Protocol
I bring you greetings from His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, on this memorable occasion of the commissioning and handing over ceremony of the laudable projects of Channelization, De-silting and Development of Okoko and Ogbagba Rivers Phases I & II in Osogbo Town, Osun State, executed by the Federal Government through the Ecological Fund Office (EFO), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, for the benefit of the teeming population of Osogbo Town and its environs.
2 The phase I of these triple project, which is the Channelization and De-silting of Ogbagba & Okoko Rivers in Osogbo Town, was one of the twelve (12) 4th Quarter, 2016 ecological intervention projects across the six (6) Geo-political Zones of the Federation approved by Mr. President in October, 2016. The phase II, constituting the Flood Control and De-silting of Ogbagba River on the one hand, and the Erosion Control and Channelization of Okoko River on the other, were among the eighteen (18) ecological intervention projects approved by Mr. President for the 1st Quarter, 2017. Due to the prevailing circumstances, the contracts for phases I & II were awarded to the same Contractor almost at the same time in order to ensure continuity and uniformity of standards in the project implementation.
3 Let me stress that the problems of erosion and flood menace along the Okoko and Ogbagba Rivers’ courses cannot be over-emphasized, in view of their obvious negative consequences on lives and property in Osogbo Town.
4. Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, I have no doubt in my mind that the successful completion of these projects would enhance the holistic solutions to soil erosion and flood menace in Osogbo Town. This would at the same time reduce the dangers to lives and property associated with erosion and persistent flooding that have been experienced here in the recent time.
5 Governance is about the people. The Federal Government is keenly aware of this, hence the ongoing massive investments across the country in projects that are of direct benefit to the citizens, including roads, rail, power and other infrastructural programmes. The intervention of the Federal Government in this erosion and flood control project in Osogbo Township will go a long way in promoting socio-economic development and enhancing the well-being of the citizenry. It will impact directly on lives and property in the township and, in the end, improve the lives of the residents.
6 Let me also congratulate the Ecological Fund Office, the project Contractor, Messrs Accord Engineering Limited as well as the Consultants, Messrs Leadscape Global Consults Limited, for a job well done. I urge the good people of Osogbo Town and indeed the Government of the State of Osun to kindly guard the project jealously and to take ownership of it, thus ensuring its maintenance and sustainability.
7 The Federal Government will continue to execute projects that will benefit the people across the country’s six geo-political zones, and this has been attested to by the ongoing massive infrastructural projects been carried out across the country. Between 2016 and today the Buhari Administration has spent over 1.3 trillion Naira on infrastructural projects. This is bound to attract the kind of investment that will trigger growth in critical sectors like
agriculture, solid minerals and tourism, thus moving the economy away from oil.
8. This is why the Administration’s fight against corruption is very critical, in that it will free the much-needed resources for national development. Every kobo that is not looted is a plus for development.
But for the massive looting of the national treasury, most of the projects we are executing today, including those that have been abandoned for years, would have been completed.
9. Now, recall that in 2016, while launching the Federal Government’s National Sensitization Campaign against corruption, we did say that between 2006 and 2013, just 55 people stole a total of 1.34 trillion Naira of public funds. We said, using the World Bank rates and costs, that one third of the stolen funds could have provided 635.18 kilometres of road; built 36 ultra modern hospitals, built 183 schools; educated 3,974 children from primary to tertiary level and built 20,062 units of 2-bedroom houses.
10. Today, there is even a bigger case. Recently, the Federal Government ordered an audit (between 2010 and 2015) of 15 government revenue generating agencies. The result was the discovery that the agencies had not remitted over 8.1 trillion Naira to the Federation Account. This amount is about six times the 1.34 trillion Naira that was stolen between 2006 and 2015. It is also the equivalent, on the average, of the country’s yearly national budget! Imagine, for a moment, how many kilometres of roads could have been constructed, how many kilometres of rail tracks that could have been laid, and how many modern hospitals and schools that could have been built if that money had been properly accounted for.
11. This is why we will not stop talking about those who have looted the public treasury, despite the pushback from their apologists. If we do not stop the looting of the treasury, there will be no money for the kind of projects we are commissioning here in Osogbo today.
12 And now, Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, I hereby formally commission and hand over the channelization, de-silting, flood control and development of Okoko and Ogbagba Rivers, Phases I & II projects
here in Osogbo.
13. God bless the good people of Osogbo. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
