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Tag: BUHARI

  • Buhari reviving abandoned projects, says minister

    President Muhammadu Buhari administration is reviving abandoned projects to make life better for the citizens, Minister for Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Raji Fashola has said.

    According to the minister, a number of projects were left uncompleted before the inception of the administration in 2015.

    “Buhari’s government revived the contracts that were stopped,” Fashola said.

    He spoke to reporters in Sokoto on the sidelines of a two-day retreat organised for top officials of the three ministries under his watch.

    Fashola noted that the contracts were stopped due to paucity of funds.

    “If a contractor does not get paid, there is no magic to get the work completed. He will have no alternative than to stop,” the minister said.

    Fashola explained that the present government has no alternative than to resort to the best option of borrowing to complete such projects of economic importance.

    Fashola said Nigerians should not blame the government on the slow phase of work, rather should tailor their dissatisfaction against their representatives, who were elected to serve them.

    “They are guilty of the slow phase of work. They shut the National Assembly for two months and delayed the passage of budget for close to nine months.

    “You don’t expect the work that would have been done in decades to be completed within three and a half years.

    “We have to borrow through the Ministry of Finance and invest on roads to enhance productivity, reduce journey, cost and time for business to generate income and wealth creation to payback the loans,” he said.

    Fashola noted that a growing economy is a rewarding economy, asking those who complain that the Federal Government “borrow too much to tell us where else to find funds”.

    “We are not raising tax and if we do, they will still complain,” the minister said.

    He defended the administration on allegations that certain section of the country was suffering deficit of Federal Government’s projects, especially in the Northwest.

    According to Fashola, “no part of the country is not considered in the provision of infrastructure”.

  • Buhari remains best option, says ex-Lagos commissioner

    NIGERIAN electorates have been called upon to ensure the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari for continuity of Federal policies and to consolidate on the gains of the administration’s growth.

    A former Commissioner for Public Transportation in Lagos State, Chief Lanre Razak, who made the call, cautioned the voters against returning the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to power come 2019.

    He accused the PDP of what he described as the massive misappropriation of the nation’s oil and gas revenue that accrued during the party’s 16 years in office from 1999 to 2015.

    He hailed Buhari’s strides, especially for the social intervention programmes designed to lift many out of poverty and the war on corruption, which had led to recovery of billions of naira and foreign currencies.

    In a statement yesterday, the All Progressives Congress, APC chieftain maintained that the citizens should not be hoodwinked by the many soothing electioneering promises of former Vice President and PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to turn the nation’s fortune around in four years.

    He insisted that the party could no longer be trusted after it failed to achieve same when it was in charge for 16 years.

    According to him, “If we are really serious about laying a solid socio-economic order and democratic culture for Nigeria, the right man for the job in 2019 is the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

  • 78 to battle Buhari in race for Aso Villa

    There will be a long list of political parties on the ballot for next year’s presidential election. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has indicated that 78 challengers are facing President Muhammadu Buhari on February 16, 2019. Though the zoning arrangement favours a northerner to be president, Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI reports that majority of the candidates are from the South, with the Southeast and the Southwest dominating the contest.

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari faces a motley crowd of challengers in the February 16, next year election. The election is generating so much excitement among Nigerians, particularly in the social media. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 78 challengers have emerged to face Buhari in the race for Aso Rock Villa, the nation’s seat of power.

    So, there will be a long list of political parties on the ballot. But, ironically, the choices will still be limited, because the opposition is weak and fragmented. Most of the political parties are small parties that lack the nationwide structure to prosecute presidential elections. Small parties can succeed in making a big showing in a local election when they field popular candidates who will appeal to the electorate at that level, but in a nationwide contest, like the presidential election, bigger parties have better chances of winning.

    Despite being touted as the “third force” earlier, the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo-backed African Democratic Party (ADP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) could not muster enough support to challenge the dominance of the two major parties during the recent Osun State governorship election. The SDP came a distant third and could only play the role of the beautiful bride, helping the APC to win during the supplementary election that took place in seven polling units. Even in developed democracies, such as the United States or the United Kingdom, which equally have multiple political parties, the choice is usually limited to two parties or sometimes three – in the case of the latter.

    Nevertheless, the emergence of young and vibrant candidates like Donald Duke, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Dr. Kingsley Moghalu, Fela Durotoye, Obadiah Mailafia, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, Omoyele Sowore, Pastor Chris Okotie and others have raised the hope of Nigerians that true change can be witnessed in the near future, if the electorate can muster the courage to reject the old school politicians and vote for a young, detribalised and solution-centred candidate, without laying emphasis on his religious inclination and where he comes from. In this regard, it is noteworthy that with the exception of Mailafia all the above candidates are making a statement by contesting against the zoning sentiment that it is the turn of the North to produce the president in 2019.

    Thus, though the zoning arrangement currently favours a northerner to occupy the position, majority of the candidates contesting next year’s presidential are from the South; with the Southeast and the Southwest dominating the contest. Nevertheless, a great majority of the candidates are not in the race to clinch the plum job. Many of them merely want to add the phrase “former presidential candidate” to their long resume. Others are simply interested in using it as a bargaining chip to secure one political appointment or the other.

    The full list of candidates and their parties are as follows: Muhammadu Buhari, All Progressives Congress (APC); Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Donald Duke, Social Democratic Party (SDP); Kingsley Moghalu, Young Progressives Party (YPP); Obiageli Ezekwesili, Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN); Chris Okotie, Fresh Democratic Party (FDP); Hamza Al-Mustapha, Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN); Obadiah Mailafia, African Democratic Congress (ADC); Fela Durotoye, Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN); Omoyele Sowore, Africa Action Congress (AAC); and Gbenga Hashim-Olawepo, Alliance for Peoples Trust (APT).

    Others are: Moses Shipi, All Blending Party (ABP); Samuel Eke, Green Party of Nigeria (GPN); Mark Emmanuel, United Patriots (UP); Hamisu Santuraki, Mega Party of Nigeria (MPN); Moses Ajibiowu, National Unity Party (NUP); Nwokeafor Ikechukwu, Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD); Aliyu Ibrahim, African People Alliance (APA); John Ilongwo, Democratic Peoples Party (DPP); Yunusa Tanko, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP); Ike keke, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP); Yusufu Obaje, Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP); Ize-Iyamu David, Better Nigeria Peoples Party (BNPP); Samuel Fagbenro-Byron, Kowa Party (KP); Rabia Hassan, National Action Council (NAC); Nnamdi Madu, Independent Democrats (ID); Tope Fasua, Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP); and Obinna Ikeagwuonu, African People’s Party (APP).

    Also on the list are: Isaac Ositelu, Accord Party; Frank Ukonga, Democratic Alternative (DA); Shitu Kabir Advance, Peoples Democratic Party (APDP); Usman Muhammed, Labour Party (LP); Asukwuo Archibong, Nigeria for Democracy (ND); Chuks Nwachukwu, All Grassroots Alliance (AGA); Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA); Yusuf Yabaji,            Action Democratic Party (ADP); Nsehe Nseobong, Restoration Party of Nigeria (RPN); Chukwudi Osuala, Rebuild Nigeria Party (RNP); John Wilson Gbor, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA); Usman Ibrahim, National Rescue Movement (NRM); Sunday Eguzolugo, Justice Must Prevail Party (JMPP); and Chike Ukaegbu, Advanced Allied Party (AAP).

    The list also includes: Umenwa Godwin, All Grand Alliance Party (AGAP); Isiaka Balogun, United Democratic Party (UDP); Lewis Abah, Change Advocacy Party (CAP); Babatunde Ademola, Nigeria Community Movement Party (NCMP); Ahmed Buhari, Sustainable National Party (SNP); John Dara Alliance of Social Democrats (ASD); Kriz David, Liberation Movement (LM); Isah Bashayi          Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN); Emmanuel Etim, Change Nigeria (CN); Habib Mohammed,                        United Democratic Party (UDP); Angela Johnson, Alliance for a United Nigeria (AUN); John Onwubuya, Freedom and Justice Party (FJP); Mashood Shittu                        Alternative Party of Nigeria (APN); Yusuf Dantale, Allied Peoples Movement (APM); Ahmed Inuwa, United Party of Nigeria (UPN); Geff Ojinika, Coalition For Change (CFC); and Robinson Akpua, National Democratic Liberty Party (NDLP).

    The remaining candidates are: Victor Okhai, Providence Peoples Congress (PPC); Dr. Olapade Agoro, National Action Council (NAC); Williams Olusola Awosola, Democratic Peoples Congress (DPC; Alhaji Ahmed Sakil, Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN); Isaac Babatunde-Ositelu, Accord A; Alhaji Isa Bashiru, Advanced Nigerian Democratic Party (ANDP); Mallam Hussein Abubakar, Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA); Rex Adebanjo, Youth Party of Nigeria (YPN); Prof. Peter Nwangwu, We the People of Nigeria Party (WPNP); Eunice Atuejide, National Interest Party (NIP); Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP); and Dr. Davidson Isibor Akhimien, Grassroots Development Party of Nigeria (GDPN).

     

    Buhari

    The consensus of observers is that President Buhari is facing a tough re-election battle. Unlike four years ago when his emergence as the candidate of the APC generated a lot of momentum across the country, this time around he is expected to convince the electorate that he has acquitted himself well in his first term so far to secure their support.

    In other words, next year’s presidential election has been described as a referendum on the performance of the Buhari administration in the last three and half years. One of such observers, Chief Chekwas Okorie, puts it this way: “This is because the electorate would be looking at his achievements or otherwise during his tenure so far. So, it becomes a referendum in the sense that the number of people who think he has done well would be voting yes, while those who believe that he has performed woefully would be voting no, by voting for another candidate.”

    In this regard, Buhari is adjudged to have done well in some respects and performed woefully in others. For instance, the administration has gone a long way in its bid to diversify the economy through encouragement of agriculture, particularly the boost in local production of rice. The upsurge in local production of rice, it is said, has not only reduced the country’s food-dependency on other countries, but also narrowed the gap in the country’s balance of trade with other nations.

    The administration also appears determined to upgrade the country’s infrastructure. The Federal Government in March approved the transfer of about $650 million (about N198.9 billion) to the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), as the initial funding for the take-off of the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), including the Lagos-Kano Standard Rail Gauge project. The initiative is aimed at eliminating the risks of project funding, cost variation and completion that have plagued the development of the nation’s critical infrastructure assets over the last few decades. President Buhari has also been hailed for his courage in attempting to recover some of the country’s looted funds from key officials of the immediate past administration.

    On the flip side, the administration’s handling of the deteriorating security situation in the country has exposed it to ridicule than any other issue. It may have subdued Boko Haram insurgents. The terrorist group, which held swathes of territory across the Northeast in 2014, is not as strong as it used to be. But the administration has a more deadly group of terrorists on its hands, with the upsurge in the killings of so-called herdsmen in Benue, Taraba and elsewhere in the country. The continued detention of the Shiite leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, after he has been granted bail by the court several times, has also sparked a series of demonstrations in recently. Many Nigerians have showed concern about the way the protest is degenerating, particularly the reported shootings in Abuja The administration has been getting a lot of flaks for the increasing insecurity, because it failed to nip the crises in the bud.

    From all indications, many Nigerians that voted for the President in the last presidential election seem to be disappointed by his performance so far. Besides, the coalition that campaigned for his emergence four years ago also appears to have crumbled. For instance, the APC has been hit with a wave of defections in recent times. Within the political establishment, even within the ruling party, many had hoped that the President would opt out of the race. Some of the retired military generals who had been very influential since the aftermath of the 1967 to 1970 civil war, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Theophilus Danjuma and Ibrahim Babangida, had prevailed on Buhari not to run.

    But, since Buhari has the power of incumbency, he remains the candidate to beat, in spite of the challenges facing the ruling party.

     

    Atiku

    The emergence of Abubakar, popularly known as Atiku, as the candidate of the PDP at the recent national convention of the party in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, has generated a considerable amount of interest among Nigerians. The man who was Vice President between 1999 and 2007, under former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the platform of the PDP is widely perceived as one candidate that is capable of giving President Buhari a good fight all over the country.

    The PDP candidate may not have the type of integrity that endeared candidate Buhari to a cross section of the electorate in 2014/2015, but he has many other ingredients that can propel him to victory in next year’s presidential election, if properly articulated and deployed towards the 2019 battle. One of such ingredients is his contacts across the nation; he is one man that has cultivated a lot of business and political associates around the country over the years. Another is his huge financial war chest – and he may likely be willing to deploy it towards winning the position he has been seeking since 2007, when he first contested on the platform of the defunct Action Congress (AC).

    Whether Atiku will be able to defeat the APC standard bearer is another matter. But, for the first time, he is contesting on a platform that would give him the sort of leverage he requires to sell himself to the electorate. This is not only his first serious shot at the presidency, but may also be his last, given his age and the power rotational arrangement between the North and the South. So, he may likely give it everything he can muster to win the contest.

    Nevertheless, his candidacy may be bogged down by the corruption baggage he carries. How this will pan out remains to be seen. The deeply corrupt image he has today arose out of the spat he had with Obasanjo towards the end of their second term, but the allegations have not been substantiated since 2007 when they left office to date. In a recent report attributed the President’s Personal Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, the Presidency dismissed Atiku’s bid for the position, saying he is too corrupt and greedy to lead Nigeria.

    Atiku’s supporters however argue that since he has not been indicted by a court of law, the corruption tag may not dissuade people from voting for him. Besides, they say the style adopted by President Buhari in his fight against corruption and the allegation that he has been shielding his close associates accused of same has not really portrayed the administration as one committed to tackling the menace.

     

    Duke

    Donald Duke, 56, was the governor of Cross River State from May 1999 to May 2007. He recently joined the SDP to realise his ambition of running for the office of president. As governor, Duke was credited with strategic thinking and courage that led to the transforming of the capital city of Cross River State, Calabar, into a viable tourism, commercial and sports hub, as well as the building of Tinapa business resort and the renovation of the Obudu Ranch Resort.

    Condemning zoning of political offices, Duke said it remained unconstitutional, “as it limits the choices we have as a country to a section of the country”. He added: “As rational as they may see it, it remains unconstitutional and there are not enough strong voices out there speaking up objectively. Besides, democracy is all about choice, how then do we limit the choices we have to some section of the country or the other? Can we under such aegis obtain the best? Nigeria can only be whole when the sum total of its parts is able to contest freely and at will for the highest office in the land.”

    In addition, he disagreed with those who say that only two political parties have the physical presence nationwide to win the presidency in a general election. He said he hopes his participation would enrich the playing field and offer Nigerians wider options.

     

    Ezekwesili

    Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, popularly known as Oby Ezekwesili, is a leading chartered accountant who was co-founder of global anticorruption group, Transparency International. Ezekwesili, 55, is a former Vice President of the World Bank and a former Minister of Education. At a press conference in Lagos on Monday the presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) said the agenda of the oparty is to create jobs, create wealth and take 80 million Nigerians out of poverty.

    Ezekwesili described the two major political parties, the APC and the PDP, as “Siamese twins of failure and destruction” and urged Nigerians to make the right leadership choice that would reposition the country. She said both Buhari and Atiku are not good enough for Nigeria, because “the current cycle of failures are not sustainable” and that at this juncture the country deserves a tried and tested leadership “that is data driven, independent minded and solution centred”.

     

    Moghalu

    Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, 55, is a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who is running to be president on the platform of the Young Progressive Party (YPP). Moghalu said his vision for Nigeria is set out in his new book: Build, Innovate, Grow (BIG), which was released in February. The YPP candidate said he plans to unseat Buhari, by using the President’s own poor record to defeat him. He challenged Buhari to presidential debate, saying the President should not be allowed to dodge the debate by sending Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to represent him.

     

    Durotoye

    Adetokunbo Fela Durotoye, 46, is the candidate of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN). He is optimistic that Nigeria is greatly blessed and that the younger generation has what it takes to transform the country’s economy. To clinch the ticket, he defeated Moghalu and nine other young presidential aspirants after a two-stage voting process. The ANN flag bearer is a business consultant, leadership expert, motivational speaker and the president of the Gemstone Nation Builders Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation targeted at training youths towards transformational leadership and social change. Durotoye whose parents were university lecturers is passionate about education. He believes that unemployment is tied to the poor standard of education in the country.

     

    Mailafia

    Obadiah Mailafia is a career economist, banker and international development specialist with over 25 years’ experience. He serves as the Chief of Staff of the 80-member African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States based in Brussels, Belgium. The ADC candidate is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and a former Special Adviser to the President on Economic and Policy Matters. Following his emergence as the ADC presidential flag bearer, Mailafia expressed optimism that, if elected, he would implement various economic policies that would help to grow the Nigerian economy. He said: “We need to focus on implementation. This country is not short of ideas and we have several economic documents, the current one is the National Economic Recovery Document, 2017 to 2020. It is very solid and well written. I will engage in rigorous implementation of these policies and also engage policy analysts that are conversant with daily happenings in various sectors of the economy.”

     

    Olawepo-Hashim

    Olawepo-Hashim, 49, is the flag bearer of the Alliance for Peoples Trust (APT), a merger of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), the People’s Trust (PT) and a faction of the National Intervention Movement (NIM). He is a businessman with interest in the energy sector. An offspring of a Yoruba mother and a Hausa father from Kebbi, the graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Lagos and Master’s Degree holder in Global Affairs from the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom is a bridge builder of sorts. He is a Christian who was raised in Niger and Kwara States. He has also been described as a non-conformist who will not compromise his principles for pecuniary gains. The APT candidate was a founding member of the PDP. Indeed, he was the first elected Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party in 1999. He resigned in 2006, after leading a protest for the entrenchment of internal democracy and due process when the leadership set out to illegally extend its two-year tenure other than by constitutional means. Whereas Olawepo-Hashim stood to benefit from the process; he opposed it on the ground of its unconstitutionality.

     

    Sowore

    Omoyele Sowore, the founder of online news agency Sahara Reporters, is the candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC). Sowore, 47, is one of the young, vibrant candidates contesting to change the country’s political narratives. Driven by fearless ideas, the AAC candidate said he would disrupt Nigeria’s political space the way he disrupted the media space with Sahara Reporters. He is reported to have started the online newspaper with one staff (himself) and one laptop. Like Moghalu, he also rejected Durotoye’s emergence as a consensus candidate of the coalition of political parties, the Presidential Aspirants Coming Together (PACT).

     

    Okotie

    Born on June 16, 1958, Christopher Oghenebrorie Okotie, popularly known as Chris Okotie, is the General Overseer of the Household of God Church, a Pentecostal congregation in Lagos. Okotie who is contesting on the platform of Fresh Democratic Party (FDP) has made three failed attempts – 2003, 2007 and 2011 – to become the President. When he declared his intention to run again early last month, Okotie called on other political parties to adopt him as a consensus candidate. He said: “I want to re-affirm my call for an interim government and to ask those that are concerned, who are the political actors to consider me as a consensus candidate. I have referred to myself as a consensus remedial facilitator because of the existential threats that we have now and I think that it’s time for us to lay aside the habiliments of our political affiliations and to embrace a new nationalistic philosophy that can salvage this country at this time.”

     

    Agoro

    Agoro indicated in his acceptance speech after he emerged the flag bearer of the National Action Council (NAC) that the flag bearer of the National Action Council (NAC) that the country is in dire need of a clean and visionary leader. He added: “It is a shame and terribly bad that our so-called leaders are not proud to be called Nigerians.” He said President Buhari has no reason to seek a second-term mandate, because “he has failed Nigerians”.

     

    Adesanya-Davies

    Adesanya-Davis, 56, is aspiring to be Nigeria’s first female president. She said: “I am aspiring to be the next president of Nigeria. I am out to put laughter of joy on the mouth of all. I have discussed this with the former presidential candidate, Sarah Jubril, who incidentally is from Kwara State. Her reaction was that ‘if miracles like this will ever happen, we have paid the price in Kwara State and it is going to happen in the state.”

    Adesanya-Davies is an educational consultant and an associate professor of linguistics with specialisation in applied linguistics and communication. She is a former director of the Centre for Vocational Skills, Entrepreneurial and General Studies, Rivers State University of Education, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. She is a linguist, educationist, poet, communication expert, advocacy and activist.

     

    Akhimien

    With several university degrees in foreign languages, international law and diplomacy, strategic and conflict management in addition to several years of military service and post military engagement as private security service provider, Akhimien who is the candidate of the Grassroots Development Party of Nigeria (GDPN) is certainly not a pedestrian candidate for the office of the President. The national president of the Association of Licensed Private Security Practitioners of Nigeria believes that the growing insecurity in Nigeria stems from pervasive injustices in the land. He said: “Most of the security challenges that we are experiencing today would not have been on the table if not for these pervasive injustices. Wherever there is injustice I am telling you even the best security measures will not hold sway.”

  • Buhari greets Ken Nnamani at 70

    President Muhammadu Buhari has joined members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Assembly and all Nigerians in congratulating former Senate President, Ken Ugwu Nnamani, on his 70th birthday.

    The President felicitated with family and friends of the distinguished lawmaker, administrator and visionary leader whose maturity, foresight and wisdom restored stability to the senate between 2005 and 2007, after many years of leadership tussle.

    As a party stalwart, President Buhari affirmed that the wise counsel of the elder statesman has been most candid and helpful for the country.

    The President believed as Sen. Nnamani joins the septuagenarian club, his wealth of experience of serving in both the private and public sector of the country will be most useful in moving the country, while his uncompromising position on deepening the culture of democracy and good governance remains an asset.

    He prayed for longer life, strength and good health for the former Senate President so that he will keep serving the country he loves so much.

     

  • Guru to Buhari: come to me to win 2019 election

    FOUNDER and Spiritual Leader of One Love Family Satguru Maharaji Ji has restated his support for the re-election bid of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He, however, stressed that the President and All Progressives Party (APC) leadership must come to him for spiritual guidance, if they hope to win 2019 presidential election.

    Maharaji Ji spoke when he and his team visited The Nation headquarters yesterday in Lagos ahead of One Love Family Golden Age Festival and celebration of The Divine Presence of Godman on Earth Again.

    The events hold between November the 9 -17, at Maharaj Ji Village, Km. 10 Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Oluyole, Oyo State.

    Maharaji Ji and his delegation were received by General Manager (Training and Research), Mr. Soji Omotunde, Editorial Chairman Mr. Sam Omatseye, Editorial Board  members, Mr. Steve Osuji and Mr. Olakunle Abimbola.

    The Spiritual Leader of One Love Family said: “I will vote for the APC because of President Buhari’s stance against corruption and his sincerity of purpose in moving Nigeria forward.

    “All we need to do is to support and assist him. He needs our support and love. He is the first black president in history of Africa that has taken the bull by the horns.”

    He asserted that Buhari should be allowed to run for the second term because that would allow the North to have a fair share of their place in governance.

    Maharaji Ji added that for Buhari to win the 2019 election, he and the party’s leadership must come to him for spiritual guidance.

    According to him, “Buhari needs divine knowledge to be able to see what is going on so that he doesn’t surround himself with people who are only there to enrich themselves.”

    Maharaji Ji, who claim to be the light and the perfect living master, noted that in 2015, President Goodluck Jonathan was told to come and meet with him so he could guide him spiritually before the election, “but he refused and the rest today is history”.

    “I respect every government in power as the law stipulates and I will not disrespect anyone, but it is important to note that I am the light, the living perfect master and the solution to Nigeria’s woes is in my hands, if the people in power can connect with me,” he said.

    Maharaji Ji warned that Nigerians should be weary of those contesting for presidency and other positions of government as some are coming back to continue with the corruption spree that has taken Nigeria backward.

    He stressed that Nigerians must ask questions from the contestants and examined their past, their source of wealth and check through their track records before electing them.

    “Nigerians must wake up and must not be deceived by moneybag politicians. We need to examine every contestants, including President Buhari, and how he acquired his cows, landed property and his family life,” he said.

    Acknowledging the fact that democracy allows for more participation of people to contest for election positions, he said there is no perfect democracy in the world and each country must come up with its own form of democracy that will better the people’s lots.

    On the celebration of the Golden Age Festival, he said it is golden time in the history of the human race to meet, walk, talk, eat, drink and dance with the very special Golden boy, who arrived back to Africa on July 17, 1980.

  • I’ll remain fair to all Nigerians—Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja said that his administration would continue to be fair to all Nigerians.

    He made the remark while receiving a delegation of Bassa Traditional Rulers and Elites led by His Royal Highness, Alhaji Bako Ebiredelu Dogwo, at the Presidential Villa.

    According to him, his administration has ensured even distribution of political appointments to reflect diverse interests across the country, regardless of the voting patterns of the 2015 presidential elections.

    The President in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina,  said the Nigerian constitution clearly maps out the need for representation in every government, and he had adhered strictly to the tenets of the law.

    He noted that Ministers of Foreign  Affairs, Science and Technology, Labour and Employment, and Industry, Trade and Investment emerged from states that he did not record much votes in 2015, but they were given strong portfolios in the cabinet based on their competence.

    Read also: 2019 governorship: Amosun, Okorocha lose out as APC insists on Dapo Abiodun, Uzodinma

    “As humanly possible, I have tried to be fair to all. And I am very pleased that in spite of the complaints of technical marginalisation, you have agreed to vote for me in 2019,’’ he said.

    The President assured the delegation that he would look into the issue of poor representation of the Bassa people in government.

    “Thank you for all the nice things you have said about me and the administration. I have taken note that you don’t have leadership in any of the parastatals,’’ he added.

    In his remarks, the leader of the delegation said  Bassa people had consistently voted for the President over the years, and “will do it again in 2019’’.

    “You are a great asset to Nigeria. The Bassa nation will use all the resources available to us to ensure you are re-elected in 2019,’’ he said.

    The royal father said the President’s effort at securing the country was commendable, urging him to also sustain the anti-corruption war.

    “We are happy with your administration which is all-inclusive without discrimination. Keep promoting equality,’’ he added.

    He called on the President to reciprocate the affection of the Bassa people, who are spread across Nasarawa, Kogi, Benue, Niger  states and FCT, by ensuring that they get fair representation in government.

  • President Buhari, WAEC and PDP’s toxic air

    The West African Examinations Council, WAEC, Friday, said the controversy concerning President Muhammadu Buhari’s school certificate is embarrassing and felt a sense of duty to produce and deliver to him a confirmation and attestation of his results, in form of a duplicate certificate.

    This is a god-sent, with WAEC being a non-political entity. This should put to rest the absurd allegations by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, brought up again and again, that he did not attend a secondary school.

    The unreasonable position of the PDP had been sustained all along in spite of testimony by classmates who read with him in school and graduated together, and that fact that a court of law had given a ruling on the matter.

    In 2014-2015 when they raked up the issue, I remember that it took the courage of the then college Principal to issue a statement of results from available records. In doing so, he defied the ruling PDP government in the state which asked him not to.

    At the time we got the results sheet, reports said that the government had determined to send arsonists to burn the school to ashes so that the existing records will be obliterated.

    This was against the backdrop of the shocking claim by the Army Records office in Lokoja, that they didn’t keep any records of General Buhari as a military officer.

    Curiously, the Army Records office had once come under Muhammadu Buhari, as Military Secretary who, during his tenure streamlined the records of the entire officer corps, and could not, by any stretch of imagination, have left his own records in a mess. General Alani Akinrinade (Rtd) reportedly dismissed this mischief as an insult to the military.

    After doing his conscience’s duty by daringly releasing those results, the then government of Katsina State punished the Principal by stripping him of his seniority and posting.

    As we said in a number of past statements, the matter of the President’s qualification to run for office is a non-issue, nonetheless feasted upon by the PDP which has stopped thinking and have nothing to offer to Nigerians.

    Based on arguments that “education gives a human being the power to discriminate between right and wrong,” the 1999 Constitution stipulates a minimum educational qualification for citizens who intend to contest for elections at all levels, which requires that they must possess a secondary school education or its equivalent. The provision above has itself come under serious re-examination by scholars who argue that the possession of a secondary school certification does not necessarily mean that a person is intelligent.

    It is equally argued that it is a mistake to assume that a person with a certificate has higher knowledge or intelligence than the one who doesn’t have. In an article published by the Daily Trust a day or so ago, Professor Shehu Zuru quoted Wendy Sherman, the author of the book Not For The Faint Heart, that “courage and integrity are critical attributes that you cannot acquire from a classroom because they are the inert fabrics of human conscience that dictates the power of the negative and the power of the positive.” As far as his educational career is concerned, President Buhari attended the Katsina Provincial Secondary School, before enrolling in the Nigerian Military Training College, NMTC Kaduna (1962), renamed Nigerian Defence Academy, in 1964. As narrated by Major-General Sani Saleh (Rtd), “I worked at the Nigerian Defence Academy so I know the processes. You cannot get in with a forged certificate, it is impossible.

    “At the time (Muhammadu Buhari enrolled), the army was still controlled by the British…Nigerian Army was a select and (an) elite organization, we had very few Army Officers at that time. I don’t think the whole Nigerian Army Officers were up to 50. You can imagine what it takes for you as a Nigerian to be one of those…and today, somebody will be accusing you that you don’t have a certificate.” From NMTC, Muhammadu Buhari went to the Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, United Kingdom (1962-63), the Defence Services Staff College, India (1973) and thereafter, United States Army War College, which upon completion, awarded its graduates a Master’s degree in strategic studies. In the belief that the nation has the right to know the educational details of their president, Candidate Muhammadu Buhari laid bare everything and tendered an affidavit in respect of the WAEC certificate. The masquerades wielding the real power behind the PDP, some of whom played an active part in his overthrow as military Head of State in the mid-eighties are deliberate in keeping this issue alive. As a thoroughbred, toughened general, he won’t cry out that his home and office were vandalized by scoopers when they threw him out of power.

    In meeting the eligibility for the contest in 2015, President Buhari presented the WAEC results and the other degree and non-degree related results. He went through the verification process in the party, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the court. He ran and won against the PDP. With these, the unnecessary controversy should have ended. It is equally hard to fathom how such a dead issue should get the type of attention given it by the media, considering the many matters of serious concern to the citizens – internal security that was given a short shrift for 16 years by the PDP; the diversification of the economy by focusing on key sectors (apart from oil) that can create jobs and generate revenue such as Agriculture, Solid Minerals and Manufacturing which the Buhari administration is keenly doing; the ongoing pursuit of more reforms and better governance; bolstered efforts towards poverty alleviation; ending corruption and insurgency and ploughing the savings therefrom to put in place needed infrastructure and so forth.

    Do they know that Nigeria Airways, NITEL and other pensioners they left in the cold, unpaid when they sold public assets to cronies or to themselves are getting their dues under this dispensation? If these things had been done when the oil price was as high as US$140 per barrel, Nigeria would not be in the current predicament. We would not have suffered when we had no cash reserves but we had regular supply of power, a good rail system, good roads and good housing. These are the issues dear to the hearts of our people. In its political fight for 2019, the PDP is not relying on the big issues of the day -security, corruption and jobs but on small, distractive matters that take little or no account of national interest. But what do you expect of a group that has stopped thinking, just blowing hot, toxic air, indulging in divisive politics and is raking up sectional issues so that the people will forget the real issues of corruption, infrastructure, security and economy for which they have no plans?

  • Presidency taunts PDP as Buhari gets WAEC attestation certificate

    The controversy surrounding the West African School Certificate (WASC) Examination result of President Muhammadu Buhari was laid to rest yesterday as the West African Examination Council (WAEC) handed to the President the attestation of the certificate issued to him in 1961.

    But in different reactions, the Presidency described the development as an end to the smear campaign of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the President while the PDP described it as a tragicomedy.

    The PDP had turned Buhari’s inability to submit his WAEC certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress into a major campaign issue in the build-up to the 2015 election.

    Buhari had explained then that his certificate was with the military, but the then ruling party insisted that he had no certificate in spite of a statement of result provided by Buhari’s former school and retired General Alani Akinrinade’s claim that it was the tradition in the military to take the certificates of new recruits.

    And while the matter appeared to have been settled with Buhari’s victory in the 2015 presidential election, it reared its head again with another presidential election in the offing and Buhari once more the presidential candidate of APC.

    The controversy was however laid to rest with WAEC’s presentation of an attested version of the President’s certificate to him in Abuja yesterday.

    A statement issued by President Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said that the documents were presented to the President at State House during a courtesy visit by a delegation of WAEC led by its Registrar, Dr Iyi Uwadiae, and accompanied by Olutise Adenipekun, Head, National Office, WAEC; Abiodun Aduloju, Head Public Affairs, WAEC; and Olufemi Oke, Zonal Coordinator, WAEC Abuja.

    Receiving the certificate, President Buhari thanked the examination board for upholding its integrity over the years, saying that he expected nothing less from the institution.

    The President said it would have been impossible for him to attend the Defence Services Staff College, India (1973) and thereafter, United States Army War College as a Nigerian military officer if he did not sit the WASC examinations in 1961.

    He recalled that during his secondary school days, it was very difficult to commit examination fraud even though it was not impossible.

    He said: “My colleagues and I who spent close to nine years in boarding school both in primary and secondary, including Gen. Musa Yar’Adua, when we intended to join the military, we had to take a military examination.

    ”We were examined in three subjects-English, Mathematics and General Knowledge-because English is the language for general instruction throughout the country because of our colonial heritage.

    ”Mathematics in the military was necessary, coupled with Geography. We were trained on how to be dropped off in the bush, given only a pair of compass, and since we were not astronomers, you had to learn to find your way, calculate, using the Pythagoras Theorem and others to work out your position.”

    In his remarks, Uwadiae said it was possible for candidates to lose their examination certificates through fire and any other unfortunate incident.

    ”We don’t issue certificates twice but we can issue attestations or duplicate copy of the certificate.

    ”We also have what we refer to as confirmation. Usually, universities were using this in those days when Information Technology was not in vogue.

    ”Whoever sat for WASC exams in whatever year, we have the records in our database. And Mr President, we have the records of the examinations you sat in 1961.

    ”We have the attestation of results which we issue to candidates who lost their certificates and confirmation of results.”

    Presidency, APC taunt PDP

    Reacting to the development in a statement yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, described it as god-sent, considering that WAEC is a non-political entity.

    “This should put to rest the absurd allegations by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, brought up again and again, that he (President Buhari) did not attend a secondary school.

    “The unreasonable position of the PDP had been sustained all along in spite of testimony by classmates who read with him in school and graduated together, and that fact that a court of law had given a ruling on the matter,” Shehu said.

    He added: “In 2014-2015 when they raked up the issue, I remember that it took the courage of the then college Principal to issue a statement of results from available records.

    “In doing so, he defied the ruling PDP government in the state which asked him not to.

    “At the time we got the results sheet, reports said that the government had determined to send arsonists to burn the school to ashes so that the existing records would be obliterated.”

    Shehu wondered why the PDP chose to dwell on the issue of Buhari’s certificate in its political fight for 2019 instead of more serious ones like security, corruption and job creation.

    He said: “In its political fight for 2019, the PDP is not relying on the big issues of the day-security, corruption and jobs-but on small, distractive matters that take little or no account of national interest.

    “But what do you expect of a group that has stopped thinking, just blowing hot, toxic air, indulging in divisive politics and is raking up sectional issues so that the people will forget the real issues of corruption, infrastructure, security and economy for which they have no plans?”

    In his own reaction on his Twitter handle yesterday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, wondered what next Buhari’s critics would say after yesterday’s event.

    “WAEC presents attestation certificate and confirmation of school cert result to President Buhari. What will the naysayers say next?” he wrote.

    The National Publicity Secretary of APC, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the party had always been confident that President Buhari has all it takes to contest the 2019 election, adding that all the noise about the President not having a certificate was based on mischief.

    “We know that the President is well qualified for the contest. In fact, he has more than the school certificate they are talking about. But they don’t just want to acknowledge that because of mischief,” he said.

    On his part, Chairman of the Buhari Media Organisation, Niyi Akinsaju, said the presentation from WAEC vindicated the President and has now pave the way for other political parties to begin to do the right thing and face the election.

    He said what the PDP had been doing was mere mischief aimed at tarnishing the image of the President and destroying his weapon of integrity with which he will face the election.

    He said Nigerians are aware of the fact that the President is well qualified, having been educated in the best military institutions in the world, adding that the President could not have been admitted into those institutions without the required qualifications.

    The PDP, he said, merely refused to accept the affidavit presented by the President, adding that as a man of integrity, the President has gone further to prove that the affidavit he presented was genuine.

    It’s a political certificate, says PDP

    The PDP yesterday described the attestation received by the President WAEC as tragicomedy.

    Reacting to the President’s receipt of the document, spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the PDP never expected President Buhari to dramatically come this low because “you cannot have a certificate and be calling it an attestation.”

    Ologbondiyan said: “What are they attesting to? We stand by our position that Mr. President has no school certificate.

    “It’s simply a political certificate. We have said that the Buhari presidency and his handlers are always fretting at the mention of a certificate, so they want to mislead Nigerians to say that Mr. President has a school certificate.

    “If Mr. President has a certificate, why did he not use it in the 2015 election? Why is the certificate suddenly emerging a few months to the election?

    “And have you checked the photograph that was attached to the certificate? In 1961, was it the requirement of WAEC to have a passport attached to school certificate?

    “Even in our own generation, was it a condition in WAEC that you must submit your passport to be attached to your certificate?

    “They should come off it. It’s too low.”

  • ICYMI: Memories of DSS invasion as Buhari, Daura hold talks

    President Muhammadu Buhari has met with  former Department of State Services (DSS) Director-General Lawal Daura.

    Last weekend’s Aso Villa meeting is said to be in connection with a report on the August 7, 2018 invasion of the National Assembly by hooded DSS operatives.

    It was also gathered that the  meeting centered on  the resurgence of the Boko Haram insurgency in some parts of the Northeast.

    The options before the President are either to close Daura’s chapter on the invasion or re-engage him in the light of what some have considered an intelligence deficit in the fight against Boko Haram and the seeming ethno-religious tension in some states in the last three months.

    The plight of Leah Sharibu and Boko Haram’s execution of Hauwa Amina Liman, one of the two kidnapped International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workers were said to have created some intelligence gaps, which Daura was believed to have filled in the past.

    A Presidency source confirmed that the President “had audience” with the former DG of DSS. This is the first time Buhari has met the former spymaster since he left office.

    ”Their meeting had to do with a pending report on the invasion of the National Assembly before the President and the nation’s security apparatchik,” the source said, pleading not to be named because of the “sensitivity” of the matter.

    “Apart from reading the report, the President used the opportunity to hear Daura’s side of the security siege to the National Assembly by DSS operatives,” he added.

    The meeting followed what  the source described as pressure from Dasuki’s associate including members of the President’s kitchen cabinet.

    ”While some want the President to foreclose Daura’s case, others have insisted that the President should re-engage the former DG of DSS.

    ”Forces opposed to Daura have defended his sack by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as a timely decision to save the nation’s democracy. They also see Daura’s return under any guise as a slight on the VP and a signal that the Presidency is disunited,” said the source, adding:

    ”They also claim that Daura did more damage to the security system and brought  much strain to the principle of separation of powers by the three arms of government, including  the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. They pointed at the  arbitrary invasion, arrest and detention of judges by DSS.”

    But, to Daura’s associate what is more important is “the larger picture of the nation’s security”. They claim that Daura’s contributions far outweigh the infraction of August 7, 2018 more so when the ex-DG of DSS has insisted that he did not act alone.

    Said the source:  ”The pro-Daura elements attributed the recent intelligence setback in managing Boko Haram crisis in the Northeast to the absence of the ex-DG of DSS. The Army and the Air Force have lived up to expectations but the intelligence back up has suffered in the last three months, leading to the incessant ambush of troops.

    ”They claimed that Daura was a key link to Boko Haram contacts and negotiation with the insurgents which led to the release of Chibok and 105  girls of Government Girls’ Technical College, Dapchi in Yobe State even without the knowledge of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force.

    ”They pointed to the dilemma of a Dapchi school girl, Leah Sharibu, and felt only Daura ( as a member of the nation’s security set-up) can address it.

    Investigation revealed that there is a plot by some forces to mount pressure on the President to appoint Daura to another top security office .

    Another source added: “No doubt, there are plans to re-draw the nation’s security apparatchik to respond to recent challenges in the Northeast and other parts of the country. What is on the card is for the President to re-engage Daura  and give him a higher responsibility. But the President is also mindful of the possible backlash such a measure will attract.”

    “A major challenge is the moral burden the return of Daura might create for President Muhammadu Buhari because Nigerians will see him as indulging Daura and making the former DG of DSS indispensable.”

    While sacking Daura, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was then the Acting President, told the nation that the disciplinary measure was necessary to end impunity in the country.

    He described the DSS operatives’ invasion of the National Assembly as ‘a gross violation of constitutional order, rule of law and accepted notions of law and order.’

    Inspector -General of Police Ibrahim Idris, in his report on the invasion of the National Assembly, claimed that Daura ‘acted unilaterally, without informing the Presidency. He did not share or intimate other Security Agencies on the unlawful operations’.

  • Buhari receives WAEC certificate

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday received attestation certificate and confirmation of school certificate result from the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
    The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, disclosed this on his Twitter handle, @FemAdesina, on Friday.

    Read Also: We will make economy better, says Buhari

    Adesina wrote, “WAEC presents attestation certificate and confirmation of school cert result to President Buhari. What will the naysayers say next?”