Amid recent criticisms of the federal government over alleged disregard for the rule of law, President Muhammadu Buhari this morning talked tough, vowing to deal decisively with any expression of fundamental rights that undermines national security.

However, he promised to uphold the constitutional rights of citizens to freedom of expression and association provided that such expression does not infringe on the rights of other citizens or threaten national security.
“Whilst we uphold the Constitutional rights of our people to freedom of expression and association, where the purported exercise of these rights infringes on the rights of other citizens or threatens to undermine our National Security, we will take firm and decisive action,” the president said in a nationwide broadcast this morning in commemoration of today’s 59th independence anniversary of Nigeria.
Buhari, who also disclosed that his administration was focusing on cyber-crime, abuse of technology and propagation of hate speech, advised citizens to express their grievances and frustrations with a sense of restraint and tolerance.
He also said whereas airing of grievances bordering on religion and politics in a healthy manner would be tolerated, lessons of the past must never be lost in people’s consciousness.
He noted that wherever the seed of discord and hate is sown, destruction is usually the consequence as he expressed optimism that most Nigerians would embrace the path of peace, prosperity and unity.
“In this regard, I reiterate my call for all to exercise restraint, tolerance and mutual respect in airing their grievances and frustrations. Whilst the ongoing national discourse on various political and religious issues is healthy and welcome, we must not forget the lessons of our past – lessons that are most relevant on a day such as this,” he said.
Buhari also talked tough on corruption, vowing to punish saboteurs especially in relation to the recent award of $9.6 billion judgment against Nigeria in favour of an Irish firm, Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID).
He said the award, made by a London arbitration tribunal and registered for enforcement by a British commercial court over alleged breach of contract between Nigeria and the firm was a clear demonstration of the greed of few corrupt and unpatriotic Nigerians.
According to him, new policies are being put in place by his administration while the government is also collaborating with the National Assembly to evolve legal frameworks that will ensure that unpatriotic elements do not go unpunished.
He appealed to states to put in place machinery that would promote transparency. He also implored Nigerians to join the fight against corruption.
Buhari said in accordance with Nigeria’s partnership with foreign friends to fight tax evasion, smuggling, terrorism and illicit financial flows, the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act had been signed to serve a domestic legal framework to secure international assistance in criminal matters.
Against this background, he said the Ministry of Justice was working with the United States Department of Justice to repatriate a recently discovered $300 million stolen and laundered in the US by the late General Sani Abacha.
Buhari also said in his administration’s bid to foster macro-economic and economic diversification, the Ministry of Finance was merged with the Ministry of Budget and National Planning with a special mandate aimed at enhancing the management of domestic and global fiscal risks as well as increasing and deployment of revenues to fund the annual Appropriation Bill.
Against this background, he threatened that revenue-generating agencies would henceforth be dutifully scrutinised with the provision of performance management framework aimed at rewarding productive agencies while those who fail to meet set targets would be duly punished.
He said he had recently constituted the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to advise him on sustainable macroeconomic, fiscal and monetary policies with a view to putting the economy on track, promising that harsh economic policies would also be reviewed wherever necessary.
The president also said as a lesson from the previous administrations, oil outputs would be well managed, saved and invested in non-oil sectors.
“With this, our revenue-generating and reporting agencies will come under much greater scrutiny, going forward, as the new performance management framework will reward exceptional revenue performance, while severe consequences will attend failures to achieve agreed revenue targets,” he said.
He promised to accelerate the implementation of 2019 capital expenditure, disclosing that Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning had consequently been instructed to release N600 billion in the next three months.
He also said in line with the administration’s move to promote infrastructure development through public private partnerships, incentives of over N205 billion are being offered to the private sector for the construction of N205 billion in 11 states adding that revenue generation in the oil sector would be optimised.
He also promised that the government would work with the National Assembly to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill and simultaneously fight illegal oil bunkering and smuggling of refined products.
“Implementation of the 2019 Capital Budget, which was only approved in June 2019, will be accelerated to ensure that critical priority projects are completed or substantially addressed. The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning has been directed to release N600 billion for Capital Expenditure in the next 3 months,” he said.

The president recalled that the federal government recently signed an agreement with a German company, Siemens, for the purpose of modernising the national grid in three phases with the plan to generate 11 gigawatts by 2023, and 25 gigawatts later.
He also spoke on other infrastructure being put in place by the government, including the construction of the second Niger bridge, Lagos-Ibadan expressway and the N500 billion Special Intervention Programme.
He disclosed that it was in a bid to institutionalise the social investment programme that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development was recently created, adding that Nigeria’s population growth as one of the highest in the world, is a notable challenge, adding: “It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we provide adequate resources to meet the basic needs of our teeming youth.”
On security, he said the capacity of security agencies to defend the country’s territory was being enhanced by the provision of equipment.
He described October 1 independence anniversary as an opportunity to thank God for His mercies for Nigeria and also reflect on the sacrifices made by the country’s founding fathers.