The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Council of State meeting

  • Gowon, IBB, Abdusalami attend Buhari’s inaugural Council of State meeting

    Gowon, IBB, Abdusalami attend Buhari’s inaugural Council of State meeting

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday presided over his first Council of State meeting since his inauguration on May 29.

    The meeting started at about 11:10am when Buhari arrived at the Council Chamber venue of the meeting.

    The former leaders in attendance are – Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar (rtd) and Chief Ernest Shonekan.

    Former Presidents Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan were absent when the meeting started.

    Also absent at the meeting is the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki.

    Some state governors, deputy governors and other top government officials also attended the meeting, which was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

     

     

  • ‘Buhari will have less insecurity problems’

    ‘Buhari will have less insecurity problems’

    The National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, has assured that the incoming government will have fewer problems with insecurity.

    The Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, who disclosed this to State House Correspondents at the end of the Council of State meeting in Abuja, said the NSA briefed the Council on the successes against the insurgents, assuring that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s incoming administration with have fewer problems with insecurity.

    Governor Aliyu said, “On the security situation in the country, the National Security Adviser did a very comprehensive briefing on the security situations in the country among which was the successes recorded so far against Boko Haram and which are known to all Nigerians.”

    “But the NSA did mention that it took a while because after the civil war, Nigeria relaxed. There were no serious challenging security issues in the country ‎and so when Boko Haram emerged, it was a new phenomenon. The military and security agencies could not cope with it because nobody anticipated it.” He said

    “The NSA explained that it took time to tackle Boko Haram as they tried to get the collaborations of some surrounding African countries whom Nigeria had never had or shared security intelligence with.”

    “But now all of them are on board and it becomes easier for us to witness what we have witnessed, where we have Cameroon, Chad, Sudan and even Mali collaborating with Nigeria in order to fight this insurgency because they were also affected.”

    The governor said issues concerning clashes between herdsmen and farmers ‎were also addressed at the meeting.

     

     

  • Obasanjo, Buhari, Gowon, others attend Jonathan’s last Council of State meeting

    Obasanjo, Buhari, Gowon, others attend Jonathan’s last Council of State meeting

    … Ex- president arrives 40 minutes behind schedule

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was among former Nigeria leaders that attended Tuesday’s Council of State meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    However, the former president entered the Council Chamber venue of the meeting at 12.10pm, about 40 minutes behind schedule.  The meeting started at 11.30am after the arrival of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Other former Nigeria leaders that attended the meeting are – the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Chief Ernest Shonekan.

    Tuesday’s meeting will be the last under the outgoing President Jonathan.

    The state governors at the meeting are – Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Ramalan Yero (Kanuda), Sarieke Dickson (Bayelsa), James Ngilari (Adamawa), Tanko Almakura(Nasarawa) and Gabriel Suswam(Benue).

    Others are – Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Jonah Jang (Plateau) Liyel Imoke(Cross River), and Acting governor of Taraba State.

    Kano, Kogi, Oyo and Yobe States were represented by their deputy governors.

    The Senate President, David Mark, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and former Chief Justices of Nigeria including Muhammadu Uwais, Alfa Belgore and Idris Kutigi were also the meeting.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and the Chief of Staff to the President, Jones Arogbofa also attended the meeting.

    Opening Christian and Muslim prayers were said by the governors of Cross Rivers and Kaduna respectively.

     

  • Tambuwal, Buhari, APC governors shun Council of State meeting

    Tambuwal, Buhari, APC governors shun Council of State meeting

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambawal, was absent at the Council of State meeting held on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Following his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last week, Tambuwal’s security aides have been withdrawn with alleged underground moves to impeach him.

    The former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari and all the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors were also absent when the meeting started by 11.35am.

    Those at the meeting included former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Shehu Shagari, former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, and former Head of Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan.

    Also at the meeting are the Senate President, David Mark, former Chief Justices of Nigeria, Idris Kutigi, Mohammadu Uwais, National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim and the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke.

    The governors at the meeting when it started are that of Abia, Ekiti, Enugu, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Niger, Cross Rivers, Kogi, and Ebonyi States.

    Katsina Deputy Governor also attended the meeting.

  • Obasanjo, Buhari, Amaechi shun Council of State meeting

    Obasanjo, Buhari, Amaechi shun Council of State meeting

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former head of state, Gen. Muhammad Buhari and Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi were conspicuously absent at Tuesday’s Council of State meeting in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Tuesday’s meeting was attended by the former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, former president Shehu Shagari, former heads of state, Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalam Abubakar and former Head of the Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan.

    The Vice President, Namadi Sambo, Senate President, David Mark, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammad Uwais also attended the meeting.

    Governors that attended the meeting are – Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Sule Lamido (Jigawa).

    Others are – Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Liyel Imoke (Cross Rivers), Dickson Seriake (Bayelsa), Peter Obi (Anambra), Theodor Orji (Abia), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom)and Babangida Aliyu (Niger).

    Also at the Council of State meeting are – Yari Abdulaziz (Zamfara), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Saidu Dakingari (Kebbi), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) and Idris Wada (Kogi).

    The deputy governors at the meeting are that of Kano, Plateau and Borno States.

    But there was a mild drama before the meeting started and this centered on the sitting arrangement of two governors.

    Because of the ‘A’ alphabet starting with their state names, Abia Governor, Orji (Peoples Democratic Party), Adamawa Governor, Nyako (All Progressives Congress) and Akwa Ibom, Akpabio (PDP) had to sit together.

    Before the meeting started, Nyako told Orji that he was not comfortable sitting with him as he could poison him.

    Nyako said: “I am telling you don’t poison me here. I am not comfortable with you here. If anything happens to me here, walahi, my people will take you to court.”

    Orji replied: “For how many years have we been sitting together? Is it this zero hour that I would poison you?

    Nyako countered: “Who knows?”

    Turning to Martins Elechi, who joined them during the exchange, Nyako said: “I am just warning him not to poison me. Is there any law that says we should sit down together?