₦airaland Forum

The delectable aide of the president was audibly enraged throughout the 5-hour session of ABAT MEDIA SPACES, a weekly Twitter Interactive program hosted by the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre to showcase the capacity of frontrunner presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the achievements of the APC so far.

Recalling the state of the nation when his principal took over in 2015, Ajuri described the reign of the PDP as ‘criminal in nature’ and ’berated the public bureaucratic corruption’ that took place whilst they were in charge speaking specifically on the Subsidy regime, Excess Crude Account administration and general resource mismanagement.

“The subsidy regime that was running before 2015 and the subsidy regime that has been running since 2016 are two different animals that portend to achieve the same objective…

“…What we had before was a subsidy regime from the early 2000s to 2015 that essentially the NNPC on its own, paid a series of faceless briefcase companies. People will hide behind Shell companies and all of that to submit a voucher saying that I brought 100,000 litres of PMS into the shores of Nigeria from a refinery in Germany or Singapore and as a result of that, you owe me so so amount of money. That was what was going on for over a decade”

“As a result of that, such a system is prone to abuse; so you’d have a voucher irrespective of whether they brought in zero or half of the product”

“The NNPC will then approve those vouchers to be paid regardless of any due diligence on whether those products were delivered into the country or not.”

Pressing further, he said “In 2009, the subsidy regime of Nigeria cost $2.6bn. That was what it takes the NNPC to subsidise our fuel in 2009. In 2010, same subsidy, for the same population cost the country $4.3bn. In 2011, the subsidy payment totalled fourteen, I said one-four ($14bn) up from the $4.3bn that it cost just a year ago.’

“Wrap your head round what I’m telling you. Between 2012-2014, the subsidy payment to NNPC averaged annualy, $9bn. Every year from 2012-2014.”

Giving a comparative analogy of the same payment since President Muhammadu Buhari took over in 2015, Ajuri said;

“In 2021, fuel subsidy in Nigeria costs $2.2bn. I don’t really need to say more about the difference. The subsidy regime that our government has operated since 2016 is such that it removes all those corrupt briefcase companies from the import business which were basically friends of either the president, governors, some senators or party officials as at that time. We removed all those people and said we are not going to deal with private importers anymore. NNPC was made to be in charge of all importation and er could easily account for all of the expenditures of the import volumes brought into the country”

On Debt management and Excess Crude Account, Ajuri questioned the source of the claims that the country’s debt had tripled under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“People have been raising the point that President Muhammadu Buhari has accumulated three times the amount of debt than all the previous administration. Is that possible?”

The Presidential aide directed carriers of such information to the website of the Debt Management Office for the Year-On-Year national debt profile.

“In 2010, the total national debt, which is inclusive of domestic and foreign debt was $35bn. By 2014, this is at the time when we have had the highest revenue in history and after President Obasanjo had provided over $60bn in foreign reserves, which was a record. You had billions of dollars in the Excess Crude Account that was set aside by the Obasanjo administration in addition to foreign reserves and then on top of that you had the highest oil prices in the history of the country. In view of all of that available portfolio where you can spend from, you accumulated between 2010 and 2014, a debt that grew from $35bn to $67bn. That means we have added $32bn to our debt profile between 2010 and 2014. That does not include the depletion of the foreign reserves, not including the depletion of the Excess Crude Account. That is what happened.

“No infrastructures, No social investment programs and these are the people that are coming out with the audacity to say that they are coming to save the country”

So, what is the national debt today? The national debt of the country as of January 1, 2022 is $95bn. Meaning from 2014 to January 2022, we had added essentially $28bn. Meanwhile Jonathan’s administration took over $30bn, for no reason, when they had all that wealth.

We now put Buhari’s regime through recession, a global pandemic and we were still able to achieve all the infrastructures I have laid out including all the roads, railways, airports, seaports and the social investment programs that you know about”

Ajuri also explained how the Jonathan’s administration took the foreign reserves down to $28bn and the excess Crude account spent down from about $50bn to $2bn which president Muhammadu Buhari inherited.

“This is a recorded conversation and I am not afraid. Between 2004 and 2015, that’s 11 years, you had the ECA. Out of $107bn that accrued in those period, $105 was spent before President Muhammadu Buhari came in. Tell me what they spent it on!”

“$2bn is what he inherited and it has not done above that since he took office because of the low oil prices.
That is where we are.”

Giving a record of how the APC administration had spent the $2bn inherited from the ECA, Ajuri said the Buhari administration, in a well publicised deal, sent $500m directly to the USA for the purchase of 12 Tucano jets. Another $500m was spent on several military wares details of which were given to all the governors at the FEC before approval. $500m was used as seed capital for the NSIA to form the Presidential Infrastructure Development Funds project which has helped several strategic infrastructures going on around the country today.

The presidential aide believes reasonable Nigerians will shun politics of hearsay and give the party an opportunity to complement the gains of the current administration so far, despite limited resources, by voting massively for the APC in the 2023 general elections.

egunna:
na God go punish some ppl oooo.as in,person go see truth like this,him go choose to lie just because of hatred.d last picture of this bridge I saw was not this advanced and that hate filled idiot up there is saying it's been like this for d past one year.

WATCHOVER:
ABEG GO RELAX, TINUBU SHOT HIMSELF, HOW DOES HE WANT TO ESCAPE THIS MISCALCULATIONS.
SAY NO TO TERRORIST

Dr. Sunday Adelaja

I was initially very hesitant to write this article. The reason being that I have too much on my plate now to deal with considering the ongoing war in Ukraine. I also didn’t want people to think that my position is informed by the fact that I’m a fellow Yoruba man as Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I intentionally wanted to be silent in this election season for this very reason, seeing how divisive tribal sentiments are in our society. But the multiple messages I get every day demanding for my position compelled me to pen down my convictions on why I see Bola Ahmed Tinubu as our next president. These are my 10 reasons why I believe that Bola Ahmed Tinubu will emerge as the next President Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria.

1. Tinubu is a man of vision. Can you imagine that when he was voted in as Lagos Governor he set up a think tank through which he was able to develop a 50 year vision for Lagos. No wonder Lagos is still under the leadership of his disciples till today long after Tinubu himself stopped being the governor. The reason is simple, the whole world will follow the man that knows where he is going. With the picking of Kashim Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate, it’s obvious that this election is already predetermined. As things are Shettima will deliver the Northeast, while Buhari and his governors will deliver the Northwest to APC, we know Southwest will definitely go to Tinubu. If those three geopolitical regions go the way of Tinubu/Shettima, all other political parties would only be contesting for the second and third positions. So what of a Muslim/Muslim ticket? Yes, that will really be a big issue for some Christians from the south/south and especially south/east areas of Nigeria.
These are regions that don’t normally vote APC anyway, they cannot be the main factors for consideration, expediency advises that you mainly consider the opinions of your staunch supporters, those who’ll give their vote to you. The South/south and the Southeast will vote either PDP or Labour Party, even if Tinubu selects a Christian running mate. The Southwest doesn’t really care as much when it comes to religion, it’s the most tolerant zone in Nigeria in that term, so they’ll surely remain with Tinubu no matter what. The other two zones that will vote Tinubu/Shettima ticket are Northern states, they’ll rather be excited by that choice. I personally don’t believe that Tinubu who is married to a Christian Pastor for 40 years will all of a sudden become anti christian. If that could be the case we would have seen the signs in Lagos. No, we need not fear Muslim/Muslim ticket, no, not under Tinubu. At this juncture I can only say; Nigeria, behold your next President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

2. Tinubu is a raiser of men. “I look for talents that are better than me. I’m not afraid to bring on board people with higher wisdom because the most important thing to me is to get the job done for the betterment of all. I don’t wait till zero hour to discover the next person to do the job or the next job to be done, from the first hour, I find them. The second, third and fourth are as important as the first. Time waits for nobody. Even the obstacles on my way, I predict them before those that will bring them will start to think about them, I plan for betrayal, I plan for backstabbing, I also plan for reunion and forgiveness long before they happen. In life, I expect nothing, I expect anything, I expect everything.” – Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Here is a long retinue of leaders who have been raised by Tinubu. These people gladly call him their god father. We all know the evil of godfatherism in Nigerian politics but Tinubu is one of the only few ones who represents the positive reflection of the word. His own godfatherism is not to hold you down but to raise you up. This is the true meaning of mentorship without which no human endeavor is successful. Many blame him for it, please show me a better example not only in Nigeria, but anywhere on the continent. Guys, Tinubu is the best we have. Just take a look at all his products. His top-ranking men include Professor Yemi Osinbajo, now the Vice President, who was his attorney general and commissioner for justice.

Rauf Aregbesola, the immediate past governor of Osun State, was Tinubu’s commissioner for works. Babatunde Fashola, his successor in Lagos State, was his chief of staff. He is presently a federal minister for a second term. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who served as Tinubu’s first chief of staff, is also a federal minister for a second term.

Babatunde Fowler served in Tinubu’s administration as chairman of Lagos State Internal Revenue Service from where he proceeded to become executive chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos State. Others include: Femi Gbajabiamila, present speaker, House of Reps, Akinwunmi Ambode, former governor of Lagos State, Sen. Solomon Adeola, Tunji Bello, Wale Edun, Bamidele Opeyemi, Gbenga Ashafa, Sen. Oshinowo, Sunday Dare, Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Adeleke Mamora, Minister of State for Health, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman, Nigeria Diaspora Commission, Adejoke Orelope-Adefilere, Kemi Nelson,Dele Alake, etc.
Jesus said to judge the tree by it’s fruits, I can see by Tinubu’s fruits that he is the best we have.

3. A man who survived as the Governor of a Nigerian state without the normal monthly federal government allocations to the local government administrations of the state must truly be special. We all know that even with the monthly allocations from Abuja, many states still fail to cope with their responsibilities. Some of them cannot even pay ordinary salaries to workers of their states, not to talk of development strides. This is not the case with Tinubu, when Obasanjo kept the money from Abuja from him he rather thrived thanks to some incredible ingenuity in financial management. Listen now, he not only survived, he went ahead to do something our country had not seen before or after him. He was able to increase the internal revenue generation of the state from a paltry N600 million monthly, to N51 billion today. It is said that if Lagos was a country it’ll be number five by GDP as of 2016 thanks to its 146 billion dollar economy. As of 2016 this was bigger than the economy of Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Congo etc. Lagos didn’t become this successful because it gets more money from Abuja than other states, oh no, the states with the biggest allocations are in the south south and their people still run to Lagos to survive. Lagos didn’t become this wealthy thanks to its natural resources like oil, gas etc, no, no, go to those states that get 13% of all our nation’s wealth and you’ll see a different story. Natural and material resources don’t grow wealth, it’s visionary leadership that does. This is what Tinubu brought to Lagos, and it’s what made the difference. Nigeria needs Bola Ahmed Tinubu now like never before. Friends, this is the type of man I’ll like to see manage the affairs of our beloved country.

4. Some haters have tried to tarnish the image of Tinubu by saying he was not educated or didn’t finish university. However a simple investigation will show you that Tinubu got a distinction from Chicago state university. The Punch of January 7, 2022 reported that Chicago State University wrote to it to confirm that Tinubu did indeed graduate from the school after two years of study there. The Richard J. Daley College, a community college in Chicago, also confirmed that he did receive an associate degree from there. In other words, he spent two years at Richard Daley College for an associate degree and another two years at Chicago State University for a bachelor’s degree. He was also an excellent student in Nigeria. But to be the head of your class in America means you are for real, you can’t buy your way through school there. Tinubu’s presidency is an idea whose time has come, there is no amount of slander or character assassination that’ll stop this moving train of Tinubu’s Presidency.

5. Many have finished school as excellent students, but have not been able to perform in the field of their calling. This is not about Tinubu, he excelled even in his professional practices. He was head hunted by some of the top American companies as one of the best products of his university. Upon graduation with honours and several awards, Bola Tinubu cut his professional teeth at the American-based Arthur Anderson, Deloitte Haskins and Sells (now called Deloitte Haskins and Touche) and GTE Service Corporation – the largest Communication and Utility Company in the United States of America.
Meanwhile, at Deloitte Haskins and Sells, the young and professional Bola broadened his experience by participating in the auditing and management consultancy services of General Motors, First National Bank of Chicago, Procter and Gamble, International Harvester, GEC and other Fortune 500 firms. Tinubu worked in American companies rising to executive positions before moving back to Nigeria to continue working for his American employers. His results in Lagos show that the man Tinubu can deliver, I don’t doubt the fact that he will make a major difference in the role of Nigeria’s President. Of course he won’t resolve all our national issues, but he is capable of paving the way for a greater Nigeria.

6. After returning to Nigeria in 1983, Bola Tinubu joined Mobil Oil Nigeria, and later became an executive of the company. Stories are still being told about the excellent leadership Tinubu brought to Mobil Oil till today. He was recognized by both Nigerian and American executives of the company not just as an excellent leader but as a revolutionary one too. If you are looking for the secret of Tnubu’s Lagos, here it lies. Some will say Lagos is this good today simply because it once was the nation’s capital, oh no!

Hope my recollections of Lagos of the 90s give you the picture of how Lagos was after the capital moved to Abuja, it was a forgotten city, totally abandoned with the streets littered with corpses lying there for weeks without anyone caring to do anything about the situation until Tinubu came to the stage. Lagos was the most insecure city in Africa, the city was waking up to new 50 dead bodies in the streets with no one removing them. If you think Lagos is still nothing to write home about even today, then just go and read the news lines of those days, only then would you value the amount of work that has been done in Lagos. The Lagos ministry of health was said to be having only one ambulance bus in the whole city of millions of people. Today Lagos boasts to be one of the richest cities in Africa, it is richer than 50 out of the 55 countries in the continent. No doubt a huge part of that success must be credited to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I’m certain he can bring about a similar radical change to the situation of Nigeria today.

7. In this presidential race especially at the primaries stage, there were many Governors and former Governors that participated, yet none of their states is known or remembered for their leadership. You can’t find any of their footprints of excellence after ruling for 4 or 8 years. You can’t say this about Tinubu, his footsteps and footprints are all over Lagos as we speak. As a matter of fact even his opponents who were former Governors moved from their states to settle down in Lagos state. The question is why couldn’t they make their own states as good as Lagos while they were Governors there.

After their leadership it’s always stories of woes and tears, banditry and kidnapping, which they quickly blame on their successors. As a matter of fact most of the harshest critics of Tinubu are people enjoying what Tinubu built in Lagos. They never once think of acknowledging with gratitude the hard work of the man who provided them the opportunities they couldn’t get back in their home states. If it were so easy then all other states would be as good as Lagos or even better, especially bearing in mind that no state in Nigeria is faced with such daunting challenges as Lagos faces every day. This is a clear indication that Tinubu possesses exceptional leadership qualities that Nigeria is beckoning on him to bring into the affairs of our nation at this time.

8. Many accuse Tinubu of corruption, that I cannot affirm unless the court of law finds him guilty of any crime. If the Obasanjo government that hated him with passion couldn’t convict him of corruption then I’ll not join those spreading that rumors. Remember that the most respected anti corruption advocate in Nigeria till date is Nuhu Ribadu, yet this same person said he couldn’t implicate him of any crimes even though Obasanjo gave him the task to investigate him. More so, Ribadu himself later joined the team of Tinubu calling him his mentor now. The US government came out to say Tinubu is cleared of any criminal dealings. It was published in the Vanguard of 23 February 2003. Meanwhile there is one of the presidential candidates that is being dubbed as Mr. Integrity, this same man in his own words on video admitted to have invested the state government money into his own family business, when he was the state governor. Yet Nigerians don’t see this as corruption, meanwhile in any other countries this person would be serving a jail term for such an act of corruption. It’s a clear case of conflict of interest. Our own sense of corruption in Nigeria has its own definition that’s totally different from what the rest of the world sees as corruption. May God give us insight so we renew our minds as a people and as a nation. Ever since Tinubu left government in Lagos, it’s one of the few states of the federation that has not been plagued by corruption scandals. Tinubu has been able to put capable technocrats in charge of the state. From Fashola to Ambode to Sanwo-Olu, these are extremely focused men EFCC has not been after them as it’s the story with other governors, neither has there been any international anti corruption agency that have accused them of corruption. I’ll say until we see the facts, we should just focus on someone that’s capable of resolving the daunting issues facing our nation at this time. Tinubu has to be allowed to contribute his quota to turn this nation around.

9. I remember clearly when Tinubu was the Governor of Lagos State. My most vivid memories of Lagos were the years prior to his election and the early years of his reign. I was already based in Europe, so each time I visited Nigeria the most glaring image of Lagos were the dead bodies littered all across the streets. The bags of refuse wastes and garbage all across the roads. Surprisingly even the iron handed man like Abacha could not do anything to change the rots of the then Lagos. This disgusting image of Lagos started during the regime of Babangida after the capital was moved to Abuja. The state of things got to a despicable height under Abacha just before Tinubu came. For those who didn’t see or remember Lagos of those years, it’ll be difficult to truly know the value of what Tinubu has done to Lagos and Nigeria at large. Unfortunately, i can’t see any other state in the federation that has been so transformed even after some of the presidential aspirants today ruled those states. To me our country Nigeria is also in a similar comatose state right now in terms of security, safety to lives and property, economy etc. We need a Tinubu to come with his transformational capabilities to help turn things around in Nigeria.

10. Many will be quick to point to the frailty of health of Mr. Tinubu. My answer to this is simple, it comes from my own personal experience of growing old. I’m 55. The older I get the more I discover that my body can no longer do some of the acrobatic exercises I was capable of when I was much younger. However to my amazement, I discovered that my inner man is not getting old at all, my spirit and mind are always as sharp and alert as ever. During the APC convention while younger men were falling asleep, Tinubu was agile all night. Following his victory at the convention we can all see how he has been galloping from one state to another. No one out of the candidates have been as hard working and busy as he is. His close associates talk about how Tinubu outworks all of them, working 14 to 20 hours every day. What else do people want for Christ sake? My take is this as long as he can see clearly as a visionary we need his leadership before he leaves us to a better world. We shouldn’t waste the huge potentials and life experiences that he carries inside. Friends, sooner or later you and I will get old too. While our flesh and body might be challenged, we will discover that it’s a huge injustice to discard us as simply being too old, while we know we still have something to offer. It’s not the body that rules a nation, it’s the clarity of vision. If Tinubu has that, there will be enough of able bodied men and women who’ll gladly put their bodies to work to bring the vision to pass.

As things are now only death can stop the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigerian sixteenth President. If I were in the camp of Tinubu I’ll not rule out an attempt on his life by the forces bent on not letting his presidency become a reality. It’s not enough to pray for him, I will strongly advise that his security be beefed up accordingly.
Nigeria cannot afford to have a repeat of the destiny of Moshood Abiola.

May God bless The Federal Republic Of Nigeria, and may all her haters live long to witness it.
For The Love Of God, Church And Nation
Dr. Sunday Adelaja
Kyiv, Ukraine
2022.

mofaderera116:
Una don start with your werey. Na so he distributed Chibok girls.Una don start with your werey. Na so he distributed Chibok girls....

Oxala:
You got played dude, you and your brown-teeth hydraulic-soup-guzzling master

Oxala:
Why not Bishop Shekau

Bunch of fools

Nwabueze22:
Stupid bishop

WATCHOVER:
Only the Pictures with Joe Biden is enough for Nigerians to reject them, don't forget Obama and Joe Biden brought Buhari the calamity to Nigerians, the same Joe Biden has crumbled the United States economy.

We reject anything Joe Biden and Shettima is a terrorist sympathizer, They will never smell Aso Rock

Bishop Mohammed: Shettima Has Done More for Christians in Borno.

Bishop Naga Williams Mohammed is the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Borno State. He spoke to journalists on how Christians suffered in the hands of Boko Haram terrorists and the efforts of the state governor, Kashim Shettima to help them rebuild their lives. Michael Olugbode was there and presents the excerpts:

Bishop, we are surprised that your surname is Mohammed, how did this come into being?

Yes, in Southern Borno generally, it is common to see a family mixed up with both Muslims and Christians. My father was a Muslim and my mother was a dedicated Christian. We lived in the same house, ate the same food and shared the same culture. When it was Christmas, my Mum would give money to my Dad to buy whatever animal for us to slaughter. The same thing when it was time for Eid El Kabir (Sallah) Celebration, my Dad would buy a Ram for us to slaughter without discrimination.


You talked about the religious harmony in your family, how will you compare that with instances of religious suspicion all over Nigeria?


Waoh! In the past there was absolute tolerance to the extent that you don’t know this man’s religion and the other one, we all trusted the other person’s religion. In fact, in my mother’s house, she had a kettle which is called ‘Buta’ in Hausa. Muslims used to performe ablution. While growing up, I was raised to see muslims from a positive light. All I knew was that muslims were doing what they were supposed to do, and we christians did what we were supposed to do in terms of worship and coexistence in our communities. In Southern Borno where most of the christians in Borno State hail from, most of our families are inter-faith based, mixture of muslims and christians. I used to know a family where the father and his six children were christians, while his three wives were muslims and they lived peacefully.

Bishop, the number of christians in Borno State is large, but they still constitute a minority in the state, what has been the response of successive governments to challenges of insurgency faced by christians in Borno.

If you go back to recent history, our first major problem was in February 2006, when a Danish man whom I learnt was not even a christian, portrayed a picture of the prophet of Islam in a bad light. Unfortunately, there was protest here in Maiduguri and christians were at the receiving end. If I can recall, in 2006, they described behind the protests as miscreants, arsonists, hooligans, and bastards. I pity those who call them these names, because, these bad guys when they see an opportunity, they will take advantage of it. A total of 56 churches were razed down in Borno, and so many shops belonging to christians were destroyed and there was no compensation from the State Government then.


Are you saying that the then Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff didn’t release any funds for rebuilding and compensation for christians who suffered the attacks and lost lives, assets and means of livelihood?

Absolutely not! There was no compensation. And I repeat, no compensation, nothing was given to christians except promises made by Sheriff. He promised to compensate christians for all those properties destroyed but he did not keep the promise. I was in a member of the high powered administrative committee as a representative of the christian community constituted by Sheriff. I think only N150,000 was given to each pastor whose entire church was destroyed. At a point, we compiled all the destroyed properties including churches and submitted the report to the Borno State Government.

Bishop, if christians didn’t receive compensation from the Borno Government after the 2006 Danish cartoon crisis, one is tempted to wonder what the situation is under a more vicious Boko Haram that has caused more havoc on communities that include christians.


My brothers, those who are not from Borno State may not know, but you and I know better. [b]In the history of Borno State, there is no governor that has been fair to the christians community in this state as much as Governor Kashim Shettima. I am saying this in the presence of God Almighty and this is nothing but the truth. Shettima, in the history of Borno, is the only governor that has sponsored the highest number of christian pilgrims every year since 2011. I am speaking boldly without fear or favour because as CAN Chairman, I do not receive salary or kobo from the government or any institution, but the facts need to be told. This governor has shown compassion to the christian community. For example, when Gwoza people were driven from their ancestral homes, they fled to Maiduguri, and the governor personally came to CAN Centre in Jerusalem ward two times in June and July 2014. He gave N10 million for their upkeep at first instance, by then the victims were not many. By the end of October 2014, the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) from Gwoza increased to 42,000 in that camp alone. Shettima came again and gave another N10 million. He also gave additional N5 million for christians from Borno who fled to Cameroon to enable them return home. He gave another N5 million for non-indigenes who fled to Cameroon to come back to Nigeria. The governor even directed the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA to supply food directly to the IDPs in the camps under the christian leadership.[/b]In fact, the governor insisted that he wanted christian IDPs to stay together with their muslim counterparts in various designated IDP camps here in Maiduguri but we the leaders felt it was wise to separate christian IDPs to avoid frictions between displaced persons dealing with trauma.

You said about 56 churches were destroyed in 2006, how many of them have been rebuilt?

On the churches that were razed down, we had a meeting with Shettima on how his administration can come in to assist in rebuilding some of them. Last year, when the governor visited Gwoza, Askira -Uba and Chibok Local Government Areas for an on-the-spot assessment of the destructions, he saw how some of these churches had become dilapidated, some burnt to ashes, in fact, some churches were not only razed down but graders were used to pull the structures to ground zero as if that church never existed there. Like in Gwoza, the report we received was that after some of the churches were demolished, the terrorists packed the whole debris and threw it far away from the premises. When Shettima visited these areas, he released N100 million for the rebuilding of some of these churches. A committee was set up for that purpose, I am a member of the committee headed by a permanent Secretary, Mr. Justus Zare as chairman, and I am happy to inform you that presently we have used that money to rebuild 11 key churches which our people are now using for their worship services. I am surprised when some people were saying why not rebuild all the churches, we cannot do that because there were so many places that are still unsafe for people to return, and you cannot expect us to go to the communities on the fringes of Sambisa Forest to start rebuilding destroyed churches, when the security situation has not improved. After, the initial N100m, Shettima graciously approved another N105 million for the 2nd phase of rebuilding destroyed churches. This was made possible when CAN officials led by my humble self had a meeting with him on 30th March, 2016 at the Government House. So far, the governor has released N210 million for reconstruction of our burnt churches. He also approved the sponsorship of all our local pastors to participate in the 2017 Jerusalem Pilgrimage. During the meeting, Shettima allocated land and approved Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) for church buildings in the state. This has never happened in the history of Borno since 1979. We are very grateful indeed. In fact, one of my neighbour who was a journalist died last year. He was a christian. When the governor heard of it, he delegated some of his aides and gave the family the sum of N1 million for the burial. So also, when Archbishop Emmanuel Kana Mani died, the governor visited the family residence in Maiduguri and gave N10 million to the family, I was among those who welcomed him at the Bishop’s Court. He gave N5 million for the upkeep of his family, while the other N5 million was for the preparation of his funeral. There was a time we complained to him to give us additional christian permanent secretaries, initially we had only one in the state, and he immediately approved additional three. As it is now, we have five in Borno civil service and we have to appreciate him, yes. His government has given us the opportunity to even run a collective programme on television and radio; we work with the Jama’atul Nasril Islam to sensitize our people on peaceful coexistence. They trust us, we trust them. In fact, it may interest you to know that there was a time I was asked to say a christian prayer at a gathering where we were only three christians in the midst of many muslims. The government under Shettima is bringing harmony among religious leaders

Quote

After, the initial N100m, Shettima graciously approved another N105 million for the 2nd phase of rebuilding destroyed churches. This was made possible when CAN officials led by my humble self had a meeting with him on 30th March, 2016 at the Government House. So far, the governor has released N210 million for reconstruction of our burnt churches.

MasterJayJay:
Wow wow Wow wow