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Tag: Alhaji Lai Mohammed

  • Why we engage foreign lobbyists, media consultants-FG

    The federal government on Thursday defended its use of foreign media, public relations firms and paid for lobby consultancy.

    The Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed said apart from using them to campaign federal government’s policies and programmes, they are also used to correct misconceptions and misinformation.

    He spoke before the House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and values, headed by Hon. Olusegun Odebunmi (APC OYO).

    According to him: “The world has become a global village and what happens in Nigeria today reverberates all over the world and we in the administration we face a lot of challenges, especially from the comments of the foreign media, from the sometimes hostile positions of foreign governments, even foreign parliaments.

    “So, it is the duty of the Ministry of Information to regularly lobby and address in international media in the countries.

    “I remember that in 2018 we made two trips to the UK and two trips to the US and these two trips helped tremendously in actually helping the people in diaspora and foreign governments to understand the real dynamics of the herdsmen/farmers clashes.

    READ ALSO: How Atiku secured American visa, by BMO

    “Until we got there, the impression held by many of them was that thing was Christians/Muslims, North/South and that time we had to book for interviews with CNN, BBC, Aljezeera, Reuters and AFP.

    “I think it is an important part of governance so that if you cannot mould their opinions, at least it can give them the opportunity of hearing our own side of the story.

     “I am sure you have all noticed a lot of very erroneous editorials that have been carried by some highly respected pens like the New York Times, Boston Globe, which do not actually represent the true situation in Nigeria.

    “So we go there, not just for government but to give the correct impression about what goes on in this government.”

    The Minister said the Buhari administration has been denied loans because of the misinformation spread abroad.

    “We all go there, not just to correct the misinterpretation, but also to tell them the concrete steps the government is taking in this respect.

    “Until we went there, generalisation was that what was happening in Nigeria was religious.

    “I always give them two examples to show that what happens in Nigeria has nothing to do with religion.

    “I give them the example of Kebbi State, one-third of all the inmates in Kebbi prisons today are there as a result of farmer/herdsmen clashes yet the farmers in Kebbi are Muslims and the herdsmen are Muslims.

    “In the case of Zamfara State, where we have lost more lives than Taraba, Plateau and Benue put together, to rustling and kidnapping.

    “The rustlers are Muslims, the victims are Muslims. So we needed to put this in perspective. What we are dealing is largely environmental. A country of 50 million people 50 years ago today has a population of 200 million.

    “In 1960 what was our population in Nigeria? 52 million. How many are we today? 180 million, yet the country has not expanded, on the contrary, it has contracted because we have lost land to desertification , we have lost land to flooding and yet 200 million people are supposed to use the same resources of land and water as 50 million people did, ” he said.

  • Buhari eulogises late Emir of Patigi

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday eulogised the late Emir of Patigi in Kwara, Alhaji Ibrahim Umar, calling him “a man of tradition who was very passionate about the development of the state”.

    The President who gave the. eulogy at the Fidau prayers for the late Emir in Patigi, said the monarch was particularly interested in the infrastructure development in his domain.

    According to a statement issued on the event, the President was represented at the prayers by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    The statement which was signed by Mr Segun Adeyemi, the Special Adviser to the Minister, was made available to newsmen in Abuja .

    On his part, the minister recalled that he interacted with the Emir on several occasions and described the late monarch as “a man who stood for tradition and was passionate about Kwara”

    READ ALSO: Buhari mourns Etsu Patigi, District Head of Kafur

    ”He was very passionate about the development of Kwara North Senatorial District in particular, and he kept emphasizing on the need to upgrade the infrastructure in Patigi.

    “Generally, he was passionate about improving the lives of the common people,” he said.

    He urged the people of the state not to forget those things that the late Emir stood for.

    ”The people should remain united and continue to uphold the values that he stood for, especially his passion for seeing rapid development in Patigi,” he said.

    He prayed that God will forgive the late Emir’s sins and also grant him Aljannah Firdaus

    The event was attended by dignitaries including the Deputy Governor of Kwara Mr Peter Kisira; the Emir of Ilorin and the Chairman of the Kwara State Traditional Council, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, and the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II.

    Until his death, the Emir of Patigi was the Vice Chairman of the Kwara State Traditional Council.

    NAN

  • NICO holds public lecture Tuesday

    National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, will hold its quarterly public lecture with the theme, Maintenance Culture: A Panacea for Sustainable Infrastructural Development in Nigeria on Tuesday, March 26.

    A statement from the organisers explained that event will take place at the Peace and Conflicts Resolution Complex, African First Ladies Peace Mission Secretariat Conference Hall, Central Business District, Abuja-FCT by 10am prompt.

    READ ALSO: NICO trains 537 Nigerians on indigenous language in 2017

    Among those expected to grace the event are; Minister of Power, Works and Housing Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola who will be the guest lecturer; Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed as special guest of honour while the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Culture and Tourism, Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama will chair the occasion.

    His Royal Highness, Alhaji Adamu Bala Yunusa, the Ona of Abaji, is expected to be the Royal Father of the Day with the Chairman, NICO Governing Board, Hon. Yusuff Shittu Galambi as host.

  • Lai Mohammed to Kwarans: Ignore threat of attack by opposition

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has implored Kwara electorates to ignore the threat by the opposition to attack them during the Saturday’s Governorship and State Assembly elections.

    The minister stated this on Thursday in Ilorin at the final rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to canvass vote for its Governorship candidate, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and other candidates.

    Mohammed who is APC leader in the state, said opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), having suffered defeat in the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections was deliberately creating panic to prevent voters from coming out.

    Read Also: Four to die by hanging in Kwara

    He said the President had ordered the security agencies to deploy their men to cover the elections and protect all voters from any form of intimidation and harassment.

    “There has been a lot of panic being deliberately created by the opposition having seeing the handwriting on the wall in the last elections. They want to intimidate people and prevent them from coming out to vote.

    “Please do not be intimidated by anyone. Nobody can tell you not to come out to vote. Please come out en mass to vote for APC on Saturday.

    “The President has given the directive to all security agents that anyone who dares to disrupt Saturday’s election action will have himself to blame.

    “After voting, ensure that you wait to protect your votes until counting and accompany them to the collation centres.

    `We will get our total independence from our oppressors on Saturday,” he said.

    Mohammed said that the last election was the part one of “O to Ge” (Enough is Enough) and the part two is coming up on Saturday.

    He said the people should use their votes to completely exit the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his lieutenants from Kwara.

    The minister said that the people had been deceived for so long and they should use their vote on Saturday to get their final liberation.

    NAN

  • Buhari’s victory triumph of ordinary Nigerians over elite, says Lai Mohammed

    •Obasa greets President, APC

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in last Saturday’s presidential election symbolised the triumph of the ordinary Nigerians over the elite, Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said.

    Mohammed spoke in Abuja yesterday when he received the management of his ministry, who came to congratulate him on the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at last week’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    “Last weekend’s election is a direct contest between ordinary Nigerians and the elite, most of whom are rent seekers. Of course, the ordinary Nigerians have won!” he said.

    Mohammed went on: “Overall, this government is doing more with less and is restoring decency and integrity to governance. Like the New York Times said, the re-election of President Buhari is a referendum on honesty. There is no better way to put it.”

    While reeling out the policies that endeared President Buhari to the ordinary Nigerians, the minister said under the Social Investment Programme, the government feeds 9.3 million school children every day and some 500,000 unemployed graduates have been employed under N-Power, in addition to some 300,000 families who are benefitting from the Conditional Cash Transfer.

    In a deliberate effort to boost the Small and Medium Enterprises to contribute significantly to the nation’s economy, the Buhari Administration, he said, gives out interest-free loans of between N10,000 and N100,000 under the TraderMoni and the MarketMoni schemes to small business owners.

    “Pensioners who have been left in the lurch are being paid, and I am talking of ex-workers of the Nigerian Airways, NITEL and former Biafran policemen, among others. The former Nigeria Airways staffers were so delighted that they held a rally in support of the President

    before the elections,” Alhaji Mohammed said.

    He said the fight against corruption is being institutionalised with a number of policies that include Treasury Single Account (TSA), Whistleblower policy, and that it has led to the recovery of huge amounts of money as well as property from looters.

    The minister enjoined the citizenry to continue to support the Buhari Administration in building of a strong, secure, economically-buoyant and corrupt-free society.

    Read also: Saudi King, Emir of Qatar, Russian envoy greet Buhari

    On the APC’s victory in Kwara, the minister thanked the management of his ministry for appreciating his ‘modest’ effort in delivering Kwara State from the grip of a crippling hegemony.

    “I must stress – and I have said this before – that the credit for the liberation of Kwara goes to the good people of State who, despite efforts to compromise them, refused to sell their votes. A simple slogan, O To Ge (Enough is Enough), captured the determination of the people to vote out those who have held them down for decades. And that is precisely what they did,” he said.

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Deaconess Grace Isu-Gekpe, said the management and staff of the ministry were proud of the minister for his invaluable contribution to the victory of the APC at the presidential and National Assembly elections in Kwara State.

    Also yesterday, Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa congratulated Buhari and the APC.

    Obasa, in his congratulatory message by his Chief Press Secretary, Musbau Rasak, stated that the victory recorded by the President and the party showed the clear desire of Nigerians to be taken to the Next Level.

    “It was a keenly contested election and we thank God for this well-deserved victory. This is a clear indication of the desire of Nigerians to be taken to the Next Level by APC administration at all levels of governance.

    “Nigerians have again trusted us with their mandate and I assure that we won’t disappoint. Commendations from local and international observers have confirmed the commendable performance of the electoral process and I will give INEC a pass mark for its performance,” he said.

    Obasa urged Nigerians not to rest on their oars appealing to them to vote massively for the party’s candidates in the Governorship and State Assembly Elections.

    “We are grateful for your support and we assure you that the APC administration at all levels will not let you down as we will continue to put in place programmes and projects that will improve your standard of living and enhance your welfare.

    “However, we will continue to ask for more support from you. Therefore,  I humbly appeal to you to come out enmasse on Saturday, 9 March, 2019 to vote for our candidates in the Governorship and State Assembly Elections all over the country. I want to particularly appeal to Lagosians to vote for all our candidates in the coming election.

    “Once again, on behalf of my colleagues in the Lagos State House of Assembly, I congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of our great party on this resounding and well deserved victory and I say let us do it again on Saturday, 9 March, 2019,” the Speaker said.

     

  • Buhari’s achievements real, impactful – Minister

    The Minister of Information and Culture , Alhaji Lai Mohammed says the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari are real and his administration has impacted positively on millions of Nigerians.

    The minister stated this on Sunday in Abuja at an event tagged “Testimonies of Change,” designed to showcase the achievements of the Buhari Administration.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the event witnessed personal testimonies of people who had benefitted from various programmes of government.

    The minister noted that in just three and half years, and with very limited resources, the government had achieved a lot compared to other Administrations that had presided over the affairs of the country since 1999.

    “No one can better tell Nigerians about the impact of the Home-grown School Feeding System than the 9.2 million school children who are fed one meal a day, five times a week, or the over 90,000 cooks who have been employed under the programme.

    “No one can better tell Nigerians about the impact of the N-POWER than the 500,000 graduates who have been employed under the scheme.

    “If you want to know about the success of Tradermoni, ask any of the 2 million beneficiaries.

    “If it’s Marketmoni, ask any of the over 350,000 beneficiaries.

    “Who can better communicate the efficiency of the Abuja to Kaduna rail transportation than the thousands of people who are daily ferried between the two cities.

    ” If the government says it has paid pensioners from the defunct NITEL and Nigeria Airways, among others, is it not better to hear directly from those who have received their pensions after waiting for many years?,” he stressed.

    Mohammed said his ministry had used many platforms to communicate government’s numerous achievements to Nigerians, including Town-Hall Meetings, media tour of projects and regular press conferences.

    He explained that the “Testimonies of Changes” platform, which was a personal
    testimonies of government, was a better evidence of what this Administration had achieved.

    “Starting late last year, the testimonies have been running on radio and television stations across the country, as well as in the social media.

    “Just as we envisaged, this testimony series, has been a huge success.

    “In fact, it so rattled the opposition that they were forced to issue a statement in which they acknowledged that the media space is awash with the testimony series.

    Read also: JUSUN faults planned trial of CJN before CCT

    “Now, we won’t be surprised if the naysayers, who have never seen anything good in this Administration, say that those who participated in the testimony series are card-carrying members of the ruling All  Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.

    Among those who benefitted from the various programmes of government, and who narrated their experiences were former workers of the defunct NITEL, MTEL and Nigeria Airways,  who were paid their pensions after decades of waiting.

    Beneficiaries of NPOWER, Trader Money, School Feeding Programme , Anchor Borrower Programme, as well as traditional rulers from communities where government constructed roads, also spoke at the occasion.

    NAN reports that the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, represented the President while the Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita attended the event. (NAN)

  • Project to provide satellite TV for villages

    Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has launched the 1,000 Villages Satellite TV Project, which is part of the Chinese government-sponsored ‘Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages Project’.

    The Minister, while launching the project in Kpaduma village, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Monday, recalled that Chinese President Xi Jiping announced the ‘Access To Satellite TV For 10,000 African Villages’ during the 2015 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    He noted that under the project, each of the 1,000 carefully-chosen villages in Nigeria will receive two sets of solar powered projector television systems and 1 set of solar 32-inch digital TV integrated terminal system.

    He also said 20 recipient families with TV in each village will be provided with 20 sets of direct broadcast satellite terminal system free of charge, adding that viewers in each village provided with the projector TV system will enjoy 21 satellite channels free of charge, while each of the 20 recipient families will have access to 33 satellite TV channels free of charge for two months.

    After the expiration of the two months, he said, viewers can continue to enjoy access to the 33 channels by paying N900 per month, or enjoy limited access without payment.

    The Minister said the project complements the efforts of the Buhari administration at democratizing access to information and entertainment through the Digital Switch Over (DSO) for television which has now been rolled out in the several states and the FCT.

    He urged the satellite TV implementation agency, StarTimes, to expedite the installation of the TV satellite system to cover the entire country in order to give the people opportunity to be informed on the policies and programmes of the candidates for the various elective positions in the 2019 general elections.

  • Events that shaped tourism in 2018

    Nigerian tourism Industry in 2018 made some progress even though it might not have been at the level desired by industry practitioners. Some of the key events in the sector this year include:

     Nigeria hosts UNWTO-CAF meeting 

    It was an opportunity for Nigeria to host Africa and the world and also showcase her tourism assets. The UNWTO-CAF meeting was held in June. The Information and Culture Ministry led by Alhaji Lai Mohammed put up a good performance to endear the country to the visitors.  The delegation to the 61st CAF  meeting was led by the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili.  He described the meeting in Abuja as one of the most successful events of the global body.

    He said the UNWTO will leverage on the success of the meeting to promote Nigeria to become a top tourist destination in the world and commended the minister for putting Nigeria on the global tourism map.

    Lagos State tourism master plan

    The 2018 Akwaaba West African Travel Market offered the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture led by Mr. Steve Ayorinde  the opportunity to unveil the Lagos Tourism master plan. It is a 15-year blueprint that would midwife the growth and development of Lagos into a major tourist destination Africa.

    Giving details of the master plan, Ayorinde said the Lagos State Government’s tourism master plan has adequately captured the potential of spiritual or religious tourism, and  that the primary concern of state  government was to ensure that the infrastructure and enabling environment to drive tourism development was fully in place. 

    Ayorinde said the master plan was geared toward showcasing the state as major tourism destination across the world. According him, the long term strategic master plan, which is being prepared by Messrs Ernst & Young, will focus on six sectors: Culture and Heritage, Film, Art and Entertainment, Business Tourism, Nature and Adventure, Medical and Wellness, Beach and Leisure.

    Ayorinde said: “If you look at the six sectors in broad terms, you will see that they have captured every area of tourism as far as business development and promotion are concerned and the interest of government is to develop the ecosystem of tourism, the practitioners, the tour operators everybody who has been involved over the years, will basically drive their businesses”.

    Abuja hosts NTIFE

    Nigeria Tourism Investors Forum and Exhibition, NTIFE, a national exhibition and conference organised by the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria, FTAN, was held in Abuja.

    Speaking ahead of the event, FTAN President, Alhaji Saleh Rabo, said NTIFE  promotes  domestic tourism and creates  a forum for the various associations and players in the industry to interact and network as well as showcase their products and services. He said this year’s edition will be enriching and fulfilling.

    Rabo revealed that this year’s event was  a notch higher and different from the past editions as the federation built on the gains from past editions .

     INAC opens Nigeria’s craft industry to the world 

    The National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC) raised the bar in 2018 in the promotion of Nigerian arts and craft and its potential as a revenue earner. The parastatal’s expo was a departure from previous years.

    Held under the theme, Networking Nigerian Arts and Craft to the World, the week-long event was a first for the organisation as it moved from a national (and sometimes continental) event to one with participation from countries across continents, with African, Asian and American countries ably represented.

    NCAC, under the leadership of Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, made sure to put Nigeria’s best foot forward, not just with products displayed, but also with presentations at the numerous workshops held to educate and empower participants and guests that thronged the venue, the FCT Exhibition Pavilion next to the International Conference.

    It recognized the need to use culture as a tool of both diplomacy and tourism, the NCAC actively sought and got the participation of more than 20 countries including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh; China and Korea; Iran and Syria; Mexico, Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, Hungary and a host of African countries; Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso and more to participate in the International Arts and Craft Expo (INAC).

    Runsewe said based on  the number of countries with embassies in Nigeria – well over a hundred – and the international airlines that do business in the country, there is no reason why the expo shouldn’t be bigger and better in coming years.

    SCOAN Youtube channel  hits one million subscribers

    Nigeria has become a major tourism hub for religious tourism in Africa. People from all over the world troop to Nigeria to find spiritual solutions to their problems. Pastor T.B. Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) is at the forefront in receiving these tourist visitors.  The church’s Youtube channel hit a subscriber base of one million in 2018.

    Another impressive figure also shows that number of views of the channel has hit 387 million.

    Emmanuel TV was launched on March 8, 2006 by Prophet T.B. Joshua, the Senior Pastor and founder of SCOAN as well as the Executive Producer of Emmanuel TV. The viewership cuts across a diverse audience in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America.

  • Yeside Laguda unveils latest designs ahead of yuletide

    Ahead of yuletide, Nigerian fashion designer, Yeside Laguda, has unveiled her latest designs.

    The opening had friends, family members and a couple of top political figures who came to celebrate as well as purchase goods to support the young lady.

    The concept store which is situated at Lekki comprises, basically, fashion, beauty, home and living couture. In her words: “we try to ensure that it encompasses everything put together to serve our numerous customers this yuletide and the new year and the products are affordable.”

    Yeside, the petite daughter of Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has always had business acumen right from childhood. However, she started following her passion for fashion by engaging in selling fabrics in the quantity she could handle while she was an undergraduate of University of Reading, England, where she was studying Environmental Chemistry.

  • Your candidate will lose, FG tells Obasanjo

    The Federal Government says though it is the constitutional right of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo to support a candidate for an election, his endorsement does not guarantee victory.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of the government on Monday in Abuja, said Obasanjo’s candidate for the presidential election, Atiku Abubakar “will be defeated roundly and comprehensively’’.

    “With due respect to former President Obasanjo, it is his constitutional right to support any candidate of his choice and we urge him to go out and campaign vigorously for any candidate he wants to support.

    “He has not hidden his preference for the PDP candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and we wish him very best of luck.

    “However, I want to assure you that his candidate will be defeated roundly and comprehensively. It is not about endorsement, endorsement does not win election,’’ he said.

    The minister also responded to a statement credited to the former President that, “only a fool will sit on the fence when his or her country is being destroyed with incompetence, corruption lack of focus, insecurity nepotism and brazen impunity’’.

    Mohammed said he held Obasanjo in high esteem and probably he was not properly briefed on the development in the country to have made such conclusions. “The facts are all there that this government has done more than any other government in three and half years”.

    Mohammed said he held Obasanjo in high esteem and probably he was not properly briefed on the development in the country to have made such conclusions,.

    “The facts are all there that this government has done more than any other governments in three and half years.

    On corruption, the minister said that the government had put in place institutional reforms which had confirmed its sincerity and commitment to fighting the menace.

    “It is not about putting people in Jail but what are the things put in place to address this endemic problem.

    “Take the example of Treasury Single Account TSA, which was not initiated by this government. It is only the Buhari administration that has the political will to implement it.

    “Before we came in, there were over 22,000 government accounts in various banks.

    “Since we came, we reduced it to one account and from 2015 to date N8.9 trillion has passed through the TSA which is as a result of transparency and accountability,’’ he said.

    The minister said that even with lean resources, the Buhari administration had spent more on infrastructure than the 16 years of the PDP administration.

    He said there was no state in the country without one or two infrastructure development being embarked upon by the federal government.

    The minister said the Administration had commissioned the Abuja to Kaduna standard rail gauge while the 156 km Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge would be ready for commissioning in March next year.

    He said the government had made fund available for five critical infrastructure projects including the Mambilla power project, the East-West Road, the second Niger Bridge, the Abuja – Kano and Abuja-Lokoja-Okenne highways.

    Mohammed said the efforts of the administration in diversifying the economy away from oil had yielded fruits with achievement recorded in agriculture, particularly in rice production and solid mineral sectors.

    On power supply, the minister said the administration had improved on generation, transmission and distribution than it met them in 2015, while Nigerians are benefiting from its numerous social investment programmes.