Lai: Our achievements will leave Nigerians breathless — we have so much to showcase

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says naysayers who have attempted to play down the achievements of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration will be left “breathless”.

Mohammed said this on Wednesday at the first edition of the government’s new series titled ‘PMB Administration Scorecard 2015-2023’, at an event held in Abuja.

The series is designed to show off the achievements of Buhari’s administration since he came into power in 2015.

According to Mohammed, some presidential candidates have attempted to copy Buhari’s achievements as their blueprint.

“In the din of politicking, naysayers have attempted to play down the massive and unprecedented achievements of this administration. Some presidential candidates have even released a poorly-done photocopy of this administration’s achievements as their own blueprint,” the minister said.

“But the series we are starting today will leave them breathless as we cover all the achievements in the various sectors, because we have so much to showcase. The frequency of these briefings will be high and this will run through the remaining part of our tenure.

“Despite attempts in some circles to downplay the achievements of this administration, I have no scintilla of doubt that history will be fairer and posterity will be kind to us. Those whose trips have been shortened and smoothened by good roads and bridges will remember those who built those roads and bridges; those who use the modern terminals at our airports will remember who built them.

“Those who ride on modern trains along Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna and Itakpe-Warri will not forget those who made that happen. And the 9.8 million school children who are fed daily, the one million youths that have been empowered as well as the 500,000 who are undergoing trainings under the N-Power and the 1,632,480 households that have been enrolled in the conditional cash transfer programme will not forget.”

According to the minister, the decision to highlight the administration’s achievements is necessary owing to the fact that the tenure’s end is near.

“As the administration winds down, we believe it’s very important to consolidate our efforts at showcasing these achievements. Hence, we have designed a number of programmes, including the series starting today. In the weeks ahead, we will be unveiling other programmes in this regard,” he said.

“In the words of President Muhammadu Buhari, this administration has implemented high-impact projects across the length and breadth of the country that meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians. And this is in recognition of the importance of critical infrastructure in economic development and the quest of this administration to leave a lasting legacy.”

The minister’s comments come about a month after Buhari said those he appointed were failing to do their job of telling Nigerians about his achievements.

“Relative in terms of time and resources, this administration has done extremely well. I have to say it because those who are supposed to say it are not saying it. I don’t know why,” the president had said.