31st December, 2012
Nigeria’s 
President Goodluck Jonathan in his new year message to Nigerians has outlined the priorities of his government and at the same time, he urged Nigerians to continue to support his administration.
He said his administration “will give priority attention…to flood and erosion control, the rehabilitation and expansion of existing federal roads, improved power supply, as well as the continued rehabilitation, upgrading and reactivation of the national rail network.”
Security of the nation will also receive top priority, pledging to allocate more resources.
Last year, Nigeria spent close to N1trillion on all security apparati, about a quarter of the national budget, drawing criticisms.But the president has vowed to “further empower our security agencies who are working in collaborative partnerships with our friends in the international community to stem the scourge of terrorism in our country and enhance the security of lives and property in all parts of Nigeria.”
In the statement signed by him, he also mentioned employment generation as part of the priorities in 2013.
“Employment generation and wealth creation will also remain a primary objective of our socio-economic agenda for 2013. Creating more employment opportunities for our youth and graduates of our universities is an imperative that will continue to underpin our drive for massive economic growth, the rapid expansion of our manufacturing and industrial base, and the productive diversification of our national economy. In this regard, we will continue to provide the necessary enabling environment for the private sector to thrive,” he said.
He said in recent comments, he had already given enough indications about the directions his government would tread and pledged a determination to realise the objectives.
‘Our objective for the year is to ensure by all possible means that more of the programmes and projects envisioned by this administration, and which are already being embarked upon are further brought on stream within the next 12 months to meet the yearnings of our people, and raise the quality of life.”
Yesterday, Nigeria’s leading opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, described the Jonathan’s government as a government thriving in deception, giving promises it would not fulfill and publishing phantom achievements.
But Jonathan brushed such criticism aside and insisted that his government indeed has much to celebrate. According to him, his government “achieved a lot” in 2012.
In his words: “We have in the last year achieved a lot in terms of the positive transformation of vital sectors of our national life such as public infrastructure, power supply, oil and gas, transportation, education, health and agricultural development. We will continue to work diligently in 2013 to ensure that our efforts in these areas are carried forward to full fruition in fulfillment of our promise of better public services and improved living conditions for all Nigerians.”
Indeed, he urged Nigerians to ignore the tantrums of the opposition, “who havew have taken it upon themselves to pick on every initiative and effort of this administration”.
He said his government would not be discouraged by such criticisms and instead forge ahead.
“We are determined to continue to push forward. We will do more, not less. We will remain focused”, he added.