Tag: BUHARI
-
Buhari chairs AU’s Security council meeting
R: Deputy Secretary General UN Jan Eliasson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of African Union (AU) Commission, President Muhammadu Buhari, Commissioner for Peace and Security AU Amb. Smail Chergui. -
Buhari departs for AU summit
President Muhammadu Buhari has departed Abuja for South Africa on Saturday to attend the 25th African Union Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The President is scheduled to undertake his first continental assignment since resuming office by chairing a meeting of the Peace and Security Committee of the African Union during the summit.
In a press statement signed by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President: Buhari is expected to hold bilateral talks with other African leaders on the sidelines of the summit to consolidate his ongoing drive to secure Nigeria and Neighbouring Countries from Boko Haram.
“President Buhari is due back in Abuja on Tuesday at the conclusion of the summit which will focus mainly on continental peace and security,” Adesina noted.
-
Tears as Buhari, wife meet Chibok women
- Buhari’s wife, two Chibok women weep over Chibok girls at Defence House
The wife of the President, Aisha Buhari on Friday wept at the Defence House as she received two mothers of the over 200 Chibok school girls who were abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014
The two women, who also met with President Muhammadu Buhari, were weeping as they walked out from the meeting venue.
Vice President’s wife, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo was also at the closed-door meeting.
Speaking with journalists at the end of the meeting, Mrs. Osinbajo said: “Hajia Aisha Buhari had for many months, wanted to visit Chibok.
“She also wanted to meet with the mothers. Today, we had an opportunity for them to meet face to face.
“We had two of the mothers who still have their daughters missing after a year. Hajia being a mother met with them, held them and they cried, everybody cried.
“What only a mother will do is to say wait, I want you to see your father and see what your father will do. We were all extremely overwhelmed, that at this time when the President is so busy, he had time to meet with the women from Chibok.
“He spoke to them in English and Hausa. He explained to them how he keeps telling everybody to put themselves in their place.
“So, today, we have had the opportunity for the President and Hajia to show that they are our father and mother, for that we are glad.” She stated.
-
Buhari to act on Amnesty Int’l report
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday insisted that his government will closely study the report released recently by Amnesty International and act on it.
The report had accused top ranking officers of the Nigerian military of gross abuse of human rights.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said that the president was quite disturbed by the allegations in the report.
According to him, Buhari has already determined that one of the first assignments of the incoming Attorney General of the Federation would be to look into the Amnesty International report and advise the government on an appropriate course of action.
He said. “The next step is to look into the allegations and confirm or disprove the disturbing details.”
“This is in addition to the internal inquiry he asked the armed services to undertake by themselves,” he added
He also emphasised President Buhari’s commitment to human rights, and his promise that there would be no human rights abuses under his government.
“Any allegation of human rights abuse that takes place during the tenure of President Buhari’s government will be swiftly investigated and dealt with,” he said.
-
Buhari pays tribute to Amuka-Pemu at 80
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday paid tribute to the Chairman and Publisher of Vanguard newspapers, Chief Sam Amuka-Pemu, as he turns 80 on Saturday.
The president signed the tribute and sent it to Amuka-Pemu, the occasion afforded an opportunity to felicitate with the talented “gentleman of the press”.
He said the event “provides an opportunity for me and my family and indeed millions of fellow Nigerians, who have, in the past three decades been readers of products from media houses with which he has been involved.’’
The president said the media houses included Punch Newspapers, which Amuka-Pemu, started with the late Chief Olu Aboderin.
“Nigeria has been well served by the presence of the legendary Sam Amuka in the media in the capacity of journalist and columnist with the Daily Times group, of which he served as Editor of the Sunday Times.
“It is impossible to forget his contributions to the Nigerian public through his famous column, Sad-Sam, which provided millions of compatriots much satirical, literary and even political communication satisfaction,’’ Buhari said.
He said the contributions of Amuka-Pemu to the progress of the Nigerian press had manifested in the growth and management of Punch and Vanguard as well as the principled positions he had consistently taken on political stability, accountability and the rule of law.
“Chief Sam Amuka-Pemu has provided a worthy example on the fruits that professionalism, industry and teamwork to achieve desired goals can yield to even the humblest and most silent among professionals, as well as the society members with whom they share their lives.
“The Federal Government, therefore, wishes Sam Sam/Uncle Sam good health and even more happiness and progress in the years ahead,’’ the president added.
-
AAAN to Buhari: appoint expert as minister
President Muhammadu Buhari has been advised to appoint a skilled marketing communication professional as the Minister of Information.
The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) gave the advice in a statement.
Its President, Mr. Kelechi Nwosu, noted that the new role of the Ministry of Information is far beyond the traditional role of acting as a catalyst in disseminating information and management of the information machinery of the government.
The association believes that the position is of strategic importance hence the ideal minister should have a track record of brand building and executing high impact communication strategies and frameworks in the interest of the nation.
Kelechi said: “The country has been confronted with several image and brand positioning challenges of recent and critical in complicating the problems has been the absence of brand communication expertise as a strong consideration in the appointment of the heads of the country’s Information Ministry. But we are happy that the new government rode to power, driven by the campaign slogan of Change. For us, this change should be extended to the appointments of professionals to manage relevant strategic offices.”
He added that information management has become very complicated and requires a professional with proven track record in handling complex projects.
He added: “In the global balance of relationships, perception is everything. But we have toyed with managing the complicated communication challenges of the country, using non-professionals that practically spend their tenure learning on the job and employing knee-jerk strategies on a job that demands deliberate strategic long term planning. This has not worked and we believe our new President will extend the mantra of change that brought him into office to the area of working with professionals for the nation’s information management processes.”
Nwosu added that the challenge of rebuilding the confidence of other countries and getting the buy-in of Nigerians in the task of rebuilding the country requires a lot work in perception management and only a professional information manager would be capable of weaving the threads together to ensure that Nigeria regains its pride of place in the global community.
He said further that Nigeria as a high value brand needs a team of committed, qualified and retained Integrated Marketing consultants to work with the minister and the government to position and communicate the vision and policies.
-
Boko Haram: Buhari to offset pledge to MNJTF
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday promised to pay up the $100 million pledged by Nigeria to boost the Multi-National Joint Task Force’s (MNJTF) efforts in the battle against Boko Haram.
He made the promise during the Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The meeting, which started at 10:50am was attended by Presidents of Niger Republic, Mahamadou Issoufou, Chad’s Idriss Deby Itno, Boni Yayi of Benin Republic, and Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari.
Camerounian President, Paul Biya, was represented by the country Minister of Defence at the meeting.
He said: “Permit me, at this junction, to recall that Nigeria has already pledged the sum of $100 million for the smooth take off of the MNJTF. I hereby reassure you that my government will keep faith with this promise.”
Harping on the need to strengthen cross border patrol and intelligence sharing, he said that efforts must be targeted at limiting the insurgents’ capacity to access funds and weapons
He also kicked against six months duration for change of the command and control structure of the MNJTF.
He said: “While I agree that this is a joint operation with shared responsibilities, I am, however, of the opinion that military operations that are subjected to a rapid turnover of command and control structures, six months duration, as it is being proposed in the documents before us, do not augur well for effectiveness and efficiency.
“Such a process will undermine, even if it not intended, the military capacity to sustain the push against the insurgents, who also have the uncanny ability to adapt and rejig their operational strategies.”
He urged the leaders to allow Nigeria control the force throughout the period of the war against Boko Haram.
Buhari said: “I am inclined, on account of the above, to suggest for your excellences consideration that Nigeria retains the position of the Force Commander of the MNJTF for the period of the war effort.
“This command will be to the effectiveness of military strategy, since Nigeria will be providing the bulk of the troops and the main theatre of the war is on Nigerian soil.”
He spoke further: “Our meeting today is premised on common resolve and commitment of member states of Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin to maintain the momentum in degrading the capacity of the insurgents until they are completely defeated.
“It is also going out with urgency to mitigate the suffering which has been imposed on our civilian population by the nefarious activities of the insurgents and the terrorists.
“Our meeting today provides us an excellent opportunity to finalize the instruments of the operations of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in order to give life to our joint military campaign to decisively defeat the insurgents.
“You will recall in my inaugural address on 29th May 2015, I affirmed that I will consult regularly with heads of government of our immediate neighborhood and I have within four days of my assumption of duty as President embarked on a thank you visits to the Presidents of Niger and Chad. This important assignment was however interrupted because I had to honor the invitation extended to me by the G-7 member states to attend their meeting in Germany.”
The President said that he intends to continue his thank you visits to the remaining Lake Chad Basin Commission member states very shortly.
-
Presidency: Saraki, clerk snubbed Buhari, APC
The Presidency yesterday accused Senate President Bukola Saraki and National Assembly Clerk Salisu Maikasuwa of defying President Muhammadu Buhari to conduct Tuesday’s election.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu said there was a request for the National Assembly to move the time of the inauguration of the Senate for the meeting between the President and the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers to hold.
Shehu, who spoke on Channels TV, said Buhari declined to meet the 51 APC lawmakers at the International Conference Centre (ICC) because the process of the election of the Senate President had already begun as he was about to leave his house for the meeting.
According to Shehu, the point of going to the ICC was lost once the process of election had begun.
A controversy ensued on Tuesday at the Senate, as only 57 of the 109 senators elected the president. The others went to honour President Buhari’s invitation .
Saraki was elected President. Minority Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Ike Ekweremadu was elected Deputy Senate President.
Senator Ahmed Lawan and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have rejected Saraki’s election.
Shehu said: “Well, President Buhari had planned to be there to show support for the party and once the process had begun, the point had been lost. Let me make this clear, I think somebody just wanted to bump into the President because the President had discussed what he wanted with Saraki directly or indirectly. The clerk of the National Assembly was reached directly or indirectly and they would have shown that respect for Mr. President but the process went ahead. And that is it.
“I am talking about the clerk, Saraki, the key characters … had sufficient information directly or indirectly coming to them that the President will be meeting the party members and the party chairman was on the ground. Assumption would have been that every loyal, committed party member would have presented themselves to the party and to their President. That did not happen yesterday.
“I mean the information had been made available to people who would have decided this process. Respect should have been for the President, even if the outcome would have been the same. They chose to be absent. They chose to disrespect their party and the President; 51 APC senators decided to answer the call of the party and the President and were present for this meeting. It was not as if it was a secret meeting.
“The party had begun a process and concluded it and some of these actors were part of that process. They knew what had happened. There was a shadow election of some sort. It is clear that there was nothing accidental in all of this things that happened. The APC as a party had begun a process for choosing leaders. There was a shadow election in which leaders were chosen on the platform of the political party and it was complete. There was no doubt about it.
“A meeting was scheduled for 9 o’clock because the president needed the meeting in order to show solidarity with the party. The president wanted to show that he stood with the party. The process had begun and it was complete and that good party men should respect that process. The President was about stepping out when you guys on television were showing this action live. So the whole point had been missed. There was no point going ahead. Well, understand me correctly, in terms of protocol and all of that, the President would not have moved out of his home if he had not received confirmation that all was set for the meeting. It was nearing 10 o’clock when party leadership said ‘you can now come’.”
Shehu debunked claims that the meeting was secret, adding that the invitation for the meeting was online and all efforts had been made to notify the key people involved in the drama that played out.
He also denied that President Buhari deliberately kept the 51 APC lawmakers at the ICC in order for them not to participate in the election.
He, however, said Buhari will work with whoever is the Senate President, adding that the President will support whatever decision the APC takes.
Shehu added that the President had not congratulated the Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara for their victories.
“The President is a democrat. He acknowledged that the process had been complete and he is not the one to interfere in the affairs of the National Assembly. He has to respect the constitution of this country and in essence he is saying ‘I will work with whoever is there, whether they are happy or they are not happy, that is a different thing. He had to obey the laws of this country. The President is a constitutional man. He will abide by the laws of the country and he will work with whoever is there. In this case, he has never committed to any single candidate.
“The point we are making is that the President stands with the party… You have a situation in which constitution says majority of the members of the Senate will be choosing their leaders. 51 senators have not been given the chance to take their own oath. Do you have a complete Senate in that situation?
“The President is a party man. He is not above the party. He is subject to control by the party and, therefore, he has been involved in all of these processes and he is not the one to tear down the party that put him there.”
-
Speaker writes Buhari, Saraki
Yakubu Dogara has written to President Muhammadu Buhari of his emergence as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Olasunkanmi Sulaimon as the Deputy Speaker.
The Senate President was also notified officially of the development.
In the letter read on the floor of the House yesterday, Dogara said the emergence of the two House leaders followed the assembly of a quorum of the House that elected them.
The letter further directed the Clerk of the National Assembly to notify the President through the Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF) that, having assembled and properly constituted, the House is ready to recieve any message he may wish to transmit.
Plenary was however adjourned to 23 June, 2015 without the selection of Principal officers of the House.
In its first sitting, the 8th House debated a motion of urgent national importance by Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) on National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.
The motion was unanimously supported and passed.
Before the adjournment, however, the Speaker informed members of the provisions of the standing rules of the House on the selection and composition of principal officers and Standing Committees.
He said the Principal Officers and the Selection Committee to be chaired by the Speaker would be compared soon.
Plenary resumes on 23 June, 2015.
-
PENGASSAN urges Buhari to support oil workers training
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to support the workers in the oil and gas industry for training, research and development in all aspects of petroleum operations and technology to enhance the acquisition of skills and foster competitiveness.
The oil workers’ union has also called for effective utilisation of the seismic data and other discoveries made under the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) research partnerships as well as the exploration of values created by the PTDF trained scholars to augment the industry’s skills/expertise gap.
PENGASSAN’s President, Comrade Francis Johnson made the call in Lagos while briefing reporters.
He said: “We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to aggressively support the workers in the oil and gas industry to deepen training, research and development in all aspects of petroleum operations and technology to enhance the acquisition of skillset/expertise and foster competitiveness because the key driver of any industrial and economic growth is Research and Development.
“The need to continuously train oil workers and improve on research and development is one of the most important factors that will cause the effective drive which will make the oil sector accomplish optimal performance”.
According him, the PTDF has also done extensive research which led to the development and patenting of Zeolite, a catalyst for the improved refining of heavy crudes, which is produced from local clay.
“In view of the position of President Buhari on the need to resume exploration activities in the Chad Basin, we are aware that the PTDF has done extensive research on the chad basin from 2003 to date through one of its upgrade facilities at the University of Maiduguri on the “effect of volcanic and intrusive generation and accumulation of hydrocarbons in Nigeria’s flange of the Chad Basin,” he said.