The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BUHARI

  • David-West to Okonjo-Iweala: Buhari doesn’t need your advice

    David-West to Okonjo-Iweala: Buhari doesn’t need your advice

    A former Minister of Petroleum, Prof. Tam David-West, has replied the Minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, over her advice on how the incoming administration of Gen Muhammadu Buhari can increase revenue, saying the new president does not need her expertise.

    David-West, who spoke to our reporter in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital Friday, said Buhari is highly experienced in the art of governance, stressing that he knows what to do to manage the economy well.

    He said that while Okonjo-Iweala supervises a Nigerian economy where a United States (US) dollar exchanges for N190, Buhari, during his days as the Head of State, supervised an economy where N1 exchanged for US$1.5.

    His words: “I read Okonjo-Iweala’s advice to Gen. Buhari on how to raise revenue with interest and amusement. I don’t think that Buhari needs any advice from her on the subject. He is not new on the terrain. He is a very knowledgeable person on how to move the economy forward. I don’t believe he needs advice from Okonjo-Iweala.

    “When Buhari was in charge, oil was $30 per barrel. It even went down to $15 per barrel. Yet, he managed the economy very well. Oil price is now double that price and they are complaining that oil price has fallen.

    “Buhari can manage the economy better than Okonjo-Iweala. He never took International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan neither did he flirt with IMF. He refused to devalue the Naira in spite of the problem the country was facing from different areas. $1.5 exchanged for N1. But during Okonjo-Iweala’s time, it is N190 to $1.

    “Finally, it was N2 to £1. During Okonjo-Iweala’s time, it is N240 to £1. Buhari did not import fuel; he was exporting whereas Okonjo-Iweala imports fuel with bogus subsidy running to trillions of Naira. And she has not been able to arrest anyone involved in subsidy scam let alone get a refund from any of them.

    “Nigeria is the only country in the world where Okonjo-Iweala is the Finance Minister and coordinating the economy where provision is made for fraud in the annual budget by way of subsidy. So, Buhari does not need her advice.”

  • Baptist Convention to Buhari: Don’t let Nigerians down

    Baptist Convention to Buhari: Don’t let Nigerians down

    The Nigerian Baptist Convention has urged the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, not to disappoint Nigerians on his promise of fight against corruption, unemployment, erratic power supply, insecurity, poor infrastructure, among other ills that has bedeviled the nation.

    The Convention also advised the President-elect not to appoint corrupt politicians who may have been pressurizing him for positions in his team and also to cut down the size of his government to make money available for social and economic development.

    The President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, who stated this in Owerri, the Imo State capital during a media conference ahead of the 102 annual convention of the Baptist Church, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting “credible elections throughout the Federation”.

    According to him, “INEC through the credible conduct of the 2015 general elections has given the country a new and better name before the international community.”

    He however urged the Commission to ensure that all complaints emanating from the elections are addressed and lections rescheduled in places where need be.

    The Convention also lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for laying the foundation for a credible election and accepting defeat, “we equally congratulate the outgoing President for making possible credible elections. It appears unprecedented in our nation. He had prevented bloodshed in the nation by calling the President-elect and congratulating him. He is the hero of our democracy.”

  • Buhari, Ezekwesili, Chimamanda on Time’s influential list

    Buhari, Ezekwesili, Chimamanda on Time’s influential list

    Nigeria’s President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili and bestselling author, Chimamanda Adichie are on the TIME magazine’s world’s 100 most influential peoples list.

    Excerpts from their profile on TIME’s website:

    Muhammadu Buhari  – A new choice for Nigeria (by Aryn Baker)

    Muhammadu Buhari made history in March by becoming the first candidate to oust a sitting Nigerian President through the ballot box. Now he has to live up to voters’ expectations.

    From battling the Boko Haram insurgency to tackling endemic corruption, Buhari has many challenges ahead. The greatest may be overcoming his past as a military ruler who seized power in 1983. Already the born-again democrat is demonstrating the inclusivity necessary to lead a nation driven by ethnic and religious tensions.

    “We must begin to heal the wounds and work toward a better future,” he said in his April 1 victory speech. “We do this first by extending a hand of friendship and conciliation across the political divide.” It’s a promising start for a President-to-be who wants to leave a legacy to match the historic conditions of his election.

    Oby Ezekwesili (by Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe)

    Like northern Uganda, where I live, northern Nigeria is very isolated. For many years, the women who were abducted from our region remained invisible.

    So although I have not met Obiageli Ezekwesili, I know the #BringBackOurGirls campaign that she championed is very important. It would have taken a long time to raise awareness about the girls taken by Boko Haram without her using her platform as a former Minister of Education.

    We need to remember that these girls are undergoing psychological and maybe physical torture. So I love that the campaign says, “Bring back our girls,” and not “Bring back my child.” Everybody is in unison with the parents and the relatives. Everyone is feeling their pain. Everyone will be ready to embrace the girls and offer them care and compassion if they are rescued or manage to escape.

    It has been a year, and the girls haven’t been rescued, but she has made a difference by speaking about it. Not just speaking but shouting. I know some people will say she is too loudmouthed. The loud mouth is needed. People hear it.

    Chimamanda Adichie  – Conjurer of character (by Radhika Jones)

    It’s the rare novelist who in the space of a year finds her words sampled by Beyoncé, optioned by Lupita Nyong’o and honored with the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. But the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is just that sort of novelist.

    A MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, Adichie writes of the complex aftermath of Nigeria’s colonial history and her nation’s rise to prominence in an era when immigration to the West no longer means a one-way ticket. With her viral TEDxEuston talk, “We Should All Be Feminists,” she found her voice as cultural critic. (You can hear it rising midway through Beyoncé’s woman-power anthem “Flawless.”)

    She sets her love stories amid civil war (Half of a Yellow Sun) and against a backdrop of racism and migration (Americanah). But her greatest power is as a creator of characters who struggle profoundly to understand their place in the world.

     

     

  • Buhari, wife change Twitter accounts

    Buhari, wife change Twitter accounts

    The President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari and First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari  have changed their Twitter addresses.

    Buhari’s new Twitter account according a statement by Alexandar  Yang  of StateCraft, a governance communication firm, is @MBuhari, and the First Lady will now tweet from the @ABuhari.

    The accounts @ThisIsBuhari and @IAmAishaBuhari will no longer be connected to either party.

    For the latest news and updates on both as they transition into being the First Family, the @MBuhari and @ABuhari accounts will be a key channel of communication as the President-elect works to fulfill his promises to the nation.

    Muhammadu Buhari joined Twitter on December 22, 2014, soon after winning the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress, gaining a following of several thousand within hours.

    His wife, Aisha Buhari, joined in March 2015, and also has a substantial following.

  • Biden reassures Buhari on Boko Haram, Chibok girls

    Biden reassures Buhari on Boko Haram, Chibok girls

    U‎nited States has again reassured President-elect, Gen Muhammadu Buhari of  of its readiness to support Nigeria in the efforts to recover the over 200 kidnapped Chibok girls.

    The support, according to US Vice President, Joe Biden, also includes the fight against Boko Haram.

    The over 200 secondary school girls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok, Borno state a year ago.

    Vice President Biden made this known during a telephone chat with Nigeria President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

    Biden who spoke with Nigerian President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him on his victory in the recent Nigerian elections according to excerpts from their discussion which was made available to Diplomatic Correspondents in Abuja also said his country was ready to expand collaboration with Nigeria in the new dispensation.

    ‎According to the readout “Vice President Biden spoke with Nigerian President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him on his victory in the recent Nigerian elections and affirm that the United States stands ready to expand collaboration with Nigeria on issues of common concern, including economic and security matters.

    “The Vice President commended President-elect Buhari for his leadership in helping to ensure the elections were conducted peacefully and urged him to continue to foster a smooth, inclusive, and peaceful transition with President Jonathan.

    “The Vice President expressed the United States’ support for Nigeria’s efforts to counter Boko Haram, recover hostages held by the group, and protect civilian populations.  The Vice President also expressed the willingness of the United States to partner more closely with Nigeria to strengthen its economy.‎”

  • There’ll be positive change, Buhari assures Nigerians

    There’ll be positive change, Buhari assures Nigerians

    President-elect Muhammdu Buhari is confident that there will be positive changes in the polity.

    But he is pleading for understanding, urging the citizenry not to expect immediate results from his administration when it takes office on May 29.

    Gen. Buhari spoke yesterday at his Daura, Katsina State home when Jigawa State Governor-elect Alhaji Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar, senators-elect and would-be House of Representatives members from the state visited him.

    The president-elect urged Nigerians to exercise patience, saying corrective policies would take time to achieve results.

    He reiterated his administration’s commitment to fighting economic sabotage, bribery, corruption and insecurity.

    His words: “People should not expect change immediately because of accumulation of problems in the country. There is need for more time and prayer from the public for the incoming administration to handle matters and bring change.

    “I am affirming my commitment to fighting economic sabotage, insecurity, bribery and corruption.”

    Abubakar said they were in Daura to reiterate their loyalty and support for the president-elect.

    He said the state would support the incoming All Progressives Congress (APC) government’s policies to bring positive change.

    The governor-elect was accompanied by his deputy, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, the three senators-elect and 11 would-be members of the House of Representatives, who won on APC platform, as well as the party’s leaders and the officials of the National Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).

    What will be the priority areas of the incoming federal government? The fine-tuning of the mid-term and long-term plans was at the centre of discussions yesterday as the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) met for many hours in Abuja.

    The meeting due to end today, will make recommendations to President-elect Muhamadu Buhari, according to National Publicity secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    “All we discussed was to make recommendations on how the transition committee should hit the ground running; what should be immediate mid-term and long term priority of government.

    “This government is not going to be like before, we discussed serious issues and honestly, I am telling you what we discussed since morning has been what should be the priority of government. Power sharing was not discussed… We are going to resume the discussion tomorrow”.

    On how the on the transition committee which will interface with the federal government’s team he said “I don’t even know the members myself, because we only made recommendations to the President-elect”, Mohammed said.

    Speaking on the governorship elections, Mohammed said: “We are not satisfied with what happened in Akwa Ibom, what happened in Rivers, we are very dissatisfied with what happened in Taraba state, we are waiting to see what is going to happen in Imo and I think tomorrow the candidate in Taraba state is going to address the media on what happened in her state”.

    Asked to confirm reports the President elect will prone down the number of ministries, he said: “Nothing like that was ever discussed.”

  • Professionals hail Jonathan, Buhari

    Professionals hail Jonathan, Buhari

    The League of Anambra Professionals (LAP) has congratulated President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari on his victory. They also hailed President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat, describing it as an eternal investment in the peace and progress of Nigeria.

    In a statement yesterday, LAP President Willy Nzewi said: “We congratulate the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari on his well-earned victory. We also congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan on his graceful submission to the will of the majority.”

    Nzewi said the League is particularly pleased with the peaceful outcome of the election, since there can be no meaningful development in an environment of bitterness and insecurity.

    LAP urged Buhari to give priority to the fight against corruption and ensure rapid development of infrastructure as promised in his acceptance speech.

  • ‘Buhari didn’t walk out Custom’s CG’

    ‘Buhari didn’t walk out Custom’s CG’

    President-elect Muhammadu Buhari yesterday dismissed reports that he walked some government officials out of his Daura, Katsina State home.

    Director, Media and Publicity of the APC presidential campaign, Mallam Garba Shehu said in a statement that the incident only took place in the writer’s imagination.

     “It was a false and an inaccurate presentation of the facts of what transpired when some government officials visited the President-elect at his Daura country home. It is totally out of  Buhari’s character to ask his visitors out.”

    Shehu stated that the alleged visit by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Abdullahi Inde only happened in the imagination of the said publication, saying ‘he did not come visiting at any time.’

    On the visit of the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr. Ade Abolurin, Shehu said the Buhari was in another  meeting when the Commandant-General came and there was no way the President-elect could receive the new visitors.

    “He was merely passing through the town and thought to stop by. As a matter of fact, words were promptly sent to the gentleman and his delegation that Buhari was unable to meet them  owing to the fact of an-going meeting.

    “The president-elect welcomes positive suggestions from every Nigerian about how to bring progressive change to the country. He will not walk anyone who had come to discuss ways of developing the country. Courtesy and civility will not permit that to happen. It is equally not his character.”

  • Chibok Girls: Action Aid seeks help for Buhari

    Chibok Girls: Action Aid seeks help for Buhari

    An international Non‎ Governmental Organisation (NGO), Action Aid Nigeria Wednesday called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other stakeholders to provide needed support for the President Elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to seek safe return of the missing Chibok girls.

    New Country Director of the NGO, Dr. Ojobo Atuluku made the appeal during the organisation’s change of leadership briefing in Abuja.

    Atuluku said it was important for the incoming administration to provide adequate security to educational facilities in the country.

    According to her, it was incredible that the school girls still remained missing a year after being kidnapped.

    Atuluku said: “My advise to the new government is to prioritise bringing back the missing girls. The PDP government should provide needed supports. It is on our agenda. It is so incredible that 200 girls cannot be found.

    “The political parties should ensure they are brought back to their family. They should also prioritise security ‎to educational areas.”

    She added that the new government should focus on economic development, security and accountability.

    However, she stated that Action Aid was committed to giving dignified life to the people.

    Earlier, the outgoing Country Director, Dr. Hussaini Abdu described the NGO as such that was ready to meet yearning of the people.

    Abdu said he was able to integrate the NGO from Action Aid Nigeria to Action Aid International Federation, a status of dual identity.

    He urged the staffs to provide same support he enjoyed to ‎his successor.

  • Akhigbe task Buhari on energy generation

    Akhigbe task Buhari on energy generation

    Apparently worried by the incessant power supply and corruption in some sectors of the economy, a chieftain of the All Progressives  Congress in Edo state has urged the President elect, Maj.- Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, to live up to his pledge to eradicate corruption in the country and improve on energy generation.

    Comrade John Akhigbe, made the call in an interview with the Newsmen in Benin City, the Edo state capital

    Akhigbe said that corruption had brought so much set back to the socio-economic growth and political stability of the country.

    He explained that eradication of corruption would enable Nigerians to reap the dividends of democracy.

    He called on Nigerians to eschew ethnic sentiments and religious bigotry, which are factors militating against the country’s socio-political and economic development.

    He pointed out that Nigerians, irrespective of tribe, religion, culture and political inclination, are capable of coming together to make the country great under the right leadership.

    Comrade Akhigbe who is the Executive director to the Edo state government on Protocol also lauded the efforts of Nigerians for practically demonstrating maturity that led to the peaceful conduct of the most keenly contested election in Nigeria’s political history.

    “If I am to set an agenda for him, power and corruption should occupy the pride of place; this should be like in the short term. I don’t believe in those people who says he should not probe, for me, he must probe some sectors including the NNPC

    “Nigerians want to know what has happened in NNPC, there is so much corruption in the oil and gas sector. For me, I want to see him addressing power and corruption while the other sector can have their place,” he said