The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime has made tremendous progress.

According to Mr Mohammed, Nigeria is now better than before 2015 when the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power.

Mr Mohammed said this on Monday when he was featured on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) live programme, “Good Morning Nigeria.”

During the programme, the minister said Mr Buhari’s government had met the expectations of Nigerians and was true to its mandate given the time frame and circumstances.

He said that attempts to de-market the government and the country were the handiwork of die-hard naysayers and a vocal minority.

Speaking on the administration’s achievements, the minister said in 2015, the entire North-East region was inaccessible, and 20 of the 27 local government areas in Borno were under the control of Boko Haram insurgents.

He said presently, no portion or part of Nigeria’s territory was under the occupation and control of insurgents.

Mr Mohammed recalled that in 2015, Nigeria was the number one importer of rice from Thailand, but with the current administration’s policies and programmes on agriculture, the country is self-sufficient in the staple and food in general.

He said millions of farmers had been empowered with the Anchor Borrowers Programme while the number of rice mills in the country had increased from two in 2015 to 60 presently

The minister said under the administration’s social intervention programmes, 10 million pupils were fed daily while two million households benefitted from Conditional Cash Transfers, among others.

Mr Mohammed said the administration had constructed 17,000 km of new roads and rehabilitated 8,000 km across the country

“We completed the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, as well as the second Niger bridge, which was a mirage for more than three decades.

“Also for more than three decades, Nigerians did not know what it means to travel by train until the Buhari government came to power.

“In spite of all the sabotage, today we have working, the Lagos-Ibadan railway, Abuja-Kaduna railway and Ajaokuta-Warri railway which were not in existence before we came,’’ he said.

The minister said Mr Buhari’s government would continue to build a progressive and prosperous nation and would not be cowed or intimidated by the naysayers. 

(NAN)