The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lai Mohammed

  • FG to block IPOB funding sources

    FG to block IPOB funding sources

    The Federal Government says it is aware of sources of funding of the Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB ) and is taking steps to block them.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this on Tuesday when he appeared on a live TV programme “Good Morning Nigeria” on the Nigeria Television Authority ( NTA ).

    “Terrorists do not publish where their funding are coming from. But we know the countries that are supporting IPOB.

    “We know the sources of their funding though I am not at liberty to disclose them here.

    “We are taking steps to block them and we are also taking a lot of diplomatic actions in respect of the countries that are supporting them”.

    The Minister said that most of the countries supporting the group were doing so based on ignorance.

    He said they had been hoodwinked to believing that “Nigeria is a country where Muslims persecute Christians” and a country where there is genocide.

    “As we speak today, IPOB has written letters to many Governments outside Nigeria, international parliaments sending fake and cloned videos claiming there is genocide in Nigeria.

    The minister charged the international community not to adopt double standard in dealing with IPOB and to be more diligent before making any pronouncements.

    He said what the countries would never accept in their territories, should not be condoned or encouraged in Nigeria.

    The minister justified the actions of the military for declaring IPOB a terrorist group as well as its proscription by the South-East governors.

    “There are a lot of arguments regarding the constitutionality of the action of the military and the South East governors.

    “People must realise that we are dealing with issue of national security and I do not think that the military and the governors should fold their arms while the country is set ablaze.

    “I have heard a lot of comments as to whether the military has the right to declare IPOB, a terrorist group

    “What the military has done is to catalogue all the activities of IPOB, which are not different from that of terrorists groups,” he said.

    Mohammed said IPOB set up a para-military organisation, a parallel military group, Biafra Secret Service and Biafra National Guard.

    He said the group were attacking army installations and soldiers at check points, extorting money from innocent people.

    “IPOB activities are not jokes. If there have not been the proactive actions on the part of the military and the South East governors, there would have been retaliations from other regions and the entire country will be set on fire.

    “We cannot be talking of semantics or procedure when the nation is moving towards crises and precipices.

    It is only in a Banana Republic that you can see non state actors doing what IPOB is doing.

    “The actions by the military and the governors should be seen from the perspective of ensuring internal security and averting chaos,” he said.

    The minister reiterated his position that IPOB was being sponsored by the association of disgruntled politicians and treasury looters to discredit President Muhammad Buhari”s Administration.

    He admonished the media and opinion leaders to be circumspect in their publications and discussions on IPOB in order not to aggravate the crises the more.

    “The kind of comments and headlines in the media as well as comments from certain quarters are the types that give oxygen and confidence to the IPOB.

    “They must exercise restraint because the only reason we practice our profession or be a commentator is simply because there is peace in the country,” he said.

  • IPOB using fake videos to hoodwink international community – FG

    IPOB using fake videos to hoodwink international community – FG

    The Federal Government on Monday in Lagos accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of using fake videos of mass killings, to mislead the international community and win their support.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who stated this when he addressed Online Publishers, said that the fake videos were harvested from other parts of Africa and doctored to look current

    ”We must warn the nation against IPOB’s next line of action, which is to externalise their lies and propaganda.

    “Now they are writing to the governments and the national parliaments of some Western nations to give the impression that they are victims of an ethno-sectarian violence orchestrated by the government, hence they need protection.

    ”Some of the tools that have been employed by IPOB include blatant lies and cheap propaganda, and the medium of choice for the organisation is the Social Media.

    IPOB has harvested gory videos and pictures from other lands and the distant past, which they are now circulating via the Social Media, to deceive the international community.

    “IPOB is deceiving them into believing that the people of the South-East are being subjected to state-sponsored, ethno-religious violence,” he said.

    The Minister said that the videos, which had very high emotive quotient, are circulating on the Social Media.

    He said some ill-informed foreign individuals were already trumpeting IPOB’s lies and propaganda and even alleging genocide.

    ”It is either they do not understand the meaning of genocide or are being mischievous.

    “Either way, there is nothing like genocide anywhere in our country today. What we have in the South-East is a clampdown on a band of lawless people who have no regard for the laws of the land,” he said.

    Mohammed appealed to the Online Publishers to help counter the fake narrative on the Social Media on the situation in the South-East.

    ”In the interest of the nation and your own interest, you must counter this fake narrative, report the issues responsibly and without sensationalism and present the truth to the public.

    “If the Social Media, your platform, is discredited because of the activities of quacks and Internet Trollers, you too will be discredited and your publications will simply go down.

    ”That is why you must distinguish yourselves, as trained and tested professionals, from the charlatans who have seized the Social Media by the jugular.

    “You must distinguish yourself from those who have no regard for the truth and who do not care whether their fake posts set the nation ablaze,” he said.

    He reiterated his earlier statement that IPOB is being sponsored by a coalition of politically-disgruntled and treasury looters, and that the organisation is a contraption against the Buhari Administration.

  • IPOB: Opposition’s plot to destabilise Nigeria – Lai Mohammed

    IPOB: Opposition’s plot to destabilise Nigeria – Lai Mohammed

    The Federal Government says Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB ) is not set up to fight for right of anyone or group, but a tool by opposition to destabilise the country.

    Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this at a news conference in Lagos on Sunday and alleged that IPOB was being sponsored by “coalition of the politically-disgruntled and treasury looters”.

    He said the intention of the sponsors was to divert attention from the efforts of the President Muhmadu Buhari’s administration
    and obliterate its laudable achievements.

    “They believe that by sponsoring this group to destabilise the country and trigger chaos, they will realise their ambition of escaping justice and then be free to dip their hands into the nation’s treasury again.

    “The signs are very clear; the activities of IPOB became heightened with the advent of this administration, and have been unrelenting since then.

    “If this is coincidental, then that coincidence is uncanny, at the least,” Mohammed said.

    Justifying his claims, the minister recalled that IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was the same person who, during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, advocated the unity of Nigeria.

    He said that during the period, Kanu led a protest at the Nigeria House in London against Boko Haram insurgency and in support of Nigeria’s unity.

    He, therefore, wondered why Kanu would suddenly metamorphose into an IPOB monster who, was rather bent on dividing the country and setting the nation ablaze.

    “Has anyone wondered why IPOB decided to up the ante, so to say, in its violent campaign immediately it was announced that Nigeria has come out of recession?

    “Now, instead of the government being given the chance to consolidate on that monumental achievement, it is being distracted, and the airwaves have been polluted with the activities of IPOB.

    “The good news of the end of recession and its fall-outs are being replaced in the headlines with the IPOB show of shame,” he said.

    Mohammed said that the self-imposed IPOB leader is the master of hate speech, incendiary, divisive and inciting speeches.

    He noted that the activities of IPOB, “a rag tag mob” and its gullible supporters had in the past days reached crescendo and threatening the unity of the nation.

    “They set up parallel military and para-military organisations, mount road blocks and even confront the Nigerian military.

    “Their leader openly solicits for weapons and incites hatred and violence,” he said.

    Mohammed said that the group had also formed a Biafra Secret Service, claimed formation Biafra National Guard and engaged in physical confrontation with troops at a check point.

    He said that government could no longer tolerate such excesses and commended the military for declaring the group, terrorist.

    “No nation, not Nigeria, will allow that to happen unchallenged.

    “The fact that Boko Haram festered because it was not decisively tackled by the immediate past administration meant we should never again give room for any organization to threaten the corporate existence of our country.

    “This is why I want to commend the Nigerian military for once again, living up to its constitutional responsibility.

    “But for its quick and decisive intervention, IPOB could have set the nation on fire.

    “Thanks to the decisiveness of the military; today the governors of the states in the South-East have wisely proscribed IPOB.

    “This step, though long overdue, is still commendable,” he said.

    The minister cautioned against the group’s next line of action, which was to externalize their lies and propaganda to seek protection.

    He said that IPOB had started writing to the governments and the national parliaments of some Western nations to give the impression that they were victims of an ethno-sectarian violence orchestrated by the government.

    “This is a blatant lie. It is not in the agenda of this administration to suppress its citizens for whatever reasons.

    “Not even the excesses of some people on the social media have forced the government to do anything that will stifle press freedom or freedom of expression,” he said.

    The minister said the group had started harvesting gory videos from distant past and other lands to hoodwink the public and international community into believing that its members were the victims of state-sponsored violence.

    “Such videos, which have very high emotive quotient, are circulating on the social media.

    “We call on all to subject all such videos to the greatest scrutiny so as not to be misled.

    “In particular, we urge the international community not tojump to any conclusion on the basis of such videos,” he said. .

    Mohammed appealed to the media to show restraint in its reporting of the IPOB issues.

    He noted that since the military deployed “Operation Python Dance II” to the South-East, it had been sensationalised by a section of the media.

    “The divisive and jaundiced opinions of some anarchists have been given a big play by a section of the media. This is wrong.

    “The Nigerian media cannot afford to sit on the fence or engage in irresponsible journalism when the issue at stake is the very survival of our nation.

    “This is because no professional, including journalists, can operate when a nation descends into anarchy,” he said.

    The minister urged Nigerians to remain vigilant, resolute and say no to the incendiary and divisive tendencies of IPOB and
    its cohorts. (NAN)

  • Nigeria to host African Tourism in 2018

    Nigeria to host African Tourism in 2018

    Nigeria will host the 61st meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Commission for Africa ( UNWTO) conference in Abuja from June 4 to June 6 next year.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed announced this on Tuesday in Chengdu, China, at the 60th meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Tourism.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the African Ministers of Tourism held the meeting on the sideline of the 22nd UNWTO General Assembly, holding in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of Southwest China.

    Mohammed who led Nigeria delegation to the UNWTO General Assembly expressed gratitude to his colleagues for the support given to Nigeria in winning the bidding to host UNWTO CAF.

    He reaffirmed the commitment of Nigeria towards successful hosting of the conference and realisation of its objectives.

    “I wish to assure you that the ministry, with full support of the Presidency and members of the National Assembly are committed towards ensuring successful hosting of the 61st meeting of the UNWTO CAF.

    “Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, has been designated by the Nigerian Tourism Master Plan as a Conference Capital.
    The choice of the city is part of government’s efforts at promoting Abuja as a conference destination within the sub-region,’’ he said.

    The minister said that the meeting which will attract wide range of delegates from around the world will provide unique opportunity for global visibility for Nigeria as a key player in tourism development.

    He said it would also afford Nigeria the opportunity to showcase its rich cultural assets.

    Mohammed assured that the meeting would follow the traditional pattern of an inclusive, participatory and active dialogue that encouraged conversation and enable delegates to have more time and space for networking and discussion.

    He commended Mr Taleb Rifai, the outgoing Secretary General of the UNWTO for his stewardship, characterised by innovative ideas, strategic thinking and efforts to increase the credibility and visibility of the organisation.

    He also congratulated Dr Walter Mzembi, the out-going Chairman of CAF and Zimbabwe’s Minister of Tourism on the successful completion of his term. (NAN)

  • AU grants Nigeria AFRIMA hosting right

    AU grants Nigeria AFRIMA hosting right

    The African Union ( AU ) has awarded the hosting right for the Pan African Music Initiative, All Africa Music Awards ( AFRIMA ), to Nigeria for another three years (2017-2019).

    This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Segun Adeyemi, Special Adviser to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Lagos on Sunday.

    The minister said the hosting right was given to the country following its successful hosting of the 2014-2016 editions.

    He said that the award of the hosting right was conveyed in a letter written ton him by the Commissioner of Social Affairs at the AU Commission, Mrs Amira Elfadil.

    Mohammed said the AU’s commissioner commended the growth and inclusiveness of AFRIMA by reaching out to `many musicians, music producers and creative arts practitioners in general’.

    He said that Elfadi noted that between 2014 and 2016, during which Nigeria hosted three editions of AFRIMA, it “has become a very crucial event and movement of African musicians.’’

    The minister said that the AU’s commissioner also noted that AFRIMA “allows them to establish synergies and work towards the development of Africa’s music and promotion of music in the continent
    and in the international arena.

    “Based on this and other factors such as the willingness to create value and deepen the brand equity not only for Nigerians but also for Africans, the AU returned the hosting right of AFRIMA to Nigeria’’.

    He said that government’s desire to retain the right was informed by the enthusiasm and sense of duty with which Nigerians embraced AFRIMA coupled with the prevailing international confidence in the present administration.

    He said: “the African Union’s gracious concession to our request is beneficial for the creative sector in Nigeria and across Africa.

    “The Federal Government of Nigeria is calling on state governments and corporate Nigeria to partner with it and the African Union in ensuring a
    successful hosting of AFRIMA 2017 which will bring immense socio-economic benefits to the selected host city,’’ he said.

    Mohammed disclosed that the 2017 edition of AFRIMA is scheduled to hold from Nov. 10 to Nov. 12.

    Quoting the organiser of the event, the minister said that it would present to the continent a world-class programme that included activities such as the Africa Music Business Round Table on Nov. 10.

    The round table would bring together big music brands, music producers and intellectual property experts to discuss the needed networks and infrastructure for an expanding economically-vibrant music industry in Africa.

    “Other events are the AFRIMA Music Village: an evening of a non-stop open music festival of live performances from the African stars and nominees, with an expected audience of 40,000 people.

    “The main Awards ceremony on November 12 will present a star-studded and world-class event with live performances and television broadcast to 84 countries on 109 television stations around the world.’’

  • How Nigeria exited recession, by Mohammed

    Nigeria exited recession because of strategic policies aimed at revitalizing the economy, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has stated.

    He spoke last week at the 4th annual conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria in Kano.

    The Minister pointed out the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has been massively investing in construction and rail sectors to galvanise the economy.

    Mohammed said there have been positive turnovers from foreign capital investment, foreign trade and foreign reserves

    He said: “The Transportation and Storage sector contributed 1.33 percent to total GDP in Q1 2017 rose slightly from Q1 2016 and Q4 2016 with 1.20 percent and 1.19 percent respectively.

    “Also, the power situation has improved, as power generation has increased from 2,690MW to over 6,000MW presently.”

  • Waiting for the real Lai Mohammed on Twitter

    While denying the false report of President Muhammadu Buhari’s purported plan to travel to the United States on Sunday, Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed that he does not have social media accounts.

    “Numerous parody accounts have been opened in my name on the two platforms, when indeed I have no Twitter or Facebook accounts,” he stated while urging Nigerians to disregard what was credited to him.

    The minister also recalled how the same parody Twitter account, @MohammedLai used to disseminate fake news about the president’s purported trip was employed to circulate a fake report that he sharply criticised Senator Dino Melaye for attending the Notting Hill Carnival in the UK.

    He said these two instances highlight the dangers posed to the polity by the purveyors of fake news and disinformation, and vowed that the federal government would soon fish out those behind the shenanigans.

    I sympathise with the minister that the false sensitive information was credited to him by some faceless individuals who create parody accounts in the name of others, especially top government officials, to misinform the public.

    I totally agree with the minister that “Fake news, disinformation and hate speech are the antics of the naysayers; those who are pathologically opposed to this administration.” Everyone on the internet, including Nigerians, as he counseled, needs to be more discerning and should double check any information emanating from the social media.

    However, notwithstanding the wrong use to which social media accounts are being deployed, the minister cannot continue to justify not having Twitter handle or Facebook account.

    The accounts are too important in the present information age for information dissemination for any government official like the country’s information minister not to have.

    If President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and many other top officials of the federal government have social media accounts, why should the spokesman of the government not have verified handles?

    With two appointees for new media in the presidency and the speed with which the federal government’s information are shared on social media, this administration has proved to be digital savvy enough for the minister to remain analogue in a digital age.

    Parody accounts will always be created by mischief makers, but when the real ones exist and are used regularly, it will be easy to distinguish between fake and real information.

    Having social media account is not a choice for top government functionary like the minister, it is a must to effectively discharge his responsibilities. Whoever refuses to have one, will have one created for him and used for purposes he or she does not approve of.

    Alhaji Mohammed should take a cue from many members of this administration who are effectively using the social media to disseminate information to prevent the naysayers from taking advantage of his absence on the too-important-to-ignore platforms.

    He doesn’t need to operate them himself, like most top dignitaries do. He can get tech savvy assistants to keep Nigerians informed through the platforms and match the naysayers tweet for tweet.

  • Standard of Living to improve – Lai Mohammed

    Standard of Living to improve – Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, assured on Friday that standard of living of Nigerians would improve as the country exited recession.

    The minister gave the assurance in Abuja when he received Broadcast Media Editors in his office.

    He urged well-meaning Nigerians not to listen to pessimists, who were downplaying the significance of exiting recession and classifying it as mere statistics.

    He said people should not be worried why getting out of recession had not led to immediate reduction in food prices.

    The minister explained that “an economy that is just coming out of recession is like a man who is just recovering from an illness.

    “It takes a little time for him to start doing the ‘big’ things he used to do prior to falling sick. He has to fully recover,” he stated.

    Mohammed said the present administration would sustain and build on what it did to get the economy out of recession through sustained policy interventions in various sectors.

    Specifically, he said the government would continue to stimulate local production of staples, using initiatives like the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and the Presidential Initiative on Fertilizer.

    NAN

     

  • Recession: Govt policies yielding fruits- ministers

    Recession: Govt policies yielding fruits- ministers

    Minister of Information Lai Mohammed yesterday attributed Nigeria’s exit from recession to a conscientious effort and not by accident.

    Mohammed said the country had been on the path to recession since mid-2014 due to a combination of factors, including the total dependence on a mono product – oil – and the failure to save during the boom years.

    The country slipped into recession in the second quarter of last year.

     Speaking at the fourth annual conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria in Kano, the minister said: “Taking Nigeria out of recession did not happen by accident. It is the culmination of months of hard work by the administration and fidelity to its well-articulated economic policies, especially the strategic implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) that was launched on April 5.

     “Of course, as you all know, a recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP, which measures the economic performance of a country by how much production of goods and services it achieves, usually over the course of a year).

     “But things are looking up now. For Nigeria to be out of recession means the Administration has taken some right steps that have culminated in the good news that we are celebrating now. It didn’t just happen.”

    The minister listed some of the various impactful programmes of the administration. They include the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, which currently feeds 3,065,000 pupils in 14 states and  employs 36,000 cooks across the country.

    The Conditional Cash Transfer that has seen about over 30,000 households benefit from the N5,000 monthly stipend; the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme under which about 120,000 people have benefited from cooperative loans; and the N-power that has employed 200,000 people.

     “This positive growth”, the minister stated, “is attributable to both the oil and non-oil sectors of the economy. Growth in the oil sector, which has been negative since Q4 2015, was positive in Q2 2017. It rose by 1.64 per cent as compared to -15.60 in Q1 2017, an increase of up to 17 percentage points.

     “The non-oil sector grew by 0.45 per cent in Q2 2017, a second successive quarterly growth after growing 0.72 per cent in Q1 2017. In particular, improvement in the non-oil sector was driven principally by strong growth in agriculture and solid minerals sector, and reversal in the previous contraction of the manufacturing and construction sectors. This shows that the government’s economic diversification programme is working.”

    The minister listed other positive developments as a fall in the inflation rate from 18 per cent to 16 per cent as of July 2017; the rise in exports, coupled with a decrease in imports, which brought the country’s trade balance to ?719.4 billion, up from ?671.3 billion;  increase in capital inflow that brought the total value of capital imported into Nigeria in the second quarter of 2017 to $1,792.3 million, representing a growth of 95.02 per cent; increase in foreign reserves to a 30-month high of $31.8 billion in July 2017; and appreciation in exchange rate from N520/$ as at 20 February 2017 to N362/$ as at 17th August 2017.”

    Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma noted that two major objectives were in focus when the ERGP was launched by the President to get the economy out of recession and put it on the path of sustained inclusive and diversified growth.

    “Now that we have accomplished the first task, attention will now be on growing the economy as rapidly as we can,” he said.

    “We are happy that people are beginning to see the results of the efforts we have been putting through in the last two years to get the economy back on track and to place it on the path of growth and sustained development,” Udoma said,adding that as the economy continues to grow, the people will feel the impact of the growth.

    He pointed out that the major focus of government was to reflate the economy through spending in strategic sectors, such as infrastructure, agriculture, solid minerals etc., to galvanise economic activities and empower the people.

    Efforts, he said, were concentrated on increasing revenue generation to meet with the challenges of the economy which was why government had been giving attention to, among other things, the challenges of the Niger Delta.

    Efforts in this direction yielded real growth in the oil sector by 1.64% (year-on-year) in the second quarter of 2017 representing an increase of 13.26% relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter in 2016. Growth also increased by 17.24% when compared to the first quarter of 2017. Quarter on quarter, the oil sector grew by 7.52% in the second quarter of 2017 and the contribution to the total GDP in the second quarter of 2017 is 8.89%., according to the NBS report.

    Udoma said it was gratifying to note that the growth recorded is broad-based, as the non-oil sector showed improvements in the last two quarters. For instance, Agriculture sector continued to grow, recording a 3.01% growth in the second quarter of 2017.

    He also noted that Industry recorded positive growth of 1.45% during the same period while manufacturing which has been recording negative growth for most parts of 2015 and throughout 2016, turned positive in the first quarter of 2017 and increased by 0.64% in the second quarter.

    Udoma, however, admitted that it was still early days as much more work needs to be done to ensure that the growth is sustained.

  • Lai Mohammed inaugurates new Communication Faculty Complex in BUK

    Lai Mohammed inaugurates new Communication Faculty Complex in BUK

    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed yesterday inaugurated the new Faculty of Communication complex in Bayero University, Kano (BUK)

    In his speech at the inauguration which took place at the permanent site of the institution, the minister commended BUK for blazing the trail in elevating Mass Communication to a full Faculty.

    “BUK wants to be the foremost University in Nigeria if not in Africa in the area of Mass Communication.

    “The first thing the institution has done is that it has elevated Mass Communication to level of faculty.

    “BUK did not just do so by pronouncement, but by providing the necessary infrastructure that will make it possible.

    “We have seen the various studios, the Performing Theatre, the academic blocks, the offices and provisions for post graduate students.

    “What the institution is actually telling us is that Mass Communication is too big to be a department; it has blazed the trail in making it a faculty,” he said.