Full Text Of Jonathan's Speech At Handover Note Presentation

REMARKS BY

HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN, GCFR,

ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESENTATION OF HAND OVER NOTES

TO THE PRESIDENT-ELECT,
MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR

THURSDAY, 28THMAY, 2015

PROTOCOLS

1. I welcome you all to this occasion of the formal presentation of
the Hand-over notes of my Administration to the in-coming
Administration of the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.

1. This event and tomorrow's inauguration of a new administration are
truly historic as it is the first time in the history of our nation
that we are witnessing the democratic and orderly transfer of power at
the Federal level from one political party to another.

1. The Hand-over notes which we now present, contain the governance
philosophy, strategies, policies, programmes and activities of my
Administration for the period – 2011-2015. Also to be found in the
notes are the objectives, targets and implementation strategies,
achievements and challenges of our key policies, schemes, initiatives
as well as the status of commitments and liabilities of the various
MDAs.

1. As we hand over the affairs of the nation, it is appropriate to
recall that at inception, in May 2011, we committed ourselves to
consolidating national unity through democratization and good
governance. Our assessment then, and our firm belief ever since, is
that the unity of Nigeria, the security, well-being, greater freedoms
and opportunities for all citizens must remain the primary objectives
of government.

1. The Agenda for National Transformation which we did our best to
implement consisted of clear and consistent governance strategies,
policies, plans, programmes and projects, in all facets of our
national life. Emphasis was placed on human and state security,
democratization, sound economic management, as well as structural and
institutional reforms.

1. Our foremost concern was the unity of Nigeria.In keeping with that
concern, we engineered a process that began with a review of issues
outstanding from previous Constitutional Conferences by the Belgore
Committee. After that, we widened political consultations through a
National Dialogue that was orchestrated through the Okurounmu
Committee. These culminated in the all-inclusive National Conference
which unanimously reaffirmed that Nigeria must remain united and
indivisible.

1. The Conference also made resolutions and recommendations for
serious constitutional, political and governance reforms, which we
have forwarded to the National Assembly for appropriate legislative
action. It is our hope that the incoming Government will accord the
Report of the National Conference the very high priority that it
deserves, as a genuine expression of the will of our people.

1. The recognition that the starting point for good governance is the
legitimacy of the government itself informed our commitment to
promoting free and fair elections.

1. It also motivated innovations in the management and conduct of
elections which we undertook. Hopefully, in the years ahead, those
innovations will be properly and fully implemented so that Nigerians
will be even more assured of the integrity of the electoral system and
the legitimacy of any government that it produces.

1. To strengthen the social contract between the government and the
governed, we institutionalized the rule of law as well as the
independence of the legislature and the judiciary. We also promoted
group and individual freedoms. As a result, there is vast expansion in
democratic, social and economic space for all citizens.

11.Our nation and citizens faced many new challenges over the past
four years but the greatest was the vastly increased menace of Boko
Haram with their mindless terror, mass killings, utter ruthlessness,
kidnapping of innocent children and other unspeakable acts of
brutality.

1. We should all remember that Boko Haram's emergence predated our
administration going as far back as 2002. The group however became
extremely malignant with the killing of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf in
July 2009.

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