President Muhammadu Buhari and former military Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, met behind closed-door at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.
Abdusalami arrived the State House at about 3:30pm for the private meeting that lasted for about 30 minutes.
He declined to speak with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.
Former military president, Ibrahim Babangida and ex- head of state, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubarkar on Friday called urged Nigerians to support government in the fight against Boko-Haram.
The duo spoke after taking part in the Eid-el-Fitr prayer at Minna Central Mosque, Niger State.
Babangida said President Muhammadu Buhari can only achieve all his laudable programmes for the country if Nigerians rise to give support to the government.
He said, “The best Nigerians can do for President Buhari at this trial moment is to support whatever moves he is making to permanently end this insurgency and make the nation to be economically buoyant.
“Boko Haram members are humans living with us, with useful information to security forces, their activities will be brought to an end.
“My prayer is an end to these senseless killings by Boko-Haram. I call on Nigerians to rally round this government in whatever effort it is making to end insurgency and make our economy buoyant.”
Abubarkar said he is worried by the seeming endless activities of the sect.
“I call on all Nigerians to be vigilant, so that together we can maintain peace without which there will be no progress.”
The ex-head of state urged all Muslim faithful to show love to all Nigerians irrespective of tribal, religious and political affiliations for the progress of the country.
With the Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar-led National Peace Committee declaring Senate President Bukola Saraki’s and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu’s elections “unacceptable”, the bitter row sparked by the exercise may take some time to go away.
The committee faulted the process that led to the election of the key principal officers of the Senate in a statement signed by the Convener, Bishop Hassan Mathew Kukah.
The National Peace Committee 2015 played a pivotal role in ensuring peaceful elections. The group facilitated a peace pact between former President Goodluck Jonathan and his then challenger President Muhammadu Buhari to douse the tension in the land ahead of the crucial general elections.
The group also spearheaded the post-election peace management.
Apart from Gen. Abubakar, a former Head of State, and Rev. Kukah, who is the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, other members of the group are: Former Chief of General Staff (CGS) Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President Mrs Priscilla Kuye, Abuja ArchDiocese Catholic Bishop John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Nicholas Okoh and Africa’s richest Man Aliko Dangote.
Saraki was elected by less than 60 of the 109 senators on June 9, with minority Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members behind him.
The Deputy Senate President is a member of the PDP.
Yesterday, the committee said it was important for the highest legislative body to uphold moral authority and value.
It said: “We must have all arms on deck so that we can quickly rout Boko Haram, restore law and order and proceed with the much-desired change of cleansing the Augean stable and delivering quality services to the Nigerian people.
“The story of the process leading to the elections of the principal officers in that august body last week is well-known to all Nigerians. Given the maturity, track record and experience of the body, we wonder why a routine process has turned into an ugly, selfish dogfight.
“This is unacceptable to Nigerians. It neither dignified the Senate nor does it honour what Nigerians voted for.”
“Even the most optimistic of us did not imagine that we would be where we are today in our country. Up till the last elections, the atmosphere after every election since 1999 has been poisoned by endless quarrels among political elite, long drawn out appeals at Tribunals and occasional violence leading to loss of lives. Happily, this has not been the case since the last elections.
“It is not the way to thank God for what he has done to those who were lucky to be elected to that high office, nor does it honour what He has done to our country.”
However, the Committee lauded members of the House of Representatives who successfully concluded their process, ready to begin their legislative duties.
Describing the crisis between the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership and the Senate as a “family quarrel”, Kukah said the disagreement should not become a public show.
“The challenge now is for the APC to justify the confidence that Nigerians placed on them when they bought into their mantra of Change. We expect this change to be marked by personal and institutional acts of patriotism, altruism, discipline, decorum, maturity, sacrifice and decency,” he added.
The committee also sought support for the Federal Government in the battle against the Boko Haram.
Embattled Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu and impeached Speaker Adamu Usman have moved to persuade members of the House of Assembly to stop further impeachment in the Assembly.
The duo reportedly sought help from a former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and a first-class monarch to make the lawmakers drop their impeachment moves.
The face-off between the lawmakers and the former Speaker and other principal officers, on the one hand, is perceived to be a cold war.
Their relationship with the governor had taken a new turn. The governor and the Speaker are now seeking judicial protection to keep their offices.
Our correspondent learnt that the monarch summoned the lawmakers from his zone to his palace to placate them to rescind their decision on the impeached Speaker.
He was also said to have pleaded with them to stop further impeachment moves against the governor.
The royal father pleaded with the six of the nine lawmakers from his zone to forgive Aliyu and Usman.
He reportedly urged them to allow the two men complete their terms.
The first class ruler was said to have begged the lawmakers to note that “to err is human and forgiving, divine”.
The source at the meeting said the Emir was shocked when the lawmakers reeled out their grievances, including non-release of legitimate allowances to the Assembly since January, the inability of the principal to ensure the welfare of members and other workers and the continued occupation of the Assembly complex by armed policemen.
Former Head of State and chairman of the 2015 General elections Peace Committee, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar yesterday said he had not been intervening to stop the probe of any minister by the incoming government.
He spoke yesterday after a meeting at the Presidential Villa.
President-elect Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has declared his intention to investigate the activities of key ministries after his inauguration. Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, was reported to be lobbying the former Head of State to intervene on her behalf.
Yesterday at the Villa, Gen. Abubakar and the minister arrived few minutes apart at President Goodluck Jonathan’s office at the Villa.
Gen Abdulsalami told reporters who asked him whether he attended a meeting with the minister of petroleum as part of the alleged plan tom intervene on her behalf: “I think people are just trying to be mischievous, I have been meeting with a lot of people and a lot of ministers in the course of this transition. So there is nothing strange in me meeting with anybody.
“I wonder if you go through the records to see the number of meetings I have been engaged in, I don’t know why the last one will be a subject of media chat.
“This is not the first time I have been meeting with her and a number of ministers, so I don’t see what the whole hullabaloo is all about. People are just being mischievous.”
On why he visited the President, he said: “As the chairman of the peace committee, there is always interaction between the incoming administration and President Jonathan in order to ensure that the peace we have been able to get is sustained.”
Asked if serving as intermediary between Buhari and Jonathan was necessary, he said: “I’m not serving as an intermediary. I told you I’m coming here as the chairman of peace committee and naturally we have to interact, I go and see Gen. Buhari and I also see the President all in an effort to make sure than that this transition goes on smoothly and we maintain the peace.”
Millions of Nigerians, including former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar and former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku yesterday lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting defeat.
Jonathan reportedly called the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, even before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially declared the winner of the keenly contested poll.
Abubakar, who led members of the 2015 election peace committee to the presidential villa in Abuja, expressed happiness that the President contacted Buhari before the committee arrived.
In Abubakar’s team were former Chief of General Staff, Navy Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe; Cardinal John Onaiyekan; Primate Nicholas Okoh; former president of the Nigeria Bar Association, Priscilia Kuye; the President’s Special Adviser on Inter-party Affairs, Ben Obi and industrialist, Aliko Dangote.
Describing Jonathan’s action as statesmanly, Abubakar noted that it was the first time in the country’s history that a loser would call his opponent to admit defeat in a presidential poll.
Abubakar said: “We are here to ensure that peace is maintained at this moment we thank Nigerians and the international community.
“The elections have been very peaceful, despite the hitches. At the end of the elections, there were a lot of upheavals but thankfully they have been contained.
“We were in the middle of a meeting with international observers, when I called Buhari and he told me that Mr. President has called him to congratulate him.
“We were spell bound and the reason we have come here is to thank President Jonathan for this statesmanship.
“In any contest there is always a winner and President Jonathan has accepted that he lost and we want to thank him.”
Anyaoku said by conceding, President Jonathan has set a worthy example to fellow Africa countries.
Similarly, millions of Nigerians took to social media to appreciate the President for being a ‘honourable gentleman’.
According to APC spokesman, Lai Mohammed, President Jonathan is a hero for conceding defeat.
An ardent supporter of the President, Ohimai Amaize commended the president for his action.
Former military Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar said yesterday that it will be near impossible to postpone the general elections again.
His reason: President Goodluck Jonathan came out to promise the citizenry that the elections would hold as scheduled and added that May 29 hand-over date remain sacrosanct.
Gen. Abubakar, who was in Kano to commission the Kano Institute of Information Technology, spoke with reporters briefly at the Senate Building of North-West University.
He said: “We should give our president a benefit of doubt… President Goodluck Jonathan has spoken to the press in a media chat and he gave his word that the election will hold as scheduled. So, let us give him a benefit of doubt. Being our president, we should accept what he has said.
“Now, my appeal again to Nigerians and everybody- please, let us give peace a chance before, on election day and after the election. And I do hope that the electoral officials, the politicians will allow a free and fair election.”
On what transpired during the meeting between him, President Jonathan and former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, he simply said: “That is a private matter between me and Mr. President.”
He praised Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso for the projects he executed in Kano.
“Really, Governor Kwankwaso deserves commendation. From what I have seen, certainly whoever that is going to follow after him has got a precedent to contend with,” he said.
Senate President David Mark, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar were among the dignitaries, who witnessed the interment of a former President of the Association of Nigeria Authors (ANA), Alhaji Abubakar Gimba.
He was said to have died on Wednesday and was buried according to Islamic rites in Minna, Niger State, yesterday.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Paul Mumeh, said residents in Minna paid their last respects, as thousands of people trooped to the prayer ground before the interment.
It said Imam Ibrahim Fari conducted the prayer session to bid Gimba farewell.
The statement said at the family compound of the late Gimba, Senator Mark described him as an intellectual of high repute, whose works cut across ethnic, religious and political boundaries.
It said Mark noted that Gimba was a pan-Nigerian, who believed and worked hard for the unity of the nation.
The Senate president was said to have added that Gimba, who served as his special adviser on Economic and Public Policy Matters between 2007 and 2011, was a patriot, a prolific writer and a fighter for the enthronement of human rights and freedom of the press.
Mark was also said to have recalled that the late Gimba , then permanent secretary, Ministry of Planning and later Finance ministry when he was military governor of Niger State in the 80s, was one of his pillars, who helped him to succeed in the state.
He noted that Gimba was a courageous and honest man, whose works would stand the test of time “because I know his works will outlive generations.”
Senator Mark used the occasion to appreciate his former bosses, Babangida and Abdulsalami, whom he described as great mentors to him in his profession and in other areas.
He recalled with nostalgia the mentorship he received from the duo, although he was not from their ethnic or religious background, saying:” This is what we need to forge unity across the length and breadth of Nigeria.”
Mumeh quoted Mark to have said,”this is how we should live. Nigerians must inculcate and emulate these attributes. We must see ourselves as one people with one destiny. We must work for our peace and unity. We must all work for the common good of all Nigerians”.
Niger State government planned to immortalise the literary giant by naming its newly-established University of Education after him.
Gimba was born on March 10, 1952. He hailed from Nassawa town in Lapai Local Government.
‘There ’ll be no interim govt’
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday dismissed fears of another postponment of the general elections, stressing that the March 28 and April 11 dates will not be changed.
Dr. Jonathan spoke at the Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island, Lagos while inaugurating four new vessels to boost the capacity of the Nigerian Navy (NN).
In Abuja, former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar spoke of assurance from the President that the elections will hold as scheduled.
Jonathan said: “Nigerians can see that the present administration is leaving no stone unturned in improving the capacity of the armed forces, not just the Navy. The Army and the Air Force have felt sufficient improvement in capacity.
“Let me also use this platform to promise my good country men and women that we will rout Boko Haram. Capacity has been increased sufficiently and our men are doing wonderfully well in the north.
“We must conduct elections as scheduled by INEC because within this period, we are convinced that we will return the North to the level where the activities of extremists will not affect our elections. We are working night and day and I have directed that Nigerians be briefed regularly.”
He restated his commitment to the unity of the nation, adding that the government places premium on national security, food security and employment generation.
According to the President, the government is working in harmony with the military to ensure the nation does not disintegrate.
“We will rout Boko Haram. Our capacity has increased sufficiently and officers and men are doing wonderfully well. The ongoing activities to contain the sect will also provide conducive atmosphere for elections to hold in the regions.
“We will return the (Northeast) region to a level where activities of terrorists cannot be carried out.”
Although the President commended the navy for the appreciable decline in crude oil theft, he however stated that “wilful vandalism of pipelines” within the oil producing areas and swamps, was on the rise.
“I am glad to particularly note the achievement of the Nigerian Navy in the fight against oil theft and other maritime crimes, The contribution of the navy towards the fight against insurgency and instability in parts of the country are equally highly appreciated.
“The high dependence of the nation’s economy on offshore resources, as well as the enormous potentials of the maritime sector to contribute to our food security and employment generation, makes provision of effective maritime security very imperative. Therefore, the Nigerian Navy, as the lead maritime security agency, deserves all the support it needs, to effectively carry out its statutory roles.
“The four ships being commissioned today are part of a total of six ships expected to be commissioned into the Nigerian Navy Fleet in 2015,” he said.
The four ships are Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) OKPABANA, a High Endurance Cutter acquired from the United States of America; NNS PROSPERITY, a former Irish Navy fishery patrol boat, acquired purposely for use as a training vessel; NNS CENTENARY, one of the two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) procured from China and NNS SAGBAMA, a gift from China.
After inaugurating the ships, Jonathan proceeded into NNS Centenary, alongside senior officers, ministers, Oba of Lagos Rilwan Akiolu, and some members of the Navy Officers Wives Association for inspection.
The ships were handed over to their commanding officers.
Chief of Naval Staff Vice-Admiral Usman Jibrin handed over the ships to Capt. CD Okehie, Capt. MY Abba, Capt. AM Ibrahim and Capt. BK Effiong.
According to the CNS, NNS Okpabana is to be enrolled as a frigate with capabilities for long endurance patrol of the Exclusive Economic Zone.
He said: “The NNS Centenary’s main mission will include maritime surveillance, EEZ, patrol and response task and protection of offshore resources and infrastructure.
“The Centenary is to also provide aid to civil authorities when called upon to do so in period such as civil unrest and natural disaster among others.
“NNS Sagbama is a river town patrol vessel, while NNS Prosperity is to be enrolled into the NN as a training ship for junior officers and ratings.
Vice Admiral Jibrin said it was the first time the navy acquired four vessels within the same period and commissioning same.
He noted that the only time the nation did something similar was under the Shehu Shagari administration where three vessels were bought and commissioned for the navy.
“Nigeria as a littoral nation depends largely on the sea for her revenue earnings. The Nigerian navy being the principal agency charged with maritime security had been faced with the challenge of inadequate and ageing platform in its quest to effectively meet the maritime security needs of the nation.”
Noting that the vessels commissioned were the sixth acquisitions made since 2012, he said four more ships were expected to the join the NN fleet before the end of the year.
“These platforms will contribute substantially to the capacity of the Nigerian Navy to effectively patrol our waters and support the nation’s foreign policy objectives through flag showing visits to friendly foreign countries,” he said.
At the event were Minister of Defence Aliyu Gusau; Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant – General Kenneth Minimah; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Olusola Amosu; Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sulaiman Abba; Senator Chris Anyanwu; Chief of Staff to the President Brig.-Gen. Jones Arogbofa and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Adamu Muazu.
There were also former service chiefs, Vice Admirals Jubril Ayinla, I.I. Ibrahim; Ola Saad Ibrahim and Dele Ezeoba.
The National Peace Committee headed by former Head of state Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar has expressed concern over Tuesday’s Okrika shootings. It appealed to all stakeholders to eschew violence.
National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, noted that electoral violence will not abate until the perpetrators are made to face the law. The duo spoke yesterday in Abuja when the committee met to review its activities following the postponement of the general elections.
Gen. Abubakar said: “The committee like every Nigerian, is not happy with the violence and what happened in Rivers state. We are following the issue. Even if I give you a guarantee that there will be peace, I cannot dictate what you will do when you leave here. Nigerians must ensure we maintain peace.”
He said: “There must be change, there has to be change, if we de-escalate the un-necessary political war that is going on now. The massive attack on INEC, the massive attack on the use of PVCs, the massive court actions that are going on now to have our candidate disqualified and even have the PVCs declared illegal by the court of law. In law, you can get any kind of judgment, anything before the court is 50-50.
“If all these can de-escalate, people will start believing that this election will be relatively free and fair. In that condition, Okirika issue will be bad dream that will be behind us.
The INEC chairman was being realistic (on election date), I am not comfortable (with INEC chairman stance on March 28), I was not comfortable with it in the first time and am still not comfortable with it, but he was being realistic.
“The part of problem in this country is that electoral violence refuses to abate because law is not being enforced. If there is law enforcement added to our own appeal, I think we will see an abatement. But if there is selective law enforcement, because of this power of incumbency, then you can not expect it to be abated.”