President Jonathan Acceptance Speech Part3 32. I also want to thank, the Vice President, my brother, Arch Namadi Sambo, and his dear wife. You have both provided loyal support and commitment to this presidency; working with you for our people, has been a pleasure. 33. The work and progress recorded these past four years has been possible because we have had the best team possible. The Ministers, Advisers, Assistants and staff that have formed the Transformation team, have shown great dedication, creativity and loyalty. 34. They have put in extra hours when necessary, and always gone the extra mile to ensure delivery. Today, I thank them fervently for their patriotism and hard work. 35. Our Party, the PDP, has been the foundation of our Transformation Agenda. I thank the Chairman and Party Executive at all levels, the Board of Trustees and National Working Committee, the PDP Governors Forum, Federal and state legislators, Secretariat Staff and volunteers, across the country. 36. It is not a mere coincidence that our National Convention this year starts on the same day as the United Nations World Human Rights Day. This government, led by our Party, has made the respect of human rights and individual freedoms, the cornerstone of our administration. 37. I did say during my declaration on November 11, 2014, that we are proud that no Nigerian has been exiled or imprisoned on our watch, for holding contrary views. We must ensure that we continue to water the tree bearing the fruits of freedom, for our beloved people. 38. In the last 16 years, the PDP has kept faith with the Nigerian people by promoting and projecting a united nation, under God. We have united our people around common national goals for the good of our citizens and the development of our nation. 39. Through its years of office, our great Party, the PDP created the Anti-corruption agencies, that is, the EFCC and the ICPC, the Excess Crude Account, the Pension Reforms, Fiscal Responsibility Regime, the Sovereign Wealth Fund and various privatization programmes. 40. We initiated Debt Relief, the Amnesty Programme, the Presidential Jobs Creation Board, Power Sector Reforms and the National Infrastructure Master-plan; the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan, the National Automobile Policy, the Freedom of Information regime, the Nigerian Mortgage Refinancing Company, and the Infrastructure Bank, amongst others. 41. At the advent of democracy in 1999, Nigeria’s GDP was 35.9 billion US dollars. Today, it is 510 billion US dollars - and we have become Africa’s biggest economy. In 1999, our debt to GDP Ratio was 93.1%. Today, it is 13.6 % of which external debt to GDP ratio is 1.89%. 42. As at 1999, only 400,000 telephone lines were active in our country. Today, we have about 120 million lines, which have created many more jobs for our youths. click tinyurl/mm4ggsq to read it all h
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 08:54:33 +0000
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