There was a fire incident at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, Daily Trust reports.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, described the incident as minor.
Shehu attributed the fire incident to an electrical spark. The presidential aide said the incident was recorded Thursday afternoon at a store near the State House Chapel in the Presidential Villa.
He said: “The incident, linked to an electrical spark, was immediately brought under control by alert staff using available fire extinguishers well ahead of the arrival of the Federal Fire Service trucks stationed just outside the premises.”
“Luckily, no injury or serious damage was recorded,” the presidential spokesman added.
Former Minister of Culture, and Aviation during the administration of ex President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Femi Fani Kayode has said that former Lagos State Governor, Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not get the All Progressive Congress Presidential ticket in 2023.
Mr. Fani Kayode made this statement towards the end of his zoom interview yesterday where he gave reasons Igbo Presidency in 2023 will be difficult considering the people at the helm of affairs in Nigeria today.
The Cambridge alumnus who shared the video of his interview on his Facebook and Twitter accounts said that former Lagos State Governor and national leader of the APC Bola Ahmed Tinubu won't get APC Presidential ticket in 2023.
According to Mr. Kayode, the people that matter in this present government want power to remain in the zone it is now come 2023 and would do everything to achieve that.
Mr. Kayode went ahead to say that even if Tinubu manages to get it, the North will dump him for another candidate from the North who will fly the flag of the opposition party.
Mr. Kayode who asked people to watch as his predictions in politics is 8/10 correct. On the political situation of Igbos in Nigeria, Mr. Kayode said that Nigeria including him owes Igbos apology and must do that.
He mentioned the ill-treatment given to Igbos in Nigeria before, during and after the war. According to him, Igbos were forced to exchange any amount they had in banks after the war for just 20 pounds.
He recalled how their properties were looted during the civil war all in the name of abandoned properties. He also mentioned how Igbos were left behind in Nigeria until Olusegun Obasanjo came and gave prominent Igbos like Oby Ezekwesili, Dora Akunyili and Professor Chukwuma Soludo strategic appointments.
He stated that Goodluck Jonathan also continued in that line. He regretted that everything changed in 2015 when Igbos were called 5%.
He recalled his discussions with Nnamdi Kanu when both were prison saying that he felt Kanu's pain on the plight of his people after listening to him.
Mr. Kayode said that Igbo Presidency in 2023 will heal Igbos the wound of the civil war stating that referendum should be part of Nigeria's constitution to allow people decide their future.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s request to take $22.7 billion in foreign loans.
The House approved the request after it considered the report of its committee on aids, loans and debt management.
President Buhari had said in 2019 that the loan was intended to fund key infrastructure in the country.
The Senate had earlier given its nod to the request in March. Lawmakers at the House of Representatives had earlier kicked against the bill, forcing debates to be suspended.
The lawmakers, especially those of the south-east caucus, complained about the government’s failure to include projects in the region amongst those to be financed from the loan.
However, following debates that were accompanied by pleas from House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, the loan proposal has now been approved.
Last month, both Houses approved an ₦850 billion loan proposal from the president, which is to be sourced from domestic markets “to fund critical capital projects in the 2020 budget.”
Last week, Mr Buhari also wrote to both chambers, seeking the approval of another $5.513 billion foreign loans.
Nigeria’s rising debt profile, as of September 30, 2019, was ₦26.2 trillion. Of this amount, total domestic debts is about ₦18 trillion, or 68.45 per cent. About ₦8 trillion are owed to foreign lenders.
- The federal government has lifted a ban on religious gatherings across the country - All religious activities have been suspended for more than two months by the federal government to stop the spread of COVID-19 - The new development on the religious gathering was announced on Monday, June 1, by the chairman of PTF, Boss Mustapha
Following the plea by some religious leaders in Nigeria, the federal government has announced the relaxation on the ban on religious gatherings in the country from Monday, June 1.
Nigerian Tribune reports that the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 disclosed this on the evening of Monday, June 1, during its daily briefing in Abuja , saying this is based on the guidelines and protocols agreed upon by state governments.
Legit.ng gathered that the PTF, however, said the ban on inter-state movement in the country remains in force.
The government also announced that the curfew imposed on the country will now be from 10.00 pm to 4.00 am.
“The PTF submitted its recommendations and the president has approved the following for implementation over the next four weeks spanning 2nd – 29th June 2020, subject to review:
“Cautious advance into the second phase of the national response to COVID-19; application of science and data to guide the targeting of areas of on-going high transmission of COVID-19 in the country;
“Mobilisation of all resources at state and local government levels to create public awareness on COVID-19 and improve compliance with non-pharma.ceutical interventions within communities; sustenance of key non-pharma.ceutical interventions that would apply nationwide and include: ban of gatherings of more than 20 people outside of a workplace;
“Relaxation of restriction on places of worship based on guidelines issued by the PTF and protocols agreed by state governments," the PTF said.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the PTF said it made recommendations to President Muhammadu Buhari on whether schools and religious houses should be reopened or not.
It was reported that the chairman of the task force, Boss Mustapha, made the disclosure on Sunday, May 31, shortly after a meeting with the president.
Mustapha however, did not disclose the recommendations made but pointed out that only the president could make a final decision on such matters.
Ondo residents fume over appointment of 26-year-old non-indigene as Akeredolu’s aide
Residents of Ondo State on Sunday expressed mixed feelings over the appointment of a 26-year-old non-indigene as Special Assistant on Gender, Research and Documentation to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
According to some of the residents who expressed shock and disappointment over the development, the appointment of Miss Ngozi Ugochi-Igbo was a slap on hard working indigenes of the state, as well as loyalists of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the State.
The appointment of Miss Ugochi-Igbo, an indigene of Imo State had earlier been announced by Segun Ajiboye, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor.
It was gathered that Miss Ugochi-Igbo, who recently completed her one year mandatory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, got the appointment due to her close ties with the governor’s wife, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, who also hails from Imo State.
Speaking on her appointment, a resident of the State, Wole Babalola described the move as a deliberate slap on the faces of APC members who he said were yet to be compensated for their unquantifiable role towards ensuring that Akeredolu was elected as governor.
According to Babalola, he said that the appointment had further dampened the morale of other party members, particularly youths across the various wards.
“I’ve never seen a thing like this. It seems the governor is now telling us to our faces that we don’t amount to nothing despite our commitments and loyalty to him.
“I have never heard about name of this new appointee. She contributed nothing to the campaign. Now she is reaping from our sweat just because she is close to Betty. They are even saying that she is just her make-up artist. Can you just imagine,” he said.
Another resident, who simply gave his name as Kolade, “those that are defending her appointment really need to be checked, something must be definitely wrong with them.
“The appointment is just a kind of ‘you sit here and be chopping money codedly’. I don’t really have issues with her though. The people I have issues with are those old men and youths, most especially those whose only daily job is to insult people who don’t see things their way, in the name of defending Aketi’s government.
“Most of them have been doing this for more than two years now and not even a single appointment has been given to them. They are always here receiving insults here and there while defending the indefensible
“They need better orientation and prayers because it seems their own destiny doesn’t deserve good things aside defending rubbish and being insulted for it.”
Also, Stephen Tubosun said that “Imagine Arigidi /Iye ward one of Akoko North West Area of Ondo State where Akeredolu scored the highest number of votes in 2012 and 2016 governorship election has no single appointment from state level nor single project but he is busy sharing appointment to non indigenes.”
However, some residents of the state stressed that there was nothing wrong as regards the appointment.
According to them, competence should be the over-riding factor when it comes to appointment which they said that the governor must have seen.
According to Mary, she maintained that the wife of the governor should be seen as an Ondo State woman since she got married from the state hence her people are entitled to every other benefit that accrue to indigenes of the state.
“So, as an Ondo lady now, if my husband emerged as the governor of other state, my brother shouldn’t benefit from me?
“If Mrs. Akeredolu should hail from Okitipupa, would they still condemn the action of the governor for appointing her relatives?
“Wives don’t fall from heaven, they get families too and when you marry a woman, both families become one except you are a stingy man.”
On his part, Lulu Fawahinmi said, “it’s unfutunate that some people have stayed so long in a society within the west. In 2013, I was a young man working in Enugu as an errand boy. The Governor then, appointed me as an SA. Heaven didn’t come down. Stop being tribute. One Nigeria”
Almajiris across the country have vowed to crumble the country over their alleged ill treatment in recent times. The President of the National Centre for Quaranic Recitation, Sheikh Hassan Musa, revealed this on Friday.
Musa, who expressed the dismay of the Almajiris over the decision of the Governors from the 19 Northern States to relocate them, said: “Almajiris in Nigeria are over 16 million and in 2015, we supported the All Progressives Congress because Dame Patience, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s wife, insulted us.
“Although, she does not understand Hausa language, but the way she spoke about us then during the campaign for her husband’s second term presidential election, we felt very insulted. “And that was the only reason we voted for President Muhammadu Buhari during the presidential election.
“But now, we are treated this way. “We agreed that Jonathan will not return and so we asked all the almajiris across the country to vote for Buhari and that is how he won the election, but this is what we are getting.
“All governments must handle the issue of the Almajiris in the country with caution because any Government that works against the system will surely be crumbled.”
Sheikh Musa, who stated this during the flag off and hand over by Niger State Government of Almajiri Isolation centre at Tudun Fulani Haji camp, Minna, the state capital, recalled how the Almajiris in the country used their votes to vote out Jonathan from power during the 2015 presidential election due to Patience’s derogatory utterances.
He further warned the political class in the country against toying with the issue of almajiris the way they are doing now, saying: “We will wait for them again in 2023.
He said Clerics have agreed to allow the almajiris to be isolated and tested for the coronavirus disease, but added: “We are releasing these children to you on trust. “If you fail us, we will get back to you.”
While expressing dissatisfaction at the way Almajiris are being handled and treated at the various isolation centres in the 19 northern states, he urged the Niger State Government to take good care of the children at the centre and that after two weeks ensure that they are transported safely back to their states.
The National President of the Quaranic Centre further pleaded: “These children from the 25 local governments will be brought to the Isolation centre and will now be in your care.
“Please, take adequate care of them and after two weeks, take them back to their families. “Their mallams have released them to you and we thank the Niger State Government for the facility made available for them.”
The Nigerian first lady Aisha halilu Buhari has called for a meeting conference with the Nigerian political stakeholders in the governmental position to resolve matters arising in the country.
The Nigerian first lady Aisha Buhari who made the statement public on Monday 24th May 2020, while announcing to the government officials including the Nigerian vice president, Yemi osibanjo, chief general of Army tukur burutai and others, about the security breach in the country.
According to information gathered by saharagist, it was stated that during the lockdown period, which was been imposed by the Nigerian elected President Muhammadu Buhari to help curb the spread of coronavirus in the country, the northern elites are illegally migrating Almajiris to the southern part of the country, which has called for the governmental intervention in the states, to prevent the ongoing genocide in the country.
While speaking, the Nigerian first lady also informed the people that the government officials will work effectively to ensure that the lives and property of the Nigerian citizens are safe.
While making further statement she said;
“The security breach in the country is becoming worse and worse every day, its time to rejuvenate and make Nigeria great again, therefore, I will be calling on a meeting conference with the Nigeria government officials including the chief security forces and Vice president to discuss on the matters arising in the country.”
Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s spokesman, Reno Omokri , has reacted to the decision of the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to jail any parent who enrols their children in the Almajiri system.
Naija News had earlier reported that Governor El-Rufai threatened to jail parents who are in the habits of enrolling their children into the almajiri system.
El-rufai further stated that if any Islamic cleric is caught enrolling any child into the almajiri system, such clerics would be prosecuted and jailed as well as fined N100,000 or N200,000 per child.
This, he said when he visited some almajiri children repatriated from Nasarawa state, and undergoing rehabilitation and optical screening at Government College, Kurmin Mashi, Kaduna. The former presidential aide in his reaction recalled that the Kaduna State Governor undermined President Goodluck Jonathan’s almajiri education program, calling it a ‘fraud’, despite the fact that 165 almajiri schools were built.
Reno further stated that the same person is now acting on the program he had once described as a fraud.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), said on Sunday that he observed the Eid-el-Fitr prayers at his State House residence because of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
He explained that his decision was in compliance with the measures put in place by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 which prohibited mass gatherings.
Buhari was joined at the prayers by family members, including his wife, Aisha, and son, Yusuf.
In a brief interview after the session, Buhari urged Muslims to reflect on the lessons of the period.
He said, “I held Eid prayers at home today with my family, in keeping with the protocol of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 against mass gatherings, as well as the directive of the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, suspending Eid congregational prayers across the country.”
Buhari noted that COVID-19 was so devastating that it had reduced developing and developed countries to be on the same level.
He stated, “Nigerians can see that COVID-19 has reduced us, both the developing and developed countries, to the same level. In fact, we have fewer casualties than they we have.”
He called on farmers to double their efforts in producing more food for the country by taking advantage of the rainy season.
“I hope the rainy season would be bountiful so that we get a lot of food.
“I wish the farmers will go to farms and save lives so that we can produce what we need in sufficient quantity so that we don’t have to import food.
“In any case, we don’t have any money to import food. So we must produce what we are going to eat,” he added.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, has narrated how gunmen chased staff of the commission from office on the orders of Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. Dabiri-Erewa made this known while highlighting the challenges of NIDCOM since it was established.
The former lawmaker said her commission no longer had a space to work from after Pantami ordered gunmen to throw them out from an office the Nigeria Communication Commission gave to them.
In a video posted on the website of NIDCOM and tweeted by Dabiri-Erewa on Sunday, she said, “The office we got, given to us by NCC but we were actually driven away by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, within two days, they drove us out with guns and what happened? The place was given to us by NCC.
“You know we all help each other, NCC as an agency of government, said there is a place you can use to settle in, and just as we settled in, I was in Ethiopia when I got a call. I thought that it was a joke. I came back from Ethiopia on Thursday, this happened on Tuesday, by Friday when I went to the office, guns, armed men had taken over the place. I thought it was a joke, but here is the thing, I’m a government employee, so is he. It’s a government business.
“I have complained officially but we let it be. He wants the place, let him take it. That place is still there, a whole floor is still vacant. As I speak with you, all our items are locked up. I don’t have computer, I don’t have printers, everything has been locked up.
“So after COVID-19, we are hoping that we can get a space and move in. These things locked are personal printers, personal laptops of our very dedicated staff because when you are just starting a lot of things are not there.”
Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan has given his opinion on the response to COVID-19 in the country.
Nigeria, on Thursday confirmed 245 new cases of coronavirus, with Lagos State retaining the highest figures since the outbreak. In total, Nigeria has 7267 confirmed cases, with 221deaths recorded.
Speaking during a webinar organised by the Kofi Annan Foundation on Friday, Jonathan commended the State governments in handling the outbreak of COVID-19.
The former president mentioned that the handling of cases by State governors was one of the positive things he has noticed in the management of COVID-19 in Nigeria. According to him, “In Nigeria, I have seen one positive thing about the management of the COVID-19.
“We’ve seen the role played by the State governments, and some of the State governments are even looking at post-COVID-19 era and the economy of their people.” “I have seen now what could be described as the devolution of powers with the governors,” Jonathan added.
A former Senator from Akwa Ibom State, Senator Anietie Okon, has expressed disappointment at the sack of the Director-General of the Security and Exchange Commission, SEC. Mrs. Mary Uduk, by President Mohhamadu Buhari.
He said such an act by the President was a way of laying tracks of disintegration in Nigeria. Okon, who stated this while speaking with DAILY POST on Friday said people cannot continue to be blind to the issues that have held the country together.
He lamented that the President was not carrying all sections of the country along in the distribution of political appointments in the country.
His words, “the federal government is not doing well. Today I am very angry because a daughter of this state that has served this country as a DG of the Security and Exchange Commission has been sacked.
” I just called our members in the Senate from Akwa Ibom State to rally together and they said they are miffed by the conduct of the man at the helm of affairs. Only God knows what agenda he is pursuing.
‘Look at the Nigeria Infrastructures and establishments, where do you find the Southerners? From the various commands of the Armed Forces-1st to the 3rd level of command is occupied by other people.
“We will say our minds at the National Assembly but what I do know is that Buhari is laying tracks for the disintegration of the country, whether we like to accept this or not we cannot continue to be blind to the issues that have held us together.” He also expressed disappointment over the decision by the federal government to feed school children at home describing it as an act of corruption.
“This regime is so corrupt that it cannot purge itself of corruption. How would you explain that so much money has been given out for school feeding when there are no schools going on because of the pandemic.
“This regime has become so impuneous that it is feeding school children glaringly out of fraud” he added.
The minister of interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has disclosed the expiration of the visas for the Chinese nationals invited to Nigeria in April. Mr Aregbesola made this known at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Tuesday.
The Interior Minister, while responding to questions from journalists, said the 15 nationals came on a 30-day Visa from Beijing, the capital state of China.
According to him, the experts, whose visit was sponsored by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), have been stuck in Nigeria because of the travel restrictions.
“They are here on the bill of CCECC, a Chinese company working in Nigeria and doing some projects.”
“They came on a 30-day Visa issued in Beijing and I don’t think I need to tell you why they are here. They are still here not because they have not completed their job but because there is a restriction on travels in Nigeria occasioned by the protocol of COVID-19 team,” Mr Aregbesola said.
The Chinese experts, who arrived on April 8, 2020, have been one of the subjects of controversies among Nigerians because the COVID-19 pandemic was first discovered in Wuhan, a small city in China.
POLITICS NIGERIA reported how the Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire, instructed journalists to stop asking him about their whereabouts. Also, recently, Mr Ehanire claimed that the health team have benefitted from online engagements with foreign nationals.
Baba wanted to come out and talk to you, he peeped through the Window, instead of each of you holding a notebook and a pen, you were holding stones; and he just went back to Za living room. Return your stones from where you picked them.
Michael Yigao, managing director of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), says the Chinese medical experts that arrived the country on April 8 are in the company’s care.
The whereabouts of the Chinese team became an issue after the presidential task force briefing on COVID-19 of Thursday.
Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, had said the federal government could not explain the whereabouts of the Chinese medical team because they are the guests of the CCECC.
But Yigao told reporters on Monday that the team came into the country to specially help CCECC fight the disease and protect its employees.
“The team had a telecast meeting with the minister of health and some doctors around the country and shared their experience in China on how they’re fighting the virus and the meeting was very positive,” he said.
“They are here with us and have continued to teach our staff how to protect themselves because protection and prevention are more important than the treatment.
“Most of the workers understand the situation now and they know the risk, so they follow the proper procedures and cooperate with their instructors.”
He said the medical experts would be heading home as soon as the ban on commercial flights to China is lifted.
Yiago praised the Nigerian government for its reaction to fighting the disease, saying the CCECC would like to build on the strong mutual relationship between Nigeria and China.
He said that CCECC would continue to give quality support to the Nigerian people in all areas “Right now, commercial flight to China is not open, but when flights are open again, we’re considering the team going back to China,” he said.
“In a big country like Nigeria, it can be a bit difficult to control a pandemic because you will have to make all the people of such a large country understand that it is serious and real thing.
“I think Nigeria is taking this very seriously and you can see it in the implementation of the lockdown and the suspension of international flights etc.
“And like other companies in Nigeria, we will do whatever we can to help the country, like building treatment centres and training people on how to handle the virus.
“We understand the COVID-19 pandemic challenge in Nigeria because we are based here and have a lot of employees and we do believe, that with efforts from the government from the people, we will win this war.
“I hope the people of Nigeria understand that we need the help of all peoples across the world to win this fight against coronavirus.”
Residents of Sapele, Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State in their thousands took to the streets of Sapele town, in protest against the additional 14 days lockdown by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to curtail further spread of Coronavirus in the state.
The governor had on Tuesday 14 April, 2020 in a broadcast, extended the lockdown in the state for another 14 days and imposed a dusk to dawn curfew (7pm-7am).
Irked by the governors lockdown extension, some Sapele women This in their hundreds took their protest to the streets of the town, as early as 7:30am demanding an end to the lockdown.
The women were later joined by other residents of the town including artisans, tricycle and motorcycle riders and others
One of the protesters, Mrs. Oke James, who spoke to journalists, said they prefer to come outside and die than to be locked indoor, “we have stayed inside for two weeks we can’t go to the market, we can’t go anywhere, we are hungry, we will not accept this”.
“We are hungry and we don’t want food, let us go out and fend for ourselves. We want to go back to our normal lives, we are tired of sitting at home.”
Another protester, Oritsemeyiwa who spoke with our correspondent, said the government is very insensitive to the plight of its people.
Oritsemeyiwa, an unemployed youth further added that, since the lockdown started, he has been going round begging to survive. “As it is now, I have no money anywhere. How to survive for the next 14 days is what I am thinking about.”
Others, who spoke were Sapele-Okpe Community leader Dr. Vincent Ekariko, and Mr Aderopo Peters, a doctor, demanded immediate release of food items, saying Deltans are hungry. “If you say people should stay at home, tell me, what will they eat, while the leaders stock their home with foodstuff, no water, no electricity, no food for the poor ones, what do you want them to do? They should stay at home and die?” Dr Ekariko asked.
Sapele Local Government Chairman, Hon Eugene Inoaghan, who tried to pacify the crowd with loads of security men was openly rebuffed, with the crowd chanting “We want freedom, we want freedom” however there was pandemonium when the chairman left, with the crowd openly confronting security men with stones, an action that led to burning of tyres and wood.
When contacted, the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Onome Onovwakpoyeya confirmed the protest, saying that many injured and that the protesters have been dispersed.
Yesterday was not entirely a good day for the El-rufai’s on twitter yesterday, as the son to the governor of Kano State, Bello Rufai, threatened to gang-rape the mother of a twitter user he had a brawl with. The brawl originated from a comment the person made on the post of El-Rufai where he suggested that Trump, the American president, was incompetent. In response, the twitter user called El-Rufai an hypocrite for addressing the American competent as incompetent while he sees nothing wrong with the administration of Buhari.
The comment apparently did not sit well with Bello Rufai, who took no chill pill, in calling out the twitter user and threatening him with gang-rape of his mother. Twitter users who reacted to the tweets kept tagging the mother of Bello to give a response to the tweet, and eventually when she responded, she supported her son’s word and claimed all is fair in war and love.
Since then, the El-Rufai’s have been under a barrage of criticism from twitter users who felt uncomfortable with the language usage. Some even demanded that the Son should be immediately reported to necessary authorities because he his a potential rapist. The criticism went on till some minutes ago, when the wife of El-Rufai posted on her twitter page that she has read the post and has corrected her son for such uncouth statement.
Her tweet reads thus;
“ When I posted the tweet below, I assumed it was just the usual Twitter gbas-gbos. Having read the tweets chronologically, I have had conversations with Bello. Never ever should sexual abuse be employed as ammunition in public/ private exchanges, no matter the provocation.
Comrade Timi Frank, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has told African Union (AU) leaders to withdraw the African Union’s Anti-corruption Champion Award conferred on President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018, or he would lead a protest in the next AU meeting in Addis Ababa.
Frank had in a statement made available to journalists on Monday said it had become necessary in view of what he described as President Buhari’s lack of integrity, credibility and honour in administering the affairs of the country since May 2015.
The activist wondered why Buhari was selected for the continental award in view of his high level of compromise, while other African leaders with solid integrity, untainted credibility and unwavering commitment to the fight against corruption like Paul Kagame of Rwanda and John Joseph Magufuli of Tanzania were not chosen.
He maintained that Kagame and Magufuli remained shining examples of integrity in the continent, stressing that the President was least deserving of the award, as all facets of the Nigerian nation had become infested with excruciating and growing corruption under his leadership.
While describing corruption under the fight for spread of COVID-19 pandemic as outrageous, Frank said, “Recall that the AU at its 30th Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2018, presented to the President Muhammadu Buhari, a continental award as the African Union’s Anti-corruption Champion.
“The award among others was meant to spur leaders of the continent not just to fight corruption in their respective countries but to engage in impactful projects which were hitherto unfortunately hampered by corruption in the echelons of national governments across the continent.”
He said that he sincerely believed that the choice of Buhari to receive the award was fueled by the regime’s propagandists and lobbyists whose only intention was to commit the AU to supporting a supposed anti-corruption crusade by President Buhari.
“Let me inform you that the choice of Buhari for the Award was not only a misplaced venture but an unpardonable aberration as events back in Nigeria have since shown that rather than fight corruption in which basis he was elected in 2015, the regime has turned out to be an Enabler-In-Chief for wanton corruption.
“Be further informed that the propaganda anti-corruption edifice build around Buhari has since unraveled to reveal a cesspit of monumental corruption being perpetuated by officials of the regime against the people of Nigeria.
“The credentials of Buhari as a man without integrity and honour are well known both within Nigeria and the international arena.
“For instance, Nigeria has been on the downward slide in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) published yearly by the Transparency International (TI) since Buhari took over the affairs of the country in May 2015 till date. The evidence for this is just a click away on any of the internet search engines.
“Besides a plethora of regime officials indicted for corruption in the country, TI’s annual reports from 2015 to 2019 and a recent letter by the Chairman, Finance Committee of the United States of America (USA) Senate, Mr. Charles Grassley, would bring to fore any evidence required by Your Excellency in this regard.
“In addition to the above, it is self-evident that some top officials of the regime have since been sacked for corruption related atrocities – when the regime could no longer bear or cover up their financial improprieties – while many still exist that are sleaze personified.
“In view of the forgoing, the AU will be doing the continental organization of eminent and respected African leaders a great service by retracing your steps (which you were led into by error), redeem the global image of the AU and strengthen its resolve to eliminate governmental corruption from the African continent, by relieving Buhari of the unmerited award.”
He called on the leadership of the AU not only to withdraw the award it wrongly bestowed on Buhari but to also apologize to Africa for their poor and unwarranted action, stressing that if the award was not withdrawn, he would be left with no other option than to mobilize and lead a massive protest against, what he said was an underserved award at the next summit of the AU in Addis Ababa.
Nigeria’s recent election produced a winner, but victory for incumbent Muhammadu Buhari has generated little enthusiasm in a country performing far below its potential. The poll in Africa’s most populous country was marred by a week-long delay, sporadic violence in which dozens died and allegations of vote-rigging. What was supposed to have been the largest election in Africa’s history — with 84m registered voters — turned out not to be because of a dispiritingly low turnout of 35 per cent. The result is being challenged as a “sham” by the loser, Atiku Abubakar, in a dispute that is likely to rumble on in the courts for months.
The Nigerian people deserve better than this. Democracy has to mean more than a poorly run election every four years. With his renewed mandate, it is now Mr Buhari’s task to rebuild faith by running a dynamic and successful administration and by building the institutions that can lay firmer foundations than in his previous term.
The omens from his first four years in office are not good. During that time, the former military leader ran a lacklustre administration with no obvious sense of direction. There was no coherent economic strategy of the sort being attempted by the likes of Ethiopia, Rwanda or west African neighbours Ghana and Senegal to produce the rapid growth needed to haul tens of millions of people out of poverty. It is an indictment of its leadership — both military and democratic — that the continent’s biggest oil producer should have more people living in absolute poverty than any other country in the world.
Mr Buhari’s priority this time must be to set out a coherent agenda, implemented by technocrats rather than ideologues, to turn things round. Nigeria desperately needs to create a level playing field for business in which access to foreign currency, permits and other requirements is both predictable and rational. His much vaunted crackdown on corruption must go beyond taking action against a few minor officials. Some big scalps would help. More important still is to implement systematic changes — whether by reforming institutions, using technology or by removing arbitrage opportunities — to create a more transparent environment. People should prosper in Nigeria based on what they know and how much value and employment they can create, not by their connections.
On security, Mr Buhari’s first term was also less than successful in spite of repeated declarations of victory over Boko Haram. There is credible evidence of a renewed threat in the north-east in the form of a breakaway Islamist group. Nigeria’s army remains ill-equipped, both literally and institutionally, to take on such a challenge. Too often, its armed forces — which have committed human rights abuses of their own — have been part of the problem rather than the solution.
There has been some success in taming insurgency in the oil-rich Delta region, where real grievances about economic exclusion have bubbled over into sabotage of oil installations. But Mr Buhari must do more to offer lasting solutions to the violent clashes between pastoralists and sedentary farmers that have erupted in the country’s central belt and beyond.
Nigeria should be Africa’s economic motor. Too often it looks more like a country teetering on the edge. In his second presidential term, Mr Buhari has a chance to silence his critics. With decent policies and effective implementation, he can stop the rot and lay the basis for a better future. If he can do that, he can yet salvage his reputation. If not, he will go down in history as a general who should have stayed in his barracks.[/quote]https://www.ft.com/content/568682b6-401e-11e9-9bee-efab61506f44
Constituents, mainly students, from the Bayelsa East Senatorial District, have threatened to recall the Senator representing them in the National Assembly, Mr. Ben Bruce.
The aggrieved constituents accused the “common sense” senator of neglecting them and having no plans for his constituency, which comprises Nembe, Brass and Ogbia local government areas, Bayelsa State
Leaders of student bodies for the three local governments made their grievances known yesterday in a statement.
The statement was signed by Samuel Tari (Nembe), Ambrose Joseph (Brass) and Mark John (Ogbia).
They lamented that the senator was not in good relationship with his people and had continued to shy away from his constitutional responsibilities.
Besides, they said since he was elected, Bruce had not visited his people.
They said: “Since Bruce became a senator, he has failed to look into the basic needs and challenges currently bedeviling the East Senatorial District, such as education, as most of our students cannot access good quality education.
“He has failed to attract a single project to the district in terms of infrastructures, roads and others. He has continuously and deliberately ignored efforts by the people to create a working relationship that will bring out purposeful leadership for our people.
“He is yet to fulfil any of his campaign promises; painfully, he is an Abuja- based senator. He refuses to visit his constituency, except only once when he visited his hometown and couldn’t even stay for up to four hours.
“Sincerely, we are tired, other places are enjoying the benefits that come from having a national representative. Our case has been a curse rather than a blessing. We are just like a district without a senator. This is why we are intended to change that narrative”.
The student leaders gave the senator a 10-day ultimatum, to amend his ways or face consistent protest and the recall process.
“We are, hereby, giving him an ultimatum of 10 days, starting from 21st August. If he fails to meet with us, we shall take our protest to the National Assembly.
“We will mobilise all the students, our mothers and our fathers. We will initiate his recall process. Our people deserve a better treatment from him. We request to have a town hall meeting,” they said.
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has once again declared that the quest for the actualization of Oduduwa Republic, will soon be a reality and nothing can stop it.
Writing on his Twitter page on Friday morning, Fani-Kayode claimed that many groups in Yorubaland are supporting Yoruba Liberation Command (YOLICOM) and described the cause as “honourable”.
He tweeted: “Glad that many groups in Yorubaland are supporting YOLICOM in their quest for Oduduwa Republic.
“The quest for self-determination and the yearning for freedom is a legitimate right and an honorable cause.
“It cannot be successfully resisted in perpetuity. God will deliver!”
Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom said he would be needing no fewer N60bn to turn Benue into London.
Ortom made this statement on Wednesday during a phone-in programme monitored by DAILY POST on Harvest FM, Makuurdi.
According to the governor, the past administration led by Gabriel Suswam looted over N109bn from the state and he had been working round the clock to recover it.
He said, “he past administration stole over 109 billion, if I recover just 40 billion (which is the difference of all salaries and arrears of salaries in Benue state,) I’ll finish the issue of salaries and develop Benue into London.
“I wanted to be paying half salary every month but Labour leaders said, instead, I should pay full salary in every 2 months. And that is what I have been doing.”
The Chairman of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, ACF, Shettima Yerima on Thursday maintained that the quit notice asking Igbos to vacate the North on October 1 stands.
Addressing reporters in Kano, the ACF Chairman said Igbos who were willing to remain in the north were welcome but that the order was sacrosanct.
According to Yerima, “We stand by our notice to Igbo but those who are interested in Nigeria can stay. But for those who are not interested, you can go.
“Our mission is for peace; the unity of Nigeria is being threatened by the current agitation from the Igbo and we want to make sure that those who are interested in Nigeria stay but those who are not interested should go.
“The purpose of town hall meeting in Kano is to review the early stand took and we are collecting views of people here from the north-west. We will also move to north-central and north-east on whether to maintain our position or reconsider it.
“We don’t have the right to force the people to go. So, we are using peaceful means because don’t have police and army.”
The Rainy season is the reason for the upsurge in attacks by Boko Haram. Let's wait till the dry season before according the "F" mark to the government and NA on it's Boko Haram strategy.
The animosity between Nigeria’s security agencies and their unwillingness to share intelligence are hampering effort at effectively combating the Boko Haram insurgency in the country’s North-east, the United States government has stated.
It stated this in the Country Report on Terrorism 2016 published by the US Department of State’s Bureau for Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism.
For instance, the report said the failure of the State Security Services, SSS, which is primarily saddled with investigating cases of terrorism, to share information with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, makes it hard to investigate terrorist financing.
“While the Nigerian military had primary responsibility for combating terrorism in thenortheast, several government agencies performed counterterrorism functions, including the Department of State Security (DSS), the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), and the Ministry of Justice.
“Counterterrorism activities of these agencies and ministry were ostensibly coordinated by the Office of the National Security Advisor (ONSA). The level of interagency cooperation and information sharing was limited and at times hindered overall effectiveness.”
The report also took a swipe at the EFCC and the Ministry of Justice for their apathy in prosecuting financiers of terrorists, observing that while it is political will to confiscate properties of known terrorists or their financiers, bureaucratic processes cause delay.
The report also stated that the military’s gain against Boko Haram appeared to have slowed down recently and the military has been incapable of exacting its control over recaptured territories.
“Despite gains made by the MNJTF, much of its reported progress was merely duplication of failed efforts carried over from the end of the last dry/fighting season. The Nigerian military was unable tohold and re-build civilian structures and institutions in those areas it had cleared,” it stated.
Politics › Fire Guts Presidential Villa by maupe(op): 10:35am On Jun 05, 2020
