The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BUHARI

  • What we expect Buhari to do, by Yoruba elders

    THE Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure true federalism and national unity.

    Its Secretary-General, Dr. Kunle Olajide, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the President needed to return the nation to the era of revenue generation and not sharing of allocation.

    Olajide, who is also a retired medical practitioner and a traditional title holder in Ibadan land, said: “I have written a congratulatory letter to the President on his re-election and assured him of YCE’s support for his administration towards achieving a greater Nigeria.

    “In the letter, I told him that his victory carries enormous responsibilities among which were the need to ensure national unity and a revisit of the El-Rufai’s committee report on restructuring.

    “The President has replied the letter, appreciating it and the in-depth suggestions. He assured me that the suggestions will be given adequate cognizance.”

    The YCE leader said the nation could achieve rapid growth with true federalism, which allowed devolution of powers.

    He stressed that the decisions of the Governor Nasir El-Rufai led committee on restructuring set up by Buhari’s administration in 2017 was far-reaching, calling on the President to revisit the report.

    “We have to gradually move back to the period of generating revenue and not sharing revenue. Each federating unit should be allowed to exploit and explore its resources.

    “They should then pay an agreed percentage to maintain few essential services in the centre such as Defence, Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Custom services,” he said.

    Olajide said there were only 14 items on the exclusive list in the First Republic and the rest were residual for the states.

    According to him, “today, there are 66 items on the exclusive list. The intervention of the military in 1966 truncated the march to true federalism.

    “So, in the next four years, Buhari should be able to finish the process, foundation and implementation of the El-Rufai’s committee recommendations. I think it is very essential that the report is implemented as a first step to entrench a true federal system of government.”

    He also called on the President to make national unity a priority, urging him to ensure that all parts of the country were given sense of belonging through appointments and projects.

    “The President should ensure that his appointments reflect the diversity of Nigeria and in line with the Federal Character Principle enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution. We must ensure that people think of Nigeria before anything else, irrespective of tribe and religious affiliation. The President must ensure that he bequeaths a legacy of a united Nigeria.

    “He must ensure that the people remained the centre of all their decisions, including security of lives and properties.”

    On the 2019 general election, he said the nation had made some progress, adding that the conduct was still better than those witnessed in the past.

    Olajide suggested that INEC should be unbundled from its overloaded responsibilities.

    He said the electoral umpire should only be responsible for registering of political parties and conduction of elections.

    He called for the constitution of Election Offence Tribunal to handle cases of electoral malpractice.

    The YCE leader said civil security agencies and not military, should play roles in elections, suggesting recruitment of more personnel for the police as well as NSCDC to meet up with required number.

    “Let me confess. I am very proud of the Yoruba race. The outcome of the election gladdens my heart considerably because the political temperature was very high during the campaign season. Everybody was anxious and worried that there might be widespread violence. Yes, there were violence and skirmishes here and there, but not to the extent envisaged.

    “Looking at the conduct of the election by itself, I think we have made progress. We are not yet there, but we are far better than where we were before in Yorubaland,” he said.

  • Widow seeks justice from Buhari

    Mrs. Ada Jumbo Ochigbo, the widow of the slain Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps’ (NSCDC’s), official, Superintendent Ogar Jumbo Ochigbo, who was allegedly killed by two traffic wardens in Abuja last week, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene.

    The deceased was alleged to have been killed by the traffic wardens in the presence of his wife and two children aged three and six.

    The traffic wardens allegedly hit him on the head with a baton and dragged him on the floor to a nearby police station for allegedly committing a traffic offence.

    He later died and his body was deposited at the General Hospital, Asokoro, Abuja, mortuary.

    Ada, a teacher, told The Nation at the family’s home at New Haven community, New Nyanya in Nassarawa State: “Please help me ensure justice for my husband. We seek justice; that is all I ask for. My husband did not commit any traffic offence.”

    The deceased’s friends are angry with the police explanations implying that Superintendent Jumbo died ‘peacefully’ at a police station. They also feel provoked by police spokesman Frank Mba’s explanation that the two main suspects were traffic wardens and not mainstream police officers.

    In a statement last Thursday, Mba said contrary·to reports, the deceased slumped and died during preliminary interrogation·at Nyanya Police Station at about 9am last Wednesday.

    Mba alleged that the deceased violated traffic rules and was arrested by two·traffic wardens on Nyanya Highway, Abuja.

    “He was arrested and he drove himself to the police station· with members of his family, who were with him at the time·of arrest·and a traffic warden in his car. Traffic Wardens are not conventional· police personnel, this is why they wear· yellow· top for easy· identification.

    “He slumped and was later confirmed dead during interrogation at the police station. His body has been deposited at the mortuary of Maitama District Hospital for autopsy,” he told reporters.

    “The deceased, who was later identified as a member of NSCDC, was said to be driving along with members of his family, precisely his wife. He was said to have disobeyed traffic regulations and was apprehended by two traffic wardens, who are not conventional policemen,” Mba said.

  • Buhari greets First Bank on 125th anniversary

    President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated First Bank Nigeria Limited on its 125th anniversary, which historically marked the beginning of banking in the country in 1894.

    Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, joined the financial services industry, particularly the banking sector, in celebrating the purposefulness, prudence and propriety that has become the hallmark of the bank for more than a century and a quarter.

    The President also congratulated the board, management and staff for upholding the vision of the founder, Alfred Lewis Jones.

    Read also: What we expect Buhari to do, by Yoruba elders

    Buhari saluted the vision and strength of character of the management in providing a voice for the Nigerian economy by rendering competitive financial services that have culminated in the spread of branches across the country, Africa and Europe.

    As the oldest bank in Nigeria, the President believed First Bank Nigeria  Limited has lived up to the expectation of customers over the years, both private and public, necessitating its survival and continuous service as a formidable training ground for many Nigerian bankers and chief executives, who have also established banks and served the country as Governors of Central Bank of Nigeria.

  • Buhari felicitates with FirstBank on 125th anniversary

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday in Abuja congratulated First Bank Nigeria on its 125th anniversary, which he said “historically and remarkably marked the commencement of banking in the country in 1894’’.

    In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, the president felicitated with the bank on behalf of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and Nigerians in general.

    President Buhari joined the financial services industry, particularly the banking sector, in celebrating “the purposefulness, prudence and propriety that has become the hallmark of the bank for more than a century and quarter’’.

    He also congratulated the Board, management and staff for upholding the vision of the founder, Alfred Lewis Jones.

    The President saluted the vision and strength of character of the management in providing a voice for the Nigerian economy by rendering competitive financial services that had culminated in spread of branches across the country, Africa and Europe.

    According to him, as the oldest bank in Nigeria, the FBN has lived up to the expectation of customers over the years, both private and public, necessitating its survival and continuous service as a formidable training ground for many Nigerian bankers and chief executives.

    He noted that such chief executives had also established banks and served the country as Governors of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    While celebrating the milestone and great achievements of FBN, the president commended banks in the country for generally supporting government policies in buoying the economy.

    He especially lauded banks for their renewed focus on infrastructural development and providing financial lifelines for businesses.

    He, however, urged them to always explore partnerships that would benefit the country and promote trust.

  • My govt is committed to making education affordable to Nigerians – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has said the Federal Government is committed to making education affordable to youth of the country through the open and distance learning system (ODL).

    He said this at the 8th convocation ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria, yesterday, in Abuja.

    The president also said his government would continue to deploy the necessary resources and facilities through direct budgetary funding and the tertiary education trust fund (TETFund) interventions in order to ensure that provision of quality tertiary education is guaranteed to the youth.

    Buhari, who is the visitor to the university, was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Victor Onuoha, at the occasion.

    He attributed the root cause of crisis recorded in the past in the country to ignorance, saying that his government hopes to put an end to it through functional education.

    The President said: “It is of common knowledge that the root cause of most of the recorded crisis of nationhood that we recorded in Nigeria are as a result of ignorance which we hope can be abated through functional education.

    “This is why the federal government of Nigeria is more than ever before, committed to making education affordable through the open and distance learning system. In this connection, therefore, the national policy on education have provided for lifelong learning that transcends all barriers through open and distance learning.

    “As a government, we reiterate our commitment to continue to deplore, the necessary resources and facilities through direct budgetary funding, TETFund interventions and the NEEDS assessment funding to ensure that provision of quality tertiary education is guaranteed to our teeming youth.”

    The president commended NOUN for expending access to higher education for Nigerians.

    Buhari added that the government would strengthen the ODL system of NOUN in order to meet its target of expanding access to tertiary education.

    “It is gratifying to note that NOUN continues to record successes at the national level by expanding access to higher education as well as making it affordable. In this regard, the national open university of Nigeria has carved a niche for itself both nationally and internationally.

    “The open and distance learning institution (ODL) will therefore be strengthened to take the lead in this desired direction’” the president said.

    In his remarks, NOUN Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdalla Adamu, said that 20, 799 graduated from the university.

    He explained that the massive increase in the number of graduates of the university was as a result of the confidence Nigerians have placed on the efficacy of the ODL system.

    According to him, the university awarded 103 First Class degree to the graduating students.

    Bala Salhu Magaji of the department of Islamic Studies emerged the overall best graduating student at the occasion.

  • Cleric tasks Buhari on campaign promises 

    The General Overseer of Christ Apostolic Church, Agbala Olorun ni Gbani, Pastor Moses Olagunju, has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to focus more on developmental projects that would positively affect the wellbeing of Nigerians.

    Olagunju said this in an interview with The Nation at the ongoing three-day special programme for men at CAC, Agbala Olorun ni Gbani headquarters, Egbeda, Lagos, with the theme: ‘From failure to success’.

    He declared that God has a hand in the victorious emergence of President Buhari in the just concluded presidential election and he will only succeed if he makes effort to focus on his campaign promises and shun detractors, who do not mean well for Nigerians.

    He noted that Nigeria’s growth has been slow because successive administrations have reneged on their campaign promises and enriched themselves and their cronies with the nation’s resources.

     

     

  • Nigerians are still living in a dream

    Buhari is not good enough for Nigeria. Yes, I agree but who is good with this present political system?

    It saddens me to realise how people are still naive to the problems of Nigeria. The most unfortunate things are that we think we’re running a democracy because we set up political parties, campaign for election and win. The question is: is that how successful democratic countries are running their own?

    Many of our problems start very small, but instead of fixing them on time, we keep sweeping them under the carpet. Today we have mountains of problems that have grown too difficult to solve. We have legislators whose duties are to find solutions by creating strong policies to sort things out and establish law around them to stop the recurrence. But they lack the political will and knowledge to tackle most of these problems.

    There are lots of things to put in place before we can see positive change. Our political system is not designed to serve the country enough, and this has to change. Good government doesn’t automatically fall into place, and it cannot be willingly done by the set of politicians we have without pressure from the public.

    Traditionally, the thinking has been that leaders know what is good for the country, but that doesn’t work for true development these days. Obviously, we forget that Nigeria is a safe haven for corrupt politicians, where an individual person has more money than the country.

    Therefore, we need to frown on corruption. Unless we address this, we will continue to live a false dream. Buhari alone cannot do anything different until we reform our politics. We need to do our own part to support him in order for his party to deliver on its promises.

    Corruption is the dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, which typically involves bribery. With corruption running in our system, nothing good can come out of the country.

    Lack of proper record is also a bane. We need an effective recording system to know how many people are real Nigerians. We don’t only need accountability from the government, we also need from the citizens and without any good record of the populace, we cannot get it.

    Lawlessness and lack of punishment culture is another ailment that is our problem. Nigerians don’t like to follow rules because our leaders don’t make it a priority. The law serves many purposes and functions in society.

    Without an effective judicial system, we cannot enjoy our democracy. We also need to establish punishment for whoever commits any crime, and the punishment must be severe so as to serve as deterrence to others.

    We need a Discrimination Act to stop people from using the tribal game that is tearing down society. We need to classify tribalism as a crime and set up a task force to fight it thoroughly. Task force is the unit that can uphold a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination of any kind. Until then, there cannot be unity and our leaders will continue to use this avenue to destroy the country for their own selfish gain.

    We also need to avoid money politics where everyone only looks for an avenue to make money in a way that is detrimental to the interests of many people and the country. This makes them inflate government contracts sometimes more than ten folds of the actual cost.

    Nigerians should wake up and hold these politicians accountable for their failure to put many things right. Self-inflicted poverty is enough to galvanise the masses to demand change more than before and they have the power to provide it. We should not continue to remain quiet. We cannot leave everything in the hands of the politicians; it won’t work.

    • From Joseph A Adams

    josephaaadams@gmail.com 

  • Buhari signs Engineers Amendment Act into law 

    President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to the Engineers (Registration etc) Amendment Act, 2019.

    The principal Act establishes the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria – COREN with power vested.

    According to the Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, the new amendment has broadened the powers of COREN with far-reaching powers of prosecution of infractions, regulating industrial training of engineers, capacity building of local content in Nigerian engineering industry.

    Specifically, he said: “The new law grants COREN powers of prosecuting any person or firm that contravenes the provisions of this Act in a court of   competent jurisdiction; regulating industrial training schemes of engineering practitioners and students; ensuring capacity building and monitoring local content development in the Nigerian engineering industry through– mandatory attachment of Nigerians to expatriate engineers on major projects to understudy them from inception.

    “(ii) Ensuring that all foreign engineering firms establish their design offices in Nigeria. (iii)    granting of compulsory attestation to all expatriate quota    for           engineering practitioners, including turnkey project, that there are no qualified and competent Nigerians for the job in question at the time of application and that granting of the expatriate quota shall be contingent on training of such number of persons as may be required for the execution of the job, and;

    “(iv) Ensuring that before being allowed to practice in Nigeria, such foreign              engineering practitioners granted work permit, register with the council and obtain such licenses as may be required from time to time; (h) investigating engineering failures.’’

    He said that the new Act further admits into the council (COREN) the following: “Nigerian Association of Technologists in Engineering, Nigerian Society of Engineering Technicians and Nigerian Association of Engineering Craftsmen, and One person each appointed to represent the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria, Federation of Construction Industry in Nigeria Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, and Armed Forces in rotation.’’

    The council, he said, is now entitled to maintain a fund into which shall be paid money appropriated by the National Assembly, subventions, fees, charges for services rendered or publications made, donations, engineering development levy, among others.

  • Buhari signs Engineers Amendment Act into law

    President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to the Engineers (Registration etc) Amendment Act, 2019.

    The principal Act establishes the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria – COREN’ with power vested.

    According to the Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly matters (Senate), Ita Enang, the new amendment has broadened the powers of COREN with far-reaching powers of prosecution of infractions, regulating industrial training of Engineers, capacity building of local content in Nigeria engineering industry.

    Specifically, he said, the new law grants COREN powers of: “prosecuting any person or firm that contravenes the provisions of this Act in a court of competent jurisdiction; .regulating industrial training schemes in engineering practitioners and students;

    (I)..ensuring capacity building and monitoring local content development in the Nigerian engineering industry through – mandatory attachment of Nigerians to expatriate engineers on major projects to understudy them from inception

    “(ii) ensuring that all foreign engineering firms establish their design offices in Nigeria. (iii) granting of compulsory attestation to all expatriate quota for engineering practitioners, including turnkey project, that there are no qualified and competent Nigerians for the job in question at the time of application and that granting of the expatriate quota shall be contingent on training of such number of persons as may be required for the execution of the job, and;

    “(iv) ensuring that, before being allowed to practice in Nigeria, such foreign engineering practitioners granted work permit, register with the council and obtain such licenses as may be required from time to time; (h) investigating engineering failures.’’

    He said that the new Act further admits into the Council (COREN) the following: “Nigerian Association of Technologists in Engineering
    Nigerian Society of Engineering Technicians, and
    Nigerian Association of Engineering Craftsmen, and
    One person each appointed to represent the –
    Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria,
    Federation of Construction Industry in Nigeria
    Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, and
    Armed Forces in rotation.’’

    The Council, he said, is now entitled to maintain a fund into which shall be paid money appropriated by the National Assembly, subventions, fees, charges for services rendered or publications made, donations, engineering development levy, among others.

    “On NYSC, the Amendment states:
    (14) (i)‘’The Directorate of the National Youth Service Corps shall ensure posting of graduate engineers and technologists to places of relevant professional engineering experience.
    (ii) Pursuant to the provision of subsection (i), the Directorate of National Youth Service Corps shall communicate the location of graduate engineers and engineering technologists to the Council.’’

    The Act broaden engineering ‘’practitioners to include a registered Engineer, Engineering technologist, Engineering technician and Engineering craftsman. It emphasis more on engineering practitioners as against ‘engineer.’

    “The Act has been remitted in accordance with standard legal procedures.” Enang stated

  • Buhari inaugurates panel on State Legislature, Judiciary Autonomy

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday inaugurated the Presidential Implementation Committee on Autonomy of the State Legislature and State Judiciary at the State House, Abuja.

    The inauguration, according to the President, was in line with the 4th alteration to the 1999 Constitution.

    The President disclosed that the 16-man committee is to be chaired by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami while the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly matters (Senate), Ita Enang will serve as Secretary.

    Read Also: Buhari lists transparency, inclusiveness as policy thrust in next four years

    The President urged the committee to be meticulous and diligent in carrying out the assignment.

    When the implementation is done, the President said that it will ensure proper checks and balances without fear or marginalisation.

    He gave the committee three months to complete the assignment.