UPDATE 1-Nigeria's Buhari signals four more years like the last

(Adds Buhari comments, details, context)
By Paul Carsten
ABUJA, June 12 (Reuters) - Nigerian President Muhammadu
Buhari promised on Wednesday to repeat in his second term
successes from his first four years including an improved
economy and new infrastructure.
His administration has hailed Nigeria's exit from recession,
successes against Boko Haram militants including the return of
the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, road and railways
construction, and loans for farmers, as highlights of the first
term.
"The principal interest of this administration is to
consolidate on the achievements of the last four years," the
76-year-old former military leader said in his first major
public speech since his re-inauguration last month.
But critics have often found fault with Buhari's first term,
when he was absent for long periods for health reasons, and
economic improvement was largely down to improved oil prices.
Still, he won re-election in February with 56% of the vote,
though turnout was just 36%.
"In the last four years, we have made solid progress,"
Buhari told an audience of government, military and traditional
figures and foreign dignitaries during a celebration of the
return to democracy in 1999.
"We can lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10
years," he promised.
Buhari said Nigeria's economy would grow 2.7% this year -
but that was below the central bank's 3% forecast in March.
Economists have lamented Nigeria's sluggish growth since it
climbed out of recession in 2017, with the population getting
poorer as birth rates outpace economic expansion.
Buhari also signalled policy stability when he re-appointed
as central bank governor Godwin Emefiele, a controversial figure
for his first-term foreign exchange machinations to shore up the
naira currency. Meanwhile, violence has spread and is thriving across wide
swathes of Nigeria's northwest, northeast and central states,
often in places that were less troubled before Buhari's rule.
The only corruption being tackled, anti-graft activists and
opposition politicians say, is that of Buhari's political
enemies, while allegations against his allies are rarely
followed through to prosecution.
Buhari said he would continue to build roads, fix the
electricity grid and improve other infrastructure.
He also reiterated his support for agriculture.
"When economic inequality rises, insecurity rises. But when
we actively reduce inequality through investments in social and
hard infrastructure, insecurity reduces," he said.
"We are not daunted by the enormity of the task ahead."