₦airaland Forum

– Minister believes insurgency cannot be defeated overnight

– Counsels Nigerians to be patient with the present administration

– Reveals why citizens can expect more Boko Haram attacks

Nigeria’s minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has asked Nigerians to expect more Boko Haram attacks.

The minister who dropped this bombshell during the town hall meeting with Nigerians at the Lagos City Hall in Lagos, stated that the insurgents have been totally defeated, however, they will still continue to attack in small groups.

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Nigeria’s minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has asked Nigerians to expect more Boko Haram attacks. Photo: Michael Obasa
While addressing a gathering that included fellow minister, the Lagos state deputy governor, Alhaja Idiat Oluwaranti Adebule, the former APC spokesperson, stated that the level of insurgency explains why President Muhammadu Buhari’s first trips were to beighbouring countries.

“His first trips were to rally the support of Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger, then the G7, US, France, UN and these efforts have paid off.

“Boko Haram has been defeated as a result of the purposeful leadership of the president.

“No insurgency ends overnight, therefore, there will still be attacks. This is not a surprise since they have been dispersed and have melted into the society,” he said in his address.

Alhaji Mohammed added that all that is left now is the reconstruction, resettlement and rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons to return home.

As at the time of filing this report, the meeting was still ongoing with the questions and answers session between the panelists and the audience on the gains of the president’s recent trip to China, which forms the thrust of the town hall meeting.

A PDP-controlled Senate will spell doom for the All Progressive Congress government of President Muhammadu Buhari, former House of Representatives member Dr Haruna Yerima has said.

“The ruling party and the presidency must ensure that the ranks and files of APC senators remain intact,” Yerima told Daily Trust on Thursday.

The APC chieftain said with the ongoing criminal trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki, “something strategic must be done to avert the National Assembly’s ridiculing of the president.”

“You can imagine what will happen if the PDP takes over the Senate? What happened during the election of Saraki in June last year is an eye opener. There will be problems for Buhari’s government if the PDP takes over the senate,” he said.

The university teacher said “if Saraki finally resigns or found guilty who takes over? We can only dismiss the possibilities of PDP’s taking over at our own peril. The PDP requires only three senators to form the majority. It is easier for them because the Saraki diehards in the APC will support them.

“Where the pendulum of some former governors in the senate will swing to is clear going by their antecedents. This should worry any believer in Buhari’s change agenda. The progressive policies of the president which requires the lawmakers’ nod will be jeopardized.”

He said the policy direction of the current National Assembly is antithetical to Buhari’s change agenda. “The unpopular buying of luxury cars for lawmakers, the controversial amendments of the Code of Conduct Bureau laws, the budget debacle are pointers to the fact that it will get worse if eventually the PDP takes over the Senate,” Yerima said.

He said the patriotic members of the APC in the National Assembly “must work in tandem with the party leadership to salvage the situation. Their inaction now will spell doom for the president and Nigeria at large.”

clickwtB:
CAN YOU SEE HOW WICKED SARAKI IS!!!HOW CAN A MAN WHO IS NOT FIT TO BE SENATE PRESIDENT AS HE IS BEING INVESTIGATED BY EFCC!!!SOMEBODY WHO IS SUPPOSED TO BE PRAYING TO GOD TO SAVE HIM,WANTS TO TRUNCATE ANOTHER PERSON APPOINTMENT.A SERIOUSLY POWER HUNGRY BUFFOON!!!

TippyTop:
It was only a matter of time before Bubu reintroduce an upgrade of his infamous decree4 of 1984.

The naira took a downward swing on Thursday after federal government’s disclosure that there was “no yuan swap” deal signed by Nigeria and China.

The naira, which traded between 315 and 317 on Wednesday, sunk sharply to a position between 320 and 322 on Thursday after the disclosure at the federal executive council meeting on Wednesday.

Earlier, Nigeria was reported to have agreed a yuan-swap deal with China, although it has not been finalised.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the central bank of Nigeria (CBN), had spoken about the deal, adding that it would be concluded by the People’s Bank of China, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s biggest lender, as CBN’s representative.

He said the deal will take pressure off the dollar in Nigeria and help conserve Nigeria’s foreign reserves.

However, Geoffrey Onyeama, minister for foreign affairs, said the deal was not a currency swap, but a deal for the flow of the yuan into Nigeria, adding that the dollar is still in use for international trade.

“It’s not really a swap. What it takes is that as the Chinese economy goes strong, there is some pressure on them from the trading partners, international financial institutions. They agreed that the money should be internationalised,” he said while briefing the press after FEC meeting on Wednesday.

“They started that for a while. They were protecting it also. They did not allow it to be fully exchangeable. But now, their economy is fully strong, they are looking for a way to internationalise the currency.

“They were saying essentially that they wanted to segment it. For Southern Africa, South Africa is going to be the sort of a hub for the currency. So, they are going to be the focal point for the Chinese to make that available for trade in that area.

“In West Africa, they are looking for a hub. Ghana is interested in being the hub for the currency, to circulate it for those who want to use it. It is not compulsory. But Nigeria is a bigger country with bigger economy. So that does make sense, they became a kind of attracted to Nigeria to be the hub.”

He said the currency gives Nigeria flexibility in buying Chinese goods with yuan rather than dollars, corroborating Emefiele’s stance.

“We still use the dollar. But if it not enough and there are some people who want to invest in the country, instead of crying that they cannot take dollar out, there might be yuan that they would be happy to take out because it is now internationalized as a currency and they can use it. So, it gives us a much larger option.

“As you know, a lot of importers now are complaining that they are not able to access the dollars to buy good and things like that. So, if we have in addition to dollar, we have yuan, then they can also have that available.”

The deal has not been totally consummated by all parties involved, but the prospects are bright for Nigeria as remnibi hub in West Africa.

18SNVL:
You are right no need to be sorry because it is true although I am sorry for you and us. There are many good reasons not to protest. But this is where I believe we are different, at the end of the day it is all about stages of development. If one feels that they are not ready to sacrifice for others then maybe sometime later in life they will be able to, it is my prayer that we all reach this stage quickly. Your "hardwork" is in vain if this present situation continues don't you think? How long will you go with the mentality that I must secure for myself first and yet also go around preaching "seek ye first". You work so hard, pay for fuel, waste fuel in traffic because our public servants do not plan and maintain our road system.

It is hard to think outside the box I know, you are in your place of work and you are thinking how can I make a difference after being tied down to this and that? Then get the people at your work involved, if possible now is the time, the conditions are right. Everyone is more educated on the Nigerian situation. Spending a whole day in the hot sun without a plan is not my idea of a peaceful protest? I have a plan and I believe it will work, there is no way they would not hear us with my plan in mind. In fact I am convinced that once we go with the facts they would scrape their plan and use the money for something more productive. Any president needs the help of the masses he cannot do it all, if we let him and his team work on those essentials like you say I am sorry but our public servants would be buying 2017 and 2018 SUV versions in the meantime. I can only try to play my part, the making of a great nation is in its people struggling the right way and not depending entirely on one person, we have to struggle against base elements. You are the horse and Nigeria is the cart, and there are some elements sitting on top of the cart. Again I do not know a lot but this is my opinion.

TechieMan:
[size=48pt]YOU ARE CONFUSED.
PLEASE TAKE ONE SIDE[/size]

rusher14:
What's the expected ROI?