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Tag: Boss Mustapha

  • SGF, Oshiomhole, others prepare for Buhari’s second term inauguration

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Adams Oshiomhole and other top government functionaries have commenced preparations for the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term by May 29.

    The inter-ministerial Presidential Inauguration Committee was inaugurated on Thursday, after which they began sitting immediately at the SGF conference room.

    Inaugurating the committee in Abuja, the SGF recalled that about four years ago, “the Buhari Administration came on board with the promise of Change built on economy, security and anti-corruption.

    He said the government has since 2015 committed itself to working hard to achieve sustainable economic growth, as well as a secure and corruption free nation.

    He said “preparatory to the inauguration of the new Administration, Mr. President approved the constitution of this Presidential Inter-Ministerial Inauguration Committee (PIC-2019) to plan, organize and execute all approved programmes for the series of activities that would be undertaken”.

    While the SGF would serve as chairman of the committee, other members of the committee includes, Chief of Staff to the President, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Minister of Finance, Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Attorney General & Minister of Justice, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Minister of Transportation, Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Minister of Water Resources, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, National Security Adviser, Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office and Deputy Chief of Staff to the President who will serve as secretary, respectively.

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    The Terms of Reference of the committee includes “to plan, organize and execute all approved activities for the 2019 Presidential Inauguration; Co-opt any organization(s)/person(s) relevant towards the successful execution of the programme; document for posterity, all planned activities for the Inauguration; and, carry out any other assignment as may be required towards the successful implementation of the programme.

    “Distinguished Members of the Presidential Inauguration Committee, in the course of the implementation of this assignment, several sub-committees to be headed by Ministers will be constituted.

    “For inclusiveness however, other members would be drawn from, not just the MDAs, but also from the All Progress Congress (our Party), the Presidential Campaign Council, the Buhari Support Organisation as well as Women and Youth Campaign Council. The mandate of these sub-committees will be clearly spelt out to reflect the purpose for which they have been constituted. Ahead of such constitution, I wish to underscore the need for collaboration and synergy amongst sub-committees while planning and executing the approved programmes.

    “Finally, let me remind all members of the importance of this assignment and that no stone should be left unturned to ensure that this 2019 Presidential Inauguration Committee delivers on its mandate. We must therefore deploy our wealth of experience and show unwavering commitment to this exercise”, the SGF stated.

     

  • SGF brokers reconciliation in Adamawa APC

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has said that the conflict among some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State will be resolved and Governor Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow will be re-elected to do his second term.

    Conflict persists in the APC in the state, with notable names like Nuhu Ribadu and Ahmed Modi, both of who lost to Bindow in last October’s governorship primaries yet to reconcile with Bindow who got the ticket, but

    Boss Mustapha told newsmen in Yola Sunday night that he had been holding reconciliation meetings with all stakeholders and would continue to do so until all contending issues were resolved and everyone brought under one APC to rally support for Bindow as Nigerians go to the polls this Saturday for the governorship election.

    “We had a stakeholders meeting in my office in Abuja and my coming here this evening is in furtherance of that effort. One thing I can assure you is that we are coming out stronger, focused and more resolved to retain Adamawa as an APC state,” the SGF said.

    He added that he and lots of the leaders in the APC family had tasted the bitter pills of electoral defeats and would work hard to avoid a defeat in Adamawa.

    He said the APC lost Adamawa State by a slight margin in the presidential election only because the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presented a candidate (Atiku Abubakar) who is an indigene of the state and had established himself as a strong political force.

    “Atiku Abubakar has been a constant feature in the politics of this state for decades. He served eight years as vice president, whether we like to take it or not. He has a political family in Adamawa State, Boss Mustapha said, adding that the APC did not do too badly despite Atiku’s factor as APC’s loss was by only some 32,000 votes, unlike in Buhari’s own state, Katsina, where APC won by some 900,000 votes.

    Answering a question on his position and how Adamawa has benefitted from it, Boss Mustapha said his appointment in the first place was by the special grace of God.

    He said, “I am most grateful for the opportunity I have had to be the SGF. I am not the mist qualified. I ascribe my ascendance to that office to the grace of God and the favour extended by President Muhammadu Buhari to Adamawa State. I told my staff that I didn’t come into the office with any special skill. I have only one qualification: the grace of God on my life. And every morning I ask him to help me and I depend on him to run my office.”

    He added that his appointment from Adamawa State to replace his predecessor who also comes from Adamawa was a privilege extended to the state by President Muhammadu Buhari, and that he had succeeded in using his office to influence the rehabilitation of roads across Adamawa State, of extending the planned Abuja-Gombe dual carriage way from Gombe to Yola, and of extending the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail track to Yola and other state capitals, among other things.

  • ‘SGF votes in Yola North LGA, not Hong’

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Barr Boss Mustapha, is an indigene of Yola North, not Hong as assumed by many.

    A Principal Special Assistant (PSA) of the SGF), Alhaji Mohammed Danjuma, who made the clarification, said it was necessary to correct reports accusing the SGF of failing to deliver his LGA, said to be Hong, to President Muhammadu Buhari and even not voting there despite.

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, defeated Buhari in Hong LGA by 23,039 votes to 20,471; but Buhari won big in Yola North where Boss Mustapha voted, with 43,865 votes against Atiku’s 27,789.

    Against the claim that Boss Mustapha’s home LGA is Hong where he should have voted and delivered to Buhari, Alhaji Mohammed Danjuma said Boss is linked to Hong because it is his ancestral LGA where his parents came from more than 80 years ago.

    Danjuma said, “Yola North has been Boss Mustapha’s home. This has been so since he was born and bred in Jimeta (in Yola North) in 1956. He has been known as an indigene of Yola North. It was his home when he contested to be governor of Adamawa State in 1992.”

    He added that in the last presidential election, Boss rightly voted in his polling unit 09, opposite the main gate of New Government House in Jimeta, Yola North LGA; and specified that Boss name is in Number 902 out of 1307 of the list of those registered at the polling unit he usually votes.

    “May I put it on record that the SGF is an indigene of Yola North LGA, not Hong? His political enemies should please go and find better things to do as our principal is a die-hard APC and core Buhari loyalist,” Danjuna concluded.

  • Boss Mustapha votes, urges sportsmanship over election results

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, cast his vote in Yola yesterday morning, advising electoral candidates to exhibit the spirit of sportsmanship and accept the results in good faith.

    The SGF, who arrived his Gwadabawa ward voting unit opposite New Government House in Yola a few minutes to 10, told newsmen after casting his vote that he was impressed by the peaceful conduct of the electorate and that he would be glad if candidates would similarly conduct themselves in a peaceful manner when the results began to come out.

    “I hope this peaceful atmosphere will continue as the results are announced,” he said, recalling how Goodluck Jonathan’s sense of sportsmanship calmed the nation in 2015 and recommending such attitude to all those currently seeking votes.

    Boss Mustapha commended the people for turning out in large numbers and waiting patiently to cast their votes despite the disappointment the previous Saturday when the election was rescheduled.

    “It’s amazing to see how people are here waiting patiently and orderly to exercise their franchise and to elect their leaders,” he said.

  • Buhari, Osinbajo, Tinubu, others meet in Abuja

    President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday met in Abuja in the party’s caucus meeting.

    The meeting started at the APC National Secretariat around 11.30am when the President arrived.

    Those in attendance included the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole.

    State governors at the meeting included that of Zamfara, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Jigawa, Borno, Bauchi, Kebbi, Niger, Lagos and Kaduna state.

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    Also in attendance were the Senate leader, Ahmad Lawan, senators, Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF), Boss Mustapha, ministers, among others.

    Discussions at the meeting will not be unconnected with the issues affecting the party, including the postponement of the general elections by a week.

  • Buhari sends SGF, others to console families of 8 dead Taraba supporters

    President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a team led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha to Taraba state to commiserate with families of eight supporters that died during the All Progressives Congress (APC), presidential campaign in Jalingo, the state capital.

    According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, he also condoled with the government and people of the state over loss of lives that attended last week’s loss.

    Other members of the team included Governor of Adamawa (a neighbouring state to Taraba) Mohammed Bindow; Senator Ali Ndume; Mallam Mohammed Bello, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Dr Ali Isa Pantami, Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

    Senator Yusuf A. Yusuf, a Taraba stakeholder, also joined the team.

    At the Taraba Government House, where the team was received by Governor Darius Ishaku, Boss Mustapha, speaking on behalf of the President, lamented the sad loss of eight people during and after the rally, promising that they would not die in vain.

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    The SGF said: “President Buhari will continue to focus on public good and welfare of the people. The eight people would then not have died in vain.

    “They represent the good of our people and country. They wanted good governance as symbolized by President Buhari, so they turned out to welcome him at the rally.

    “As we go to the polls, let’s exercise the civic responsibility with zeal, but also with decency and restraint. The country is our own, and we must preserve its oneness.”

    Ishaku expressed “sincere gratitude and thanks to Mr President for promptly sending a delegation to condole with us,” adding that the people of Taraba were grateful for the show of concern.

    He prayed the souls of the dead would rest in peace, stressing: “Peace is my mantra. I stand by it any day. I am thankful that Mr. President, who is firstly my elder brother before being my president, came to Taraba in peace, and left in peace.”

    An official letter of condolence personally signed by the President was presented to the governor by the SGF.

    At the palace of the Emir of Muri, Alhaji Abbas Tafida, the leader of the delegation condoled with the monarch and the people on behalf of the President, praying that God will give them the fortitude to bear the loss.

    The Emir said it was President Buhari that needed to be condoled, since he lost his supporters, who loved him dearly.

    At the family home of one of the deceased where the relations of other victims had congregated, the names of the dead supporters were read out.

    Alhaji Haruna Kawuwa, who lost his wife, Safiya, at the overcrowding that attended the rally, thanked President Buhari for remembering and condoling with them at their time of sorrow.

    The delegation also visited the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo, where prayers were said for the quick recovery of the injured on admission.

    On hand during the visit, among many others, were Taraba APC chairman, Barrister Ibrahim El-Sudi, who also got a condolence letter from the President; the APC gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Sani Danladi, his running mate, and other party chieftains.

  • We won’t sell NNPC, refineries, FG assures workers

    The federal government has assured it has no plan or agenda to sell any of the refineries or the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ).

    It said anybody who has such plan does not have the interest of the workers at heart.

    Speaking at the 12th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja on Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari said government was determined to attain the decent work agenda, which involves opportunity for works that are productive and deliver a fair income, security work places and social protection for families.

    Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Buhari said: “I want to reassure you of the commitment of this administration to the issue of welfare of workers.

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    “This is evidence of numerous programmes and policies that have been initiated by this administration in promoting the interest of the well-being of our workforce.

    “Meanwhile the administration is committed to addressing other labour issues that are still pending.”

    The NLC called for reversal of power sector privatisation due to what it called chronic failures by the distribution companies (Discos) to deliver quality power supply to Nigerians.

    Its National President Comrade Ayuba Wabba said: “Since the privatization of electricity distribution, Nigerians are yet to see the fulfilment of promises of efficient service delivery.

    “Instead, the electricity situation has gone worse with chronic failures by DISCOs to supply prepaid meters, exploitation of Nigerians through estimated billings and reluctance to attend to basic complaints.

    “Even with N39 billion bailout funds from government, the supposed private entrepreneurs have failed to turn anything around except maybe their pockets, unfortunately, at the expense of Nigerians. This must stop.

    “We call on government to reverse the power sector privatisation because it has failed.

    “Privatization of public utilities has not generally proven to be the correct thing to do in most countries even developed ones.

    “Why Public Private Partnerships don’t work; the many advantages of public alternative authored by David Hall privatizing public utilities has been a wreck in most countries. Example form Spain, France, India, South Korea, UK, Australia among others show how public/state guarantees and loans to private sector for the utilities sector have resulted in failures on delivery of services as well as repayment in most cases”.

    He however urged the Federal Government to resuscitate ailing refineries in other to liberate the downstream sector.

  • 2019: SGF predicts landslide victory for Buhari

    Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has predicted a landslide victory for President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 16 presidential poll.

    He spoke during an extraordinary meeting of All Progressives Congress (APC), stakeholders in the residence of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello in Life Camp Abuja.

    Mustapha urged party faithful to forge a united front in the campaign season to guarantee victory.

    According to him: “The APC as a big family, we have already put behind us the sad chapter of what transpired during the primaries in a consolidated manner.

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    “It’s going to be landslide victory for Baba Buhari and we are rest assured that, God willing we are going to the next level.”

    The meeting agreed Bello will lead a high- powered campaign council of the APC as the party prepares to win the forthcoming elections in the FCT for President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Speaking after the meeting with party leaders and all the candidates vying for various offices in the forthcoming elections, Bello emphasised the APC was going into the electioneering campaign as one family.

    As Chairman of the APC Campaign Council the FCT Minister, is head of the main policy-making and strategy planning body that comprise the APC State Chairman, Abdulmalik Ahmed Usman who serves as his deputy.

    According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Cosmas Uzodinma, other members of the Council include all national assembly aspirants, Board of Trustees members, National Executives representing FCT, Area Council Chairmen and the Campaign Director-General among others.

  • Budget 2019: SGF meets APC Reps caucus

    Less than 24 hours before presentation of the 2019 Appropriation Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha was locked in a closed door meeting with members of the All Progressives caucus in the House of Representatives (APC) on Tuesday evening.

    He regretted alleged call by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) on opposition members in the National Assembly to shun the presentation of the 2019 Appropriation Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.

    Mustapha, who also assured the APC in the House of Representatives, has no reason to be worried about threats from opposition parties in the National Assembly said the party has the numerical strength to see through all its legislative demands.

    He however denied insinuations his meeting with the APC caucus were out of uncertainty over the budget presentation by the President.

    He said the presentation of the Appropriation Bill is a constitutional responsibility of the President that should not be politicized.

    “It will be totally out of place to boycott the budget presentation. This is a national responsibility, the President has to present the budget as demanded by the constitution and he is going to do exactly that,” he said.

    Mustapha, who spoke with reporters immediately after the meeting, denied insinuations it was meant to rally the support of the caucus for the President during the budget presentation.

    He said the meeting was in continuation of the routine dialogue with the caucus.

    “It has nothing to do with the strike action and it is not about the budget presentation, it was about the party matter, we discussed matters that are very germane to the party.

    “I have been attending caucus meetings with them because this is a larger House.

    “That is why I came out. We have to strategise, we are preparing for the election. We have to plan what they would do in the course of the recess in terms of deepening democracy and preparing our party for the election.

    “We have to plan what they would do during the recess. You know very soon they are going on recess, so this is in continuation of dialogue with our members,” he stated.

    Leader of the caucus and Majority Leader of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila said the meeting was routine and a “family affair”.

     

     

  • 2019: People’s will must prevail – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari says that the will of the people must always drive the democratic architecture of the country.

    He made this known in Abuja on Thursday at the opening of a two-day “Election Security Management Workshop’’ organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

    The President, therefore, promised to ensure that security agencies involved in the conduct of the 2019 general elections performed their duties professionally to enable the electorate exercise their franchise.

    Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, the President said that the success of the forthcoming elections would partly depend on the professionalism demonstrated by security agencies.

    Buhari added that positive changes had been implemented in the nation’s electoral laws to strengthen electoral processes.

    He explained that the changes were to ensure that voters were not disenfranchised by actions or inactions of actors or institutions charged with the responsibility of driving the process.

    He said “as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I am committed to upholding the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as this is sacred pathway toward our democracy.”

    The President noted that “this had been demonstrated in the successes that INEC recorded in Ekiti, Anambra, Ondo and Edo governorship elections, as well as bye-elections in some other states.

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    “Therefore, the sanctity of the process must be upheld by all political parties and other stakeholders across political party divide if the country is to attain its full potential.’’

    He recalled his acceptance speech in April 2015 where he affirmed commitment to promote credible elections devoid of interference in the work of INEC.

    Buhari said that those assertions were informed by the conviction that no nation could advance its democratic culture under a security orientation that had no assurance for the safety of the electorate and their votes.

    The President, therefore, reassured the international community that Nigeria would continue to advance its democratic credentials within the global space.

    He added that “indeed, Nigeria’s commitment to democratic values underscores the leadership roles the country demonstrated in the enhancement of the democratic processes in Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Niger, The Gambia and Guinea Bissau.”

    He reiterated confidence in INEC’s competence to conduct credible elections in 2019.