The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BUHARI

  • ‘Buhari didn’t withdraw 2016 Budget’

    ‘Buhari didn’t withdraw 2016 Budget’

    The Presidency last night again denied that President Muhammadu Buhari has withdrawn the 2016 Budget proposal he submitted to the joint session of the National Assembly on December 22, 2015.

    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said the proposal could not be said to be missing because hundreds of copies of t were delivered to the National Assembly.

    He said: “Nobody except the President can withdraw the budget. As far as we know, he hasn’t done that.

    “The copies in their hundreds have been delivered to both chambers of the National Assembly.

    “By tradition, once the budget is submitted, it ceases to be our property.

    “Enquiries as to where it is should be directed to the appropriate quarters.”

  • Buhari backs Benue amnesty programme

    Buhari backs Benue amnesty programme

    Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on Tuesday said President Muhammadu Buhari has thrown his weight behind the amnesty programme initiated by the state government to get illegally armed youths in the state to surrender their weapons.

    The governor spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari at the State House, Abuja.

    According to him, President Buhari endorsed the programme after he briefed him on the security situation in the state.

    Ortom said the President was impressed with the success of the amnesty programme which started last year, and gave him the nod to continue with it as part of efforts to keep the state and the nation safer.

    He said the state government would in turn support efforts of the federal government on the war against corruption because the optimum use of the country’s vast resources at a time of dwindling oil revenues is seriously hampered by corruption.

    He also denied the recent allegations of bailout funds misuse by his administration.

     

     

  • Buhari, Saraki meet at Aso Rock

    Buhari, Saraki meet at Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday met briefly behind closed-door at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Saraki, who came out from the President’s office about 30 minutes after his arrival, declined to speak to journalists on the allegedly missing 2016 Budget proposal.

    When asked on the on the budget, Saraki exclaimed “Ha, ha, ha,” and jumped into his vehicle.

    The vehicle immediately sped off from the forecourt of the Presidential Villa.

    The National Assembly is expected to begin work Tuesday, on the Budget proposal which was presented to the lawmakers by President Buhari on December 22 last year.

  • Buhari hosts Eaglets, others January 21

    Buhari hosts Eaglets, others January 21

    The Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, has said President Muhammadu Buhari will host the Golden Eaglets team that  won a fifth FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile last year on January 21.

    The Eaglets defeated Mali 2-0 in the final of the U-17 World Cup in November last year.

    Nigeria has previously won the competition in 1985, 1993, 2007 and 2013, africanFootball.com reports.

    Successive governments had rewarded the team with huge cash gifts, houses and national honours for these feats in the past.

    Dalung added that other teams who did Nigeria proud internationally in 2015 will also be rewarded by President Buhari.

    The Flying Eagles won the 2015 Africa Youth Championship in March, the Dream Team VI clinched the U-23 African Nations Cup in December, Team Nigeria won medals at the All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville and Nigeria’s basketball team D’Tigers scooped a first-ever Afrobasket Championship  to qualify for the Rio Olympics, among others.

  • ‘Buhari should sustain tempo’

    ‘Buhari should sustain tempo’

    Hon. Joseph Akinlaja represents Ondo East/West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He spoke with reporters in Lagos on the face-off between governors and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the N18, 000 minimum wage, the Buhari administration and other national issues. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI was there. 

    What is your assessment of President Buhari’s administration so far?

    As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing to cheer about. The lot of Nigerians has not improved; rather things have been tough, especially for the masses. The essence of voting for a change was to enable Nigerians reap the dividends of democracy, but so far there is no indication that anything is in the offing. Almost seven months since the APC took over the reins of power, Nigerians have known nothing but suffering. Unemployment is on the rise. Not only has the fuel crisis been making life tough and difficult for many Nigerians, many have taken to the streets begging for alms in order not to die of hunger. This is not what Nigerians bargained for. This APC government is nothing, but a government of propaganda.

    How would you assess the administration’s war against corruption?

    It is a welcome development. I for one will never support corruption. I detest it and I will never shield anybody involved with the vice. However, from all indications, it appears as if the ongoing war against corruption is one-sided. This is glaring for all to see. Look at those being put on trial or investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); they are all PDP members. Is Mr. President telling us that the APC is a party of saints? Nigerians can’t be deceived.

    For the ongoing efforts by President Buhari to tame corruption to have meaning or credibility, then the whole exercise must be very transparent. It must be devoid of doubts. To many Nigerians, what is going on is persecution of PDP members. The day four or five prominent APC members are put on trial by the EFCC, then Nigerians will stop being cynical.

    Again, Buhari should realise that there are other pressing national issues that require his attention. He should not be so obsessed with his crusade against corruption to neglect other areas of our national life that require his attention. Candidly speaking, nothing has changed. Rather, I would even say that this is not the type of change Nigerians had bargained for. Tell me, where has this APC-led administration been able to put succour on the face of Nigerians in the last six months?

    Rather it has been tales of excuses. APC has been busy giving one excuse or the other for its shortcomings, and if they are not giving excuses, they will be blaming PDP and former President Goodluck Jonathan. The impression the APC gave Nigerians before it was voted into power was that the party possesses the magic wand to turn the fortunes of Nigerians around. But, sadly things have been going from bad to worse.

    Today, many Nigerians have to sleep for days at filling stations in order to buy fuel. I believe that rather than giving excuses every time, APC leaders should admit failure – they should apologise to Nigerians for deceiving them. Nigerians voted for change and not excuses.

    Aside from the fight against corruption, what other area specifically do you think Buhari should adjust?

    The President needs to cut down on his numerous foreign trips. Why else do we have a Foreign Affairs Minister in the cabinet? I believe that if Buhari has been staying more at home, he would have been able to find solution to some of the problems currently afflicting the country, especially the lingering fuel crisis. Travelling out to 17 countries within six months of his assumption of office is not good.

    As a former Secretary-General of NUPENG, what is the way out of the lingering fuel crisis?

    Speaking as a patriotic Nigerian, I believe that President Buhari should do everything possible to break the ranks of the cabal holding the oil sector hostage. Why must Nigeria be importing fuel when it is an oil-producing nation? The answer is very simple: some people are benefitting from the import regime and that is why they have been frustrating efforts by some previous administration to construct new refineries or even put the existing ones in good shape.

    Buhari should take the bull by the horn by ensuring that new refineries are built. He should also ensure that the existing ones are put in good shape. But it will take a lot of courage to be able to do this. When you have new refineries and the existing ones are in good shape, petroleum products will be in abundance.

    How do you view the face-off between state governors and the leadership of the NLC over threat by the governors to stoop paying the N18, 000 minimum wage?

    It is very unfortunate that some state governors can make such declaration. What is N18, 000 that they are now saying that they can’t pay? How much is N18, 000? What can N18, 000 buy? How can N18, 000 sustain a family of five? Governors should not embark on any action capable of triggering industrial unrest. Rather, they should look for other ways to increase or shore up their internally generated revenue. They should also diversify into other areas where they can get money.

    What is your assessment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the new leadership?

    So far, it has not been inspiring – the commission needs to buckle up – look at the recent elections in Kogi and Bayelsa, both elections were initially declared inconclusive. This was not the situation under Prof. Attahiru Jega’s leadership.

    There are bigger challenges ahead for INEC. If need be, its officials should be made to undergo training and retraining on issues relating to electoral matters.

    How can Nigeria solve the problem of youth unemployment?

    I believe that there is no problem that is not insurmountable. Where there is a will, there will always be a way. Our leaders need to evolve the right policies and programmes, taking into consideration the need of the populace. Our leaders should also realise that no individual has monopoly of knowledge. What this means is that if PDP leaders and members are giving advice that will help Nigeria to move forward, government should not discard the advice out of parochial sentiments.

    As for the rising army of the unemployed youths, I think one important step that government needs to take now is to effect a curriculum change which will lead to the introduction of entrepreneurial studies in our school at all levels.

    The moment a child is exposed to courses in entrepreneurial studies right from a tender age through university, he would realise that his university degree is not only meant for white collar jobs, but also to help him become an entrepreneur who can be self-employed. Gone are the days when government can provide job for everybody. Times have changed and we must learn how to change with time.

    People are apprehensive that the APC may snatch Ondo away from the PDP in this year’s governorship election in the state. Do you agree?

    APC sweeping PDP out of Ondo State? Never. Ondo State remains a stronghold of the PDP. We have always been defeating the APC in Ondo State, and the election coming up this year will not be different. The PDP will humiliate the APC, not only in Ondo State but come 2019 it will bounce back at the federal level.

    Where do you see the PDP in the next five years?

    I see the PDP back in power. I see the PDP waxing stronger and stronger, against the background of the APC’s failure to fulfill its electoral promises. The APC has been busy giving excuses for not being able to fulfill its electoral promises to Nigerians. Rather than being focused and facing the business of providing good governance, the party has continued to see nothing but imaginary shadows of the PDP haunting it and preventing the party from delivering dividends of democracy to Nigerians. Mark my words, I see the PDP coming back to power in 2019.

     

  • Buhari seeks unity among Nigerians

    Buhari seeks unity among Nigerians

    Despite the diverse cultures and religions in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday called on Nigerians to dwell on things that unite the country rather than issues that can divide it.

    Buhri made the call during an Inter-Denominational Church Service at the National Christian Centre, Abuja marking the 2016 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration.

    The President was represented by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

    The President said the nation was proud of the contributions of the armed forces for ensuring peace, justice, freedom and prosperity of the nation.

    He said: “As a people, let us renew our determination to build a strong and united nation where freedom, justice, peace and prosperity are easily within reach; a nation where we emphasise those things that bind us rather than those things that divide us.

    “We are a country of diverse culture and even religion but let us tap more into that diversity for strength rather than for strife.” He added

    Stressing that the country today celebrates the families of the fallen heroes, their wives, children and other relatives, he said: “No one has suffered as much loss as you have and no one can truly understand your pain but today our nation commends you.

    “Your great loss is the gain of millions of Nigerians and generations yet unborn. We applaud you and the heroic men and women of our armed forces and we thank God for the worthy lives they lived. He said

    The President also commended those who made contributions in various ways to support the military.

    “On a day like this we not only commend the gallantry of the armed forces; we remember in particular all those among them that have paid the supreme price.

    “They belong to the distinguished company of those we refer to as in our national anthem with the words ‘the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain’. Today we honour their service and their memories.’’

    The President pointed out that the reputation of the armed forces in the areas of courage and service had often been noted not only at home but also abroad especially the military’s contributions to several international peace keeping missions.

    He specifically mentioned Nigeria’s military and heroic operations in Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Dafur.

    As at end of last year, he said that Nigeria had about 2,972 troops active in various UN missions and that Nigeria is one of the top 10 contributors of troops to the UN all across the world and top five in the African continent

    He said: “The armed forces contribute too and represent one of the most patriotic institutions in the land playing a leading role in our nation building efforts and also diligently attending to their traditional duty of defending and protecting our territorial integrity.

    “Their remarkable efforts in particular at this time in combating the insurgency in the North East is greatly appreciated by the Nigerian people.

    “Boko Haram and insurgency in the North East has now been degraded militarily; the insurgents no longer hold territory and can no longer launch military style attacks as they had done in the past.’’ he said

    He added: “We are confident and we pray that with God on our side the armed forces of Nigeria will not only complete the work that they have started especially the military offensive against insurgency.

    “They will also in due course continue to render the kind of service that they have rendered to our great nation and even better in the years to come.

    “Our armed forces and military have been assisting and will continue to help our communities in the affected areas to recover and resume their normal lives especially in securing their communities, clearing land mines and keeping terrorists out.

    The President also acknowledged the support of Nigeria’s foreign partners in the fight against terrorism adding that their contributions and encouragement had been worthwhile.

    He said the administration was confident that they would maintain the backing and even step up such support where needed as the nation advanced into the final stage of combating the current insurgency in the North East.

  • Foundation advises Buhari on subsidy

    The Sabitiyu Alare Foundation (SAF) has praised the efforts of the federal government in reducing the price of petrol to N86.50 and kerosene to N50.00 per litre.

    In a release by the chairman of the foundation, Primate Ayoola Omonigbehin, President Muhammadu Buhari is charged to prevail on the judiciary to speed up the trial of corrupt cases and recover looted funds. Omonigbehin said that “2016 will be a good year of God’s guiding will and a year of God’s vengeance for the wicked at heart.”

    Omonigbehin disagrees with the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in its attempt to resist oil subsidy removal by the federal government. He counselled the General-Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Oson, to properly study the regulatory principles of labour unions as solution to poverty of a nation, saying, “we advise you, Mr. Ozo-Oson, not to politicise politics with industrial relations to the disadvantage of national development.”

    He said government’s refusal to decisively deal with corrupt cases has been an enhancer of acts of kidnapping, terrorism and the cluelessness of the youths which makes them get addicted to hard drugs.

  • The best of Buhari

    By the time his tenure is over, will President Muhammadu Buhari be called great? Or will he be dismissed as just another has-been, or, worse, a mistake of the presidential kind? Well, it depends. For it will depend on how he applied himself to the weight and demands of his office, and whether he managed to crack the huge challenges facing his over 170m people, or the challenges cracked him.

    Some eight months into the Buhari presidency, some have, however, started drawing their own conclusions, most of which no music to the president’s ears. On the street corners and in some other public places, the verdict is unflattering. Even in some of the most carefully-worded columns written by the best brains on offer, the impression is steadily being created that we just might have ended up in a cul-de sac, a dead-end street, without exit, the only escape being a retreat. If that is true, it is a peculiarly tough situation because in the case of the president, there are still over three full years to go, in the first instance.

    The discontent, however, is, perhaps, not without some background. The president’s fewness of words in explaining himself and the actions of his administration has manifestly unsettled his critics. So has his body language. And so have a number of other things that have happened, or failed to happen, since he took office. The slump in the economy, thanks to the oil prices crash, has kept many growling, for instance.

    But the apparent conclusion that we have a bad president on our hands is hasty, in my opinion. Some kinder commentators have pointed out that it is too early to judge Buhari but I daresay that these eight months have been quite promising, and that if sustained, the country is well on its way to redemption. The anti-corruption campaign and counterinsurgency onslaught offer sufficient hope, and, though the doubters may not be impressed, the economy too might tick up sooner than feared, with a bit of concerted effort from the ministries and agencies, especially the agric and solid minerals sectors.

    That is not to say the optimists, one of whom I fancy myself, think the Buhari administration has not put a foot wrong. His first media chat further gave the president away as a crusader with the blinkers on, not wishing to be distracted by anything or anyone in the war against corruption. He even appears to see the judiciary process as a clog in the wheel. The bail granted to former National Security Adviser, retired Col Sambo Dasuki, which the administration has repeatedly flouted, is proof enough that sometimes the judiciary grates. Another irritant to the president is “that one you are calling Kanu”, as he referred to Mr Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Independent Peoples of Biafra or IPOB during the televised chat. The “revelation” that the IPOB man has two international passports, none of which he allegedly came into the country with, among other reasons, seemed to have convinced Mr President that the guilt of the accused is too grave to be fouled up by the judiciary. Even in the Zaria Shiite affair in which some hundreds were allegedly shot and killed by soldiers, Buhari did not seem to think it necessary to mask his convictions (that the sect members were guilty as charged), even though he said he was waiting for the reports of the investigations.

    These dispositions do not sit well with the principles of democracy and the rule of law. The president will do well to reverse those tendencies and temper his natural impulses. His ministers and aides as well as commentators should keep nudging him on the right democratic paths.

    But no one should lose sight of the fact that in the history of this most proverbially blessed, yet so pitiably and relentlessly raped country, Buhari is the only president who is attempting to slay the rapist-beasts. His stiff approach and clear frustrations with the elaborate and slow-grinding wheel of the law are only human faults, to which no president is immune. Sir Winston Churchill, perhaps Britain’s finest, unsettled his compatriots so much that some were persuaded that they were probably better off without him. He had such courage and stunning turn of phrase that he kept British fighters marching on during WWII and eventually gave their country victory, else, as some feared, the Brits would have been speaking German. But in 1915, in the ill-advised Gallipoli military campaign in the Dardanelles strait, Britain, with Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty, lost about 120,000 troops, excluding those who fell ill, in nine months of battle to conquer Istanbul on the way to hitting Russia. Among other minuses, Churchill was criticised for advocating the use of poisoned gas against Kurds and Afghans in 1919, and was also accused of holding some racist and anti-Semitic views. There were so many other rotten things with which Churchill went to his grave but was justifiably given an unrivalled hero’s burial.

    Former actor, governor and United States President Ronald Reagan, in his time, swept Jimmy Carter out of the White House and wormed his way into Americans’ hearts by shrinking taxes, and government while tuning up old-fashioned family values. Today, any Republican presidential aspirant who wants to best Hillary Clinton invokes Reagan, yet it was Reagan’s tax policy which spared the rich and punished the poor. It was Reagan who sold arms, and gave money, to Iran, and funded Nicaragua’s rebels, a scandal which he unsuccessfully fought to play down. Like Churchill, he too had plenty drawbacks, but it took nothing away from his place in the heart and history of the most powerful country in the world.

    Older history is replete with great leaders with better-forgotten other sides and mistakes, from British kings to Alexander the Great and beyond.

    The point to note is that leaders do not simply become bad simply because of some of their faults or mistakes. They become great when put on the scale and judged, positively, on the great things they did.

    Buhari, clearly with faults all his own, has taken on Nigeria’s most devastating and all-consuming monster. For years Nigeria was one of the most corrupt nations on earth, according to Transparency International or TI. In 2000 no nation was more corrupt than ours. The following year only one country performed worse that Nigeria on the corruption index. It remained in that position from that year till 2004 when it staggered to the position of third worst behaving country out of 145 surveyed.

    Corruption has wrecked everything in the country. It has stifled business, taken away credibility from elections, made nonsense of transportation, reduced education to a joke, undermined the military and the police, made the civil service unappealing, rendered infrastructure comatose, removed the soul of religion, even killed more than anyone can keep track of.

    Buhari should not copy other leaders’ bad traits but his best side is clearly fighting Nigeria’s most notorious monster. May that side win so that he will be great.

  • Cleric calls for more support for Buhari

    Cleric calls for more support for Buhari

    A cleric, Prophet Martins John- Oni, General Overseer of the Chosen of The Lord Ministries, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has been specifically sent by God at his ripe age of over 70 years to rescue Nigeria from bad governance and give us a good direction to the promised land.

    In his New Year message to the nation, Prophet John-Oni admonished Nigerians to be patient with the President and not to rush him in his divine mission of taking Nigeria out of the woods and delivering dividends of democracy to all Nigerians irrespective of creed or religion.

    The cleric said: “It is by divine arrangement and grace of the Almighty God that President Buhari has been chosen to preside over the affairs of the country at his age. He has not come to promote any religion, whether Christianity or Islam. Therefore, I urge all Nigerians to give him all necessary support to rule with divine wisdom”.

    Prophet John-Oni said as a messenger of God, it was his responsibility to keep praying for God’s guidance over him.

    He called on all Nigerians to always put the president in their prayers for him to succeed.

    Prophet John-Oni, who is also the Director General of the Police Assistance Committee/Association of Tradesmen and Artisans, commended Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo for his able assistance to the president.

     He called on Nigerians to always remember the National Leader of the ruling APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,in their prayers. According to him, God used him for the actualization of the Buhari Presidency.

    He commended the Inspector General of Police and the entire police force, the armed forces and all other security agencies for their efforts for ensuring the security of the country.

  • $2.1b arms cash: Buhari not after PDP chiefs, says govt

    $2.1b arms cash: Buhari not after PDP chiefs, says govt

    EFCC gets order to detain Metuh

    How we spent N63m, by Yakassai

    Critics of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption battle got a reply yesterday.

    The President has been accused of fighting a personal battle, particularly against leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The Federal Government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) rejected the allegation, saying that the ongoing probe into the alleged misappropriation of $2.1 billion arms funds is not a clampdown on the opposition PDP.

    Information Minister Lai Mohammed said after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at Aso Villa, Abuja: “I think the first point to make is that this government is not micro-managing any of the anti-graft agencies. I know for a fact that they don’t contact the President or anybody before they do their job. I think the media also have to do more than they are doing right now, they should investigate these allegations and also make their independent judgment about them.

    “Honestly if the EFCC or ICPC says they are able to trace certain amount of money to my account, I don’t want you to believe it, I want you to also ask for proof. Do your investigation. I can assure you that this government, no functionary in government micromanages or directs the EFCC or ICPC on who to arrest and who not to arrest.”

    There have been insinuations and statements by the PDP and its sympathisers that the probe is designed to decimate its leadership.

    Yesterday, a group of PDP supporters stage a protest march carrying placards denouncing the activities of the EFCC as anti-PDP.

    When its National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh was arrested, the party’s statement by National Secretary Prof. Wale Oladipo said Metuh was picked because of his statements against the policies of the Buhari administration.

    DAAR Communications founder Chief Raymond Dokpesi, who is standing trial for allegedly collecting N2.1 billion cash from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), said yesterday that the scandal is a hoax.

    The DAAR Communications boss spoke at his Abuja residence during his investiture as Patron of the PDP Youth Vanguard.

    “I must hasten to assure you that there is nothing like the much flaunted $2.1 billion arms gate. The competent courts of our land would sooner or later prove this coinage aimed at decimating the leadership and membership of our great party to be nothing but a hoax.

    “It (arms scandal) does not exist. It’s a figment of the imagination of the present government. It’s about the persecution of Sambo Dasuki, Tony Anenih, Olisa Metuh and others. We will be made proud when we start our defence in court.”

    EFCC Acting Chairman  Ibrahim Magu, also yesterday, said more influential Nigerians will be arrested soon by the agency.

    He said no Nigerian will be treated as a sacred cow in the war against corruption and debunked the allegation that the agency was after only members of the PDP.

    Magu spoke at a session with online media practitioners and broadcast media managers.

    Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC Mr. Wilson Uwujaren quoted Magu as saying: “More influential Nigerians are on the radar of the EFCC and, in the coming weeks, they would have their days in court and Nigerians will be kept fully abreast of the results of the commission’s investigations.

    “Apart from bringing corrupt public officers to justice, we are determined, in line with the stance of the current administration, to send an unmistakable message to everyone that no Nigerian shall be regarded as being above the law or treated as a sacred cow as far as the fight against corruption is concerned.”

    When asked about the perceived imbalance nature of the arrests made so far, Magu said: “Such accusations have come up a lot, but we work with petitions before us. In fact, I am eager and waiting for something from the other side, but nothing has come so far.”

    He pleaded for the understanding and support of the media because the war against corruption is always resisted by the powerful in the society.

    He said the essence of the meeting was to solicit media support and understanding to deepen the fight against fraud, corruption and economic crimes. He asked for advice and suggestions in effectively propagating the war against graft.

    Magu added: “The EFCC needs you; Nigeria needs your critical support, if we are to make any headway in this important campaign against corruption.

    “My plea for your support is underscored by my understanding that the forces which we are battling are powerful and some of them may want to use all platforms of the media to distract and derail us.

    “ If and when they come to you, please allow the ethics of your profession, your conscience and overriding national interest to be your guide.”

    The EFCC boss explained that he had re-ordered the priorities of the EFCC and he found inspiration in the unbending will of the President to fight corruption

    He added that the judiciary had responded with some practical steps in the form of the designation of selected courts to try EFCC cases.