Nigeria will be like United state very soon..Lai mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji
Lai Mohammed, has assured Nigerians of better
times ahead, saying they will soon get the
change they voted for.
”This Government will not give excuses. The
painstaking and methodical approach by the
Buhari Administration, its deep analysis and
understanding of the challenges and the recent
inauguration of the cabinet will herald a new
dawn,” the Minister said at a meeting with
representatives of Civil Society Organizations
(CSOs) in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said that in the next few days, the
Administration ”will start firing from all
cylinders, starting with the unveiling of the 2016
budget”.
”Nigerians will witness measurable and impactful
progress in all spheres of governance. We shall
not abandon our social intervention policies such
as one meal a day for school children and the
payment of 5,000 Naira each to vulnerable
Nigerians. We are committed to lifting millions
of Nigerians out of poverty,” Alhaji Mohammed
said.
On how the Administration will fund its
programmes, in view of the drastic fall in the
price of crude oil, the Minister said it would be
through the diversification of the economy,
plugging of leakages as well as exploiting and
widening the country’s tax base without
necessarily raising taxes.
”A comparative analysis between Nigeria and
South Africa will drive the point home. In 2013,
with a population of 160 million and GDP of
$510 billion, Nigeria collected $30 billion in
taxes, whereas South Africa, with a population of
54 million and GDP of $366 billion, collected
$74 billion in taxes.
”In 2014, Nigeria, with a population of 170
million and GDP of $535 billion, collected $26
billion, while South Africa, with a GDP of $350
billion and population of 54 million, raked in
$70 billion. From the figures, it is obvious that if
only we can widen our tax base, we do not need
to raise taxes to increase our tax revenue,” he
said
The Minister commended the CSOs for the role
they played during the last general elections,
saying the organizations, especially those
grouped under the Situation Room, contributed
hugely to the success of the polls.
He said the Buhari Administration will carry the
Civil Society along in its efforts to change, for
the better, the country’s fortunes.
”That is why we have started our engagement
with you this early. Therefore, this will be the
first in a series of engagements with the Civil
Society. We see you as credible, and we see you
as patriots, who are genuinely interested in the
welfare of the people,” the Minister said.
In his speech on behalf of The Situation Room,
Mr. Clement Nwankwo urged the Federal
Government to tackle growing national issues
with the urgency that it deserves.
”Expectations are very high amongst Nigerians
for the changes promised by General Buhari
during the campaigns. The need to deliver on
campaign promises is against the background of
the complete lack of public trust in government
and its institutions,” he said.
Mr. Nwankwo listed ”urgent symbolic steps and
quick wins” to be urgently implemented by the
government as including transparency and
openness of loot recovered from officials of the
immediate past regime, openness of the
national budget, sale of some of the presidential
jets, zero tolerance for impunity and the probe
of the FCDA land swap.

Source: vanguard