The Nation Newspaper

Tag: IBB

  • IBB’s foster mother dies at 101

    The foster mother of former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida,Hajiya Sefiya Hassan Akere is dead.
    She died on Thursday at the age of 101 after a brief illness.
    Disclosing the death of the centenarian, one of the late Akere’s children, Alhaji Dattijo Aliyu, the Director General of the Niger state Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) said she passed on at about 3 pm at the family house along Kuta Road in Minna, Niger state capital.
    The late Akere was roundly called “Nna Mai Kifi” by the former military leader.
    Eulogising the memory of his mother, Aliyu, who is also the Chairman of Niger Tornadoes Football Club, Minna, said that during her life time, Akere was mother to all, recalling that her house was always filled with children, both her biological and children of others.
    She was survived by the former military leader, Col. Babangida and a retired assistant comproteller General of Immigration
    The late community leader has since been buried and a three day fidau prayer holds today at the family residence along Kuta Road Minna by 10am.

     

  • IBB varsity inaugurates union

    New officers of the Students’ Union Government of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU) in Lapai, Niger State, have been sworn in.

    The union leaders were elected recently. Ibrahim Alfa is the president.

    In his remark, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ibrahim Kolo, praise the electoral committee and the SERVICOM unit of the institution for conducting a credible election.

    He said: “I want to thank all of you here present at today to witness the inauguration of new students’ union leaders. It is a thing of joy to see them emerged through a transparent election. They will pilot the affairs of the union for another session.”

    Leadership position is not about enriching your pockets, the VC told the students leaders, saying ability to maximise and transform the lives of their colleagues would make them to be remembered.

    He pledged support for the union, urging the leaders to consult him if they encounter challenges.

    Prof Kolo warned that any union leader caught in misconduct would be dealt. He congratulated the executive members, urging them to fight a just cause and not to be way-ward.

    The Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr John Jiya, encourage the union leaders to embrace dialogue whenever they face a challenge from the management.

    Dr Jiya enjoined them to consult him on any matter bordering on students’ welfare.

    Ibrahim, the union president and a 300-Level Computer Science student, praised the management and student for trusting him with the responsibility.

    He promised his administration would take the union to the next level. He urged female students to participate in campus politics, saying: “It is not good enough that our women do not want to participate in politics. It has become imperative for us to force them to participate and make their thoughts known. They can always perform more and they can always advise and encourage us when the need arises.”

    Others elected are Amina Kabir, Vice President; Makusidi Bukhari, General Secretary; Salihu Kudu, Financial Secretary and Abdulmajid Jantabo, Treasurer among others.

    The Director of SERVICOM, Dr Ebenezer Ogungbe and other top officials of the university were also present at the ceremony.

  • IBB’s phantom letter

    But last week was not all about phantom video; it was also a week of phantom letter. Of course Nigerians are familiar with the word ‘phantom’. It was very popular during the military era, when military officers could be executed or put in life jail over phantom coup. Interestingly, the man purported to have written the phantom letter was also an active participant in that era when ‘phantom’ became a household name in the country. I am talking about no other person than General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, better known as IBB. Some say he is a self-styled president; others yet call him ‘the evil genius’. The gap-toothed general was said to have dispatched a bombshell to President Goodluck Jonathan, on the worrisome state-of-the-nation, last week.

    Coming barely a few months after former President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote a stinker to President Jonathan, one would have started wondering what the retired generals wanted. When Obasanjo wrote his own letter, they said he did because President Jonathan has sidelined him in the scheme of things. So, what would have been the motivation for IBB to write such a short but sharp letter to the President? Could it be that he too wants to be remembered for one favour or the other? But, just as I was wondering why the new service chiefs could not begin their assignment by taking their retired boss to task for writing a letter he is not supposed to write (or, put in official jargon, for inciting Nigerians against the hard-working government), the general denied ever writing such a letter.

    General Babangida might not have known the import of his denial; but I put it to him that it has denied the media huge revenue. Imagine the headlines: IBB to Jonathan: do something now’; or even at simply ‘IBB writes Jonathan’, there would have been no unsold for many newspapers that day. As a matter of fact, till today, newspaper owners would still have been smiling to the banks while editors would be jubilating that they at least have a respite from sweating to get good stories to sell their papers. Honestly, this denial spoilt the day for some people. You may not get what I mean now; maybe you will when ‘the column that never was’ is eventually released.

    Well, denial or no denial, the new National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Muazu met with IBB on Friday. If it was a coincidence, it must be an exceptional one indeed. Perhaps it pays to be an ‘evil genius’!

  • Mu’azu meets Babangida in Minna

    Mu’azu meets Babangida in Minna

    The National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, on Friday held a closed door meeting with former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, in continuation of his nationwide consultation with elders of the party.
    He also met with the Niger State governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu.
    The meeting came barely one week after the party chairman had a similar meeting with former president Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
    Mu’azu, who was said to be on a private visit led a 15-man team to the Minna uphill residence of the former military leader at about 12:05pm and entered a closed door meeting which lasted till 1:05pm.
    Those in Mu’azu’s entourage including the PDP National Youth Leader, Alhaji Abdullahi Maibasera, former Speaker Gali Na’aba and the state PDP acting chairman, Barrister Tanko Beji were excused from the meeting to enable the two leaders have a confidential and private session.
    Emerging from the meeting, the host, Babangida refused to talk to journalists. The former leader bluntly told reporters that he was not prepared to talk. “I am not going to say a word. I am not talking,” he told journalists.
    The PDP national chairman, however, said that he was in Minna as part of his reconciliatory move and in continuation of his meeting with some elders of the party since he emerged as the chairman of the ruling party.
    “I am here in continuation of my visit to our elders and I had a fruitful meeting with the former president. It was a fruitful meeting,” Mu’azu offered.
    He, however, declined to give details of the meeting. “What we discussed is not meant for public consumption. All I can say is that we had a fruitful discussion.”
    The convoy later left for the Niger State governor’s private residence where another round of meeting which lasted 20 minutes took place.

  • IBB, Amaechi at Babangida Aliyu’s Int’l literary colloquium

  • IBB seeks increased revenue allocation to states, local govts

    IBB seeks increased revenue allocation to states, local govts

    Former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, has said true federalism will thrive in the country when there is a devolution of powers from the centre to the federating states and the local governments.

    He advocated an increase in revenue allocation to the states and the local governments.

    Babangida spoke in Minna, the Niger State capital, when the chairman of Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Chief Elias Mbam, led members of his board to the Minna Uphill home of the former military leader.

    He also advocated an increase in revenue allocation to the states and the local governments.

    Though he refused to give a sharing formula, Babangida said his position was informed by the volume of responsibilities at the states and grassroots levels.

    He called for a reduced revenue allocation to the Federal Government from the federation receipts.

    The former military leader also called for the diversification of the nation’s economy by tapping on the huge alternative sources of revenue instead of relying on mono-culture source of revenue (oil), which he said was limited and exhaustive.

    Addressing reporters after a closed-door meeting with the commission’s board members, Babangida said: “I call for the devolution of powers and the diversification of the economy to explore other areas and leave the mono-culture economy of the country.

    “If the responsibilities of the federal, state and local governments are streamlined properly, I think the burden would be light on all Nigerians.

    “If we can operate a leaner government at the federal level and we give more revenue to the local governments and states, then we’re set to be going somewhere.”

    He hailed the RMAFC but cautioned that it had a great task at hand, especially when the last revenue allocation review was done 21 years ago.

    “You have the greatest task ahead of you. It is not an easy task, especially in a country where every action is being politicised. What you are doing requires doggedness and I applaud you all for that,” Babangida told the commission.

    Assuring the nation that RMAFC would submit its recommendation to President Goodluck Jonathan by December, Mbam said the visit to Babangida was part of the consultations with major stakeholders as the commission prepared a new revenue sharing formula.

  • IBB, Abdulsalami, Aliyu call for peace

    IBB, Abdulsalami, Aliyu call for peace

    A six-hour rainfall yesterday in Minna, the Niger State capital, forced Muslims to abandon the waterlogged permanent eid praying ground to converge on the township Central Mosque for the two-rakat Eid-el-Kabir prayers.

    The Chief Imam of Minna, Alhaji Ibrahim Fari, led the prayers, which started by 10.05am and ended by 10.13am.

    Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu; former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida; former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and scores of worshippers attended the prayers.

    Aliyu and the two former military leaders called for sustained peace and stability in the country.

    Babangida urged Nigerians to live in peace and love one another, in line with Islamic tenets.

    He noted that it was necessary to maintain good neighbourliness and safeguard the collective interest of the community and the country.

    “Let everyone of us be our brother’s keeper,” Gen. Babangida said.

    Gen. Abubakar said: “It is time to respect the tenets of Islam, which call for peace. I hope that each of us will try to maintain peace and be our brother’s keeper.”

    Aliyu said the country was in need of peace and unity to enable it attain its goals and sustain the socio-economic development it recorded recently.

    He said: “We should be prepared to sacrifice and contribute our quota for the development of the country.”

     

  • I’m through with presidential ambition, says IBB

    Former military President Ibrahim Babangida said yesterday his time for seeking the presidential seat was up.

    The general said he would work with other northern governors to emulate Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko’s agricultural skills acquisition programme for the revival of agriculture in the region.

    He said: “If that is done, the region would have made tremendous breakthrough and boosted its economic strength.”

    Babangida, who visited Second Republic President Shehu Shagari, spoke in Sokoto when he inaugurated a Modern Agricultural Skills Acquisition Centre at Milgoma, Bodinga Local Government Area.

    The centre is among the various projects executed by the state government and inaugurated by the former military leader across the state.

    Babangida was accompanied by AVM Hamza Abdullahi (rtd) and Hassan M. Jalo, among other personalities.

    He said: “The stage is now for the likes of Wamakko.

    I want to be convinced that Wamakko is working based on what we have seen.

  • PDP Crises: IBB, Ahmadu Ali in secret meeting at Presidential Villa

    To resolve the crises in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), some elders of the party including former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida and former PDP Chairman, Ahmadu Ali yesterday met secretly with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa.
    The party broke up on August 31st when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and seven state governors left the Mini Convention of the party to form the ‘New PDP’
    It could not be confirmed yesterday whether former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had been involved in the past mediating meetings, was at the meeting held at House 7 in the State House yesterday afternoon.
    Journalists were not allowed to get close to the venue of the meeting which lasted for about one hour. There was no press briefing or statement issued at the end.
    The meeting, according to a reliable source who does not want his name in prints, was a preparatory meeting towards the scheduled meeting in the night with the aggrieved members.
    Even as it was not clear if any governor attended the meeting yesterday afternoon, some state governors were spotted at the Presidential villa before the meeting including the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Gabriel Suswam (Benue).
  • IBB junior golf championship

    IBB junior golf championship