₦airaland Forum

Padipadi:
Seriously, thank you. You are mouthed!

Padipadi:
Who remembered this lie? India 99-1 Nigeria. It should be the most successful lie in the history of Nigeria.
The indomie generation won't know this.

Without France, There’d Be No Mali, Burkina Faso And Probably Niger, President Macron Boasts

French President Emmanuel Macron has boasted that there would be no Mali or Burkina Faso and probably the Niger Republic too if not for France.

Macron boasted that French military operations in the Sahel region ensured the survival of the African countries, adding that “there would probably no longer be a Mali…Burkina Faso, and I’m not sure there would still be Niger.”

Macron was referring to the former colonial power’s interventions in the mid-2000s, Operations Serval and Barkhane in an interview with French publication Le Point, NAN reports.

French troops were moved from Mali to Niger after its military leaders cut ties with the former colonial power.

He said the interventions were done “at the request of African states” and were “successful” as his policy is facing scrutiny in the face of losing the allyship of last remaining ally, Niger, and increasing negative sentiment from Africans.

He further explained that while these operations reflect France’s “honour” and “responsibility”, France could no longer remain involved “when there is a coup d’état, and the priority of the new regimes is not to fight terrorism” even though this is “tragic for the states concerned”.

In the interview, Macron defended his administration’s policy in the Sahel as one of partnership rather than focusing on security.

France refuses to acknowledge coup leader General Abdurahman Tchiani’s announcement that all military deals between Niger and France are terminated, and more than a thousand French troops remain stationed at a military base there.

The Federal Government has disbursed the sum of N2billion to each State of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of the N5billion palliative package that was announced by the federal government to cushion the effects of petrol subsidy removal.

Minister of Finance and coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed this to journalists on Friday at a press briefing to outline some of his headline policy plans for the nation’s economy.

Mr Edun said the facility was a blend of grant and borrowing by the federal government to the 36 States and FCT.

He said the fund was not part of the proposed $800 million World Bank loan to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.

The minister said the Federal Government had to hold back on the balance of N3billion to avoid a spike in inflation figures if the funds were released at once.

The Minister said while the government cannot rely on borrowing to fund the national budget, it will mobilise revenue from improved oil production to earn more forex and create the enabling environment for local and foreign investors to come in to create jobs and improve the economy.

He anchored the economic plan of the administration on increasing revenue, effective debt management, and automation of revenue collection to plug leakages and create the enabling environment for private sector players to invest and flourish.

BlackRains:
Is like the real job of FCT minister is demolition of properties

YouandiAllofus:
Somebody tell that anusgocus animal to mynd his business 44× and stay away from my posts. If you want war, i will demolish you electronically.

YouandiAllofus:
Somebody tell that anusgocus animal to mynd his business 44× and stay away from my posts. If you want war, i will demolish you electronically.

TemplarLandry:

Perform or be fired, Presidency warns ministers

An economic revival plan aimed at ensuring a new lease of life for Nigerians was released yesterday by the Federal Government.
The plan includes bold economic reform, borrowing avoidable, foreign and domestic investment drive, restoration of national security, food security, job creation and promotion of ccountability.

President Bola Tinubu who reiterated his commitment to economic revatalisation said he will not permit indolence or any act capable of derailing his ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ by any of his ministers.

He gave a marching order to the 45-member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to perform or be ready to be fired for incompetence.

The president, who presided over his administration’s maiden FEC meeting at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, advised the ministers to brace up for the challenges of governance.

Five ministers-Olawale Edun (Finance and Economy), Mohammed Idris (Information and National Orientation), Dr. Ali Pate (Health and Social Welfare), Abubakar Kyari (Agriculture and Food Security), and Doris Anite (Industry, Trade and Investment) and Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale-shed light on how they will achieve the president’s eight-point agenda.

Anite said President Tinubu was targeting 50 million jobs or Nigerians in fulfilment of his campaign promises during the electioneering.

Edun said although President Tinubu inherited a bad economy, concerted efforts will be made to change the tide.

The president, who highlighted the challenges before the ministers, charged them to gird their loins.

He alluded to the priority areas, which were emphasised in his economic programmes, urging them to embrace activities that will enhance service delivery and prevent failure.

President Tinubu said the country relied on the minister’s skill, intellect, and networking, adding that they were appointed to make a difference.

He said: “As I said during the inauguration, I am the bus driver and you are the conductors. We have to make sure this country stays on the right path to succeed on behalf of over 200 million Nigerians. We willingly accepted the appointment and I accepted the mandate of Nigerians.

“I have delegated some of these powers to you to serve the country. You are a very lucky person to be selected among millions of Nigerians and we will use the opportunity to show that Nigeria has what it takes to dig ourselves out of our problems.

“We must find a home-grown re-engineering of our finances, manage our resources and let the economy work for the people of this country.

“There are so many things some cynics will say is impossible, but in your dictionary of service, everything is possible and must be possible. We have the talents; we have the level of intellectual capacity to turn this country around.

“You and I know that the expectation is high and it’s a tough time right now. We must work hard, commit ourselves and create a buoyant economy that will serve every Nigerian. We have an employment level that is unacceptable. We are threatened by climate change. We still have underemployment.

“But to turn things around, you have been selected to perform your utmost best. The policy agenda will be set out to reform the economy to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth, and strengthen national security for peace and prosperity. Without security there can be no investment. That is true. You have to convince them and the time is now to do that.

“When you look around the world, every leader is clamouring for what they believe on what should be there policy on food security. We have declared a state of emergency. What is your goal?

“Every one of you is a member of this team, every one of you, no partitioning. We can do whatever we want from the assignment of responsibility, but all depends on you, if you stay focused, we will all arrive at a better destination and the country will be better off for it.”

He added: “We must unlock the energy and natural resources of this country. We must start producing for ourselves, and dig ourselves out of the hole. We must focus on education, healthcare and social investment that is essential for the development of our people.

“Our priority areas are defined in our economic programmes. Every area is our priority and you belong in the driver’s position to realize and make that priority a fulfilling promise to the entire nation and the continent of Africa.

“You must achieve the economic growth that is expected of us. We must feed our people. We must leverage on what we have and grow more to satisfy Nigerians. It is all in your hands now.”

President Tinubu said he was prepared to listen to the ministers whenever they have concerns.

He stressed: “I am ready to listen. Like I said to NBA yesterday, I am ready even for corrections; only God is perfect. Don’t be afraid to take decisions. That’s the burden of leadership. I know some of you are still looking for offices. I believe the SGF, COS, HOSOF will work as a team to settle you down quickly.”

Drawing a pictorial analogy of the task before the government, Tinubu said: “Imagine yourselves that in this situation you have been called upon to fetch water from a dry well. The challenges are there, but we will deliver for Nigerians”.

Edun told reporters that he presented a “Roadmap for the Economy,” noting that the FEC agreed that the economy is not where it ought to be.

He also said that FEC examined eight priority areas and identified targets to deliver in the next three years, adding that the President had charged the ministers to roll out policies and programmes to turn the economy around.

Edun stressed: “First, he congratulated everybody and emphasised the high expectations of Nigerians and he encouraged us to be bold and courageous and innovative and to act with urgency in delivering a better life to all Nigerians.

“Essentially, we went through an exercise of looking at where things stood, regarding the economy, the growth rate, the exchange rate, inflation, unemployment and so on.

“The overriding conclusion is that we’re not where we should be and we also examined the President’s eight-point agenda, that is, the eight priority areas for moving the Nigerian economy forward and for delivering to Nigerians and those are basically food security; ending poverty, economic growth and job creation, access to capital, particularly consumer credit, inclusivity in all its dimensions, particularly as regards youths and women, improving security, improving the playing field on which people and particularly companies operate, rule of law, and of course, fighting corruption.

“It is around those matrix that the plans and the targets of what will be delivered in the next three years or so were identified, discussed and imputs were given by various ministers and we’ll now go away with the marching order to refine further the targets in particular and within weeks to start rolling out policies and programmes to turn around the economy and make things better for all Nigerians. That really is the substance of what the discussion was all about.”

Edun said the Tinubu administration inherited a bad economy with an unacceptable high rate of unemployment, and with inflation standing at 24%.

He said:“Per capital has fallen steadily, inflation is at 24 percent, unemployment is high, you know m are rebasing the way in which it’s calculated. Either way, it is high and youth unemployment is even unacceptably high, these are the key metrics that we have met.”

Asked to be specific on the kind of economy the Tinubu administration met on ground, the inister said: “We met a bad economy and the promise of Mr. President is to make it better”.

The Minister said the Federal Government would in not borrow money at this time, adding the emphasis is on how to create a macroeconomic environment where both local and foreign investors will invest and increase production.

Edun said: “Clearly, the Federal Government is not in a position to borrow at this time. Rather, the emphasis has to be on creating a stable, macroeconomic environment. Stable inflation, stable exchange rate, an environment within which people can come and invest and thereby increase production and further grow the economy; Improve and create jobs and reduce poverty.

“So, the aim of all reforms at this time is to focus on what we call equity to focus on investment to attract investment investment by Nigerians. Investment by foreign direct investors and even investment by portfolio investors that want to invest in the financial aspects of the Nigerian economy, such as the stock market, such as the bond market.

“So, that is the plan. That is the expectation and it is that there will not be a reliance on borrowing. Rather, as revenues increase, as the benefit of removing fuel subsidy and the subsidy on the exchange rate, those mean more money for government at all levels.

“Because, of course, through oil revenue, the federation earns dollars and if those dollars are feeding through, at let’s say, 700/750 or so naira to one dollar as opposed to 460 where it was before; clearly, that is repairing the finances of government are federal state and local government levels.”

Anite said President Tinubu was planning to create 50 million jobs.

She stressed: “In Mr. President’s manifesto during his campaigns, he promised 50 million jobs and that’s our target. We will take it in phases; we are looking at different sectors of the economy that will contribute to this job creation chief among them is the creative industry and the digital economy, and then the agric sector, agro-processing zones, and mining, oil and gas. So we’re very confident that we will achieve this.”

The Federal Government says it has no intention to borrow from any local or foreign organisation with its removal of subsidy on petrol and exchange rate harmonisation.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Chief Wale Edun, revealed this at the end of the inaugural Federal Executive Council meeting on Monday in Abuja.

He said that the benefit of the subsidy removal would be ploughed back into various sectors aimed at boosting government revenue and improving the business environment for local and foreign investment.

Edun said that with the increased revenue from subsidy removal, various palliatives have been made available to cushion its effect on a short, medium and long-term basis.

He reiterated the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s desire to bring back the economy from the wood it has found itself over time.

Similarly, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, said investment offers were already coming up in different sectors of the economy, including oil and gas, health, solid minerals and agriculture.

She said that her ministry would collaborate with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to achieve the president’s commitment to creation of jobs for the teeming youthful population of Nigeria.

On his part, the Minister of Health, Dr Ali Pate, said that critical sections of the health value chain would be exploited to improve the economy and create jobs for Nigerians.

He said that the president had directed them to be courageous and innovative in taking decisions that would benefit the country, adding that the president has already taken such moves.

Pate said that the president was responsive to the need to set the economy on the path of progress with his move to remove subsidy on petrol from the first day on his inauguration.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said that the president charged the cabinet members to be transparent in their dealings, especially in disseminating necessary information.

He urged the media to avail themselves of the opportunity of verifying and fact checking their stories in order not to misinform the public.

The Borno State Coordinator, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Comrade Mohammed Adamu Jiya, has revealed that most of the corp members posted to the state who had earlier applied for relocation of their services are battling to withdraw the applications following several favourable gifts coming to the camp, as well as presence of basic amenities.

Comrade Adamu stated this while speaking with journalists on Saturday at the Orientation Camp in Maiduguri, which was recently reopened after its closure in 2011 due to the Boko Haram insurgency.

He said initially, when the corps members arrived the camp, having been discouraged about the state, they came with all manners of medical reports seeking for relocation.

The camp coordinator said he used to tell the corps members who brought the applications that their reports were written by carpenters or themselves, adding that a corps member brought a report that his heart and liver were failing, while the same person with such medical report is a football captain in the camp.

“So, initially, almost all of them were putting up relocation letters, but eventually, what we are witnessing now is battle for withdrawal of the applications for relocation the corps members earlier submitted.

“And the reason for the battle for the withdrawals of the relocation applications could be attributed to the parents and guardians of the corps members, as well as news getting out from the mainstream media because, you can see fake news from the social media, but the mainstream media was able to disseminate the right information to parents through pictures and stories.

“One of them said that three of them were given posting letters, but when he came and saw that the camp was good, he invited his friends. Parents and guardians should disregard a lot of fake news from the social media.

“Feeding of corps members which is the sole responsibility of the federal government through the NYSC has been going on and very adequate, but just this afternoon, the Executive Governor of Borno State, Babagana Umara Zulum came and said he has decided to extend the palliative of the government to the camp.

“The Governor gave 10 cows, 100 bags of rice, 20 jerricans of groundnut oil, 20 bags of beans and N30,000 each to over 1,215 corps members. The theatre Commander Operation Hadin Kai, Maj Gen. Gold Chibuisi came with all his Commanders and donated two cows to the camp. So at the moment, the camp is blessed with 12 cows.

Reacting to the good condition of the camp and the welfare coming from the Borno State government, George Egon, a native of Cross River and a graduate of Biology Education from the University of Calabar, said what they are witnessing in the camp is contrary to what they were told back in the south before the Orientation.

“We were made to believe that there are no human beings and when I saw in my call up letter that I was posted to Borno State, it was all strange. I was like what am I going there to do? But being a person of faith, after processing the thumb print after its failure in the previous batch, I did not waste time, and it was a beautiful ride to Maiduguri.

“We have received great hospitality in different forms. On our arrival we recieved great alert from the Governor, and today he has done much another great thing to us. I want to say that I have accepted the people. I love them and I am here to contribute my quota to the society,” Egon said.

For Jimoh Latifat Olawumi , who came from Kwara State, notwithstanding that she cried when she saw her posting to Borno State and made every possible move with her parents for another posting, after meeting with friends who were equally posted to the State, she summoned courage and followed the friends.

“When we entered the camp, we saw that the camp was good. So the experience in the camp is very good. We have very nice hostels. We were surprised that there was light , water and access to other basic amenities in the camp. Everywhere is okay. With what the state government is doing and the good condition of the camp, many corps members who earlier applied for relocation are withdrawing back their applications,” She said.

GOFRONT:
Yaya bello will not like this.