's son, Marobi, turned a year older today and he's indeed a replica of his father. He's cute!

PDP accuses APC of planning to rig the election - Read statement

Text of press conference by the Director of Media and Publicity, PDP presidential campaign organization, Femi Fani-Kayode.

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, It is with a heavy heart that we are compelled to share with the Nigerian public the following sensitive information which we believe, if not handled properly and looked into, is serious enough to affect the outcome of Saturday’s presidential election in a negative way.

Before we go into detail permit me to make an important assertion which cannot be overstated or over-emphasised. That assertion is as follows: the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation and our candidate President Goodluck Jonathan are not in the least bit worried about what the outcome of Saturday’s election will be. We believe that we have the backing and full support of the Nigerian people and we believe that we shall not only win but that we shall win convincingly.

Whatever we share with you here today does not, in anyway, mean that we shall not participate in Saturday’s election or that we are worried about how we will fare. The fact of the matter is that we shall not only participate but we are also very confident of winning. We believe that the Nigerian people will give President Goodluck Jonathan a fresh mandate for the next four years regardless of the shenanigans of the opposition and those that are covertly working for and with them.

The purpose of this briefing and of sharing the following information with the Nigerian people is simply to ensure that they are fully aware of what is going on and to enable our security and intelligence agencies to ensure that INEC does the right thing, answers some of these questions and put their house in order so that the outcome of the election is not in any way questionable.

We cannot sit by idly and remain silent when a desperate group of ruthless and greedy little men, in collusion with their friends in the APC, rob the Nigerian people of their historic opportunity to elect a President of their choice. This they intend to do by sitting in a dark room somewhere and rigging the election in the most sophisticated manner even before it holds.

This is unacceptable and it is incumbent upon us, as a responsible, accountable and sensible campaign organisation to expose the rot, point out the dangers of doing nothing about it, finger and identify those that are involved and call on the authorities to do something about it before it is too late. We shall share this information in good faith and we shall then leave the matter for necessary action by the relevant security agencies and authorities.

Our concerns stem from the fact that the moving spirit and a major shareholder and board member of the company that supplied the card reader system and machines to INEC is not only a friend of but also an ardent and keen supporter of General Mohammadu Buhari and the APC. That man's name is Sani Musa and he is indeed the main force behind the company. The company's name is Act Technologies Ltd. and the Chairman of the company is one Engineer SK Danladi.

How and why INEC would give the contract to supply the card readers to a fanatical APC supporter and to a man whose other company was officially blacklisted by INEC a couple of years ago for sharp practices, needs to be explained. Sani Musa has expressed his undying support for the APC and General Buhari and his hatred and virulent opposition to the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan openly and publicly on his Facebook wall. Some of his comments on Facebook read as follows: ''I stand with him (Buhari) for whatever reason” and “Imagine the kind of people given spaces in our nation’s news tabloids. Hoodlums are having field day in Nigeria since the inception of GEJ’s administration. Mad men, hooligans and vultures have taken over decency of the society. May Allah save us from the torments of this (sic) rascals and expose their intentions on our nation state be it the Boko Haram, killer militants or by extension those in authority with wicked intentions-Amen.” Photocopies of his Facebook wall where these comments were made and his picture will be made available at the end of this briefing.

Worst still, it is clear that certain aspects of and electronic components within the card reader system which will be used in Saturday's election have not only been compromised but that the encryption codes and so-called ''master key'' may have been made available to the opposition or their friends and agents. This will enable them to access the system, fabricate and generate fake votes and manipulate the voting patterns to their advantage.

This constitute a very serious breach of security and it is a criminal offence. It is also very dangerous. Worst still it can easily be carried out successfully because, if done quietly and properly and without any deep scrutiny, it is virtually fool-proof. All you need to make it work is to have certain relevant and key INEC officials that are in the know to work closely with the supplier of the card readers and an opposition party that is so hungry and desperate for power that they are ready to pay large sums of money to their friends and associates to help them get it by hook or by crook.

We believe that all those components are now in place and that the biggest and most brazen attempt to rig elections in the history of our country will take place on Saturday if the necessary measures are not taken to prevent it. If the conspiracy is not exposed, if the Nigerian people do not rise up and demand answers, if the plan is not intercepted and aborted, if the Chairman of INEC does not answer the relevant questions and take the necessary steps and if the relevant individuals, including Sani Musa and his collaborators and co-conspirators in INEC and the opposition, are not called to order, arrested, interrogated and prosecuted their plan may well succeed.

In view of this dastardly plan that is in the offing and this unwholesome conspiracy, we call on the party leadership and faithful to direct our supporters and polling agents to be very vigilant at every polling booth and to guard and protect their votes. After voting they should stay at the polling booths to ensure that their votes are counted and that they are not manipulated or changed.

Ladies and gentlemen, the facts, the evidence and our recommendations are as follows:

INEC has concluded plans to utilize its recently acquired Smart Card Readers for the forthcoming presidential elections scheduled for March 28^th 2015. INEC has carried out a mock poll to test-run the functionality of the Smart Card Reader in 12 states of the Federation with mixed results.

There is an on-going public debate regarding the pros and cons of the planned Smart Card use by INEC with a number of questions being asked regarding the security vulnerabilities of the technology.

The purpose of this document is:

To highlight the most serious of such security vulnerabilities that are critical enough to justify a halt in INEC's plans to use the Smart Card Readers for the forthcoming general elections (until such issues are satisfactorily resolved and fully certified as being secured by reputable independent third party security auditors).
To demonstrate that the opposition APC has already secured, through rogue means, an unassailable advantage over the ruling PDP which will most likely result in a resounding electoral victory for it irrespective of PDP’s actions or inactions, in the event that the Smart Card Readers are used for the elections.

To highlight the need for INEC to admit to the security-related failings of its Smart Card Readers implementation under circumstances that will be credible to local and international observers, such that it will become obvious that the use of Smart Card Readers for the forthcoming polls cannot guarantee free, fair and credible elections.

The major issues that are worthy of consideration are summarized below. Each issue can be readily substantiated by verifiable sources of evidence.

i. Compromised Master Encryption/Decryption Key: The Master Encryption/Decryption Key that can "unlock" and simulate the PVC data processed by the Smart Card Reader has been compromised. There is only one copy of the Master Key in Nigeria and it is in the possession of an individual who is a known APC sympathizer/supporter (and also the contractor responsible for the production of PVCs and manufacture of Smart Card Readers for INEC who was already blacklisted by INEC following his inability to deliver ballot papers during the 2011 elections). The Master Key should rightly be in the possession of INEC, as the neutral umpire, under the most stringent access control protocol imaginable and not freely in the possession of a partisan actor.

INEC has already expressed concern over intelligence reports that APC has been purchasing VINs (Voter Identification Numbers uniquely identifying each PVC), which can only mean that the Party is already in possession of the Master Key (as the purchase of VINs would otherwise have been a fruitless exercise).

This has grave implications for the PDP as the opposition APC, armed with the Master Key and sufficient VINs, can actually simulate the same data transmitted from any Smart Card Reader deployed for the elections at will. The situation is even now worsened by the fact that APC no longer has to purchase VINs or PVCs as they can now download the entire VINs directly from the INEC database which they have successfully “hacked” into.

RECOMMENDATION: INEC should be officially requested to IMMEDIATELY produce the Master Encryption/Decryption Key (before it has the opportunity to cover up this monumental act of negligence).

ii.    Failure to carry out Independent Security Audit of its IT Infrastructure: Contrary to what the average political commentator thinks, the critical IT infrastructure for the use of the Smart Card Readers by INEC is not necessarily the actual device itself, but the back-end IT infrastructure comprising INEC servers, database, network, personnel and processes. Given the critical nature and purpose of this infrastructure, the standard global best practice is for the organisation to enlist the services of an independent third-party IT Security Audit firm to carry out a comprehensive (and indeed, periodic) Security Audit of its entire end-to-end IT infrastructure and prepare a Security Audit Report which forms the ONLY basis upon which INEC can certify its proposed technology as secure and safe from vulnerabilities that can be exploited by rouge persons/systems.

There are various internationally-acceptable information security standard certifications that a reliable back-end IT infrastructure like INEC's should pass in order to command public confidence, such as ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 27018, etc. The lack of such security-related certifications simply means that INEC cannot confidently assert that its systems have not been "hacked", compromised or otherwise illegally accessed by unauthorised persons.

RECOMMENDATION: INEC should be officially requested to IMMEDIATELY produce a copy of any Security Audit Report independently authored by a reputable and certified third party (before it has the opportunity to cover up this monumental act of negligence).

If INEC fails to produce a satisfactory Security Audit Report, then it should be compelled to conduct a fresh Security Audit of its entire IT infrastructure which can even be extended to its production/manufacturing facilities in China (indeed the only other copy of the Master Encryption/Decryption Key is in the possession of the Chinese Manufacturers) - this process of auditing cannot possibly be completed before the general elections.

iii.    Compromised back-end Personnel: Contrary to standard industry practice, INEC opted for the engagement of relatively inexperienced, “suitcase” IT Consulting Companies for the development of its back-end collation and transmission systems and other core server and database applications, using predominantly open source software characterised by publicly-available source code – another major security vulnerability. While significant budgets were made available for this purpose, INEC's choice of "greenhorn" consultants was due to the ridiculously low contract sums paid for these consultancy contracts. The unfortunate consequence of this indiscretion, however, is that the personnel associated with these firms are poorly motivated, ill equipped, poorly supervised and easily compromised. It is, therefore, easily understandable why the opposition APC has been able to compromise INEC's back-end personnel to its advantage.

RECOMMENDATION: INEC should be officially requested to make public the company profile of the IT Consulting Firms it contracted to develop its back-end IT systems, the Curriculum Vitae of their personnel, their known connections to opposition APC figures as well as the financial details of their associated contracts (vis-a-vis the approved budgets). This will clearly prove the lack of credibility of INEC's critical back-end systems.

iv.    Millions of Unprinted PVCs: Contrary to the public perception that INEC has virtually completed the production of PVCs, the true situation is that, as at last week, INEC was yet to take delivery of over 2 million PVCs that were yet to be produced by the contractor, Act Technologies. It is not certain that the production of these PVCs will be completed before the presidential elections scheduled for March 28^th 2015. It is, therefore, obvious that a significant number of eligible voters will definitely be disenfranchised in the process.

RECOMMENDATION: INEC should be officially requested to invite stakeholders to an impromptu visit of the PVC production facility of ACTS Technologies in Ganges Street, Maitama, Abuja to observe, first hand, the on- going production process and take stock of the current and outstanding inventories in a transparent manner.

Absence of Quality Control (QC) Measures and Defective PVC Deliverables: INEC has failed to put in place reasonable Quality Control (QC) measures for the PVCs delivered to it by the contractor - ACTS Technologies. The implication of this procedural loophole is that INEC had and still has no way of determining the extent of "defects" in the supplied PVCs.

This became most apparent during the recently-concluded mock polls in which a variety of very serious, but avoidable, problems were experienced during the exercise, including PVCs with absent fingerprint data; PVCs with poor picture quality; PVCs with mismatched data (i.e. encoded data different from printed data); Card Readers with low battery lifespan etc. INEC has deliberately hidden the extent of these problems from the general public as there would have been considerable outrage if the scope of the challenges is made known.

Furthermore, nobody in INEC can reliably predict the likely percentage of defective PVCs that have already been distributed until during the actual election itself. If the percentage is significant and more concentrated to specific geographic locations, as is being suspected, then it is no doubt a recipe for disaster - as it can fuel electoral violence of immense proportions.

If, however, INEC steps down the use of Smart Card Readers, then the aforementioned “defects” will become irrelevant as the PVCs will then be used as regular Voter Cards without the added complication of authenticating the encoded data.

RECOMMENDATION: INEC should be officially requested to IMMEDIATELY produce its Quality Control Policy with respect to PVC and Smart Card Reader deliverables.

INEC should also be officially requested to make public the detailed report of its mock poll exercise and its forecast of the probable extent of defective PVCs during the general elections.

I thank you all for your attention.

Reports of APC members being harrased in Ekiti continues

Sola Salako, a media personality just shared this on her Facebook wall alleging that Ekiti state governor ordered military officers to lay siege at the home of an APC candidate. This was concord by a Senator.

Imagine this car found somewhere on Nigerian road

This car was seen driving around somewhere in Nigeria without a tyre. Imagine!

If Buhari wins, APC will jail me - Patience Jonathan

Thecable.ng, today Wednesday March 25th, quoted the first lady Patience Jonathan, at the PDP women presidential campaign rally in Oyo state, to have said that the APC and its presidential candidate plan to jail many people, including herself if they win the 2015 election. Read what she said below:

“I want to tell you the people of Oyo state, you don’t need to listen to APC. APC is a spare drug; they don’t have material to quantify PDP material. You should know that they have been in government before; they were there before PDP, before Goodluck administration. If they come to Oyo, ask them, what do they have for you, not ‘I will, I will’.

You were there; when you were there, what did you do for the people of Oyo state? “All what they did for you people when they were there was to send your fathers and your children to prison. That’s all what they have for you people, and I want you to remember. Some of you were still small by then when your fathers were sent to prison by this very APC people.

Some of them died in the prison; you know them. You want me to call one of them that died in the prison – don’t you know Adelabu? Haven’t you heard that name before in Oyo? He was the leader of NPN then.

He was imprisoned by this APC, by this very people that want to enter there and he died there. They are coming again to jail your fathers and your mothers and even me, but God would never allow them – Holy Ghost fire, Holy Ghost fire, Holy Ghost fire. They would never succeed, because they have nothing to offer.

Their own is ‘I will, I will’; that’s all what they have to offer. “PDP has come to liberate the people. After this one, when they fail, they won’t have any name to bear again. The last time they failed, they changed their name to APC – not knowing APC is a spare drug"

Check Out PDP Campaign Monster Truck (See Photos)

(Courtesy of Arthur Eze). For GEJ 2015 election. One of a kind piece as a Campaign gear. This party is really geared towards winning the general election this weekend.

(Photo) President Jonathan welcomes International election observers to Nigeria

Today President Goodluck Jonathan welcomed members of the International Election Observer Group to the state house ahead of Saturday's presidential election. He is really committed to ensuring credible polls.

IK Ogbonna and his pregnant fiancee share a bathroom selfie...

...well! what if...

Why I shall win this election – President Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has reinstated his belief that he will win the presidential election come Saturday March 28. In a statement released by the presidential spokesman Reuben Abati, President Jonathan lists reasons for his confidence. Read article below;

“When I was growing up in Otuoke, a small town in Bayelsa, as the son of a boat builder, life was hard. Of nine children to my parents, only two of us survived. But I had the chance to go to school. Many did not. I worked at my studies. God smiled on me. I am here today as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I tell you now: there is not a moment that I forget where I come from, or how tough life can be for so many of us.

I have no sense of entitlement. I am not from a big family. I do not come from a profession or background that believes it has some God-given right to rule. I am here because of the will of the people and I will remain here because of the will of the people. I am willing and able to serve, but I am not desperate to serve. I am a living proof that Nigeria is a country that rewards hardwork, integrity and ambition. At its best, Nigeria is a country where, no matter where you come from, through honesty, hard work and by the grace of God, everything is possible.

I shall win this election because Nigerians know exactly who I am, and what I stand for. I fight for what I believe in. I don’t walk out of the door when the going gets tough. Nigerians know what I have delivered and I want Nigerians to know what I will deliver in the next four years. Our plan will build on the platform we have laid in the last four years, to deliver growth, prosperity, peace and justice to all. We are ready to take Nigeria to the next level.

The future I see and work for is for a Nigeria that works for all. I see a Nigeria where mothers and children do not die due to lack of medical attention. A Nigeria where no child goes to bed hungry or is out of school because of family circumstances. In the future of Nigeria that I see, the young and the youths will receive quality and sound education that provides them access to job opportunities and a higher standard of living. A Nigeria where the elderly have access to the medical care they require and life expectancy is significantly higher than it is today.

A country where the old people realize the benefit of their work and the disabled are not left behind. Nigeria will be a country of equal opportunities where every child is able to attain his or her full God given potential. Indeed, my dream is that someday, a product of the Almajiri Schools becomes the President of this great country. It will be a Nigeria where justice is not measured in any currency but available even to the most vulnerable in our society. My vision is that of a Nigeria that works for all, and not just a few.

This has been a long campaign. I welcome the challenge of a vigorous campaign. Democracy needs competition, but it should be the right type of constructive competition. It is a sign of strength that Nigerians finally have a choice. In this document, I present to you a very clear choice and path to Nigeria’s progress. It is a choice and path based on the foundation that we laid during my first administration. You will find our plan for security, education, health. Also, our plans for the economy, jobs and the different forms of infrastructure to support our growth. We have not left out the environment and how we will leverage international economic cooperation for our growth and development. Most of our plans have been costed and some are obviously a continuation and completion of what we began. This is my promise to Nigeria, a vision for the next four years.

Section 2

Security, Education and Health

Nigeria’s Security and Territorial Integrity

Let me turn first to security. The definition of a modern state is the rule of law and the security of its citizens. My administration has faced unprecedented challenges. As a nation we have all felt the trauma and pain of international terrorism and extremist violence. The changing fortune on the battlefield that we have seen in recent weeks is a result of the sacrifices of our security agencies. I salute their courage and the determination of our military, they have done Nigeria proud.

Book Haram is part of an international phenomenon. It is a terror that does not know borders or boundaries. We understood this from the beginning. Nigeria was on the right side of the argument in Mali against the extremists; and in support of democracy in Ivory Coast, Guinea, Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau. What we support abroad, we champion at home: democracy, freedom and the rule of law. It is a proud record and a reflection of Nigeria’s role and responsibilities in Africa and the broader community that we have upheld and deepened.

We have formed a formidable team with Cameroon, Chad and Niger to effectively dismantle Boko Haram. Infact, everywhere that terror has been successfully tackled, it is through partnership. And that is what this government has championed. In the past four years we have worked hard to improve the capacity of security agencies. We have provided specialized training to our armed forces, established police academy in Kano to beef up policing capabilities. In addition, we have now provided better and improved equipment to our security agencies. This process is ongoing. We have made these investments in order to improve the capacity of security agencies to protect all Nigerians.

There is still a real risk of further terror attacks, against the kind of soft, innocent target of which there are so many across the country. And there will be further battles ahead. But Boko Haram’s claims of a Caliphate have been shown to be as empty and bankrupt as the rest of their hateful philosophy. Nigeria remains one, and undivided. We shall root out Boko Haram.

We salute the extraordinary courage of the families of the Chibok girls, and we shall never give up on these girls. We also salute the families of the Buni Yadi boys, and indeed all the victims of terror. We cannot undo their suffering. We can only use it as an inspiration to overcome this evil in our midst, and to rebuild a better world for those who have seen their lives turned upside down.

In the next four years, we will build on the progress we have made so far. Our military efforts, both domestic and through international cooperation have enabled us make progress in our fight against Boko Haram. We will expand and intensify our military presence in the affected region and communities to ensure that we leave no gaps for Boko Haram to take advantage in the future. We will continue to equip the military and other security agencies to meet the security challenges of modern Nigeria.

In order to cement our progress, we are implementing three strategic security initiatives that will be the focus of our administration in the next four years. These initiatives are the Safe School Initiative (SSI), the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE), and Nigeria’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programme.

Under the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI), our administration will:

Accelerate the enrolment of displaced children in schools in their host communities and secure places in schools for children in IDP camps. This a temporary arrangement that will be replaced as displaced persons move back to their communities. Our goal is to secure communities as soon as they are rid of the terrorists so that citizens can return safely and children go back to school in their community.

If and when necessary, transfer children living in LGEAs at high risk of insurgent activities to secondary schools in safer locations.

Under the Expand Safe School Initiative (SSI), which is a national initiative across the country, we shall introduce guidelines for all schools on what constitutes a safe school. This will be piloted in selected schools in the North East, and across the country. Over the next four years, we will build safe schools that take into consideration all forms of security vulnerabilities.

Under the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE), we will achieve the following:

Address immediate human suffering by empowering response agencies to better deliver much needed humanitarian relief – food, non-food items, medicines etc. as a foundation for other interventions. This is ongoing.

We will embark on reconstruction and rehabilitation of the North East. Infact, the North East will be rebuilt and experience economic renaissance.

Leverage the region’s strategic agricultural and solid mineral assets to create jobs and expand economic opportunities for the youths, and ensure long-term peace and prosperity.

We will exploit long-term opportunities that are unique to the North East where national progress is contingent on the region’s progress (Sahelian trade, strategic power projects, national food security etc).

Under the Nigeria’s CVE programme, we will focus on the following:

De-radicalisation and reintegration of suspected and convicted extremist offenders back into the society.

Development and implementation of an after care programme for the deradicalised involving community reintegration and rehabilitation. This will give rehabilitated prisoners opportunity to make a living after they have been released.

Quality Education, Skills and Training for All

During my visit to one of the Almajiri schools that have been established under our policy, I met excited young children. These are bright, lively children, now receiving the best Nigeria can offer. With public funds, the next generation now has the tools it needs to make for themselves better lives and to make this a better country. I know very well what education means. Education is the key to transformation. My dream is that one day, a product of Almajiri schools will become President of this great nation.

This is not a slogan. It is the story of my life.

In the next four years, no child will be out of school in Nigeria.. Our schools will not only be safe, but will also be centres of excellence that mould national character. We will reverse the brain drain in our universities and tackle the most critical important challenge to university education in Nigeria – access and quality. We will devise a sustainable and effective system for our University education to bring it up to global standards.

When I first assumed office, providing quality education was a challenge for government. There had been decades of decay. Consequently, many of the graduates our system was producing were not fit to meet the needs of our industries. Many lacked the skills of the new, technological era. We have refocused the educational system in the area of access, quality, infrastructure, teacher quality and development, curriculum relevance, funding, planning and targeting out-of-school children. Our renewed focus is based on some of our initiatives, including the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), the revision to the National Policy on Education, the support provided to states to conduct the annual school census, and the Almajiri Education programme. We have established 12 new universities so that every state in Nigeria now has a federal university. Nine of the new universities are in Northern states.

In the next four years, my government shall:

Work with states and local governments to ensure that none of our children of primary school age is out of school.

Continue our reforms in the education sector, to improve access and quality at all levels, and ensure sustainability and adequacy of education funding. We will continue to work with state governments to improve access and quality at all levels.

Provide technical educational institutions with additional well-equipped workshop and adequate and well-trained-teachers. There will be a renewed focus on vocational training that effectively links the needs of our industries with skills acquired.

Will forge a closer partnership between employers and the educational system, especially at the tertiary level, and encourage greater, properly regulated involvement of private individuals and agencies in the delivery of education services.

Establish new adult and continuing education centres, strengthen the old ones in order to promote mass literacy among Nigerians.

High Quality Healthcare for all Nigerians

Nigeria produces some of the finest health care professionals but has not had the health care system the general public deserves. In the next four years, we will lay the foundation for Nigeria to become a centre of medical excellence in Africa, and begin to reverse the embarrassing trend of medical tourism. All Nigerians will have access to high quality healthcare and National Health Insurance (NHIS) coverage will be expanded, and we will accelerate the implementation of private sector health initiatives.

Let us for a moment remember the eight victims we lost last year to Ebola. Let us also praise the bravery of Dr. Stella Ameyo Adedavoh and other heroes who identified the virus and cared for the sick, and made the ultimate sacrifice. Let us also remember the efforts of all the agencies of government, both at the national and sub-national levels, which helped to prevent this tragedy from becoming a catastrophe.

That same commitment and energy has also helped us eradicate Guinea worm. In the next four years, with that same determination, we shall also rid Nigeria of polio.

At the start of this administration, access to healthcare was a challenge, particularly for women and children. We established the ‘‘saving one million lives” initiative to reduce birth related deaths to mothers and children. I know the pain of loss that a properly resourced and managed health service will help to eliminate.

We have put in place measures to eliminate counterfeit drugs and equipment. I signed the National Health Bill into law to enable quicker improvements in both quality and access to primary and tertiary healthcare. We have refurbished and upgraded our hospitals including the Enugu Teaching Hospital (ETH), Ahmadu Bello Teaching Hospital, Zaria, the National Trauma Centre at the National Hospital, Abuja, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), and the Federal Medical Centre in Umuahia.
In the next four years, my government shall:

Facilitate the expansion of the NHIS to cover previously excluded illnesses. This will enhance the medical insurance system and improve access to healthcare. We will also modify existing arrangements to provide free healthcare to children and the elderly.

Work with the private sector to reverse the trend in medical tourism. We will enhance and speed up the private health care initiative for the establishment of world-class specialist hospitals across the country.

This will complement our plan of one general hospital per local government and one specialist hospital per state. It will require the intensification of the current training and incentivisation of paramedical personnel to expand healthcare in rural areas.

Stimulate the local production of medicines and other supplies, while enforcing stringent laws against the manufacturing and sale of fake and adulterated drugs.

Section II

The Economy

Let me share with you the progress we have made to diversify our economy, create jobs and our plans for the next four years.

As I look forward to your support for the coming four years, I can report some distinct forms of progress that demonstrate not only our commitment to increasing the standard of living of Nigerians, but show that our efforts are already yielding good results. First, following the rebasing of our country’s Gross Domestic Product last April, we now know that our economy, estimated at US $510 billion for 2013, is the largest in Africa. This was more than just a statistical exercise: it gives us the data to show how much more diversified and broad-based the economy has become since 1990 and where targeted government intervention can be most effective.

Our economy has been growing at an average of seven per cent per annum in the past decade. That growth is a necessary but not a sufficient factor for judging our economic wellbeing. What we need is more inclusive growth that translates into dividends for all strata of our growing population.

Second, since I assumed office as President of our great country, we have established a reliable mechanism for tracking employment trends. We now know that between 2012 and 2014, we created 2,826,552 total number of jobs. We know where the jobs were created and in what sectors. These are powerful tools in helping to understand what is happening and where we can make best use of public funds. In addition, poverty in Nigeria today is much lower than in 2010. The World Bank recently released its 2014 Nigerian Economic Report (NER), providing the most up to date analysis of the poverty and living standards in the country. It provides evidence that Nigeria’s poverty rate is significantly lower than had been previously reported. From the survey, it is estimated that 33.1 per cent of the population lived below the poverty threshold in 2013.

On three critical economic fronts therefore, we have made progress in the last four years. The foundations for future economic progress have been laid. In the coming four years, I will build on past successes to advance our collective efforts towards creating a new Nigeria. The plans we have are detailed, comprehensive and the product of a wide-ranging consultation exercise that has tapped into the best talent we have at home and abroad.

Before I discuss the plans we have for growth in each sector of the economy, let me first discuss our plans to ensure that we sustain our macroeconomic stability.

Macroeconomic Stability and Nigeria’s Future Economic Growth

I have my share, my goals and aspirations in critical areas of our lives, including security, education and health care. However, progress on all of these will not be possible without a stable macroeconomic environment. The foundation of the future economic progress we seek to make depends on macroeconomic stability. The realization drives our commitment to prudent economic management, fiscal discipline and economic reforms.

During my first administration, to ensure macroeconomic stability, we promoted policies that guaranteed non-inflationary growth as well as protected against the negative impacts from the rest of the world. Such policies, which include proactive fiscal consolidation, flexible monetary policy, effective management of foreign exchange reserves, prudent budgets and price stability in the financial services sector. Recent falls in oil prices have significantly impacted our revenues and the value of our currency. We shall remedy this in the coming years.

In the next four years, we shall rebuild our resources, shore up the value of the naira, grow our economy, and create wealth. Specifically, we will accomplish the following:

We will diversify our sources of revenue and make Nigeria less dependent on oil. We will build on the progress we have made on non-oil revenue sources and move from the current 70:30 ratio to 60:40 for oil and non oil government revenues, respectively.

While respecting the autonomy of CBN, I have directed the monetary and fiscal authorities to work together to enhance our macroeconomic stability, especially price stability.

We will work with the states to strengthen savings in the Excess Crude Account (ECA), increase investments in the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and continue to maintain healthy foreign reserves.

We will continue to increase the short and long term access to finanace to critical sectors of the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing, solid minerals, housing and construction etc and address the long term finance challenges in the economy through deepening our financial system.

Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) will continue to receive special attention as they account for over 45 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and employ over 60 per cent of the workforce.

We shall revitalize the insurance sector to ensure it fulfils its huge potential, expand the level of risk businesses undertaken and expand insurance sector jobs from the current 30,000 to 300,000.

Doctors in Lagos suspend indefinite strike

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and its affiliate, the Lagos State Medical Guild, Wednesday suspended their indefinite strike.

According to the secretary, NMA Lagos State chapter, Dr Babajide Saheed, the decision was reached at a joint meeting between the NMA and the Medical Guild.

Saheed said work resumes Thursday at 8am, urging doctors to go back to their duty posts.
“The strike is hereby suspended. Full services resume by 8.00am tomorrow,” he said.
He said a committee has been set up to ensure the implementation of the promises made by the state government.

The issue, he said, will be reviewed two weeks after the governorship elections.

Saheed said doctors’ focus is centered on the patients, adding that they are committed to offering them the best care.
It would be recalled that the Medical Guild embarked on an indefinite strike on March 16 to demand for three days salary in April and May 2012 and August and September, last year.
The NMA joined the Medical Guild on indefinite strike on Monday as a form of solidarity.