ogododo:
President Bola Tinubu is frantically soliciting governors to induce Islamic clerics in their respective states with largesse during the Ramadan fasting period, particularly to ask them to refrain from preaching sermons that can turn the people against his government and trigger turmoil amid widespread hunger, insecurity and economic crisis assailing his tenure.


Mr Tinbu appealed to the governors “to leverage the auspicious opportunity of the Ramadan period to promote peaceful co-existence.” This leveraging, sources confirmed to Peoples Gazette involves providing largesse to the clerics and CSOs.

In a confidential memo sent on the president’s behalf by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume to all 36 governors on February 27, Mr Tinubu stated that he desired to “sensitise” radical Islamic clerics from leading “inciting sermons during the upcoming Ramadan,” anticipated to commence March 10.

“As part of the measures, Islamic preachers were being sensitised to moderate and avoid comments capable of misleading their followers or pitching them against the Government,” the memo stressed. “This is necessary considering the increasing calls by various groups including, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), for mass action over the rising cost of living and insecurity across the States of the Federation.”

The so-called sensitisation was aimed at dialling down the rage citizens felt towards the government through sermons that encourage peace and forbid demonstrations at a time when the nation was facing its worst cost-of-living crisis.

“It would be appreciated if Your Excellency could engage religious leaders, CSOs and other critical stakeholders particularly, the Nigeria Council of Ulamas at both the state and the local government levels to leverage the auspicious opportunity of the Ramadan period to promote peaceful co-existence in the country,” Mr Tinubu pleaded through his SGF last Wednesday.

Sources told The Gazette that some states said they would follow the recommendation and induce clerics and civil rights groups with largesse to deploy a measured tone at this critical period for the country.

Some critics have recently said the president is facing public denunciation because he did not have a strong mandate to begin with, having scored only 36 per cent of the vote cast during last year’s presidential election. However, the administration has rejected such a notion as unfounded.

The Presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comments on the memo urging governors to cajole Islamic clerics with largesse during Ramadan.

With Nigeria’s dire economy worsened by galloping inflation, citizens are frustrated and angrily charged. A sermon criticising the government could spark weeks-long demonstrations across the entire nation in a manner akin to the 2020 EndSARS nationwide protests.

Already, there were protests in Kano, Oyo, Osun and Niger where residents remonstrated in anguish, labelling Mr Tinubu “a thief.”

The National Bureau of Statistics revealed in January that Nigeria’s inflation had jumped to record highs, placing 29.9 per cent. This consequently drove food prices beyond affordability for most income earners, especially since the minimum wage stood at N30,000, about $10.

A market survey by The Gazette showed that a single packet of 70g Indomie noodles, which sold for about N150 as of June 2023, when Mr Tinubu became president, sold for about N350 last month. A 50kg bag of rice, which sold for about N30,000 in June 2023, jumped to N80,000 in February 2024.

Soaring food prices evidence the inefficiency of policies like naira floating and fuel subsidy removal, which Mr Tinubu deployed to supposedly improve the economy.

The floating of the naira drastically plunged the Nigerian currency into dire straits, and it exchanged at a historic high of nearly N2000 against one dollar in February.

The government gave Nigerians palliatives of N35,000 for three months to soften the blow dealt by the fuel subsidy removal. Still, the masses lamented that the money was only a drop in the ocean and was insufficient to mollify.

Last December, Mr Tinubu engaged the services of road transportation companies and halved transport fares for Nigerians travelling across the country for the yuletide. Train tickets to and from Lagos to Ibadan were also given to commuters at no cost.

In 2024, Nigeria Customs Service likewise sold 25kg bags of rice at N10,000 as against the market price of N40,000 to cushion the cost-of-living crisis, but the turnout was so massive that no fewer than seven persons perished in the stampede.

The president is also trying to market Nigeria among its international counterparts, including the Emir of Qatar, whom he persuaded over the weekend to invest in the Nigerian economy.

Just last month, Mr Tinubu directed the nation’s agriculture ministry to distribute about 42,000 metric tonnes of grain, including maize, millet and garri, to citizens to ease the economic hardship.

https://gazettengr.com/in-desperate-memo-tinubu-begs-governors-to-cajole-islamic-clerics-csos-with-ramadan-largesse-to-quell-rising-turmoil-over-hunger-insecurity/

https://gazettengr.com/in-desperate-memo-tinubu-begs-governors-to-cajole-islamic-clerics-csos-with-ramadan-largesse-to-quell-rising-turmoil-over-hunger-insecurity/

President Bola Tinubu is frantically soliciting governors to induce Islamic clerics in their respective states with largesse during the Ramadan fasting period, particularly to ask them to refrain from preaching sermons that can turn the people against his government and trigger turmoil amid widespread hunger, insecurity and economic crisis assailing his tenure.

ogododo:
President Bola Tinubu is frantically soliciting governors to induce Islamic clerics in their respective states with largesse during the Ramadan fasting period, particularly to ask them to refrain from preaching sermons that can turn the people against his government and trigger turmoil amid widespread hunger, insecurity and economic crisis assailing his tenure.


Mr Tinbu appealed to the governors “to leverage the auspicious opportunity of the Ramadan period to promote peaceful co-existence.” This leveraging, sources confirmed to Peoples Gazette involves providing largesse to the clerics and CSOs.

In a confidential memo sent on the president’s behalf by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume to all 36 governors on February 27, Mr Tinubu stated that he desired to “sensitise” radical Islamic clerics from leading “inciting sermons during the upcoming Ramadan,” anticipated to commence March 10.

“As part of the measures, Islamic preachers were being sensitised to moderate and avoid comments capable of misleading their followers or pitching them against the Government,” the memo stressed. “This is necessary considering the increasing calls by various groups including, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), for mass action over the rising cost of living and insecurity across the States of the Federation.”

The so-called sensitisation was aimed at dialling down the rage citizens felt towards the government through sermons that encourage peace and forbid demonstrations at a time when the nation was facing its worst cost-of-living crisis.

“It would be appreciated if Your Excellency could engage religious leaders, CSOs and other critical stakeholders particularly, the Nigeria Council of Ulamas at both the state and the local government levels to leverage the auspicious opportunity of the Ramadan period to promote peaceful co-existence in the country,” Mr Tinubu pleaded through his SGF last Wednesday.

Sources told The Gazette that some states said they would follow the recommendation and induce clerics and civil rights groups with largesse to deploy a measured tone at this critical period for the country.

Some critics have recently said the president is facing public denunciation because he did not have a strong mandate to begin with, having scored only 36 per cent of the vote cast during last year’s presidential election. However, the administration has rejected such a notion as unfounded.

The Presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comments on the memo urging governors to cajole Islamic clerics with largesse during Ramadan.

With Nigeria’s dire economy worsened by galloping inflation, citizens are frustrated and angrily charged. A sermon criticising the government could spark weeks-long demonstrations across the entire nation in a manner akin to the 2020 EndSARS nationwide protests.

Already, there were protests in Kano, Oyo, Osun and Niger where residents remonstrated in anguish, labelling Mr Tinubu “a thief.”

The National Bureau of Statistics revealed in January that Nigeria’s inflation had jumped to record highs, placing 29.9 per cent. This consequently drove food prices beyond affordability for most income earners, especially since the minimum wage stood at N30,000, about $10.

A market survey by The Gazette showed that a single packet of 70g Indomie noodles, which sold for about N150 as of June 2023, when Mr Tinubu became president, sold for about N350 last month. A 50kg bag of rice, which sold for about N30,000 in June 2023, jumped to N80,000 in February 2024.

Soaring food prices evidence the inefficiency of policies like naira floating and fuel subsidy removal, which Mr Tinubu deployed to supposedly improve the economy.

The floating of the naira drastically plunged the Nigerian currency into dire straits, and it exchanged at a historic high of nearly N2000 against one dollar in February.

The government gave Nigerians palliatives of N35,000 for three months to soften the blow dealt by the fuel subsidy removal. Still, the masses lamented that the money was only a drop in the ocean and was insufficient to mollify.

Last December, Mr Tinubu engaged the services of road transportation companies and halved transport fares for Nigerians travelling across the country for the yuletide. Train tickets to and from Lagos to Ibadan were also given to commuters at no cost.

In 2024, Nigeria Customs Service likewise sold 25kg bags of rice at N10,000 as against the market price of N40,000 to cushion the cost-of-living crisis, but the turnout was so massive that no fewer than seven persons perished in the stampede.

The president is also trying to market Nigeria among its international counterparts, including the Emir of Qatar, whom he persuaded over the weekend to invest in the Nigerian economy.

Just last month, Mr Tinubu directed the nation’s agriculture ministry to distribute about 42,000 metric tonnes of grain, including maize, millet and garri, to citizens to ease the economic hardship.

https://gazettengr.com/in-desperate-memo-tinubu-begs-governors-to-cajole-islamic-clerics-csos-with-ramadan-largesse-to-quell-rising-turmoil-over-hunger-insecurity/

9jatriot:
News content saying one thing, edited news headline by usual suspects known as obidient saying another thing.

Telling people to preach peaceful messages is what OP wants to turn into "begging to Cajole". Una comprehension level too low for even commn entrance exam abeg

Amayanabo01:
Tsunami is coming

AllTheWayUp:

The way memo keeps leaking everybody under Tinubu’s government shows most of his inner circle, don't respect or like him
Tinubu himself knows he is a failure and disaster , and the only way to cover u p his shame is to give bribes to religious leaders and politicians.

ivandragon:
Hmm...

The government, at all levels, needs to do more.

Though state governments are relatively independent, the governors often 'read' the body language of the President and it gives them a sense of what the government at the centre thinks.

If BAT continues to stubbornly thread a path of waste, propaganda and misaligned/misdirected policies and actions, the governors tend to follow suit since they mostly depend on the centre for sustenance.

Bat needs to urgently address the real causes that make fuel and forex subsidies unsustainable. Cut down excesses, then frontally address insecurity by introducing new technologies to combact crime while carrying out a reorientation of security forces.

Those three actions should help calm things down pending when other measures can be put in place.

JagabanB:

So it was BAT that was responsible for the irresponsiblities of 97% of governors since 1999?
State government are independent and they haven't done anything meaningful since ages ago.

ivandragon:


This your line of argument does not hold water anymore.

It has been clearly seen that since apc came into power at the centre, their reckless and unbothered attitude towards governance has further emboldened state governors to follow suit.

Imagine supporting people like ganduje and akpabio to hold sensitive positions. Even oshiomole said it as apc chairman that no matter the level of corruption, once you join apc, all sins are washed away.

Security and resource allocation are controlled by the Centre, so if the centre chooses to be reckless, the states follow suit.

JagabanB:

The centre also decides if states should provide water or not?
Many of u don't know that the unavailability of pipeborne water is huge probIem, yet most states don't provide water.
The centre also stopped states from investing in agriculture and education?
The centre also made states abandon general hospitals and primary health cares?
The centre also made states not to repair roads that they should repair?
This your argument of exonerating faiIed governors is staIe already, it doesn't help the country.
The governor has more transformation to cause in a society more than the president.

ivandragon:


Just like many of you don't know how crippling the present resource control system is crippling states.

Is it the state governors that have devalued the naira, removed subsidy and made nigeria the living hell it is turning out to be today?

If states are allowed more control over there resources, then the governors naturally have to become more accountable to the people of the state.

Until that umbrella governors hide under is removed, then the centre would continue to bear the brunt of the angst of Nigerians.

Besides, where was all these your argument pre-Buhari? Are you now realising that state governors have a bigger role to play?

Lol.

JagabanB:

The only umbrella state governors are hiding under are the ones you the masses provide.
Governors receive billions every month, do basically nothing with it, you clap for them.
Does the FG stop the state governors from performing their duties?
Does the FG stop the state governors from doing what they allocated funds to them to do?
You provide the umbrella they hide under.
My ideas has always remain constant, I am not a fanatic Iike u foIks, I have maintained same ideas since 2003 even if I don't like the presidency.
What most of u think is party and tribal politics, so u think I support everything bearing the name APC.
My idea has always remained constant since ages, I'm not a IowIife to be fine tuning my ideas.

ivandragon:


Lol.

As usual, you had to resort to your base nature of insinuating nonsense to buttress your initial trash.

It is chaps like you that are two-faced fanatics, ethnic jingoists and political party table crumb collectors.

If you were not, you would not have seen anything wrong with my initial post which you quoted. What's the big deal in saying the FG should tackle insecurity and address the removal of subsidies? Are state governors fully in charge of the security forces? Did they remove subsidy or float the naira?

The thing with 'your kind' is you feel your clueless rulers and drug dealing gods should not be criticised or advised. Well, not everyone can be slavish lowlives. Some of us want this country to get better because it is all we have.

9jatriot:
News content saying one thing, edited news headline by usual suspects known as obidient saying another thing.

Telling people to preach peaceful messages is what OP wants to turn into "begging to Cajole". Una comprehension level too low for even commn entrance exam abeg

JagabanB:

LOL.
You initially thought that I'm ur kind that keeps changing goal posts because of political inclination, I don't do that, compadre.
My ideas are my ideas, ur Iàme criticisms don't change anything, it's just based on emotions and u will keep facing reality on ground.
The big question u keep avoiding, did all these things start in 1999?
What has governors done since 1999?
Practically nothing.

RoyalUc:


I fear for the day

JagabanB:

The good thing about u folks is that u keep getting played yet u think u are smart.
During the campaign, u were all meant to believe by same Tinubu that he can't read or make a coherent speech, u gave him free publicity.
For u to think that a memo will be Ieaked and to find the person who leaked it is difficult shows how far u can think.

johnog4sure:
nonsense keep believing it's politicking till shit hits the fans

ivandragon:


There is no goal post to be shifted at my end. You are the one grasping at straws and asking what governors have done since 1999. Why not go back to the 70s too since you now want to blame dispensations for the ineptitude of your pay masters of today.

Didn't apc come with a mantra of change? What have they changed?

Now you want to blame governors for removing fuel subsidy and floating the naira.

You can continue to hide your head in the sand and enjoy your crumbs, those of us who want a better country will continue to ensure the government at the centre is kept on its toes despite the opposition from clowns and sycophants.