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Tag: Garba Shehu

  • Buhari seeks sustained sub-regional security operations to tackle threats

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja called for intensified and sustained security operation across the West African sub-region to tackle the rising threats of insurgents and bandits.

    According to him, only a collective fight will halt the threats to lives and property.

    He made the remark while receiving the Letter of Credence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Mali to Nigeria, Mr Moustapha Traore, at the Presidential Villa.

    In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, President Buhari said the sub-region would continue struggling with the basics of development so long as people live in fear and uncertainty.

    He said “The problems of terrorism and banditry have persisted in our countries, and we are doing our best to secure lives and property, but we tend to underestimate cross-border influences.

    Read Also: Buhari to youths: Wait till 2023 for Presidency

    “Take for instance, the external influences on Boko Haram, and the impact of what happened in Libya. These are very critical issues that must be looked into because they are all at the expense of development,’’ he said.

    In his remarks, the Ambassador of Mali said that he would work hard to strengthen bilateral relations in areas of intelligence sharing between the security agents of both countries, and issues related to trade and economic development.

    “My President holds you in very high regard Your Excellency, and he praises your achievements in security and the economy since 2015,’’ he added.

    President Buhari, who also received a Letter of Credence from the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia, Mr Dura Likar, assured him of Nigeria’s full commitment to improving bilateral relations, especially in the areas of trade and security.

    Mr Likar told the President that Serbia remains interested in building relations with Nigeria in security, education, sports and trade.

    “Let me say Serbia is ready to help and support the Nigerian armed forces and we have had a long standing relationship,’’ the Serbian Ambassador said.

  • Presidency faults Amnesty report on security agencies

    The Presidency on Wednesday faulted the recent report released by the Amnesty International alleging human rights violation by Nigerian security agencies.

    According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, the report is inherently battling with credibility, falling vehemently short of evidential narration.

    He said “It is short on credibility because it does not contain factual leads that could have laid the foundation for investigative actions.

    “Findings are attributed to people but proper description of such people constituting the source of information is not provided.

    “Engagement was claimed to have been made with Nigerian authorities but which authority is it, is not provided with clarity. This then is just a wild goose chase report, in essence.

    “In some breath, the report seemed like the one in 2015, and the one in 2016, and the one after that year, the same things being recycled again and again.

    “It ignores the fact of the existing mechanisms put in place by the military, as a self-correcting step and the high-level committee constituted by the Presidency to examine any such claims.

    “Over this period of time, the Nigerian military had indeed established cases of abuse and punishments meted out from Orderly Room trials and Court Martials that resulted in losses of rank, dismissals, and trials and convictions by civil courts.

    “Indeed as President Buhari said during his recent joint press conference with President Trump at the White House: “the government of Nigeria remains deeply committed to the principles of human rights, as well as promotion and protection of people’s freedom, even in the process of fighting terror. We commit to ensure that all documented cases of human rights abuses are investigated, and those responsible for violation held responsible.”

  • Buhari happy with Nigeria – U.S relations

    President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed satisfaction with the current level of relationship between Nigeria and the United States.

    The President, who spoke on the issue when he received a telephone call from the U.S. Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo also used the opportunity to congratulate the new Secretary of State on his appointment.

    The President, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, also recalled his past meeting with Mr Pompeo, then as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and thanked him for the enormous support the U.S. has extended to the Nigerian security and intelligence services.

    Read Also: Pompeo calls Buhari, reaffirms Nigeria-U.S relations

    The President requested the Secretary of State to extend his appreciation to President Donald Trump for the warm reception he was given in the course of his recent visit to the White House.

    Secretary Pompeo assured President Buhari that with him in the Department of State, relations between both countries would get even better.

    He reiterated the desire of the U.S to continue to pursue, side by side with Nigeria, matters of common interest on the African continent, including the fight against terrorism and corruption, trade and development.

  • Nigeria’s economy improving, says Buhari 

    …Says future is bright

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the nation’s economy is steadily improving, as he urged Nigerians to remain optimistic as the future of the country is bright.

    He spoke at a State dinner held Monday, in his honour by the Government of Jigawa State during his two-day working visit to the state.

    In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, President Buhari called on Nigerians to continue to support his administration’s well thought-out economic policies.

    He said “The future is bright for Nigeria, as the economy has taken a turn for the better, our foreign reserves are almost twice the level we met, boosting investor confidence and stabilising the Naira, and inflation has declined consecutively for more than a year.

    “The Federal government released over N1 trillion for capital projects in 2016 and N1.5 trillion in 2017, figures that are unprecedented in Nigeria’s history,” the President said.

    Read Also:‘Nigeria’s economy is destination of choice’

    President Buhari listed the ‘Shuwarin overpass’ and ‘Dutse-Shuwarin-Kiyawa’ portion of the Kano – Maiduguri expressway as well as the ‘Dutse-Laraba highway extension as part of areas in which Jigawa State has benefited from the federal government’s commitment to infrastructural rejuvenation.

    He commended Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State for emulating his administration’s commitment to infrastructure development despite severely limited resources available to the State.

    The President also lauded the State government for subscribing to the Federal government’s renewable energy master plan by having the largest solar power investment portfolio in the country — the 330 megawatts joint solar power development station situated in Gwiwa Local Government of the State.

    Commending the success of the federal government’s Social Intervention Programme in Jigawa State, the President urged states that are yet to access the over N500 billion budgeted for the scheme due to “its stringent eligibility guidelines” to fully take advantage of the programme.

    He equally lauded Governor Badaru’s efforts as the head of the fertilizer supply and distribution programme which has resulted in “unprecedented availability of fertilizer to farmers at zero level.”

    The President told the governor: “Your Excellency, you have done well. You deserve the support of your people to keep it up.”

  • Nigeria’s agricultural revolution on course – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Auyo, Jigawa State, said that Nigeria’s agricultural revolution is real and on course.

    He spoke at an event marking the commencement of the rehabilitation and expansion of the 6,000-hectare Hadejia Valley irrigation project in the state.

    President Buhari, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, also assured Nigerians that his administration would sustain the positive momentum in the sector by implementing the right policies and providing the needed financial resources for people-oriented projects.

    The President, who is in Jigawa State for a two-day working visit, expressed delight that the Federal Government’s economic diversification and inclusive growth programmes were yielding positive results, particularly in key food-producing states.

    He applauded the World Bank’s assistance to the project, which when completed would increase water availability for all-season farming in the State and beyond.

    Also speaking, the Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu explained that works on the Phase One of the project which started in the early eighties during the administration of President Shehu Shagari and received some funding under the Petroleum Special Trust Fund had suffered frequent abandonment due to lack of funds.

    Adamu said with N9.6 billion allocated under the $495 million World Bank-assisted Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) project in five different irrigation locations in Nigeria, the project would be completed by 2021.

    ‘‘By the time the project is finished in three years, there would be about 6,000 hectares of farmland and the Jigawa State Government also plans to key into the project that will benefit over 25,000 farmers,’’ the Minister said.

    In Jigawa, the President commissioned the 42-kilometre Tasheguwa-Guri Road and the 32-kilometre Abunabo-Kadira-Guri road constructed by the State government to facilitate easier movement and evacuation of farm produce.

    President Buhari also commissioned the 250,000 solar- powered water supply schemes.

    The project is one out of nine of such projects which will add nine million litres to daily water supply in Dutse and environs.

  • Buhari condoles Pastor Bakare over mother’s death

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with Pastor Tunde Bakare, General Overseer of Latter Rain Assembly  on the death of his mother, Mrs Abigail Eebudola Bakare.

    In a telephone call to his friend and one time running mate, President Buhari urged the cleric and the Bakare family to take solace in the fact that the late Mrs Bakare lived long enough to witness the enormous successes achieved by her children.

    The President, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, called on the bereaved family to uphold the cherished ideals of community service, kindness and generosity associated with the matriarch of the Bakare family, who died on May 5, 2018, aged 108.

    Read Also: Buhari congratulates Fayemi for winning APC Guber ticket

  • Buhari approves new security measures to tackle Kaduna killings

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of a new Battalion of the Nigerian Army, as well as a new Police Area Command in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the president, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement in Abuja on Monday said these were part of measures to scale up the security response to the banditry affecting the area.

    The presidential aide quoted the president as strongly condemning the latest massacre of innocent Nigerians in the area.

    The president said: “I am deeply outraged by this unwarranted, unprovoked and reckless destruction of lives by bandits who belong to the lowest level of civilisation.

    “I feel the pains and devastation of the families of the victims, and this administration will do everything possible to ensure we defeat these enemies of humanity.”

    According to the president, security remains a priority for his government, and his administration will not tolerate the persistent killing of innocent people in order to set Nigerians against one another.

    He observed that “these persistent killings are not spontaneous; there are subterranean forces with a sinister agenda to instigate war in the country for selfish purposes.

    “Although unconventional war is particularly complicated, our security forces are making rigorous efforts to better understand these enemies with a view to decisively checkmating their evil attacks’’.

    Buhari extended his condolences to the families of the victims, the government and the people of Kaduna State over this unfortunate tragedy.

    He assured that his administration would never abandon them to their fate.

    The statement observed that the new Army Battalion and the Police Area Command are the latest in a series of law enforcement measures to ensure more effective protection of lives and property, in and around Benue, Kaduna, Taraba, Zamfara and Nasarawa states.

    It recalled that the Nigerian Air Force last week took delivery of two new helicopter gunships for deployment to parts of the country affected by banditry.

    “A Quick Response Wing has also been established by the Nigerian Air Force in Taraba State, while a Joint Military Intervention Force is fully on ground in Benue,’’ the statement added.

  • PDP’s letter to UN beyond comprehension says Presidency

    The Presidency on Monday said that the letter written by the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Mr. Uche Secondus to the United Nations Secretary General accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of several allegations confirmed the opposition party as a bad loser, desperate for another chance after they were kicked out for failing the nation and its people.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu said that the letter which is no less preposterous and comical, have shown that the opposition accused the Nigerian government of “destroying Nigeria’s democracy.”

    He added “PDP’s lecture on democracy and the rule of law coming from a party with a tradition of undemocratic rule is a desperate attempt to pervert history and the course of justice.

    “The sermon is both trite and hollow, coming from a party with intolerance for dissent as its hallmark.  A party that humiliated opposition parties and stunted their growth. This was the atmosphere that nurtured the birth of the All Progressives Congress (APC.)

    “The war against corruption, for which many more politicians may soon be docked, cannot be misrepresented as an attack on human rights and Mr. Secondus should not try to mislead the UN.

    “Nigerian politicians at all levels have been used to dispensing with state funds in whatever manner they please, and to have someone, an administration, finally saying, “No. It doesn’t matter how big or important you think you are; the law must come against you…” That is not something they are used to at all. For the PDP, as has now emerged, national security was the major source of their funding.

    “The PDP Chairman and all other politicians against whom the country’s anti-corruption agencies have on-going investigations, should be assured that it is only a matter of time before the law catches up with them, and makes them pay for the grief their mismanagement of the past has caused, and is still causing Nigerians. Nigerians suffered because of the poison sowed by the PDP.

    “If the public were privy to some of the facts and figures on corruption that President Buhari and the anti-corruption agencies are, they would understand the passion that drives the determination to nail these callous men and stop them in their corrupt tracks.

    “Regarding the accusation that President Buhari is behind the spate of herdsmen and farmer clashes in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, all we will say is that it as an embarrassing charge that the PDP would make, conveying an allegation from the beer parlours of Nigeria to an international body like the UN.

    “The PDP certainly has no shred of evidence to make such an allegation.  These are comments driven by tribalism and that age-old trick of balkanisation in a bid to score political points. This should not surprise anyone given the politics of anger, violence and polarisation that are the stock-in-trade of the PDP.

    ‘The various lengths to which President Buhari has gone to end the spate of killings, such as mobilising state resources against the attackers, approving the setting up of new police and army formations in the affected areas, and the recruitment of thousands into the police and other arms of the military, are a few of the several steps taken which a more reasonable opposition will acknowledge.

    “What can President Buhari possibly gain from the killings? There is no intelligent angle from which you analyze the matter and see any possible gain for this government in the wanton destruction of life and property going on.  For the “new” PDP leadership on the other hand, incapable of thinking big about the nation, they see and treat the unfortunate spate of killing of innocent Nigerians as political gift, about which they seem very happy to cite as the basis for a return to power.  They feel bad at every turn the country improves, which is beyond comprehension.  They should bury their heads in shame.” he said

  • 2019: My re-election bid not for personal gain – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday in Daura, Katsina State, said the driving force for seeking public office should be to serve the people, and see their lives improved, not for frivolity or personal ambition.

    Speaking at the All Progressives Party’s (APC) Ward Congress held at Bayagida Model Primary School, President Buhari said the passion to serve and see real changes in the lives of Nigerians informed his choice to join partisan politics in the first place, and inspired him to contest elections in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015.

    He said that his decision to seek a second term in office was borne out of a deep passion to serve Nigerians, and not for personal gains.

    In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, the President Buhari noted that his administration had already started the process of ensuring fairness, justice and equity, in spite of challenges, and would work hard to consolidate on the gains.

    He said “I am not in politics for fun, frivolity or to amass wealth, I have always been driven by a deep sense of commitment to make a difference to the lives of our people.

    “After my retirement from the army, or forceful retirement, I sat back and watched as events unfolded on the political turf, and realised the country needed an intervention for fairness, justice and inclusion of Nigerians in the issues that affect their lives,’’ he said.

    The President called for patience, maturity and orderliness as the 2019 elections’ calendar begins to unfold, urging political parties, candidates and the electorate to put the country first and always remember that victory ultimately belongs to God.

    “After going to the court so many times to challenge results of elections in 2003, 2007 and  2011,  and going up to the Supreme Court, I concluded that ultimately it is God who determines who will win elections, and in 2015 I got here,’’ he added.

    In his remarks, the Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Masari, said the process of electing the leaders of the party at the ward level was hitch-free, orderly and based on the constitution of the APC.

    “What we have here are our leaders that were chosen based on consensus and we are happy that it reflects the will of the people and the APC constitution. We followed the process to also ensure that there is affirmation,’’ he said.

    The Chairman of the Organising Committee for the Ward Congress, who is also the Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq urged the party leaders to remain loyal and live up to expectations.

  • Why Buhari stopped over in London – Presidency

    The Presidency on Thursday gave reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari stopped over in London after his official visit to the United States.

    According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said that there is a limit to the distance the President’s smaller plane can cover.

    He explained that the Presidents big jet has gone for repairs.

    He said “The big jet is under repair. It has been taken for major repairs. So the President is using a small plane and there is a limit to the distance the small plane can cover.

    “So the technical stopover I talked about is that the journey from US to Abuja is broken into two.

    “Technical stopover is that the plane stops at a point, refuel, do some checks and then proceed on the journey.

    “This is very normal. There is nothing unusual about it. In any case, they are already on their way back home.

    “It is a routine thing. The plane can do Abuja-Washington, that’s about 12 hours and the maximum the plane can fly is 12 hours, 40 minutes. But you don’t need to push it to the edge.” he said