₦airaland Forum

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The Presidency on Wednesday confirmed the release of students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State who were abducted by the Boko Haram sect on February 19.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed this in an interview with Punch.

Shehu promised to give further details on the development later.

“Yes, the girls are being transported to safety. We will give details later. We thank God,” the presidential spokesman said.

The schoolgirls kidnapped from Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi, in Yobe State, have been returned to the town by Boko Haram insurgents, according to report.

A resident confirmed the development to our reporter.

According to the resident, the insurgents returned the girls in the early hours of Wednesday few minutes after soldiers were withdrawn from the town.

“We are happy. There is jubilation in Dapchi now as the girls are back,” the resident said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/buhari-confirms-release-of-dapchi-schoolgirls.html

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The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, says corruption no longer poses a threat to the national economy because of the war being waged against it by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

Chief Odigie-Oyegun said this yesterday in Abuja at the party’s national secretariat, when he received the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State, Dr Abubakar Dzukogi and the management team on a courtesy visit and official notification of his nomination for a fellowship award and invitation to the 15th combined convocation ceremony of the institution scheduled for Wednesday, March 28, 2018.

“On corruption, we all know that corruption is fighting back. But it is not a problem, you fight with a flick of a switch, because corruption is very rich, corruption is very wealthy, corruption is very elitist; they are bound to fight back and they are fighting back. But thank God we have a president who is single-minded about taming that scourge and tame it with will. We know now that corruption is not as brazen as it was.

“We don’t just now take money from the public till and distribute to politicians and the rest of it, that no longer happens... nobody is saying corruption has been wiped out, there is no country in the world where corruption has been wiped out; but it is being tackled in Nigeria to the point where it can no longer be a threat to the national economy, where it does not become an acceptable way of life, of doing business,” He said.

Odigie-Oyegun said the President Buhari APC-led administration was delivering on its election promises despite difficulties and challenges.

“I am particularly pleased by your recognition that in spite of difficulties, government of the APC is delivering on its promises to the Nigerian people. That is important for me and I really see this award as coming to me on behalf of the government and the party.

The Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Dr Dzukogi, who spoke during the visit, said Odigie-Oyegun’s choice was informed by many successes recorded by the APC-led administration.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/corruption-no-longer-threat-to-economy-oyegun.html

President Muhammadu Buhari has replaced the late retired Brigadier General John Shagaya with a former Plateau State Deputy Governor Mr Ignatius Longjan as Chairman of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru near Jos.
Shagaya died on 11 February in an auto crash while traveling from Lantang to Jos, Plateau State.
This is as the Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo inaugurated the governing boards of the NIPSS, National Boundary Commission (NBC) and Border Community Development Agency (BCDA).
Inaugurating the boards, Osinbajo represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr Boss Gida Mustapha urged the new board members being superintendent by his office to focus on economic development of the country.
“Nigeria has over the last 24 to 36 months, passed through a period of economic recession which necessitated the development of a home grown Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which you are expected to key into, in view of the importance of your institutions to national economic stability. I therefore expect robust policies initiatives from you as members of the board being inaugurated today,” Osinbajo said.
While warning that the management of the organisations should be allowed to perform their duties without any interference from the board, the Vice President also cautioned them against corrupt practices stating that government will not hesitate to sanction any infractions.
The Speaker House of Representatives Hon Yakubu Dogara represented by the House Majority Leader Hon Femi Gbajabiamila said that the boards were critical to national development and urged them to passionately contribute their quota to the nation’s economic growth.
Chairman of NIPSS Mr Ignatius Longjan who spoke on behalf of the members promised to be diligent in their studies and shall not let Nigerians down with their responsibilities.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/nipss-board-buhari-replaces-late-shagaya-with-plateau-ex-dep-gov.html

About $3 billion was stolen in the Strategic Alliance Contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Nigerian Production Development Company, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has revealed.

The amount, which represents almost a tenth of the nation’s reserves, was stolen during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, he said.

The Vice President spoke during the 7th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum for Private Sector Stakeholders which held at the Presidential Villa yesterday.

“I’m sure many of us are familiar with the so called strategic alliance contracts with the NNPC and NDPC, the promoters of the companies made away with close to 3billion US dollars, almost a tenth of our reserves at one point!

“There is no way if someone made away with that amount, a tenth of your reserves, that there won’t be a major economic shock! If we don’t deal with it and talk about it, how do we really discuss our economy in any real, honest way with a view to ensuring that these things do not happen again?”

He recalled that despite the record of high levels of oil prices in the last administration, very little was invested in infrastructure due to leakages.

Osinbajo stated: “This is the fundamental issue in our economy. Corruption affects everything. It affects even judgement as to what sort of infrastructure to put in place or whether infrastructure will ever be complete. It is so fundamental that we can’t even think of our economy without thinking of what to do about it.

“Sometimes, when we talk about our economy, we talk about the fact that we’ve relied on single commodity and that’s one of the reasons we’re where we’re. Yes, that’s quite true, but the fact is that proceeds from that single commodity were regularly hijacked consistently by a few. That’s really the problem.

“If we had spent the proceeds from that single commodity the way we ought to, we wouldn’t be where we’re today. Most of the proceeds went to rent seekers in the industry.”

“When you consider that in 2014 as the minister of finance has said that oil price was an average of $110 a barrel and only N99 billion was spent on power, works and housing and when we talk about the economy, we talk as if these are normal by every standard.

“Nobody should talk about the economy when you’ve this kind of huge leakages and huge corruption that completely makes nonsense of even what you’re allocating to capital projects.”

The vice president said the presentation of Minister of Finance showed that N14 billion was spent on agriculture and N15 billion on transportation between 2011 and 2014.

He said while the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan spent a total of N153 billion on infrastructure in those three years, N150 billion was shared in two weeks before the 2015 general elections.

According to the vice president, that kind of thing is completely incredible and does not happen anywhere else in the world.

“And when we’re talking about the economy, we must simply understand that that is the problem. Today, with less revenue, we’ve increased capital funding by 400% as the minister has said, in power, works and housing, in defence, transportation, agriculture.

“If we want to do analysis in Nigeria, it’s either fraudulent or ignorance if we do not bring money that belongs to corruption into the mass. This is what distinguishes, in my own respectful view, this administration from the other. I can say that with what I’ve seen, if you’ve a president who is not corrupt, 50% of your financial problems are over. This is what I’ve seen; I can demonstrate it with facts and figures.

“If the president is corrupt, the entire financial system is compromised and that is what we’ve seen with the figures we have just seen. That is an absolutely important thing that we must take into account,” the vice president said.

He also said “in one single transaction, a few weeks to the 2015 elections, the sum of N100 billion and $289million were just fretted away by a few.”

The vice president said in a situation where corruption fights back both internally and externally, the government has to be steadfast and strategic to win the battle.

He said: “I’m not saying that corruption, under this administration, has been completely dealt with. No, certainly not. Where corruption has become systematic such as we have in our country today, you cannot deal with it in one full fell swoop, it is not possible. In any event, you still have a lot of corruption.

“There’s no way you have a system such as ours that has consistently thrived on corruption and proceeds of corruption and public financing in particular that’ll give up and say guys, the problem has been solved. No. It’s a system that has fed on corruption and it affects all aspects of governance. So, trying to deal with it is certainly not a walk in the park.”

He said corruption is consistently being fought, adding that in the next few years, no matter how the administration is criticized, if it sticks to policies, especially controlling excesses and corruption in public finance, Nigeria would make the progress it deserves to make with all its resources.

The vice president said apart from stopping impunity in public finance, the government also had to hold people to account.

Grand corruption in public finance space is the biggest problem facing the nation’s economy, he said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/osinbajo-3bn-stolen-in-nnpc-npdc-contracts-under-jonathan.html

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Bauchi state government has declared a three-day mourning over the death of Senator Ali Wakili.

This was contained in a statement signed by Ali M. Ali, the Special Adviser to Governor Mohammed Abdull‎ahi Abubakar on Media and Strategy.

According to the statement, Governor Abubakar has directed that flags would fly at half mast‎ during the three days.

In the statement, the Bauchi governor described the ‎death of Senator Wakili as a great loss not only to his constituency but to the entire nation adding that his contributions on the floor of the Senate chamber would be greatly missed.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/bauchi-govt-declares-3-days-mourning-over-senator-wakili-s-death.html

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has confessed that he has not been able to sleep for more than 20 minutes every night because of the level of insecurity in rural surroundings of the state.

The insecurity has led to the death of hundreds of persons with over 170,000 people displaced from their homes since the beginning of this year when gunmen laid siege on several communities of the agrarian state.

Ortom who decried how much sleep had eluded him due to the killings of his people when he played host to the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, Prof. Paul Emeka in Makurdi on Friday, however said he was hopeful that God has taken over the battle.

"We couldn't have been using swords or guns to fight them (gunmen) but as we pray, God will fight for us. Since this problem started, I have not been able to sleep for more than 20 minutes without waking up," he said.

The governor emphasised that the security agencies of the country must do their best while those in leadership must take responsibility to end the killings as his citizens cannot continue living like refugees in their own land.

Earlier, Prof. Emeka, who led key members of the church to condole with the government and people of Benue state, donated relief materials for the displaced people and prayed for further killings to stop in the state.


https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/ortom-says-of-benue-killings-i-can-t-sleep-for-more-than-20-minutes-at-night.html

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr. Boss Gida Mustapha has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has been deploying innovative ideas including the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERPG) to address the challenges posed by unemployment especially among the youths.

Mustapha was speaking on Thursday in Abuja at a roundtable on the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) Policy Note on Tackling Youth Unemployment in Nigeria organised by the bureau and DFID.

Represented by a Director in the General Services Office (GSO), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) Mr Yinka Aguda, the SGF said the ERPG aims to create jobs by developing labour-intensive sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, housing and construction, and also encouraging private-sector participation in the economy.

“Policies to increase the pace of job creation also extend to providing urban and rural infrastructure to support productive activities and deepen national value chains among farmers, MSMEs and large companies,” he said.

He listed the N-Power programme, a N10billion Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) programme and the ENABLE youth programme among others as part of initiatives the government is using to provide gainful employment for the nation’s teeming youths.

“The real business of job creation is the responsibility of the private sector while government creates an enabling environment and strong institutions that can guarantee investment security.

“Only businessmen and entrepreneurs driven by self-interest and the motive can support job creation. It is wrong for a nation of over 160 million people to place the burden of unemployment on the sole shoulder of government alone,” he said.

The acting Director General of the BPSR Mr Dasuki Arabi said the -23-page Policy Note was the result of an August 2017 research conducted by the BPSR with support from DFID PEARL programme.

“After the study, the BPSR developed a ‘Policy Note on Youth Unemployment in Nigeria’ in order to inform a broad audience of the issue and policy ideas contained in the Policy Note that can impact strongly on debates on youth unemployment in Nigeria,” Arabi said.

He also tasked youths to utilize the ICT for their advancement and knowledge update rather than updating their Facebook profile and other social media.

The Governance Adviser and Team Leader, DFID PEARL programme, Mr Sam Onom assured of the organisation’s commitment to help Nigeria tackle the youth unemployment challenge in the country.


https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/how-buhari-is-tackling-youth-unemployment-sgf.html

Kano state government has launched the Change begins with me programme with a passionate appeal to individuals and corporate organisations to partner proactively in the course of restoring good values and culture.

Speaking at the official launching of the programme held at the Coronation Hall, Government House, Kano on Thursday, Governor Ganduje said government domesticated the programme in order to re-orientate its people.

He said the programme was purely societal re-orientation programme designed for the revival of Nigerian cherished values.

“Everyone must realise that it is our responsibility to ensure changes in our attitude for the good of our state and the country,” he said.

He said it was in line with his administration effort to discourage the youth from engaging in social vices, the state government introduced a number of empowerment programmes in the state.

He said the state government had also set up a committee to check drug abuse especially among women and youths in the state.

He said the setting up of the committee was necessary in order to ensure that all those behind the importation of the illicit drugs and other substances in the state were apprehended and prosecuted with immediate effect.

Earlier, the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammad Sanusi, called for the enactment of a law that would regulate the issues of marriage in the state.

The emir explained that law should be designed in such a way that it would reduce the rampant cases of divorce, broken home and abandoned children and other issues related to family.

Sanusi also advocated for the establishment of an educational foundation that would take care of school feeding and other issues that would boost education in Kano state.

The emir said Kano emirate had last month made it a policy that henceforth, anybody found to be drug addict would not be given any traditional title in the state.

"Nobody will be crowned with traditional title in the state if he does not obtain at least secondary school certificate," he assured.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/ganduje-launches-change-begins-with-me-programme-in-kano.html

congratulation

The Federal Government has said that it has no money to fix the nation's refineries.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the cabinet meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

The minister stated that he had given all the guidance required to fix the refineries.

He said the government had to raise money through a Public-Private Partnership model.

He stated: "As a seasoned professional, I have given all the guidance that is required to fix the refineries. We came into a situation where we don’t have money to fix the refineries. We had to raise the money looking into the PPP model; it has to go through a process.

"The technical committee is headed by the NNPC. Obviously they'll submit their report to the board when they complete their work. So, from a governance and guidance sense, steering point of view, I think that steering is right on track, from a management of the technical aspect of the contracting, that is something we would have to allow NNPC handle, it is not the job of the ministry to superimpose, you’ve got to let them do their work and do it efficiently."

Kachikwu also said that the proposed modular refineries in Delta and Rivers States were not meant to address the current refining gap.

“On modular refineries; modular wasn’t supposed to provide a sufficient solution to your product needs, modulars are on the average between 2,000 and 5,000 maybe 10,000 at most capacity per refinery. Your consumption is about 630,000 barrels per day, that is not the essence of modular, what modular was supposed to do for us is provide work within some of these communities where people are busy doing illegal refining.

“It’s not meant to address the refining product gap we have in the country, we are hoping that those gaps will be covered by a mixture of the three or four refineries that government owns currently, Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna and of course the Dangote refinery of 600 barrels,” he said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/no-money-to-fix-refineries-fg.html

Zanna Gaddama Mustapha is a factional Chairman of the Borno State chapter of the PDP. In this interview in Abuja, he speaks on the struggles of being an opposition party in a state dominated by the ruling APC.

What is your take on the claim in some quarters that the Buhari Tsunami which took place in the 2015 elections will repeat itself in the 2019 elections?

I do not think so, the Buhari Tsunami has worked, but it will not work again because the expectations of the people have not been met. The people thought that if Buhari came to power, in three months’ time, the Boko Haram would not be there and they would go back to their communities.

They expected that a bag of rice which was N8,500 would come down to N3,000, while their salaries would increase, their purchasing power would increase and they would have an easy life.

That was the thinking of the people at that time, which made them come out en masse to support Buhari. But today they have seen the other side of it. The rice that we are talking about is now N18,000. When you talk about other means of livelihood, everything has gone up without succour from the government. There is no job for them, our young men and women that have finished schools have been roaming the streets without jobs.

The WIN programme that was done by the Jonathan administration, which was judged as the best in the world, was scrapped by this government and no better replacement was put in place.

When you go to the streets of Maiduguri, many people have become beggars. When people get breakfast in Maiduguri they don’t know how to get lunch; after getting lunch they don’t know how to get their dinner. This is how our people are suffering down there. Then you think with the hunger in them they will come out and vote Buhari, because they did it the last time? I don’t think so.

PDP has not been in government since 1999 in Borno. Do you think it can mobilise resources and win next year?

In Borno, it is not money that plays the major role, it is enlightenment. When Ali Sheriff was the governor in 2011, he had all the resources at his disposal. This is someone who left N65bn in the coffers of the government when he handed over in 2011; but he was defeated in the Borno Central Senatorial election by over 60,000 votes. Why was this so? It was not because the APC had money, but they were able to mobilise the people against him and revealed the negative sides of his government.

So I tell you this time around it will be worst than 2011, because we are still enlightening them.

Don’t you think the resurgence of insurgency will affect the 2019 elections in Borno and environs?

Insurgency is not what you can finish in a day; it is guerrilla warfare. When you think you have finished it, it springs up somewhere again; like with the Dapchi girls. The government told us that they had finished with Sambisa and that Boko Haram was about to finish, so we were surprised with the Dapchi attack; that is terrorism. You have to be proactive. It will take us time actually. But for the elections, even in Syria, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, they went for elections; so what will stop us from going for elections? We will go and we are sure we are going to win.

With the security challenges in 2015, we went for elections, although it was not the way we expected it. But this time around we have the experience because in 2015, most of our people were in the IDP camps, and these camps were fortified by the state government. We were not allowed access into the camps to campaign.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/buhari-tsunami-ll-not-work-in-2019-gaddama.html

Shehu Sani,senator representing Kaduna central senatorial district has reacted to the dismissal of US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson after visiting Nigeria.

The President on Monday received the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Shehu sani in a tweet said,"Rex Tillerson left the broom and met the broom".



Rex Tillerson left the broom and met the broom.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) March 13, 2018

chai!! fulani again?

You have been in the spotlight recently. First you were removed as the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) and now one of your colleagues has accused you of plotting Saraki’s removal. Why do you think they are after you?

To be honest with you, why they are after me should be answered by those you perceived are after me. As far I’m concerned, I respect everybody in the senate. As far I’m concerned, I have never dreamt wanting the position of the senate president or any other principal officer of the senate. If I had wanted the senate presidency, I was free to contest for it, but I wasn’t and that was why I didn’t.

Yes, I may not have supported Saraki’s emergence as the senate president because I wasn’t part of the circumstances that produced him; but in order to make for peace, I was talked to and we decided to let the sleeping dog lie.

The leadership of the government, the presidency and the party didn’t fight when this thing happened under their watch, so I felt there was no point to fight to any ridiculous level. In this room that we are having this interview, people from outside the senate came wanting me to vie (for the Senate presidency) but I said no. In the end, people who wanted to make peace came and said we should give it a chance and we made it very possible to have peace and I have never changed my mind on that.

I have no problem with the senate president; I’m not looking for his seat but somehow he is a kind of guy who is operating by proxy, principle of proxy. You know he has errand boys who take it upon themselves to do the hatchet man’s. If there is anything that is going to happen and he feels it will be a bit hard to swallow, he will make sure he is not on the stage and he will have Ike Ekweremadu to do the dirty work for him.

The particular example you brought about NSF. This forum and the Southern Senators Forum (SSF) are informal fora. They are not in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and are not in the senate’s standing orders. NSF is an informal group. We meet on the basis that we have common interest as northerners, just as the southern senators meet. I became one with the exception of this Eighth Senate. I was not elected on the floor of the senate, nor do we do anything on the floor of the senate. We meet outside. I, as the chairman, will give notice of meeting and I don’t remember giving any notice for any meeting where the issue of my chairmanship was discussed; including my removal. But I felt I needed not to waste my precious time to begin to cry that I was removed as the chairman of the forum. Yes, I felt alright when I was made the chairman.

But if the senate president and his deputy have problems with me and they believe the best way to contain me is to arrange one of their boys to remove me as the chairman of the forum, no problem.

What about the issue of the N70m reportedly swallowed by a monkey?

In order to give a dog a bad name, they now went to say that they had N70m that I mismanaged or whatever. The NSF, to the best of my knowledge, has never had N70m, at least not during my tenure that they purported it was mismanaged. We inherited something in the region of N62m/N63m that was declared by the out gone secretary of the forum who happens to be the present Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan. I didn’t touch one kobo until when we were going to Katsina for the NSF retreat. When we were going, we got the same guys to sign for the transport fares.

Every senator that attended was paid N250, 000 as allowance for his two days and everyone also got N150, 000 for return ticket. They got these and they signed. The remaining money was returned to Abuja and was paid back into the account.

You know, when you talk of money, everybody’s attention will be attracted. They did this to get attention, but this is just garbage, and for the allegation, it is up to them to prove.

All these started when you protested the change in elections sequence. Is the battle over?

I believe as a senator, it is not over because they will transmit it to the president for assent, he can sign it and he may decide not to assent to it. Remember, on the floor of the senate, they are saying they will override him (the president) as if they are in a motor park. They said so freely as if they had a grudge against the president.

As a senator, I started talking to people who shared opinion with me on the passage of the bill. We are talking on it and yes, I have been holding meetings on it. I have a right of association, a fundamental right in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the fact that my position as a senator has not been taken away from me. There is no law that says that if a decision is taken on the floor of the senate, right or wrong, a senator has no right to talk to anybody outside the chamber on the matter; there is no such law.

So, I have decided to be having meetings here, I have been having the meetings and I will continue to have the meetings. The worst anybody can do is to suspend me, but they don’t have any authority over my membership of the senate.

What do you want to achieve with these meetings?

I’m waiting for that opportunity when this matter will require our attention again. If it comes in any form, we will assert our interest in any form. As I said, it is not over.

Before the passage of the amendment to the electoral act, how was your relationship with the senate president?

As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have anything against him. I’m not God. God made him President of the Senate. Whatever the circumstances that he followed, as a Muslim I believe that it was God that made him. It wouldn’t have been possible if God did not will it. As a faithful, I took it to be so and till date that’s my attitude to him, and he knows it.

What I do not accept is that as he always says, and as most people say when it is convenient for them, “Use good reasons to do bad things.”

People talk about strengthening institutions; I love the idea but I have a terrible allergy for people using public institutions to serve themselves instead of public good. And as long as I’m able, I will continue to protest this.

Today, they say I’m supporting Buhari; yes I do. Buhari is a person who is under oath as the president of this country and I’m under oath to support the president of my country as a senator. Yes, I can differ, but where I differ there are attitudes that I will adopt. I can’t reduce myself to some kind of garage boy, grandstanding in the senate.

One of your colleagues, Obinna Ogba, alleged that you want to destabilise the senate. Why sir?

I don’t have to go through the backdoor to do anything. I’m not after anybody’s seat and I’m not plotting to destabilise the senate.

Evidence has been tendered against you. What is it all about?

That’s not for today. They said so and it is part of their exhibit. I wasn’t in the senate on that day, but this is like what we call secondary evidence; but by the time I see it myself, I can use it as primary evidence if I have need for it. At the moment, my eyes are on the ball. I’m not in tune with the way and manner the amendment was done. It didn’t keep with the letters of the constitution and the senate rules.

Senator Ali Ndume that was referred to the ethics committee last year was suspended. Are you not afraid that same fate may befall you now that you have been referred to the same panel?

Afraid of what? I’m 72 years old. I did not buy it from the market and my father was a headmaster when I was born; so he knew how to keep records of the birth of his children. My birthday is not based on the reign of an emir or fire disaster or famine; the date I was born was recorded. If I’m suspended; that would not be the end of the world. I’m a professional, I can go back to engineering; I will feed. I can go back to the law profession. I’m a lawyer and I will feed.

Also, I can engage myself in farming, I’m a farmer and I will feed myself and others. I didn’t come to the senate because I had nothing doing, no. I came because my people wanted me to represent them. When I ended my tenure as governor, I left the stage completely until when my constituents came calling.

Like I keep saying, I didn’t inherit a political empire, I worked through the ladder to get to where I’m, and till tomorrow, I can answer my father’s name.

In case the president rejects the bill, can they get the required two third to override him?

I don’t want to ruin this thing on the pages of newspaper. I cross bridges when I reach them. Those who are doing all these, they know that’s not the last on the amendment. They haven’t seen the last yet. Just tell them that the last has not been heard on that amendment. By the grace of God, I have made a vow; I will not betray my party.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/saraki-using-senate-for-personal-interest-sen-adamu.html

The United Progressives Party (UPP) on Tuesday said President Muhammadu Buhari's decline to assent to the ‎electoral bill sent to him by the National Assembly on election sequence showed that he was afraid of losing the 2019 presidential election.

In a statement by its National Chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, the party explained that ‎the order of election as contained in the electoral bill ‎if signed into law would ensure that‎ candidates of various political parties win elections essentially on their personal merit and the popularity of their parties' manifesto.

"His withholding assent to this bill smacks of fear of losing the 2019 Presidential Election as well as the fear of his party, the All‎ Progressives Congress (APC) not benefiting from the bandwagon effect of a possible early victory if the presidential election came first.

"If the APC and President Buhari were confident that the record of their performance was impressive as they have often claimed, there should be no reason why this fear should be expressed in the manner of withholding assent to a bill that holds very strong promise to deepen and develop our democracy," the UPP said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/buhari-afraid-of-losing-2019-upp.html

Prince Uche Secondus, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman claimed that the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has failed because it couldn’t fulfil its promises to the people.

Secondus made this claim while addressing members of the PDP during his working tour to Dutse, capital of Jigawa state on Monday.

He said that the APC made a lot of promises to the people during the electioneering campaigns but it has failed to fulfil the promises.

“APC said if they win, they will revive the economy, they will address the problem of insecurity and corruption”

“Sen. Dino Maleye said before the floor of the house recently that in the 16 years of PDP government they collected a loan of only N6 trillion but APC government in just three years collected N11 trillion.”

These figures, bandied by Melaye and Pastor Tunde Bakare have been discredited as wild guesses, by fact checkers.

According to data provided by Debt Management Office, the Federal Government borrowed N6.76 trillion since June 2015. When state debts are added, what has been borrowed is N8.3 trillion — still significantly lower than the N11 trillion being touted.

In contrast, the PDP in 16 years borrowed N9.25 trillion, higher than Bakare and Melaye’s claim.

“Corruption has pervaded the APC government from the top to bottom, APC government is more corrupt than PDP’s own’, claimed Secondus.

“There is insecurity in the country, you cannot sleep with your two eyes closed, there is poverty and hunger in all the houses in Nigeria, therefore APC is a government of deception. I therefore urge us to come out en masse and vote for PDP so that we could fight hunger, poverty and the insecurity.”

The PDP Chairman said that APC has come to divide the country while PDP is out to unite the country.

“APC should therefore prepare to hand over to PDP as we also handed over to them”

The Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Hassan Dankwambo, who is nurturing a presidential ambition, said that since the PDP left government in Jigawa, he has not seen any changes under the present APC administration in the state.

Dankwambo urged the people to support PDP, which he said would win the 2019 election, by the power of God.

Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, immediate Caretaker Chairman of the Party said the party has put all the the necessary machinery in place to wrest power from the APC.

Alhaji Sule Lamido former governor of Jigawa charged the people to protect their votes on election day.

The PDP National Chairman was accompanied on the tour by prominent Party stalwarts like former governor of Kano state Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, former Senate House Leader Alhaji Abdul Ningi, Amb. Aminu Wali, first civilian governor of Jigawa, Alh Ali Sa’ad Birninkudu, former Governor Kaduna, Alhaji Ahmad Muhammad, who was the immediate past chairman of the PDP and many others

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/apc-s-govt-more-corrupt-than-pdp-s-says-secondus.html

Nigeria faces other threats aside B/Haram – US

President Muhammadu Buhari said his administration has opted for negotiation, rather than military action to secure the release of hundreds of schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents.

The girls were taken away from their schools in Chibok, Borno State in April 2014 and Dapchi in Yobe State last month.

President Buhari said this yesterday at a meeting with visiting American Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Buhari said Nigeria was working in concert with international organisations and negotiators, to ensure that the girls were released unharmed by their captors.

“We are trying to be careful. It is better to get our daughters back alive,” his spokesman Mr Femi Adesina quoted him as saying at the meeting with Tillerson.

He thanked the United States for the assistance rendered in the fight against insurgency. He noted that Nigerian forces are good, “but need assistance in the areas of training and equipment.”

Buhari promised that his administration would continue to do its best to secure the country, adding that he would be in Yobe State, from where Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted, later this week “as part of my condolence and sympathy visits to areas where we have had unfortunate events.”

Promises fair polls in 2019

The president pledged to ensure free and fair polls in 2019. He recalled that the then American Secretary of State, John Kerry, visited before the 2015 polls, “and he told the party in government then, and those of us in opposition, to behave ourselves, and we did.”

Tillerson commended Buhari for his strides in the anti-corruption war, to which the Nigerian leader responded that funds recovered were being invested in development of infrastructure.

Tillerson said Nigeria was a very important country to the U.S, saying: “You have our support in your challenges. We will also support opportunities to expand the economy, commercial investments, and peaceful polls in 2019.”

Nigeria faces other threats - US

Mr. Tillerson said apart from the Boko Haram insurgency, there are other threats Nigeria’s leadership has to deal with.

Mr. Tillerson said this at a joint press briefing at the Presidential Villa with Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, after his meeting with President Buhari.

He did not mention the other threats, but assured that the United States was ready to coordinate efforts towards tackling all the threats.

Asked how the US would help in rescuing the Dapchi schoolgirls and how soon the assistance would come, he said America respects the responsibilities of Nigerian government and the territorial integrity of the country.

He said the way the US supported Nigeria was in providing equipment, training personnel of special operations and sharing intelligence to carry out the recovery effort.

Tillerson stated: “But I think it is also important to put this in a broad regional context as well. Boko Haram is a threat to other regions and this has been the subject of my meetings elsewhere and in Africa as well.

“In my discussion with President Derby in Chad earlier today (Monday), we spoke about the threat of Boko Haram and I think it is important and it has really been powerful the collaboration between the joint task force, which Nigeria is a part and Chad is a part, to respond to this threat of terrorism which Boko Haram is one of the organizations. There are other threats that the leadership of this country has to deal with.

“So, the United States is ready to engage and coordinate efforts as well. But we have been supporting, equipping, training and when we can provide information.

“I think that is the best way we have been helping the government of Nigeria secure the release of the girls, which we hope, will be done in a peaceful manner. We hope that something can be worked out and they can secure the release of these girls quickly.”

Onyeama said he disagreed that things were getting worse despite the collaboration with the task force and the US.

He sayed though there were threats and the great damage being inflicted by the insurgents, the situation was asymmetric warfare requiring a lot of intelligence.

“There are a lot of efforts and there has been a lot of success, really concrete successes that have been achieved. But clearly, there is still a lot that needs to be done which are why there are these investments.

“Why it appears that these terrorists appear to be emboldened and stronger, when you see the attack in Burkina Faso, well these are soft targets and so difficult sometimes to prevent completely.

“But with greater sharing of intelligence and I think there is greater cooperation now, with G5, Sahel, multinational joint task force have a presence here, we hope to turn the tide very soon,” he said.

Asked why Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted despite the government’s claim of having degraded the insurgents, Onyeama said fighting terrorism is a global challenge.

The minister dismissed the allegations that it took the government a week to acknowledge the abduction.

“Fighting terrorism is a new challenge globally. When we talked of having degraded Boko Haram, we were referring specifically to the situation that we were confronted when the government took over. That was a situation where you have a classical military confrontation and Boko Haram were capturing territories, holding unto territories y and hoisting flags. So, as a conventional military threat, Boko Haram has been completely degraded.

“Now, there is a challenge with regards to sporadic suicides and bombings and of course, largely, there is kidnapping of the girls. We don’t by any strength of imagination minimize those, but it’s really a different kind of warfare as it is and the government is sparing no effort in addressing that.

“But it is a different challenge that requires intelligence and also understanding the environment that this kind of unlimited support for Boko Haram indoctrination of young children,” Onyeama said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/fg-to-negotiate-release-of-dapchi-chibok-girls.html

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Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Abdullahi Adamu (APC, Nasarawa) yesterday said no amount of intimidation would stop him from supporting President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said it was unfortunate that lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress were sabotaging the President.

Adamu was on Thursday accused by Senator Obinna Ogba (PDP, Ebonyi) of plotting to destabilize the Senate and remove Senate President Bukola Saraki from office.

Adamu in a statement he issued last night faulted Ogba’s claim. He said his crimes were the call against show of disrespect to the person and office of the President and his position on the change of election sequence.

“I believe we need to retrace our steps and reconsider our stand as legislators on matters of public interest.

“Our party, APC, has the majority in both chambers of the National Assembly, yet we hold the Executive prisoner of politics that are unhealthy for the polity. It is such a terrible irony that we sabotage our own government by refusing to do our part in support of the Executive.

“Appointments requiring Senate approval are held up. The consequence is that the public has nicknamed the President and his administration go-slow. The people gave us the mandate as a party to deliver,” he said.

“On the allegation that he was plotting Saraki’s removal, Adamu said, “ If I was interested in contesting the Senate presidency in 2015, nothing would have stopped me from doing so. I was qualified for the office. This is another naked lie to tarnish my name. Let me caution that this smear campaign against me is neither in the interest of the Senate nor of the senators.”

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/apc-lawmakers-sabotaging-buhari-s-govt-sen-adamu.html

wonderful

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good

Barka da zuwa baba

RIP