President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja says time and history will no doubt speak more eloquently of his stewardship.
Buhari stated this at an event tagged “Preserving PMB Legacy”, organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture to conclude its Scorecard Series.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the event witnessed the inauguration of PMB Legacy Portal, Testimony Series, Documentary and a Compendium of the Buhari Administration’s achievements.
Represented by his Vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the president said he could confidently say that his administration had given of as much as it could and impacted positively on the lives of the citizens.
He said the scorecard series, legacy portal, testimonies series, documentary and the compendium put together by the ministry were the documented evidences of the achievements of the administration.
According to him, they will be a reliable historical records of what transpired in the eight years of his administration.
He said the works, being kept in many different forms, they would help to reinforce their accuracy and authenticity.
The president noted that the five works would also provide useful source of materials for researchers and historians in the future whether they are for or against his administration.
Speaking on the contents of the works, Buhari said the testimony series featured the testimonials of actual beneficiaries of the Social Investment Programmes (SIP) of the administration.
He said the testimonial series practically presented SIP as the largest social investment programme in Africa as well as its impacts.
“Hearing from citizens themselves; the petty trader who was able to expand her business because of TraderMoni; the unemployed graduate who benefitting from the N-Power programme discovers a new and profitable path.
“We see and hear recorded for history, the passengers who could not hide their excitement at the seamless operation of the modern railway system or the state-of-the-art airport terminals.
“We also see the president of the rice farmers association who told us how rice production in the country has increased exponentially under the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
“These are real people provided with a springboard to do more for themselves and for their communities; real people inspired to hope and believe that Nigeria can be positively transformed in our lifetime,” he said.
The president said the scorecard series provided a platform for Ministers to highlight their achievements, challenges as well unfold plans for their respective ministries.
Buhari urged that the accounts should be given the widest possible reach across traditional and new media channels.
According to him, the Documentary and Testimony Series should resound on radio, television, and across social media.
He added that the Compendium should be circulated, in hard and soft copies, far and wide, to engage, provoke and inspire Nigerians and others who would come across it.
The president said that government being a continuum, he desired that the unfinished business of his administration found continuity and fulfillment in his successor as he did to his predecessor.
He said the administration considered it a privilege and an honour to serve the people of Nigeria.
Buhari congratulated the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and his team for putting together the “impressive, innovative and robust archival materials”.
He said they would provide veritable template for future administrations.
Earlier, the minister said the Scorecard Series was introduced to consolidate all the ministry had been doing since 2015 to propagate the policies and programmes of the administration.
He said the forum provided a counter to the pushback by the opposition and the naysayers, who contended that the Buhari administration had achieved nothing.
Mohammed said the scorecard series also provided campaign materials for the ruling All Progressives Congress and its candidates in the run-up to the 2023 general elections.
“We have now shown that not only do we have a lot to campaign with, we are spoilt for choice!
“We also went beyond the moment by creating the Legacy Portal, which, as I said earlier, is an electronic storehouse of the achievements.
“This is unprecedented in the history of our country,” he said.
The minister assured that the same way the scorecard series was a success, the other four variants launched by the president would attain same level of success.
