₦airaland Forum

Nice

President Muhammadu Buhari today met with the newly appointed service chiefs and the National Security Adviser. Present at the meeting were Chief of Defence Staff , Major-General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin, Chief of Army Staff, Major-General T.Y. Buratai, Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas and Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar. Chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku Morgan and National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Babagana Monguno (rtd.) were also at the meeting.

Yesterday, President Buhari relieved the former service chiefs of their duties and and appointed new Service Chiefs and also a new National Security Adviser.

The new Service Chiefs will hold their appointments in an acting capacity until confirmed by the Senate.

http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/buhari-holds-first-meeting-with-new-service-chiefs/

baralatie:
Who is going to build it and where is the money coming from!

I guess u didn't read the piece at all
Pls refer to my post below urs..

So more refineries will be built.. I think I like this change

APC. Na real wa..

The Ebonyi State government yesterday alleged that the office of the State Auditor-General of local government areas has uncovered fraud of over N1.5billion by officials of the State Universal Education Board, UBEB being salaries of teachers in most of the non-existing schools and ghost workers in the board.

The Auditor General of the Local Government Areas who was newly appointed by the State Governor, Chief Dave Umahi, Chief George Ukpai at the Universal Education Board also sealed-off the Audit centre of the Board (UBEB) following the refusal of the board officials to allow his office unfettered access to the centre where he alleged most of the fraud are masterminded.

According to a statement issued at the UBEB headquarters, Abakaliki by Chief Ukpai, he directed that no further processing, retrieval of information and other actions related thereto should be at the centre until further notice.

He noted that directive was as a result of financial frauds rocking the state local government system and the Universal Basic Education Board he is overseeing.

Addressing journalists after sealing off the center and the verification exercise in the area explained that the salaries of teachers at the Primary and Junior Secondary levels which is N532million was increased to N1.6billion by the principal officers of the board.

He disclosed that the one of local government workers which stands at N564million was also inflated to well over N1billion which he said accounted to why the state government constituted verification committee.

Ukpai added that the unauthorized increment of the salaries by the local government and UBEB officers led to the inability of the state government to pay the May and June salaries of workers which according to him would have put the state government and labour on collision but for the understanding by the workers.

He announced that the committee in its preliminary investigation has uncovered large number of ghost workers in the state.

Cc lalasticlala

http://leadership.ng/news/446826/ebonyi-uncovers-n1-5bn-fraud-in-ubeb-lgas

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA–President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday in Abuja said that his government may not remove the petroleum subsidy, stating that the reasons so far canvassed for its removal did not sound plausible.

He added that the absence of subsidy will have adverse effect on the poor and jobless Nigerians.

Speaking after receiving a briefing from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other agencies in the oil sector, President Buhari said that he will carefully review all the submissions he had received on the need to remove the subsidies.

“I have received many literature on the need to remove subsidies, but much of it has no depth.

“When you touch the price of petroleum products, that has the effect of triggering price rises on transportation, food and rents. That is for those who earn salaries, but there are many who are jobless and will be affected by it,” he said.

According to the president, what impeded transparency in the oil sector may not be the subsidy but lack of security, sabotage, vandalism, corruption and mismanagement.

He however promised to deal decisively with all identified problems of the oil and gas sector.

“We have to go back to the good old days of transparency and accountability,” the President said .

A statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu stated that “President Buhari directed the NNPC to review existing agreements for the swapping of crude oil for refined products with a view to injecting more honesty and transparency into the process to reduce costs”, even as he also “asked the NNPC management to do more to improve the supply of liquefied petroleum Gas (cooking gas).”

Cc lalasticlala

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/no-genuine-reason-to-remove-oil-subsidy-yet-buhari/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

Yesso!

In PMB n VPYO we trust

They should have shown us their full pic
Do hope dey don't have "pot bellies"

Dem look serious sha.

Yaaay!! No more pregnant service chiefs.

Btw I'm expecting some guy like that to come up with a thread telling us hw corrupt this guys are.. Google go suffer

The IG of police thinks he is still in GEJ's era where impunity is the order of the day.. My P is committed to the rule of law

Independent National Electoral Commission has released timetable for governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi State


https://twitter.com/NTANewsNow/status/620233637930369024/photo/1
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CJuDNMgWUAAJI_A.jpg:large

TATA Motors Limited has invested over $8million as part of preparation to assemble the first batch of made in Nigerian cars with subsequent exportation of automobiles to other parts of Africa.

The Regional Manager, TATA, Kshitij Verma gave this hint during a meeting between the company and the management of National Automotive Council (NAC) in Abuja at the weekend.

According to him, the target of the company is not just to start assembling of automobiles but also for export market.

“The idea is to establish an assembly plant In Nigeria as a sub regional centre where vehicles will be manufactured for exportation,” he said, adding: “Already the company has employed over 240 Nigerians many of whom are currently undergoing training in India, they have already installed a factory which is sited on a large expanse of land measuring about 130 hectares at Ijebu Ode.”

In his remarks, NAC DG, Aminu Jalal observed that the coming of TATA and other foreign auto companies is an expression of the confidence of global investors in the potential of nation’s auto industry.

NAC boss, while noting that the demand of wholesale vehicle import which runs into trillions of naira annually is not sustainable, said: “The automotive demand in foreign exchange is the second largest on Nigeria’s reserves there is an urgent need to reduce it.”

He was however quick to commend current efforts aimed ensuring the local content in the manufacturing of vehicles.

“Unlike the previous attempts in automotive development in Nigeria which was undermined by badly managed trade liberalisation policy, the present attempt is characterised by the involvement of local entrepreneurs with experience in the motor industries.”

NAC, he stressed, “has the competence to ensure that Nigeria is not short-changed in this strategy to diversify the Nigerian economy adding that sustenance of the automotive industry is critical in this regard.”

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/tata-to-invest-8million-in-nigerias-auto-industry/

cc lalasticlala

We could have prevented Zaria massacre by Boko Haram, says el-Rufai
July 12, 2015
Written by Innocent Duru,Otta/Austine Ehikioya

•Bemoans lack of intelligence tools

Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State yesterday in Otta, Ogun State, said last Tuesday’s suicide bombing in Zaria and the attendant loss of lives could have been prevented if the security agencies had the necessary intelligence tools.

About 25 people, many of whom were identified as primary school teachers, died when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) carried by a female suicide bomber went off at the premises of Sabon Gari Local Government.

The victims were queuing for identity checks when the incident occurred.

However, el-Rufai said yesterday that government was aware that Boko Haram was planning to unleash terror on the town at least 12 hours before the incident.

Speaking at the 2015 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) boot camp, Otta, Ogun State said, “I feel pained that such a dastardly act occurred even when we were aware that such was going to happen. Twelve hours to the time the incident occurred, we knew through intelligence report that some people were coming to do such.

“We kept monitoring them but they switched off their phones when they got to Zaria. Seven hours later, we heard of the blast. If we had the right equipment, it could have been averted. We need twice the number of police officers than we have now.”

The governor who spoke on ‘Creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs’, identified the provision of security, education, social capital and investor-friendly policies as crucial to the enhancement of entrepreneurship.

He said:” The quality of a government in any environment can make or mar entrepreneurship. Nothing is possible without a functioning government.

“No matter how rich you are, without a functioning government you are limited in what you can do because there are things that the government can do that you cannot do your by yourself.”

Source:http://thenationonlineng.net/new/we-could-have-prevented-zaria-massacre-by-boko-haram-says-el-rufai/

GRADUALLY, the clock timing President Muhammadu Buhari’s four year term is ticking away. It is already over 30 days since the President took the reins on May 29, 2015. Those who look back to the Presidential election of March 28, 2015 would recall how the President won a historic victory. For the first time since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, an opposition party defeated the ruling party to claim power. President Buhari and his party defied the odds and swept to office on the back of a near hysterical clamour for change.

In the process, both the President and the All Progressives Congress made hundreds of promises to the Nigerian people with respect to what the administration would do to change the direction of the country, and put it back to the path to stability and prosperity.

On its part, the civil society, which remained vigilant all through the electoral process to ensure that the votes counted, have moved to the next stage of monitoring governance and deepening democracy. Being good students of history, civil society now feels the compelling need to mobilize citizens to put a close eye on governance to ensure the politicians deliver on their promises.

The objective is to avoid the mistakes of the recent past in which the people became mere appendages in the governance process, when they should be the focal point of governance. The big challenge became how to innovatively monitor the performance of public office holders, including the President, through a rigorous and fact based approach.

The launch of Buharimeter on June 1 2015 birthed a public engagement tool with which civil society would be engaging governance to ensure the President fulfils the promises he made to the Nigerian people. Buharimeter was conceptualised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and supported by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) to address the challenges of governance, civic participation and effective service delivery in Nigeria. The central focus of this initiative is to bridge existing gap between the government and the governed thereby facilitating a process through which democratic accountability becomes the norm. It is a platform to ensure that the dividends of democracy are delivered to Nigerians who overwhelmingly voted for change during the 2015 general elections.

It is reckoned that through Buharimeter, civil society groups, citizens, the media, academia, practitioners, political parties and other stakeholders will have access to reports on the status of the implementation of promises made by the President. This is because all the promises made by the current government are documented in different sectors for easy identification. The project is designed to ensure that citizens contribute in deepening democracy in Nigeria. Already the very first of the monthly. reports has been issued. The first report for June 2015 provides updates on the status of implementation of campaign promises within the first 30days of President Muhammadu Buhari in office.

Buharimeter on anti-corruption promises

The report notes that out of the nine promises made as measures to prosecute the war against corruption, the President is at the moment “working towards the achievement of the pledge on public declaration of assets and liabilities by filing such with the Code of Conduct Bureau as mandated by Section 140 of the 1999 Constitution.”

It however notes that there is yet to be movement on other promises fundamental to winning the war against corruption. In this regard, the President’s promises to inaugurate a National Council on Procurement, and implement the findings of the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), have not seen relevant steps being taken to fulfil them.

Similarly, the President’s pledge to enact the Whistle Blower Act, and strengthen the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) through financial and prosecutorial independence, cost cutting in governance as well as the presentation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy have not seen any publicly known steps towards fulfilling them.

Buharimeter on Security

One of the major soundbites from the President’s inauguration speech was the announcement that the Command and Control Centre in the war against the insurgents in the North East, would be relocated from the nation’s capital to Maiduguri, the main theatre of the war. This was followed up with diplomatic shuttles to neighbouring Chad and Niger to exact commitments and build consensus on how to defeat the insurgency. Thereafter, the President ordered the release of the sum of $21 million to the Multi National Joint Task Force for the prosecution of the war. While these steps have been applauded as early indications of the President’s resolve to stamp out the insurgency, the Buharimeter report for June notes no traction on specific campaign promises on other aspects of insecurity.

The report states: “In spite of these efforts, the President Buhari-led government is yet to deliver a Marshal Plan on insurgency, terrorism, ethnic and religious violence, kidnapping and rural banditry after 30 days in office. Also, no visible steps have been taken towards the achievement of state-guaranteed life insurance to security personnel, activation of regular meeting of the National Police Council, recruitment of 100,000 police officers, creation of Local Government and State policing systems, etc. which are some of the promises he made to strengthen security capacity of the country.”

Under the key concerns section, the June report observes that over 400 innocent Nigerians have been reportedly killed in several bomb explosions and attacks perpetrated by members of Boko Haram sect in Adamawa, Yobe, Kaduna, Plateau and Borno States since May 29 2015.

“More so, attacks on farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Kwara, Kaduna, Plateau, Ondo states, etc., have resulted into deaths of citizens in different communities. While practical efforts of the new administration to douse the tension in the North-Eastern states are commendable, it is important to state that such efforts should be matched with interventions to address the problems confronting farmers and Fulani herdsmen.”

President’s Scorecard After 30 Days

With over 30 days gone, the Buharimeter assessment has a scorecard for the President in percentage terms. It notes that while campaign promises made by the President with a time frame of 100 days constitute 33.7 percent (58) of the tracked 172 promises, the promises to be fulfilled in four years are 114, 66.3 percent of total promises. Thus far, out of the 58 promises, four (6.8 percent) have been assessed as “ongoing.”

“Hence, within the first 30 days, the President has ONLY worked towards the achievement of 6.8 percent of his 100 days covenant with Nigerians. If the trend continues, PMB will achieve not more than 30 percent of the 58 promises at the due date on September 9 2015. In similar direction, actionable steps have been taken within the first 30 days towards the achievement of only 2.3 percent (4 out of 172) of PMB campaign promises. This underscores the fact that no observable steps have been taken to achieve 87.7 percent of the promises.”

However, the June report did not merely pin point the problems with respect to the President’s promises that are yet to be matched with action. It made some recommendations on how the President can fulfil the promises he made to Nigerians.

Specifically, it was recommended that the President should swiftly deliver his “Marshal Plan on insurgency, terrorism, ethnic and religious violence, kidnapping and rural banditry” as he promised to do within his first 100 days in office. The report equally called on the President to appoint ministers to handle the economy, agriculture and other relevant sectors as quickly as possible.”


Beyond the content of the report, it is of importance to take a look at the methodology used in putting this very first report together. The monitoring of tracked campaign promises of PMB was conducted by CDD. Reports of newspapers, radio and television broadcast which had bearing on aspects of the promises were generated through daily media monitoring. Also, expert analyses on sectoral issues were also collated to aid formulation of informed analyses, from problem identification to policy recommendations.

Source: www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/07/buharimeter-fact-based-assessment-of-the-presidents-scorecard/

Cc lalasticlala

GRADUALLY, the clock timing President Muhammadu Buhari’s four year term is ticking away. It is already over 30 days since the President took the reins on May 29, 2015. Those who look back to the Presidential election of March 28, 2015 would recall how the President won a historic victory. For the first time since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, an opposition party defeated the ruling party to claim power. President Buhari and his party defied the odds and swept to office on the back of a near hysterical clamour for change.

In the process, both the President and the All Progressives Congress made hundreds of promises to the Nigerian people with respect to what the administration would do to change the direction of the country, and put it back to the path to stability and prosperity.

On its part, the civil society, which remained vigilant all through the electoral process to ensure that the votes counted, have moved to the next stage of monitoring governance and deepening democracy. Being good students of history, civil society now feels the compelling need to mobilize citizens to put a close eye on governance to ensure the politicians deliver on their promises.

The objective is to avoid the mistakes of the recent past in which the people became mere appendages in the governance process, when they should be the focal point of governance. The big challenge became how to innovatively monitor the performance of public office holders, including the President, through a rigorous and fact based approach.

The launch of Buharimeter on June 1 2015 birthed a public engagement tool with which civil society would be engaging governance to ensure the President fulfils the promises he made to the Nigerian people. Buharimeter was conceptualised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and supported by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) to address the challenges of governance, civic participation and effective service delivery in Nigeria. The central focus of this initiative is to bridge existing gap between the government and the governed thereby facilitating a process through which democratic accountability becomes the norm. It is a platform to ensure that the dividends of democracy are delivered to Nigerians who overwhelmingly voted for change during the 2015 general elections.

It is reckoned that through Buharimeter, civil society groups, citizens, the media, academia, practitioners, political parties and other stakeholders will have access to reports on the status of the implementation of promises made by the President. This is because all the promises made by the current government are documented in different sectors for easy identification. The project is designed to ensure that citizens contribute in deepening democracy in Nigeria. Already the very first of the monthly reports has been issued. The first report for June 2015 provides updates on the status of implementation of campaign promises within the first 30days of President Muhammadu Buhari in office.

Buharimeter on anti-corruption promises
The report notes that out of the nine promises made as measures to prosecute the war against corruption, the President is at the moment “working towards the achievement of the pledge on public declaration of assets and liabilities by filing such with the Code of Conduct Bureau as mandated by Section 140 of the 1999 Constitution.”

It however notes that there is yet to be movement on other promises fundamental to winning the war against corruption. In this regard, the President’s promises to inaugurate a National Council on Procurement, and implement the findings of the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), have not seen relevant steps being taken to fulfil them.

Similarly, the President’s pledge to enact the Whistle Blower Act, and strengthen the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) through financial and prosecutorial independence, cost cutting in governance as well as the presentation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy have not seen any publicly known steps towards fulfilling them.

Buharimeter on Security
One of the major soundbites from the President’s inauguration speech was the announcement that the Command and Control Centre in the war against the insurgents in the North East, would be relocated from the nation’s capital to Maiduguri, the main theatre of the war. This was followed up with diplomatic shuttles to neighbouring Chad and Niger to exact commitments and build consensus on how to defeat the insurgency. Thereafter, the President ordered the release of the sum of $21 million to the Multi National Joint Task Force for the prosecution of the war. While these steps have been applauded as early indications of the President’s resolve to stamp out the insurgency, the Buharimeter report for June notes no traction on specific campaign promises on other aspects of insecurity.

The report states: “In spite of these efforts, the President Buhari-led government is yet to deliver a Marshal Plan on insurgency, terrorism, ethnic and religious violence, kidnapping and rural banditry after 30 days in office. Also, no visible steps have been taken towards the achievement of state-guaranteed life insurance to security personnel, activation of regular meeting of the National Police Council, recruitment of 100,000 police officers, creation of Local Government and State policing systems, etc. which are some of the promises he made to strengthen security capacity of the country.”

Under the key concerns section, the June report observes that over 400 innocent Nigerians have been reportedly killed in several bomb explosions and attacks perpetrated by members of Boko Haram sect in Adamawa, Yobe, Kaduna, Plateau and Borno States since May 29 2015.

“More so, attacks on farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Kwara, Kaduna, Plateau, Ondo states, etc., have resulted into deaths of citizens in different communities. While practical efforts of the new administration to douse the tension in the North-Eastern states are commendable, it is important to state that such efforts should be matched with interventions to address the problems confronting farmers and Fulani herdsmen.”

President’s Scorecard After 30 Days
With over 30 days gone, the Buharimeter assessment has a scorecard for the President in percentage terms. It notes that while campaign promises made by the President with a time frame of 100 days constitute 33.7 percent (58) of the tracked 172 promises, the promises to be fulfilled in four years are 114, 66.3 percent of total promises. Thus far, out of the 58 promises, four (6.8 percent) have been assessed as “ongoing.”

“Hence, within the first 30 days, the President has ONLY worked towards the achievement of 6.8 percent of his 100 days covenant with Nigerians. If the trend continues, PMB will achieve not more than 30 percent of the 58 promises at the due date on September 9 2015. In similar direction, actionable steps have been taken within the first 30 days towards the achievement of only 2.3 percent (4 out of 172) of PMB campaign promises. This underscores the fact that no observable steps have been taken to achieve 87.7 percent of the promises.”

However, the June report did not merely pin point the problems with respect to the President’s promises that are yet to be matched with action. It made some recommendations on how the President can fulfil the promises he made to Nigerians.

Specifically, it was recommended that the President should swiftly deliver his “Marshal Plan on insurgency, terrorism, ethnic and religious violence, kidnapping and rural banditry” as he promised to do within his first 100 days in office. The report equally called on the President to appoint ministers to handle the economy, agriculture and other relevant sectors as quickly as possible.”

Beyond the content of the report, it is of importance to take a look at the methodology used in putting this very first report together. The monitoring of tracked campaign promises of PMB was conducted by CDD. Reports of newspapers, radio and television broadcast which had bearing on aspects of the promises were generated through daily media monitoring. Also, expert analyses on sectoral issues were also collated to aid formulation of informed analyses, from problem identification to policy recommendations.

Cool.. Am in