₦airaland Forum

Buhari quietly appoints new NIA DG, as conflict of interests emerges in Agency

Ambassador Mohammed Dawuda has been appointed as the Acting-Director General of the National Intelligence Agency.

The appointment was said to have been quietly approved by President Muhammadu Buhari over the weekend.

Beyond the appointment, fresh facts have emerged of the deepening intrigues within the innermost recesses of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.

The result is that those who understand how national security works are seriously alarmed that unless something is done urgently to rein in the debilitating factionalisation on matters concerning the NIA, Nigeria’s elite intelligence arm, and the country’s equivalent of the American Central Intelligence Agency or the British M16 or Israel’s Mossad, the agency may be handicapped by unnecessary government in-fighting to give its best service to Nigeria.

Already, Dawuda, formerly Nigeria’s immediate past Ambassador to Chad, has been handicapped by the decision of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, to limit the DG’s role and powers only to operational matters.

The other roles that have in the past been within the purview of the DG have been set aside for a new group personally put together by the Chief of Staff.
This group comprises Ambassadors Babagana Kingibe, Zakari Ibrahim and Niyi Oladeji – NIA’s DG from 2009 to 2013.

The three Ambassadors were originally called in by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo panel to make expert input into the report of the investigation concerning the tenure of a former NIA DG, Ambassador Ayo Oke, which went up in a heavy smoke with the discovery of huge sums of money stashed in an IKoyi, Lagos State flat.

Oke was suspended and was recently relived of his duties, but the nation has yet to see the result of the investigation into his tenure and especially about the $43.4 million operations cash found by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at apartment 7B in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.

NIA insiders suspect that the report may never come to light as the investigation may deliberately be deadlocked or made inconclusive.
This is because it is public knowledge that Kingibe has been a long-time mentor and uncle-figure to Ambassador Oke.

For instance, Oke served as Kingibe’s First Secretary when Kingibe was Nigeria’s Ambassador to Pakistan over three decades ago.

Another matter that is worsening the security in-fighting within the government concerns Ambassador Ibrahim.

Although Ibrahim is from Katsina State, just like President Buhari, he is widely known to be not only a close-confidante of the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, he has been said to be a card-carrying member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

So many Villa staff are actually suspicious of his presence there, doubting where his loyalty lies, and owing to his intelligence background, may easily mislead President Buhari.

Worse still, in certain circles, Ambassador Oladeji, Oke’s immediate predecessor, is derisively referred to as Dame Patience Jonathan’s personal cashier.

There is a strong belief that the decision to terminate the appointment of the Acting DG of NIA, Ambassador Arap Yadam, whose tenure actually ends November 7, 2017, actually runs against the National Security Act, which stipulates that a three-month period of grace be given to every departing head of NIA to allow for seamless handover of office and adequate briefing of a new DG from a departing one.

Many suspect that this development may bring about the curious case whereby Ambasasdor Oke of the cash-in-Ikoyi-flat scandal would be the person to actually hand over to Dawuda to facilitate a planned cover-up of the Ikoyigate scandal.

Also, many suspect that apart from the Ikoyigate, a worse cover up may be in the offing over another $250 million belonging to the NIA, said by inside sources to have been discovered and the three musketeers now in control of the NIA affairs through their closeness and support from the Chief of Staff may gain support of that slush fund.

That is why they are said to want the new Director-General to play no role beyond operational issues.
Kyari is said to be particularly happy with Kingibe who has emerged the unofficial Foreign Affairs Policy Chief for President Buhari.

Aso Rock insiders said one of Yedam’s greatest sins is that he so believed in the transparency policy of the Buhari presidency that he refused to promote Buhari’s present Director of Protocol, Lawal Kazaure, to the position of a Director in the NIA.

The protocol man was said to have failed his promotion examinations to the grade of a Director.
“The last one was held last month and he still flunked it,” our source said.

Yedam also refused to bow the pressure some Aso Rock insiders put on him to embark on a massive purchase of motor vehicles for Ambassadors.

SGF, Abba Kyari ignore Buhari’s directive
newsexpressngr.com


The pervasive corruption and impunity among the ranks of President Muhammadu Buhari’s lieutenants have continued unabated as his directive to reinstate a female auditor with the Niger Delta Power Holding Limited (NDPHC), Mrs Maryam Danna Mohammed has remained unimplemented.

One year after the Presidential directive, Mrs Mohammed, who was illegally retired as NDPHC General Manager Audit, is yet to be reinstated.

Mrs Mohammed, a widow from Borno State and an award-winning chartered accountant, was disengaged in controversial circumstances over her anti-corruption stance. She had written petitions to the Presidency complaining that the retirement did not follow due process, and President Buhari responded positively to her call. The immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal however did not effect the President’s directive until his exit from the government on corruption allegations.

Following the directive of President Buhari, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN, on October 25, 2016, sent a letter to the Chief of Staff (CoS), Abba Kyari, who is also from Borno State, directing that Mrs. Mohammed should be reinstated.

“In this connection, I wish to convey to you Mr. President’s approval vide a meeting with the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice on the 12th October 2016, for the reinstatement of the staff (petitioner), Mrs Maryam Danna Mohammed,” the AGF stated in the letter.

Believed to be complicit in the wrongful disengagement of the Mrs Mohammed are the the Offices of Vice President, SGF and CoS.

Without any query, the then SGF, Lawal, had issued a letter conveying notification of Mrs Mohammed's disengagement as GM NDPHC with effect from June 10, 2016, while a Special Adviser to the Vice President was appointed as acting Managing Director of the company.

Initially, the SGF had announced the dissolution of the Executive Management of NDPHC and directed the Managing Director of the company to hand over to the aide of the Vice President. He also directed all the Executive Directors to handover immediately to the most senior officers in their respective departments.

Curiously, only Mrs Mohammed was retired among the 13 General Managers in the office.

PRNigeria’s findings have indicated that her retirement was a punitive measure against her for exposing corrupt practices in NDPHC. She was also accused of ‘blowing a whistle’ over top officers of the organisation who did not possess basic and mandatory requirements for appointments into office.

One of her Audit Reports in 2014 exposed anomalies in the credentials of the then Executive Director, Technical Services at NDPHC, Mr Louis Edozien for presenting neither a discharge nor an exemption certificate from National Youth Service Corps before his appointment.

For that offence, Edozien was removed from the service, but he miraculously found his way back in November 2015 as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, a supervisory organ to NDPHC, while Mrs Mohammed was disengaged in June 2016.

Besides his stint at NDPHC, Edozien did not work in the civil service all his life. He was appointed Permanent Secretary in spite of the recommendations of the security agencies, especially the Department of State Security, with the suspicion that highly placed officials in the Presidency facilitated the process.

While the media in Nigeria had reported her case, some legal practitioners and Non-Governmental Organisations have also lent their voices to the unfair treatment of Mrs Mohammed. In its statement, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) condemned “the high-handed action taken by the government that resulted in a groundless decision to relieve Mrs Danna from office in response to her whistle-blowing effort to expose corrupt practices perpetrated in the company.”

The Executive Director CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Rafsanjani stated that the NGO “find it worrisome that the administration’s inconsistency in the protection of whistle-blowers will not only thwart and backpedal the existing achievements, but will also erode citizens’ confidence in the administration with the potential for their subsequent and total detachment from complementing whistle-blowing activities.

“We are worried that rather than giving deserved commendation and reward to Mrs Maryam Danna, the staff concerned, the management resulted in undemocratic move to frustrate and disengage her from the job, as against the promise and policy commitment of the present administration to protect and reward whistle-blowers in all ramifications.

“We demand total demonstration of readiness for the protection and reward for whistle-blowers from victimisation in the country including the staff concerned who is as well a widow that further endorses the extent of her vulnerability in the society.

“We demand immediate restatement and appropriate reward for the staff concerned by the respective authorities without intimidation or victimisation.” the statement further stated.

A labour activist and Abuja-based legal practitioner, Mr Yunus Abdulsalam described the abrupt termination of Mrs Mohammed’s appointment as an act of lawlessness. He said: “In her travails, we find acute lawlessness and impunity in their most banal forms. An employment with statutory flavours like that of Mrs Danna cannot be terminated in any manner that is inconsistent with the provisions of the law.

“It is not a master-servant relationship, which the master has the prerogative to terminate the employment with or without reason. The provision of the public service rules, which enshrined the disciplinary procedures to be followed before terminating an employment of civil servant was flagrantly violated in the case of Mrs Danna.”

He said that the Supreme Court, in several judgments, had ruled that it would be wrong for an employer to terminate the appointment of an employee whose employment has statutory flavour in any manner that violates the provision of the employment contained in the statute. (PRNigeria)

•NDPHC General Manager Audit, Mrs. Maryam Danna Mohammed, whom Buhari ordered reinstated

Drama as the Only APC Member in Akwa Ibom Assembly Defects to PDP
tori.ng


The only member of the All Progressive Congress at the Akwa Ibom State assembly has defected to the Peoples Democratic Party.


Senator Godswill Akpabio flanked by Mr. Samuel Effanga and Sunny Elijah two APC members in Akwa Ibom State who recently defected to PDP'

Asuquo Archibong, the only member of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

According to Premium Times, Asuquo Archibong, who represents Urue Offong/Oruko State Constituency, was received into the PDP on Thursday by the National Chairman of the party, Ahmed Makarfi, in Uyo during the flag-off of the party’s campaign for the local government council elections in the state.

Other former members of the APC who were also formally received into the PDP include Sunny Elijah, popularly referred to as the “the strongman of Nsit Atai politics” and a former commissioner in the state, Samuel Effanga.

The state Governor, Udom Emmanuel, obviously feeling elated, said Mr. Archibong and others who have left APC to PDP were “brothers” who should be celebrated.

“In Akwa Ibom, PDP is a religion,” Governor Emmanuel said.

The Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, including other PDP stalwarts within and outside the state, were present at the ceremony which attracted a large crowd of party supporters.

“Look over there, see the crowd; See the women, see how beautiful there are, see this side, see the youth, how colourful, my God! On a mere local government flag-off, it is like this, what then will happen when we start my senatorial campaign? What will happen when we start the Governor’s campaign in 2019?” Mr. Akpabio said.

The APC in the state was yet to react to the lawmaker, Mr. Archibong’s defection as at the time of filing this report.

The party’s spokesperson in the state, Bassey Eyo, who incidentally is from the same local government area with the lawmaker, told PREMIUM TIMES that he could only give a personal response for now.

“It is a betrayal of the trust of the people,” Mr. Eyo said on Thursday. “The mandate is our mandate, we are predominantly APC in Urue Offong/Uruko.”

Mr. Eyo said many people in the area worked hard and took risks to ensure that Mr. Archibong won the House of Assembly election in order to prove a point to the then governor, Godswill Akpabio, that he did not have the power to dictate to the people of Urue Offong/Uruko.

Mr. Eyo, who described Mr. Archibong’s defection as “very hurtful”, alleged that the lawmaker was induced to leave his former party.

“We will do all that we can to claim back our mandate,” he said.

Meanwhile, a former federal lawmaker from the state, Robinson Uwak, who represented the Oron Federal Constituency, has dispelled the rumour that he has defected from the APC to the PDP.

In an announcement aired by a local radio station in the state, Mr. Uwak said “My attention has been drawn to the falsehood currently being peddled by a government-owned radio and television stations where the public is being misinformed of my defection to the PDP.

“I remain a chieftain of the APC with no admiration for other political parties,” the former lawmaker said.

I Have Not Declared Any Intention To Run For President
www.informationng.com

Following reports that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had declared his intention to run for President in 2019, he has come out to debunk the news.


Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the video making rounds on social media that he has publicly declared his intention to contest in the 2019 Presidential election as ‘fake news.’

He was seen in the video saying that he is ready to lead the country. In the video, Atiku is seen saying: “I am Atiku Abubakar, the poor boy from Jada, Adamawa state. I am a true democrat, a believer in the rule of law and a fighter for justice and equity. I believe in this country.

“If we work together under a focused and visionary leadership, we will make this country a stable and prosperous nation. I have the vision, the courage, the experience to lead this country. It is time to give back. I am ready to serve.”

However, while debunking the news, Atiku wrote on Twitter: “This #FakeNews is breaking across so many media channels, I’m wondering who sent it to them #Smile.”

President Buhari set to begin South-East tour
informationng.com


President Muhammadu Buhari is to embark on tour of South-east states beginning with Ebonyi to improve the relationship between the region and the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government.
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo disclosed this on Thursday after a closed door meeting with Mr. Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“The South-east before now was not measuring in APC. But we have worked out strategies and modalities on how to improve relationship between the people of South-east and APC government.

“That was top on the agenda and the need for Mr. President to come to South-east as quickly as possible, to begin to show his presence.

“Luckily, the President will be coming to Ebonyi State very soon and he will pass through Imo State to Anambra State. So, covering three states within this short time will be right step in the right direction.

“We have come to realise in the South-east that we are better off in APC than any other party in the federal republic of Nigeria.’’

He said that membership of the APC in the South-east would continue to increase as many politicians had been joining the party in recent times.

On the 2019 presidential election, Mr. Okorocha stated that Buhari was democratically qualified to re-contest the presidential election.

He, however, stated that the president must go through party primaries so as to avoid imposition of candidates.

“We don’t allow imposition of candidates. It must be democratically done. If President Buhari will lead the ship in 2019, it must be democratically done.

“I said, democratically and transparently done to the amazement of the whole world, the way we do our things in APC and people will be happy,’’ he added.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that some APC governors have advocated for automatic ticket for Buhari to enable him seek re-election in 2019.

The governors included Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara; Samuel Ortom of Benue; Simon Lalong of Plateau and Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa.

Buhari, Dambazau meet over Maina
vanguardngr.com



ABUJA — President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, met with Interior Affairs Minister, Lt. General Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd), over the rumpus caused by the recall of former chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina.


The Maina matter provoked the spat between the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita and Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

Although details of what the President discussed with the minister remain shrouded in secrecy, sources told Vanguard, yesterday, that the President was obviously not happy about what transpired before he arrived the Council Chambers venue of Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The source said the President was already addressing issues of the verbal exchange between the HoS and Chief of Staff.

Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said in an interview on Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, yesterday, that President Buhari never summoned the Chief of Staff and HoS, over the spat they had at FEC meeting.

Recall that the HoS had said in a leaked letter that the President was aware of the reinstatement of the former chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina and that she warned against it.

It would be recalled also that the Chief of Staff had, at the FEC meeting threatened to query the HoS and that she must attach to her reply, photographic evidence of her visit to the President, a declaration that was said to have infuriated the HoS who took the matter to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, for intervention.

The Minister of Interior Affairs, Abdulrahman Dambazau, had blamed Mr. Maina’s recall on the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, HoS, and the Federal Civil Service Commission, while the HoS accused the Interior Minister of lying against her, following his earlier claim that her office posted Maina to his ministry as a director.

EFCC intensifies manhunt for Maina

Meanwhile, there were indications, yesterday, that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has intensified its search for the embattled former Chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina.

Maina, who disappeared into thin air since his secret reinstatement by powerful officials was exposed by the media, has made it impossible for security agencies to track him.

To avoid being tracked and arrested, Maina has carefully avoided using any of his known telephone lines either in Nigeria or the United Arab Emirates since he was sacked for the second time, last week, by President Muhammadu Buhari from his exalted post in the Ministry of Interior.

Findings by Vanguard indicated that of the eight numbers frequently used by Maina, all of them now report the same message: “The number you’re calling cannot receive calls at this time” or “The number you’re calling has been switched off.”

Maina’s numbers as released by the anti-graft agency include 08098887733, 08037872471, 08142277550, 07037900714, 08106842813, 08091501002, +971552717234 and +971526294678.

But multiple sources within the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, associates and security circles, suggested that the wanted man was still in hiding in Nigeria.

Additionally, checks with the NIS indicated that the man has not travelled through any of its facilities nationwide.

Although the Public Relations Officer of the NIS, Sunday James, an Assistant Controller of Immigration, declined to talk on the matter, an impeccable source in the agency told Vanguard that Maina was still in Nigeria.

The source said that checks at all airports and land outposts indicated that the suspect had not used any of the outlets to travel outside Nigeria since he was sacked last week. Armed with the intelligence that Maina had simply gone underground within the confines of Nigeria, EFCC had intensified its search for him.

Although the agency did not disclose the nature of its search, a knowledgeable source confirmed, last night, that the agency had widened its dragnet for the suspect.

“We will get him. We also encourage Nigerians with useful information about Maina’s movements to contact us,” a senior official of the anti-graft agency pleaded, last night.

Monumental Fraud: Senator Dino Melaye Accuses Fashola's Ministry of Power of Squandering $385m
tori.ng


The outspoken senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, has accused the Babatunde Fashola-led Ministry of Power, Work and Housing of monumental fraud worth millions of Dollars.


Influential politician and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Dino Melaye, on Thursday called the attention of the Senate to alleged “monumental fraud” in the Ministry of Power, Work and Housing headed by Babatunde Fashola.

According to a report by Premium Times, the senator representing Kogi West, alleged that the Ministry squandered $385 million on projects not appropriated in the budget between 2013 and 2016, adding that $300 million of the fund was given to IBEX while another $35 million was paid to General Electric and some others.

He said; “Mr. President, in line with the anti-corruption posture of this chamber and especially now that our cries, observations are yielding dividends as expressly manifested in the case of Babachir Lawal, today, I bring to the attention of this Senate a monumental fraud in the power sector.

“In July 2013, the federal Government raised $1 billion from Eurobond issue. From the proceeds, $350 million was given to IBEX in 2014.

“Mr. President, this money was stolen in instalments. As I speak to you, sometimes last year again, the Ministry of Power came up with a term they call fast power. This indigested project is supposed to build new generating plants to add power to our grid.”

He sought the leave of the Senate to present a substantive motion on the issue while asking questions on how the Ministry spent the funds it received. “Mr President, there are few questions we need to ask and that is why I need the nod of the Senate to bring a substantive motion to move in the next legislative day.

“These are the few questions: Up to date, there is no detail to build this new generating plant or a feasibility study, there is no appropriation by the National Assembly for these projects.

“The Ministry has spent so far $35 million on the Afam fast power project that has no appropriation or feasibility studies. How and when was this money appropriated, we need to find out. Out of this money, $29 million was purportedly paid to General Electric for turbines while $6 million was paid to others.

“These, among many other monumental frauds, are taking place. We need the Senate to investigate this.”

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki asked Melaye to present the issue as a motion on Tuesday after a voice vote in its favour. Fashola could not be reached Thursday. His spokesperson, Hakeem Bello, did not respond to telephone calls.

Gov Fayose Asks Buhari 8 Critical Questions Concerning Buhari's Anti-corruption Campaign
247nigerianewsupdate.co


Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has taken to Twitter to ask Buhari 8 critical questions concerning the President's anti-corruption campaign

See questions below

1. I ask our President, what has happened to the report on the $43m discovered in an apartment at Osbourne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos?

2. What has happened to the allegation of award of $25bn contracts without following due process made against Dr. Baru by Dr Ibe Kachikwu?

3. What happened to the DSS indictment for corruption of Magu and the AGF Investigative Panel set up by the President?

4. Who is the owner of LEGICO Shopping Plaza, Ahmadu Bello Way, VI, Lagos inside which the EFCC claimed that it found N448.8 million cash?

5. Who brought the five sacks in which the EFCC claimed that it found N49 million cash to the Kaduna Airport?

6. What happened to the probe panel on the alleged N500m bribery said to have been paid to the Chief of Staff (COS), Abba Kyari by MTN?

7. Most importantly,,, what has happened to the report submitted on Tuesday on the fraudulent reinstatement of Maina?

8. Is the President going to use APC broom to sweep the report on Maina under the carpet just as he did to others before it?

APC Caucus Refuses To Endorse Buhari – Yakubu Dogara
elevatenews.com


The National Executive Committee, NEC of the All Progressives Congress on Tuesday rejected the automatic ticket for President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of 2019 general elections.

Briefing the newsmen at the end of the meeting, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara and National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said that the NEC deferred deliberations on the consensus candidacy

According to Dogara, “Even though there was a motion in the floor that calls for a vote of confidence on the President, some of us felt it was not necessary because there is nowhere that his confidence is shaking. But the motion was taken and passed. But there was a second leg to that motion which calls for the adoption of the candidature of the President, but it was deffered for now and no decision was taken because that is not the major reason why we are here.”

Dogara also said that there was no definitive and conclusive date on the party convention because “it is something in the work and judging from yesterday’s meeting, I understand that the party will fine tune this and then there will be another round of meeting where the specifics and details will be approved.”

‎On the issue of aggrieved members in the party, he said, “I don’t think that you can find any family that is as large as the APC family without some squabbles. No such family exists in the whole world and if there are disagreements, they are okay because without disagreements, you cannot even move forward. Progress comes when people refuse to agree with the status quo and they put forward their positions. If their positions are good enough, they are adopted and we move forward.

“So, for us, I don’t think we are having a situation or run into a situation whereby we have crisis that the party cannot overcome. What I will advocate is that we should be the ones as the APC family to define what type of crisis and not allow crisis defines us. So, we will do everything possible to reach out to whoever is aggrieved. We are not like other parties that will say to hell with you because we value every member of this family. If we have members of the family who have grievances, we will do everything possible to reach out to them and attempt to bring reconciliation. I believe that with God on our side, we should be able to overcome.‎”

He said that the meeting was for stock taking and to remind themselves of the covenant they made with the people of Nigeria, review how well the party has done and what they need to do in order to deliver on the promises they made during campaign.

“I can tell you that after a very illuminating address by the party chairman, the President took turn to address the NEC members and he was very clear in his vision about where we are taking Nigeria to and we reminded ourselves about the achievements we have recorded in terms of combating terrorism in the North East, the fight against corruption which is one area where we are doing very well and the exiting from recession and the achievement the party has recorded. While we can say we have done quite a lot, there is still much to be done… The resolve is that we should rededicate ourselves as a party to the service of our people and the only thing that we guarantee our place in this country is the service we render to our people.”

Also speaking Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said one of the NEC members said we should move a motion passing a vote of confidence on Mr. President. There was no formal motion moved on the issue of second term for Mr. President.

“Somebody in the crowd shouted that we should move a motion and we don’t even know that member. But the motion that was formally moved was that NEC should pass a vote of confidence on Mr. President and that was after the brief given by the Minister of Agriculture, especially when he said that by 2018, Nigeria will have no need to import a single grain of rice. That is the context and I need you to understand that very well.

“The only discussion or conversation on 2019 was the activity of the party in 2018, especially the issue of convention. It was agreed that since we have all these activities lined up, including the mini convention, congresses and elective convention, a small team be set up to put dates to these party activities up to 2018. There was no discussion about election of 2019 or who will be the party flag bearer. The committee will decide when all these activities will take place.”

The NEC also passed absolute vote of confidence on National Chairman Chief Odigie-Oyegun and the NEC.

Meanwhile President Muhammadu Buhari assured that his government will soon shake up his cabinet and inject new blood. In his welcome address, President Buhari said, “Last year I said we would re-constitute the Boards of Parastatals. I must regret the fact that we have not done so, for many reasons. “Some of us in this meeting may know I had given instructions since October 2015 for this exercise to start. But there have been inordinate delays through several committees in an attempt to get the balance right and to make sure all parts of the country are equitably represented.

“On the other hand I am keenly aware that our supporters are very eager for these appointments to be announced. By the Grace of God these appointments will be announced soon. Especially now that the economy is improving, we will have the resources to cater for the appointees. By the same token the compressed Federal Executive Council will be expanded to bring in more supporters at Federal level, with fresh ideas to be injected into the government.”

The President also thumped up his government in the last two years in the area of “Boko Haram, Niger Delta, Regular Fuel, Improved Power, TSA, Agriculture and Fertilizer, above all, the knowledge that corruption will not be tolerated in this government. We all know there is CHANGE.”




https://elevatenews.com/apc-caucus-refuses-to-endorse-buhari-yakubu-dogara/amp/