Speaking at the occasion, held at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja on Sunday night, the Minister said the personal testimonies from the lips of Nigerians is to complement the different platforms created by his ministry to communicate the various achievements of the Buhari Administration.
He said the testimony series was borne out of the experiences of Nigerians who have benefitted from the various programmes of government and are ready to relate such experiences to fellow Nigerians.
“We have used many platforms to communicate the numerous achievements of the Administration to Nigerians. These include Town Hall Meetings, which we have now held 16 times across the country; media tour of infrastructural projects; regular visits to media organizations, press conferences and media interviews, and the FGN/iAPP.
“However, we decided to add another platform, which is personal testimonies. The simple, dictionary meaning of testimony is 'evidence or proof of something'. There is no better evidence of what this Administration has achieved than that given by Nigerians, who have been positively impacted by the policies and programmes of government,” Alhaji Mohammed said.
He said no one can better tell Nigerians about the impact of the Home-grown School Feeding System than the 9.3 million school children who are fed one meal a day, five times a week, or the over 90,000 cooks who have been employed under the programme.
The Minister also said no one can better tell Nigerians about the impact of the N-POWER programme than the 500,000 graduates who have been employed under the scheme.
“If you want to know about the success of Tradermoni, ask any of the 2 million beneficiaries. If it's Marketmoni, ask any of the over 350,000 beneficiaries. Who can better communicate the efficiency of the Abuja-Kaduna rail transportation than the thousands of people who are daily ferried between the two cities. And if the government says it has paid pensioners from the defunct NITEL and Nigeria Airways, among others, is it not better to hear directly from those who have received their pensions after waiting for many years?'' he asked.
Alhaji Mohammed said the testimonies, which started running on radio and television stations across the country, as well as in the Social Media, late last year, have so rattled the opposition that they were forced to issue a statement in which they acknowledged that the media space is awash with the testimony series.
''The achievements of this Administration are real, and the Administration has impacted positively on millions of Nigerians, in just three and half years and with very limited resources, compared to other Administrations that have presided over the affairs of our dear country since 1999,'' he said.
In his remarks, President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, congratulated the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture for the innovative way it is showcasing the numerous achievements of the administration.
He said hearing directly from Nigerians lends credibility to the positive impact of the policies and programmes of the government on the lives of the people.
“In our second term, we will build on this momentum and we will do even more. Nigerians can look forward to greater prosperity, more opportunities and the continuation of growth that is diversified, inclusive and sustained. Under my leadership, we will achieve the Nigeria of our dream,” the President said.
Twenty-two persons, including the Oba of Jebba, Alhaji Abdulkadir Alabi Adebare; Ba’ale of Bode Sa’adu, Mr. Bolakale Yusuf; Mr. Lookman Animashaun of the defunct Nigerian Airways, Mr. Udeh Mathew Orji of the defunct Biafran Police Force, Hajia Halita Aliu and Mr. Jamiu Abiola, the son of the late M.K.O Abiola, were present at the occasion to testify to the benefit of the policies of the government under the N-Power, School Feeding Programme, payment of pensions, TraderMoni, MarketMoni, various infrastructural projects as well as on the recognition and honour bestowed on the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief M.K.O Abiola.
Dignitaries, including Head of Service of the Civil Service of the Federation Winifred Oyo Ita and Directors-General of the agencies under the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, attended the event.
Uboshe Uboshe/Editor
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