The Presidency on Monday night recalled the Punch newspapers correspondent expelled earlier in the day over a story considered offensive to the Government.
The Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu said that a clearance has been received from the Director General of the Department of State Services, Malam Lawal Daura.
He said “We just got a clearance from Malam Lawal Daura, the DG SSS to recall Lekan to the Villa. Please come along with him tomorrow.”The Special Adviser on Media, Femi Adesina and I will resolve the issues. “Please, advise the Correspondents and the rest of your members to handle this with maturity.”It will not help anyone to start daring the security. Lekan should be assured that he is safe. We will straighten out everything.” he added
Tag: Garba Shehu
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Presidency recalls expelled Punch correspondent
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FG to reward Whistle-blowers on illegal weapons – presidency
The National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen. Babagana Munguno (rtd) has began work on a template for the discovery and recovery of illegal weapons through a reward system.
Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, confirmed this development in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.
According to the presidential spokesman, the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) is adopting the whistle-blowing approach so as to eradicate mass shooting incidents and remove the harassment of law abiding citizens by holders of illegal weapons.
He said the proposed adoption of the whistle-blowing policy on illegal weapons by the Federal Government followed the success of the policy in the recovery of huge amount of questionable and stolen funds by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Shehu, therefore,said the presidency had started drawing up the rules of a whistle-blower mechanism to throw a spotlight on the regime of gun ownership and control as a bold move to prevent and eradicate illegal ownership of small arms and light weapons in the country.
He said that this would be a sort of searchlight on weapons ownership in the country, adding that the aim was to disarm communities especially those with proclivity to violence.
“In the last few days, we had discussed the efforts the administration is making to strengthen the whistle-blower mechanism in the Ministry of Finance, which to date has proved to be very effective in bringing the attention of the government to stolen assets and unexplained wealth.
“The ONSA initiative may be an independent line of inquiry or in active collaboration with what the government is doing in Finance. This will be a sort of searchlight on weapons ownership in the country.
“Whatever form or shape it takes, the administration wants to take a tough line to curtail the large number of illegal weapons in circulation used in intra and inter-communal conflicts,’’ he said.
Shehu disclosed that the ONSA had already inaugurated a committee saddled with the responsibility of the recovery of small arms and light weapons in the country
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that whistle-blowing policy, which has been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is meant to expose fraud and other related crimes in both the public and the private sectors.
The policy was devised by the Ministry of Finance aimed at encouraging anyone with information about a violation, misconduct or improper activity that impacts negatively on Nigerians and government to report it.
“If there is a voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds or assets on the account of the information provided, the whistle blower may be entitled to anywhere between 2.5 per cent (minimum) and 5.0 per cent (maximum) of the total amount recovered,’’ Minister of finance Kemi Adeosun said.
The policy has recorded appreciable success as it has led to the discovery of billions of Naira in the last few months since it started.
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Buhari saddened by death of football fans in Calabar
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the tragic event that took the lives of several Nigerians at a football viewing centre in Calabar, Cross River on Thursday night.
The President on Friday in Abuja commiserated with the government and people of Cross River and football fans nationwide over the unfortunate incident.
He commended the government for the prompt action in setting up a commission of inquiry into the incident, and for its offer of assistance to the victims and their families.
“I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the mostly young victims whose sudden demise is a big blow not only to their families, but also to the football-loving nation, ’’ he said.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, Buhari prayed that God grants the souls of the departed eternal rest and comfort all who mourned their irreparable loss.
No fewer than 30 persons died on Thursday night in Calabar at a viewing centre while watching the Europa Football League match between Manchester United and Anderlecht.
The incident happened at about 9.30 p.m. at Nyagasang area of Atimbo in Calabar Municipal Local Government Area.
A survivor of the tragic incident told newsmen that a transformer near the viewing centre located in the Iyang-Esu area of the Calabar Municipal Local Government Area exploded during the match and caused a high-tension cable to drop on the viewing centre.
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Suspended NIA DG denies crying
The suspended Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke on Thursday denied media reports claiming that he cried when he visited the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.
According to him, he was only concerned about avoiding the journalists on his way to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s office.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu reads: “Widespread reporting that Ambassador Ayo Oke of the National Intelligence Agency had cried are unfair and charitable.
“Witnesses to his visit to the Vice President and his own personal account, say that he arrived to a swarm of journalists which he wanted to avoid.
“He asked his driver to make a quick turn and instead, he headed to the Glass House, the Headquarters of the Department of State Services, DSS. From there, he put a call to the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina and requested that he help to clear the journalists so that he can make a quiet entry to the VP’s office and that is what happened.
“In an SUV with darkened windows, no one could have seen an occupant crying,” Shehu stated. -
Presidency explains cancellation of FEC meeting
Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, says the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) could not hold due to logistic issues.
Shehu, who made this known to State House correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday, explained that the meeting was cancelled as the FEC secretariat workers were unable to distribute necessary documents for the meeting because of the Easter holiday.
According to him, by practice, the ministers must receive memos two or three days ahead of meetings to enable them undertake research, if necessary.
“I think it is because of the Easter holiday. The secretariat had no time to circulate the necessary documents.
“The staff on the Council secretariat resumed on Tuesday after the Easter. There was no time to prepare and circulate memos to ministers.
He described as “very unfair’’ those attributing the cancellation of the FEC meeting to the President’s health conditions
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that President Buhari had met behind closed doors with the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita and the Minister of Interior, retired Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau.
Both Oyo-Ita and Dambazau updated the president on the activities of their various establishments.
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Buhari’s war against corruption unstoppable – Presidency
A presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s led administration has vowed to fight corruption to standstill in spite strong resistance by some individuals and groups to thwart these efforts.
Shehu, who is the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.
He stressed that the war against perfidy and corruption by the Buhari administration would not stop despite the opposition against it in some quarters.
The Presidential aide, who featured on a radio programme tagged, ‘Hannu Da Yawa’ at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Kaduna zonal station, on Saturday, maintained that the President declared rooting out corruption as one of the cardinal policies of his election campaign.
“Let me say one thing. Those whose illicit ways of accumulating money have been stopped will criticize this government but all that will not derail the unfaltering commitment of the President, Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to the war against corruption.
“He is aware that this was one of the main reasons why Nigerians in their millions put their trust in him; the main reason they voted him into power in 2015.
“To keep that trust of ordinary Nigerians who voted him into the office, he has vowed to give corruption a good fight. He will not let them down,’’ he said.
Shehu admitted that so far, the battle to uproot corruption from Nigeria has not been easy.
According to him, corruption has been fighting back vehemently, finding accomplices in various forms and guises but reassured that the Buhari administration will not relent.
“Nothing will return our country to those sad, old days of wanton thievery that have plunged us into the economic mess from which Nigeria is currently recovering.
“The war against corruption in Nigeria is one of those clashes between good and evil, where good is determined to triumph.’’
He dismissed the insinuation that some members of the governing party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) were being spared in the ongoing campaign against corruption, saying “all are equal before the law’’.
Shehu disclosed that upon directives by the President, the National Hajj Commission had carried out an audit of accommodation agents in both Makkah and Madina in Saudi Arabia, as parts of measures to promote transparency.
He revealed that a saving of more than 16.7 million dollars was realized from the exercise.
“Each Hajj pilgrim is being saved between 600 to 1,000 Saudi Riyals, which is about N60,000 – N100,000 from accommodation, money that had lined the pockets of agents in the past.
“This year, houses are being rented directly from owners.’’
Shehu also lauded those fearless ordinary citizens for embracing the whistleblower policy by “taking extraordinary risks’’ to expose corruption in the society.
On the ongoing relocation of international flight services to Kaduna Airport, the Presidential aide challenged the government and people of Kaduna state to devise ways by which the social and economic benefits brought to the state did not depart the city after the rehabilitation of the Abuja airport.
“The government of Nigeria has done a big thing for Kaduna. You must show appreciation to this by supporting the administration,’’ he said.
While referring to the “massive cash releases for capital projects in excess of a record of one trillion Naira under the 2016 budget’’, Shehu reiterated the determination of the Buhari administration to complete some developmental projects.
He said this is meant to uplift the quality of life of all Nigerians irrespective of their geo-political backgrounds.
He acknowledged the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola with the record of being the first ever Minister to ride on all the federal roads across the nation.
“In addition to the roads, three of the major projects very dear to the President which he is determined to execute are the Mambila power project, the Lagos-Kano, Lagos-Calabar and Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway modernization projects and the new Presidential Initiative on Fertilizer.’’
The presidential aide noted that already the fertiliser initiative had started making an impact by cutting the price of fertiliser to about 50 per cent.
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No resistance will stop Buhari’s anti-graft battle, says Presidency
The Presidency on Sunday vowed that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s war against perfidy and corruption will not stop despite the strong resistance of the opposition and any calculated actions to thwart government’s efforts.
Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu stated this in a statement.
He recalled that the President’s commitments to root out corruption as one of the cardinal policies of his election campaign, made Nigerians to vote him to power in 2015.
He said “Let me say one thing. Those whose illicit ways of accumulating money have been stopped will criticize this government but all that will not derail the unfaltering commitment of the President, Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to the war against corruption.”
“He is aware that this was one of the main reasons why Nigerians in their millions put their trust in him; the main reason they voted him into power in 2015.
“To keep that trust of ordinary Nigerians who voted him into the office, he has vowed to give corruption a good fight. He will not let them down,” he added.
Shehu also admitted that so far, the battle to uproot corruption from Nigeria has not been easy as corruption has been fighting back.
“Corruption has been fighting back vehemently, finding accomplices in
various forms and guises. Nevertheless, the Buhari administration will not relent.”He said that the days when corruption reigned indiscriminately in Nigeria are over.
“Nothing will return our country to those sad, old days of wanton thievery that have plunged us into the economic mess from which Nigeria is currently recovering. The war against corruption in Nigeria is one of those clashes between good and evil, where good is determined to triumph.”
He dismissed rumors that members of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC were being spared, saying that all are equal before the law.
Highlighting the various measures introduced to promote transparency by the present administration, Malam Shehu disclosed that upon directives by the President, the National Hajj Commission carried out an audit of accommodation agents in both Makkah and Madina in Saudi Arabia and as result, a saving of more than sixteen million Dollars (USD 16.7 m) is being made by the paying pilgrims this year.
“Each Hajj pilgrim is being saved between 600 to 1,000 Saudi Riyals, which is about N60,000-N100,000 from accommodation, money that had lined the pockets of agents in the past. This year, houses are being rented directly from owners.” He commended ordinary citizens for embracing the whistleblower policy by ” taking extraordinary risks to expose corruption.”
On the ongoing rehabilitation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and the relocation of flight services to Kaduna for the six-week period of the closure, the Presidential aide said the government and people of Kaduna should think hard to devise ways by which the social and economic benefits brought to Kaduna in this period did not depart the city with the reopening of the Airport in Abuja.
“‘The government of Nigeria has done a big thing for Kaduna. You must show appreciation to this by supporting the administration.”
Referring to the “massive cash releases for capital projects in excess of a
record one trillion Naira under the 2016 budget,” Malam Garba credited the
minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola with the
record of being the the first ever Minister to ride on all the federal
roads across the nation.He said in addition to the roads, three of the major projects very dear to
the President which he is determined to execute are the Mambila power
project, the Lagos-Kano, Lagos-Calabar and Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway
modernization projects and the new Presidential Initiative on Fertilizer,
which he said is already making an impact by cutting the price of
fertilizer to about fifty percent. -
Buhari has no certificate scandal, says Presidency
The Presidency on Sunday declared that President Muhammadu Buhari has no
certificate scandal.The Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, was
reacting to a report in a national newspaper on leaders with past certificate controversy.In the letter to the organization, Shehu wrote: “In reaction to your cover
story this morning Sunday, March 26,2017, we wish to emphatically state
that President Muhammadu Buhari does not fit into your categorization of
leaders with certificate scandals because he bears none that is on
available records.”“In the course of the contest for the office of the President in 2015, a
number of wild, untrue and malicious allegations were made against him in
order to stop him from contesting for the office in the election.“The issue of certificates was raised against him but the campaign
successfully dealt with the allegations by providing evidence that not only
was he qualified to run, he had a far higher academic qualification than is
required by the constitution. As a result, he went on to run for the office
and eventually win.“Since the purpose of the challenge was primarily to stop him from being a
candidate in that election, the challengers either voluntarily withdrew or
abandoned the cases soon after he won and all of them were subsequently
struck off by the courts.“The President has no certificate case hanging on his neck. The Punch
editors should kindly update their records to avoid making this repeated
mistake,” he stated. -
Buhari had full first working week, days Presidency
The Presidency on Sunday said that President Muhammadu Buhari had a full working week last week contrary to reports that he did not do much.
It was the first week Buhari was spending at work after about 50 days
medical vacation in the United Kingdom.A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said that the President was more concerned with working for the interest of the masses, who were praying for him while on vacation.
He said: “In the first week of his return, President Buhari walked his talk on his intense desire to pay back to Nigerians by way keeping their trust and serving their interests.
“His reply to the people for their support and trust is to work much harder for them.
“The President didn’t have a day off or even a light week at all throughout his week of resumption.
“I read those analyses and I believe they were mostly wrong. What they don’t understand is that the President doesn’t follow official working hours because he is on duty all the time.
“He has another office by his living room so he works from home when most civil servants have closed,” he said
He said that contrary to some of the assumptions, President Buhari had an engaging week devoted mostly to policy issues and not ceremonial events.
“He started on Monday with the letters he sent to the two two arms of the parliament signifying his return to to work. He then went in for a handover briefing by the Vice President. They had a lot to discuss between themselves.
“Although he gave specific mandates to the Acting President, he
needed to be brought up to speed on the developments in the Supreme Court, the Niger Delta, the economy with particular reference to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERPG which was launched in his absence and programs like the Small and medium Enterprises Clinic which have strong connections to the agricultural strategy of the administration,” he added.Malam Garba further said that on Tuesday the President followed up his meeting with the Vice President, getting details from the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele on the liquidity situation of the country, the issue of reserves and the outlook for the rest of the year.
“He then met with the Presiding Officials of the parliament, Senate
President, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara. Those two arms have dealt with the issue of his vacation with great sensitivity.“On Wednesday, the President presided at the Federal Executive Council,”he stated.
According to Shehu, the President came well prepared for the meeting,
appearing as if he had not been away for over a month.“The noticeable thing about the last meeting was that it dwelled on policy. The meeting didn’t discuss contracts.
“On Thursday, the President had a joint sitting with the Chief of Staff,
Abba Kyari, the Ministers of Finance, Kemi Adeosun and that of Budget and
Planning, Udoma Udo-Udoma. They discussed the country’s economic situation,
the progress on the 2017 budget and liquidity issues.“On the same day, he held a state-of-nation meeting with Governors who had
assembled for the routine meeting of the National Economic Council under
the Vice President.“Friday was used mostly for security briefing before the Juma’at prayers.
The President has big ambitions for the country, driven by an intense
desire to leave his mark on national affairs. This is as he said on his
return last,” he said -
Garba Shehu misses Buhari’s phone call, receives sms
Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has narrated how he missed the President’s phone call on Saturday.
The presidential aide, who made this known on his Facebook page on Saturday, said the Buhari originated a call to him from his London abode after he (Buhari) had spoken with some members of the presidential media team.
He, however, revealed that he received a text message from the President after missing the call.
According to him, the President had earlier spoken with the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
He said: “A day for the Presidential Media Team.
“We are thankful to the President, Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) for sparing the time to make calls to the Media team.
“The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and the Special Adviser, Femi Adesina responded to the calls, exchanged greetings and thanked him for calling.
“I had an SMS from him thereafter because I missed my call! I humbly join them to say thank you, Baba Buhari!!
“We are together with other Nigerians of all faiths, in praying for his safe return.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Femi Adesina had earlier published his phone conversation with the president, on his Facebook page, on Saturday.
Adesina said: “And President Buhari called at 2:43p.m
“At exactly 2.43 p.m today, Saturday, February 25, 2017, my phone rang. Who was at the other end? Tunde Sabiu, personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Hold on for Mr President,” Tunde said.
And in a matter of seconds, the very familiar voice came:“Femi, how are you?” (He calls me Adesina most times, but today, he opted for Femi)
I screamed :”Mr President, I have missed you. How are you sir?”
He first laughed. That familiar laugh. Then he said: “I am still resting. Thank you for holding out
against mischief makers.”I said it was my duty, the very least I could do, adding how happy I was to speak with him.
“How is your family?”
I said we were fine, and he asked me to extend his greetings to them.
“I hope to call you again, ” Mr President said, and I bade him farewell, adding: “Best wishes, sir.”
“It was a defining moment for me. For more than a month, I had always spoken with aides who are with the President in London.
“Not once did I ask them to take the phone to him, deliberately so, because I didn’t need to speak with him to validate the fact that he was alive. And since he was on vacation, he had a right to his privacy.
“Of his own volition, President Buhari spoke with me. It made my day. Even if he hadn’t done so, he would have remained my
President, my leader, and my man. Any day.’’
President Buhari had proceeded on a 10-day vacation and a routine medical check in UK on Jan. 19.In a letter he sent to both arms of the National Assembly the president said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would act as president pending his return.
The president, who could not make it back to the country on Feb. 6, transmitted another letter to the Senate requesting extension of time to complete his medical check-up in London.(NAN)