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Tag: BUHARI

  • Chibok girls: Buhari offers economic support to grieving parents

    Chibok girls: Buhari offers economic support to grieving parents

    •Sends them message of hope

    The Federal Government is offering economic support to parents of the over 200 students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, who were abducted  by Boko Haram in April 2014.

    Also being offered them by government is trauma management support.

    President Muhammadu Buhari in a fresh message of hope to the parents yesterday on the occasion of the 500th day of the abduction said the support is not any way compensation for the missing girls.

    He said: “these priceless schoolgirls are our daughters and they are dear to us as much as they are to you. We share the agony and sorrows you are experiencing as well as our abducted girls. As government we are working hard to rescue our girls alive and healthy.

    “I am optimistic that the girls are still alive and will soon be rescued and handed over to you parents by the grace of God. As leaders we are responsible for the welfare of our people and are accountable before the Almighty God.

    “As such, while the rescue efforts go on relentlessly, the government will continue to render assistance to you as their biological parents. We are aware that most of you the parents cannot attend to your sources of livelihood, go to work, go to farms or carry on with your trading because of the psychological trauma and agony you are going through and this is to be expected.

    “It is for this reason, we find it an obligation to support you in trauma management and in offering some economic support and these support are not compensation for your daughters because we have not lost hope in recovering them, indeed no sane parent gives up on the recovery of a missing child.”

    The President’s message was delivered to the parents by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State at a meeting in Maiduguri, according to his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mallam Isa Gusau.

    Ninety parents were at the meeting.

    The President said Boko Haram’s actions have religious or tribal inclination whatsoever and regretted their senseless killings.

    He said: “government is fully committed to fight the insurgents to a standstill especially with renewed global and regional military cooperation as well as the commitment so far displayed by the  newly appointed service chiefs and their gallant armed forces who have shown so much patriotism and great sacrifice in defense of their father land.”

    The president said he fully understands the pains and agony of losing a child having once lost a child too.

  • SSANU to Buhari: Extend probes to Obasanjo’s govt

    SSANU to Buhari: Extend probes to Obasanjo’s govt

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to look beyond the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan in the current corruption probes.

    The body asked the president to extend the probe exercise to the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to fully recover stolen funds from the treasury.

    Its National President, Comrade Samson Ugwoke,  spoke while addressing the National Executive Council meeting/Pre-National Delegate Conference in Jos, Plateau State.

    Expressing total support for the ongoing fight against corruption by the Buhari, Ugwoke said the government should not spare anyone found to have been involved in stealing the nation’s resources.

    He lamented that several trillions have been looted from treasury by those entrusted with public funds.

    According to him: “The present administration seems to be pursuing anti-corruption war. Corruption has killed this country.

    “We have heard of billions and trillions of naira being looted by officers of government and all of them starched abroad, not even in our country not even in our own banks.

    “They use Nigerian money to grow and improve the economy of other countries, leaving us in poverty.”

    He added: “The probe of the looters should not be selective. It should be total; that is the stand of SSANU.

    “It should be total and be extended to 1999 so that those who have killed this country since 1999 should be bought to book.”

  • ‘Selling the Buhari brand was easy’

    ‘Selling the Buhari brand was easy’

    Dr. Dapo Williams was the Chairman of the London political organisation known as Buhari-Osinbajo Diaspora Organisation (BODO), which sold the candidacy of General Muhammadu Buhari and Professor Yemi Osinbajo in the UK before the last elections. In this interview with Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo, he speaks on how the Buhari brand was sold to the international community

    You are one of the  few Nigerians in the Diaspora who promoted the candidature of President Muhammadu Buhari through your organisation, BODO. What is the reason for your action?

    It was a great pleasure to be part of the success of the President. When I joined the campaign, there were so many individual Buharists and Buhari support groups all over the place; so we decided to consolidate the groups into one and this was coordinated by the Diaspora Coordinator, Dr. Odaro Omorege, who worked at the BSO office in Abuja. The groups merged into one and we called the group BODO, meaning Buhari Osinbajo Diaspora Organisation. I was elected the first Vice Chairman by members of the group. I share the post with Hadjia Khalifa, a seasoned political scientist with Malam Sanni Garba, a technocrat as the chairman. I was responsible for the design and production of most of the campaign jingles and electioneering materials. We met with the President in London during his visit to the UK. We also met with the Campaign Director-General and his team in the person of ex-Governor Rotimi Amaechi with other eminent personalities like Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Mrs. Lola Shoneyin-Soyinka and all the heavy weights in the campaign team. We had several strategy meetings. We also liaised with the team on the grounds in Nigeria, people like Senator Mamora (the Deputy Campaign Director) et al. We campaigned tirelessly both day and night in the last few months, weeks, days and hours leading to the elections.

    At that time, there are two or three factions of the APC in London, but we were recognised more than the APC group members, although they were doing their own campaign too, we sometimes meet at big events such as the Chatham House event where there was a fiasco between the APC and PDP supporters. After the presidential elections, we continued with the gubernatorial elections for all the APC candidates. We teamed together with the HOPE Movement; we went to the Canary Wharf in Docklands, Trafalgar Square, The Nigerian Embassy and other locations. The toughest was the ‘battle for Lagos’. Ambode’s campaign was a big one! The reason for joining the campaign team was to be a part of the change movement and to help contribute to the success of the candidates that will transform my beloved country Nigeria to a place to be proud of and to become a great nation.

    From a Diaspora point of view, what do you think is the major challenge with Nigeria?

    There are so many challenges Nigeria is confronted with, such as lack of basic amenities, youth unemployment, corruption on a large scale, lack of security, Boko Haram insurgency and so on. But I believe with time, PMB will turn the situation around for good

    It was said that you were one of the facilitators behind President Buhari’s Chatham House talk in February, how easy was it selling the Buhari brand abroad?

    We give glory to God that all our efforts were not in vain. I was later appointed the Chairman of the group (BODO) where I positioned the group strategically in the Nigerian community where we became a force to reckon with. We were able to sell the qualities of our candidates to the electorates back home; we worked with another support group known as 9jadiaspora led by Hon. Deen Oduniyi. We met with the President and had one-on-one closed door meetings with him and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on different occasions.

    There is a massive campaign in some quarters that Diaspora experts should be brought into the government; what is your take on this?

    There is no place like home; it would be a great pleasure and honour if the opportunity comes, of cause, I would like to be part of the change agents that will use the skills and knowledge we have gained over the years in the Diaspora to help reshape our dear country. A lot of Nigerians are holding top positions in corporate establishments in various disciplines such as medicine, technology, finance, administration and so bringing them on board to be part of the Buhari/Osinbajo team would be very much welcome.

    Are you confident that the present government has all it takes to turn the country round?

    I knew that President Buahri and Prof. Osinbajo were sellable products and that was why I was proud to sell them to the Nigerian community in the UK and in Nigeria through social media. They were perceived as winning horses and that was the reason I became a stakeholder in the project. If I didn’t have a strong belief in them, I would not have joined the campaign team. PMB’s past records on war against indiscipline and corruption are there for all to see. I have a strong belief in the team and I wish that Nigerians should give him the time to turn things around. The challenges confronting Nigeria cannot be fixed overnight; it will take time but we shall get there.

    What is your worst fear for Nigeria and what do you think is the panacea?

    My worst fear is the insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country and the kidnapping and bombings going on around the country. I believe President Muhammad Buhari will use his military training and skills, coupled with the assistance from countries like the US, Britain and Germany to tackle and find solution to the problem.

  • Buhari replacing PDP’s impunity with rule of law, says Amaechi

    •Wike free to make noise, release as many govt documents as he likes
    •Jonathan, wife, wanted me out as governor at all costs

    The immediate past governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday took a dig at the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying President Muhammadu Buhari is busy replacing the impunity by the party with the rule of law and good governance.

    “You do not solve impunity with impunity. If they (PDP government officials) had impunity before, we shall have the rule of law now,” Amaechi declared at the dedication of St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church at Elechi Beach, Mile One, Diobu, Port Harcourt.

    Using his personal experience as an example of what he called the new dawn in the country, he said: “when I landed today (yesterday morning) at the Port Harcourt International Airport and I saw soldiers, I said ‘no, I do not want soldiers anymore. Let federal institutions remain federal. Nobody should use them carelessly.’ But when they (leaders of the PDP) were in power, they were using them everywhere and chasing us about.

    “I assure you in this government, it will not happen again. I can tell you what the President (Buhari) says: that you do not solve impunity with impunity. If they (PDP government officials) had impunity before, we shall have the rule of law now.”

    He said that if ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife –Patience- and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers had had their way, he (Amaechi) would have ceased to be governor long before the expiration of his tenure last May.”

    He said, “If not for your prayers, I probably would have been an ex-governor a long time ago. The ex-President (Dr. Jonathan) wanted me out at all costs. The present Rivers State governor (Wike) and the former President’s wife (Dame Patience) wanted me out at all costs and they did everything they did, they had everything, except God.

    “Nyesom Wike can make as much noise as he likes. He can release as many documents of government as he likes, tell him I do not like money and I do not like stealing.”

    He denied that the state government contributed money to the building of the church to which the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Steve Dedua nodded in support.

    He told the congregation that he now sleeps very well since leaving office.

    “If you know me very well, you will know that nothing bothers me. I told my Chaplain to tell the Bishop (Most Rev. Etokudoh) not to worry, because the God I worship will always take care of me.”

    Amaechi said he has been avoiding the public for some time ‘except it is extremely necessary.’ “This is the second time I am speaking after I left office (on May 29, 2015).

    “The first time, it was at the International Conference Centre (in Abuja) , when the party (APC) chose to host me to a reception and I was on my way out of the country, when they reminded me that the President (Buhari) had approved a reception for me and that I must return. So, I left Lagos and came back to Abuja.

    “My Lord (Bishop), you were not here (in Rivers State) in 2007/2008. I nearly changed my church, not my faith, because the church was involved in politics and I said I was going to go to one of these Pentecostal churches and worship.

    “Today, I am very proud to be a Catholic. Maybe the church listened to my criticisms then or the leadership of the Bishop and the church is now avoiding politics.”

    Etokudoh, in his sermon, said ex-President Jonathan tried his best through his transformation agenda, and that President Buhari is proceeding to change Nigeria for the better.

    The bishop described the building of the church as a miracle.

    “When there is life, there is hope. There is no competition in destiny. What God has destined for you will come to pass,” he said.

  • Rep. berates Afenifere over attack on Buhari

    A member of the House of Representatives representing Akoko South/East federal constituency, Kolawole Babatunde, has berated leadership of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, for its criticisms on President Muhammadu Buhari’s style of governance.

    The group led by Chief Reuben Fasoranti at its last meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, had accused Buhari of being too slow and running the country like a military dictator.

    But Babatunde, who spoke with reporters in Akure, described the Afenifere leaders as selfish individuals only leaving on past glory and not acting in the interests of the Yoruba people.

    He noted that the statement was a calculated attempt to distract Buhari in his mission to reform various sectors of the nation, particularly in the fight against corruption.

    The lawmaker urged Afenifere to offer constructive criticisms and useful suggestions that would assist the government in addressing the various challenges confronting the country.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, who expressed satisfaction with the various steps taken so far by the Buhari-led administration in combating insurgency in the North-East region, further charged the President not to relent in his agenda of fighting corruption to a standstill without fear of intimidation by any individual or group.

    Babatunde also advised the Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odunmakin, to desist from what he described as his “inglorious style of running down Yoruba leaders while hiding under the name of Afenifere.”

     

  • Understanding Buhari in 100 days – Garba Shehu

    Understanding Buhari in 100 days – Garba Shehu

    THE ENORMOUSLY popular talk show,Berekete on WazobiaFM radio, Abuja station told the incredible, yet true story of the hardworking and respected school teacher somewhere in Plateau state who hanged himself.

    He hadn’t been paid salary for seven straight months. He came home to find that no one had eaten and two of the children had medical prescriptions for which there was no money.

    He sneaked out without talking to anyone.

    After a long while, news came home that he had strangely been caught with a stolen goat.

    On his day in court, the teacher confessed to the offense. The reason he stole, he told the local judge, was that he hadn’t been paid for seven months and when he got home to see what he saw, he just couldn’t stand it.

    The judge allowed him to go home on bail on self-recognition given, as he said, the good impression the entire village had of the otherwise respected teacher.

    All were shocked to find his body dangling from tree the morning after. He couldn’t live with the shame.

    In the recommendations and notes the Ahmed Joda transition committee presented to him as President -EIect, Muhammadu Buhari was informed that a section of the Fedaral government as well as 27 states hadn’t paid salaries, in some case for up to a year.

    The Joda committee advised that this was a national emergency and should be treated as such.

    It is on account of this that one of theactivities- please note the choice of this word:activities, not achievements- of President Muahammadu Buhari in these past three months is the settlement of unpaid salaries. This is going on right now.

    Like the proverbial blinking of the eye, Saturday September 5th will mark the 100th day of the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC government which took office on May 29th after the new party became the first in opposition to unseat an incumbent government in an election adjudged by everyone as free and fair.

    There are many out there who say that the performance of a president and his government in terms success or failure cannot be judged in 100 days and I agree with them.

    But history will be written anyway. In the coming week or two, a rash of commentaries and analyses to commemorate the event will be made.

    I myself don’t deny that 100 days is long enough to know and understand the man who is the head of a government.

    Buhari arrived power with strong support from young men and women and this country’s poor. The new government was not favored at election by the monied power-brokers although that did not stop the President from taking measures such as improving security that are good for business and investment.

    This government is business-friendly but not one that is for crony capitalism.

    The new government inherited enormous problems created by the tainted PDP administration, largely caused by the lack of governance,corruption and lawlessness. This was mostly evident in the last two years of the Jonathan Goodluck administration. As the President continues to point out,the drift is most evident in the oil sector.

    I believe that there is enough on the ground in those 100 days to understand President Buhari, his government and what it stands for.

    I will cite a few of these.

    Before I do that, I will make a little confession.
    In the course of electioneering, the presidential campaign had so many centers of public communication which, for whatever reason were on the loose.

    There is a certain document tagged “One Hundred Things Buhari Will Do in 100 Days” and the other, “My Covenant With Nigerians.” Both pamphlets bore the authorized party logo but as the Director of Media and Communications in that campaign, I did not fund or authorize any of those. I can equally bet my last Kobo that Candidate Buhari did not see or authorize those publications.

    As a consequence of these publications, expectations have been raised unreasonably, that as President, Muhammadu Buhari will wave his hand and all the problems that the country faces- insecurity, corruption, unemployment, poor infrastructure would go away.

    But that notwithstanding, President Buhari has given the job his best shot and the whole country is saying that we never had it so good. He has re-instituted the values of hard work and administrative efficiency. The President says times without number that this country needs to fix governance and that he won’t tolerate laziness.

    Some of the other activities I wish to enumerate also include the fact of his taking relations with the country’s immediate neighbors to new heights. By their open admissions, this country’s neighbors did not have someone they could talk to on the deteriorating security situation in the Lake Chad Basin area in Aso Rock.

    Buhari embarked on his foreign policy on Day Four of his administration.

    When he met Barack Obama, the U.S president told the Nigerian leader that he was getting it right and that it is only when Nigeria gets it right that Africa will get it right.

    The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who came calling this week said that our president is “courageous, focused and firm.”

    Relations with the “G 7” group of industrialized countries have since been “reset” and the dividends of this have begun to flow inwards.

    In the area of economic management, Nigerians are already seeing things happen that they thought were not possible in so short a time.

    He didn’t put a Kobo to finance the power sector. Yet, reading his body language alone and knowing that there are things you cannot do and get away with under Buhari, electricity supply all over the countries has risen to unprecedented heights.

    Actually, some cities are on the verge of calling 24-hour, round the clock power supply. The country generates more power than can internally be taken by the deplorable distribution system we have on the ground, which points to the next challenge that the country faces.

    Framework for the management of the country’s finances has been put in place. The wobbly Naira is being stabilized and inflation is headed towards a single digit.President Buhari is keeping a close eye on the government treasury.

    Agriculture is getting its own shot in the arm.
    Rice importation has been curtailed and seven governors whose states are priming a massive local production of the commodity have had a strategy meeting with the President on the next steps that are coming. Americans say their intervention in our agriculture will come next year.

    Boko Haram, which had more or less been allowed to fester for about five years is about being ended but what is even more interesting is that intelligence coming from the fired-up armed forces who now work in synergy with each other is raising hope that the Chibok girls may, repeat may be found in good numbers in a geographic location of interest somewhere in the North-East.

    President Buhari is being praised at home and abroad for his ongoing fight against corruption. He said from the beginning that his government will not tolerate this vice.

    Borrowing the words of India Narendra Modi’s, he said himself that “I won’t steal and I’ll not allow others to do it.” President Buhari has walked his talk since he come to office.

    Himself and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have not only given up half of their salary, they have cut a good number of funding lines to their official homes and offices.

    President Buhari also takes the environment seriously. He blames the lack of security in the Lake Chad region on the recession, almost drying up of the lake. He has undertaken to clean up the Ogoniland.

    In this country, appointments and removal from office are done usually in accordance with a spoils system.

    A new government sacks officials on the basis only that it did not appoint them, by the predecessor-adminstration.

    President Buhari has shown that his government is different. He wants to look at each case on its own merit and it is clear by now that he is not ready to surrender the country to burnt out politicians. Technocrats will have a big place in his administration.
    He has appointed no ministers yet, but the government is running smoothly.

    In this period of three months, government certainly deserves a pat on the back for improved power, reform in the energy sector, foreign relations fight against corruption and insurgency and the fact of Nigerians being at peace, not only among themselves but with their neighbors and the rest of the world.

    In think in summary, I would like to end this piece by saying that President Muhammadu Buhari will turn out to be a leader in the tradition of Lee Kuan-Yu and India’s current reform-minded Prime Minister Modi with strong and clear emphasis on detail and execution. He may however differ with them by not micro-managing things.

    GARBA SHEHU
    SSA MEDIA AND PUBLICITY TO THE PRESIDENT.

  • Buhari defends appointment of SGF, others

    Buhari defends appointment of SGF, others

    •President says positions will go round soon

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday defended the appointment of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal and five others.

    The appointments, announced on Thursday, had sparked reactions, with reports of complaints in some quarters that they tilted in favour of the North.

    Appointed alongside Lawal were Alhaji Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President; Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd), Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS); Mr. Kure Martins Abeshi, Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service; Senator Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) and Hon. Suleiman Kawu, SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives).

    The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, yesterday assured Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari’s political appointments will balance out soon.

    Adesina spoke on a radio programme, Political Platform, on RayPower 100.5FM, monitored by our correspondent in Lagos.

    Adesina said the President was aware of federal character and expressed the belief that there will be balance by the time he makes more appointments in September.

    While admitting that appointments are Buhari’s prerogative, the presidential spokesman also said that nobody can fault the fact that those that have been named so far ?were appointed on merits.

    He also said it would not be fair to blame the President for positions that were filled as a result of elections, like those of the National Assembly and appointments made on the basis of next in command, like those of the acting Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission and Chief Justice of Nigeria.

    He assured all stakeholders that the President would keep to his promise of appointing the remaining aides and ministers ?in September.

    Adesina said: “Nobody can fault the fact that the persons appointed were appointed on merits.

    “In terms of the spread, the President has prerogative to appoint and he knows there is federal character. I am sure that there will be balance in the future.

    “These are still early days. At the end of the day, we will have a balance.

    “By the time more appointments are made, it will balance out. The President is trying to get the very best of Nigerians. The issue of key positions and no key positions should not be the issue.

    “He gave a deadline of September for the appointment of ministers, ?and he will keep to it.”

    The President’s Senior Special Assistant Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, also issued a statement yesterday urging critics of the President’s appointments to be patient with the administration over political appointments, adding that the appointments made so far constitute less than five per cent of the total that would be made.

    Besides, he said, the people so far appointed by the President are mostly people acting as his staff or unofficial advisers, many of whom had been working with him in official capacities.

    The statement reads: “Our brothers and sisters and fellow countrymen should bear with the new administration as it takes its measured steps towards an effective take-off.

    “These appointments are just beginning. The ones down so far, apart from the security services, are mostly of people acting as unofficial advisers or staff of the President.

    “They are mostly men and women who have been doing things for the President and the positions are being formalised.

    “Statistically, the appointments don’t amount to five per cent of what is to come. There will be ministers, heads of government departments, federal boards and ambassadors.

    “At the end of the exercise, no part of the country will be left feeling left out.”

    Reacting to the appointments, a faction of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) had described them as an insult to the Igbo race whose members he said were not appointed into any top office.

    The group, in a statement signed by its Director of Information, Uchenna Madu, said the actions of the president since he assumed office had shown that he is not a lover of Igbo people.

    “The latest appointments and previous ones since Buhari’s administration should be an eye opener to Ndigbo that Buhari is not seeing Ndigbo as part of Nigeria.

    “These appointments have further confirmed the fact that the present administration is against Ndigbo, despite the massive support some Igbo leaders like Gov. Rochas Okorocha, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, Senator Chris Ngige and Rotimi Amaechi, among others, gave to Buhari and the APC during the last general election. This is an insult to our people.”

    In the same vein, the Ohaneze Youth Council (OYC) expressed concern over the President’s latest appointments, saying it was regrettable that no south easterner was included in the appointments.

    In a statement signed by the organisation’s President and National Public Relations Officer, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro and Hon. Obinna Adibe respectively, the group said the appointments were totally unacceptable to Ndigbo, adding that they violated the principle of federal character enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.

    OYC said: “We stand to condemn the continuous exclusion of Ndigbo by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Before this time, he had appointed Service Chiefs without looking the way of the South East. To make matters worse, the position of the SGF, which was originally zoned to the Ndigbo, has been denied the region.

    “We are indeed shocked by this turn of events, which are totally at variance with Mr. President’s earlier stand that he was for everybody and for nobody.”

    However, another Igbo group, Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF), voiced its support for President Buhari.

    The Chairman of the group, Mr. Augustine Chukwudum, who is also president of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Mandate, called on the Igbo, in an interview with our correspondent, to support the President for him to achieve his aim of transforming the country.

    NUF said: “We have been watching all that have been happening in the past few weeks, all the talks about the president marginalising Ndigbo.

    “We want to use this opportunity to inform them, if they are not aware or not enlightened enough, that the President has not appointed his cabinet. I don’t see where the marginalization of Ndigbo has come in.

    “Some Igbo leaders are just making noise for nothing. After all, those people who are condemning Buhari should be ashamed of themselves.

    “We want Ndigbo to have a rethink of what is happening now. He has not done anything wrong to them.

    “As president of Ndigbo Unity Forum, I still maintain that Buhari has not done anything wrong to my people. Let Ndigbo count their teeth with their tongue.”

    Commenting on the appointments in a media briefing at the end of the 55th National Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) yesterday, its president, Austin Alegeh, said he was convinced President Buhari was committed to the country’s growth.

    He said: “Probably, these are key technical positions that are being filled by the most competent available persons. But, you can always compensate when you are making other ministerial appointments. I think we should all adopt attitude of patience, and should always have trust and confidence in the people we have elected.

    “We must know that the president won this election with many people contributing to the election. So, let us look at the appointments he has made along those lines.

    “I have listened to the President speak and I can see his conviction in a greater and better Nigeria.

    “I am not a party man, and I am not his personal friend, but from what I have seen, I have no doubt in my mind that he means the best for Nigeria, that he will not do anything to infringe the Nigerian Constitution.

    “But let us wait for all the appointments to be in before we start talking of federal character.”

    Lagos-based lawyer, Festus Keyamo also issued a statement yesterday, saying that “the so-called ‘uproar’ over the perceived ‘lopsided’ appointments made so far by President Buhari is nothing but an orchestrated frustration of a few jobless politicians who depend only on government appointments as their means of livelihood and, of course, the noise of the latest opposition party in town.”

    He said majority of Nigerians only want to see good governance and care less about the ethnic origin of those appointed into positions.

    “My worry is that the decade-long general division of government positions into ‘juicy’ and ‘non-juicy’, and the mentality that these few ‘juicy’ positions must be shared equally amongst the major ethnic groups was nothing but a contraption of the old order from which we have just liberated ourselves,” he said.

    “To my mind, all government appointments pose an equal challenge to those appointed as a call to higher service of fatherland.

    “All public positions come with an equal responsibility to be honest, forthright and dedicated. To go further to classify them as ‘juicy’ or ‘non-juicy’ is just a euphemism for positions that have enough money from which to steal and those that are ‘dry’.

    “Therefore, any agitation from a section of the country to get ‘juicy’ positions is only an agitation for their kinsmen to be appointed to steal enough from which they would benefit.

    “I therefore unreservedly condemn, in the strongest of terms, the so-called ‘uproar’ about ‘juicy positions’ going only to a certain section of this country. All sections of this country should be happy and content with whatever positions the President deems fit, at the end of the day, to give to their kinsmen.

    “After all, the President still has a long way to go with appointments. He has not even filled up to five per cent of available positions. Please, let the President be.”

  • SSANU to Buhari: Extend probe beyond Jonathan’s regime

    SSANU to Buhari: Extend probe beyond Jonathan’s regime

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to look beyond the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan in its corruption investigations and recover all money stolen from the nation’s treasury.

    The National President of the union, Comrade Samson Ugwoke, said this while addressing the National Executive Council meeting/Pre-National Delegate Conference in Jos.

    He said the association was in total support of the ongoing fight against corruption by the Buhari government.

    He said the government should not spare anyone found to have been involved in stealing the nation’s resources, lamenting that several trillions of naira had been looted from government treasury by those entrusted with public offices.

    Comrade Ugwoke said, “The present administration seems to be pursuing anti-corruption war. Corruption has killed this country. We have heard of billions and trillions of naira being looted by officers of government and all of them stashed abroad, not even in our country and in our own banks.

    “They use Nigerian money to grow and improve the economy of other countries, leaving us in poverty. SSANU supports the fight against corruption but with a caveat, Mr. President should pursue whoever has stolen our money to return it to our coffers.

    “The probe of the looters should not be selective, it should be total, that is the stand of SSANU. It should be total and be extended to 1999, so that those who have killed this country since 1999 should be brought to book.”

     

  • Buhari orders team Nigeria: DONT GO BELOW SECOND PLACE

    Buhari orders team Nigeria: DONT GO BELOW SECOND PLACE

    Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC) President Abu Gummel is optimistic that Team Nigeria will come good at the All Africa Games as President Buhari is sending off the team with a wish list: “Do not go below second place!” The NOC President revealed this at the unveiling of Team Nigeria kits for the Games and stated that he is hopeful it will be a splendid Championship for Nigeria as preparations are in order and prompt.

    Gummel was visibly happy that the team’s kits by Peak from China particularly which was always a challenge is not an issue this time. He said: “My happiness is that the National Sports Commission (NSC) provided the kitting even before the departure for the Games. Because sometimes it is when you are at the venue that you get your kits. This time around you are carrying them with you. So, let me first and foremost congratulate the Director General and his team for a job well done. It is an excellent job. Which means we are moving like an aircraft. Action! Action!! Action!!! And all we need from you athletes is to retaliate. When you are in Congo it is action! Action!! Action!!!”

    Gummel then informed the contigent of the Presidential order and wish list of  President Buhari for the Team:

    “The President has  given a marching order that Nigeria must have the first or second position at the All African Games. The last time I was here, I was even saying we should try and maintain our usual position, third. But now it is no more. It is first or second. So, please let us go there and make this country proud. With the action that the DG put in front of him and with the way he is moving, we should give him all the necessary support. We should follow him. We should give him all the support. Because his success is our success.”

    He reveals the secret he thinks will propel the Team to victory at the Games: “Jointly we have to work together. Jointly we have to go to Congo and go and make ourselves happy, make ourselves proud. So that we are proud that we are Nigerians. So that by the time we are coming back many people will be at the airport to receive us. So, please let us do our best and make the President of this country happy. And let us fulfil that march order he gave to us that we are able to achieve it. I believe by the grace of God we can achieve it.”

     He equally praised the National Sports Commission for a job well done: “I am happy to see these kits, arriving at the right time, cleared, ready for presentation and they are excellent and the quality is good. By the time we are there now, I am sure many others wil start to envy you when you start wearing it. It is an excellent job that the National Sports Commission has ddone. So, National Sports Commission well done. And I want to wish us goodluck and success at the All African Games.”

  • Buhari appoints SGF, Chief of Staff

    Buhari appoints SGF, Chief of Staff

    President  Muhammadu Buhari yesterday appointed Babachir David Lawal, an engineer, as Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

    Buhari, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, also announced the appointment of  Alhaji Abba Kyari as        Chief of Staff to the President, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd.) as Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and Mr. Kure Martin Abeshi  as the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).

    Other appointments include Senator Ita Enang as Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), and Hon. Suleiman A. Kawu, SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives).

    The appointments, the statement said, are with effect from yesterday.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation hails from Hong Local Government Area, Adamawa State.

    “He graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1979 with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree and worked with the Delta Steel Company, Aladja,  Nigerian External Telecommunications Limited and Data Sciences Limited before establishing his own ICT and Telecommunications consulting firm in 1990.

    “He is also a member of the Nigeria Computer Society, the Nigeria Society of Engineers and the  Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.

    “Alhaji Abba Kyari, the new Chief of Staff to the President, holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of Warwick in Law and Sociology.

    “He has worked with the New Nigeria Development Company, New Africa Holdings, African International Bank, United Bank for Africa, Unilever, and Mobil in various capacities over the years.

    “The new Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Ali, holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Criminology. He was  military administrator of Kaduna State from 1996 to 1998.

    “The new Comptroller- General of Immigration, Mr. Abeshi, hails from Nasarawa State.

    “He joined the Nigerian Immigration Service in 1989 as an Assistant Comptroller. His educational qualifications include a Masters Degree in Public Administration.”