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Tag: Maku

  • FG has no plans to gag the press – Maku

    FG has no plans to gag the press – Maku

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Labaran Maku, has given the assurance that the Federal Government has no plan to gag the press.

    The minister gave the assurance on Thursday in Asaba at the opening of the 9th All Nigeria Editors Conference.

    Maku said the media had been operating in an atmosphere of freedom and vigorous debate.

    He said the media had remained the freest in Africa, adding that even in the military era; it operated with a considerable degree of freedom.

    “Nigeria has remained the leader in terms of press freedom in Africa and gagging of the press in this country is not practicable,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the minister saying at the conference.

    He expressed worries over some unethical practices among some journalists as well as poor quality of reports and urged the Guild to do all it could to reverse the trend.

    “We must worry about the quality of our reports and we need strong ethics for the profession to survive,” he said.

    Maku said also that government was favourably disposed to discuss issues pertaining to press council with the Nigeria Guild of Editors and other stakeholders.

    The minister said security remained a very serious challenge to the country and called on the media to join hands with government in fighting the menace.

     

  • What is Maku up to?

    What is Maku up to?

    When information minister Mr. Labaran Maku voluntarily elected to lead a group of journalists and civil society activists on an elaborate tour of the federation for the ostensible reason of showcasing the performance of the state governments, he ran into a hail of criticisms. It evoked memories of the jamboree organized by Professor Jerry Gana who, as Information Minister similarly moved a crowd round the country ostensibly for the purpose of assessing performance of the state governors and propagating the gains of democracy.

    No longer did the earlier scheme take off than it was discovered to be a fraud. State governments were made to pay the entourage and were scored based on their “performance”’

    The first person to cry and opt out of the Maku scheme was Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole. It is obvious that both men are well known to each other, yet Oshiomhole deprecated the moves. He said he was willing to receive the party if it came to the state and was willing to pay a courtesy visit, but should not be expected to pick the large bills being incurred.

    That was enough to tell the story. Maku turned to his counterpart in the Federal Works Ministry who gladly hosted the men and women to a lavish champaigne party and took them round the very few federal projects in the state. The chapter was closed there.

    But, Oshiomhole was not the only person who found the idea repugnant and distatesful. Mr. Raji Fashola of lagos, too, could not fathom the rationale and wasted no time in telling the whole world. Fashola is too busy performing the task of giving Lagos a facelift. He was not elected to host parties for visiting journalists led by an idle minister.

    Fashola is enjoying sufficient mention in the media and did not require a Maku to assist him in mobilizing his people to see what he has been doing in the past six years. Anybody familiar with Lagos would know the challenges facing the governor. The population is one and infrastructure needs a tune up to meet the 21st century standard. No doubt, Lagos is not yet there, but the governor is doing a lot.

    It is thus distressing that a minister would leave his watch and choose to comment on what is not really his business. Maku is not from Lagos and the government does not need his endorsement for anything. He is from Nasarawa State where he served the Abdullahi Adamu government for eight years, first as a commissioner, and then as deputy governor. Few people from Nasarawa State that I have met have commendations for that government. Today, Adamu may be a Senator, but he is also facing charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    As minister, how well has Maku performed in revamping the Parastatals under his watch? How well has his principal performed? There is no doubt that the welfare and security of the citizens, the primary responsibilities of the federal government have suffered greatly under the Jonathan administration.

    It is difficult to see the Labaran Maku I used to know in the current minister. The one I used to know was a firebrand who shared the concern for ordinary citizens with other patriots and revolutionaries. The Labaran of the 80s would not play Goebel to anyone. He would not suffer fools gladly. Then, I could vouch for his selflessness. Then, he saw a lot wrong with private accumulation of wealth and appropriation of the commonwealth by a few. Then, I would have said Maku would only function in a government that would sincerely tackle corruption and give the bloody nose to those playing monkey with the national wealth.

    But, what do we have today? A different man bearing the same name. Was Maku briefed before he made those statements? Was he told about the BRT? Does he know about the Lagos-Badagry road? Is he acquainted with the new Ikorodu road under construction? Is he aware of the Fashola miracle in getting the private sector to contribute to a Security Trust Fund? He should ask the Lagos State Polic Command what the state government is doing in funding federal security agencies in the state.

    Maku could also turn to the brand new “chairman” of the Nigerian Governors Forum, the embattled Air Commodore David Jang. He was once in Lagos to seek tutorials on how to run a state.

    My friend, Mr. Maku should be reminded that in a democracy, it is the electorate who have the final say in assessing a governor. The people of Lagos State spoke during the 2011 election by handing their governor a resounding victory at the poll.

    One task that Maku can perform is get the federal government to pay up what he owes the satte and leave the people of Lagos to decide their future.

  • Of Maku’s flippant outburst

    Of Maku’s flippant outburst

    Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons – Michael Jackson

    By sheer force of destiny, Mr Labaran Maku is a card-carrying member of ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and a former deputy governor of Nasarawa State. He currently occupies the position of Minister for Information. By virtue of this position, he is the spokesman for the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. As spokesman, everybody expects him to always embellish truth. Reason: The government he speaks for has allowed inanity rather than purposefulness to becloud its actions and policies. And it would be puerile for anyone to exempt him from the ‘infection’. One would have expected him to clearly articulate the policies of this administration during his recent 2013 ministerial press briefing. But no; he rather chose to unleash his misplaced incisor on the administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos. Everything Maku says about Lagos is a lie and everything he claims the centre administration owes in the Centre of Excellence is stolen. For the indubitable fact that Maku cannot tell the truth about the administration he represents, he should not be expected to say same about other administrations, especially the one governed by the opposition.

    One thing that Maku must remember is that power is transient and if it is impossible to remain in power forever, then the ultimate goal of any occupier of public positions should be to create things that will outlast him positively. Is he doing this at the moment? He should not forget easily that there was a Chukwumerije and perhaps an Ofonagoro in this country, who used the platform offered them by government to propagate lies against the people. If Maku were to be given the task of writing the history of their epoch, what would he write about these two men?

    The public is watching as this Maku on Lagos has chosen to delude himself about the brilliant performance of the Fashola-led administration, which is a reality that even if people like Maku stop believing in, for mischievous reasons, such good deeds would still not go away. For goodness sake, how can Maku say that Lagos is the luckiest of all the 36 states in Nigeria as it has benefited so much from Federal Government’s infrastructure? He mentioned one other state in the south-south. Hear him: “Lagos too rests on federal infrastructure; the governor of Lagos has nothing significant to do aside environmental sanitation; Lagos state is the luckiest state. Even the BRT lanes are on federal government roads …”

    Obviously, Fashola and the governor of that other state rejected to foot the bill of Maku’s ill-conceived projects-monitoring jamboree called Nigeria Good Governance Tour (NGGT) across the states of this warped federation. Only a mad man in dire hallucination would say that despite an avalanche of verifiable achievements of Fashola, that he has ‘nothing significant to do in his state than mostly environmental and traffic maintenance.’

    Rather than seize the occasion of the ministerial platform to redeem the abysmally low image of the Jonathan administration, he took an unwise swipe at the high-performing governor of Lagos State, leaving open in the process, his flanks of crass ineptitude and misgovernance at the centre. For want of something to engage in, Maku contrived a conduit pipe through which he can drain public till when he came up with the NGGT through which at least carefully chosen 120 officials of ministries/parastatals, civil society groups and favoured journalists visited states of the federation. The initiator of the “good governance tour” allocated bogus all expenses government bill including undisclosed estacode, Duty Tour Allowance (DTA), transportation, feeding and accommodation. Two questions: What has the tour of states by Maku’s NGGT achieved? Let him come out and tell Nigerians how much was spent on those frivolous tours and how far that would have gone in rescuing the 20,000 Nigerians that reportedly died of hunger everyday? Maku should stop his attempts at using cotton wool to blur the eyes of his fellow countrymen across ethnic divide that celebrate Fashola’s achievements in Lagos everyday.

    Yours sincerely has read reports about the barrages of criticisms by notable Nigerians and even political parties against the observations of Maku regarding his warped judgement of the state of governance in Lagos. Except he chose not to know, he must realise that the modern state is one with a beautiful environment and one where movement is made less cumbersome through free flow of traffic on very good and mostly well maintained roads. These are some of the things that Fashola has done in a cosmopolitan mega-city like Lagos. Maku should tell his master in the Villa to provide Nigerians with stable electricity and fix decrepit federal roads across the country. It is only when these two are successfully done that a man like Maku can conveniently say that the proverbial Maku has conquered the fear of what the Yoruba calls abiku in 2015.

    Finally, Airtel returns my line

    Precisely on April 5, l procured a special line from Airtel mobile network. Less than two weeks after my Sim card registration, the line went off again and before l realised what was happening, a hacker had swapped my line and the rest is history.

    Today is not meant to recall those excruciating moments that l went through or how l had planned to take legal action against the company but for the entreaties of the few among its good staff. I am using this opportunity to admonish the network provider to always ensure protection of customers’ information which was lacking in my own case. There are some fraudulent employees of the company who conspire with outsiders to defraud customers – as in my case.

    However, the company owes these courteous staff a lot of gratitude for calming down my frayed nerves. They include the pleasantly humble and exemplarily serviceable Erhumu Bayagbon of the company’s PR department. He assured me that the matter would be resolved amicably and was never tired of picking my calls and even calling me to allay my fears about the line. He assiduously discouraged me from taking the company to court. Thank you, my brother. With an employee like your, the sky is the limit for the company. Osigbeme Modigie and Grace Henshaw proved to be capable of taking the company to greater heights too. Their exceedingly humane approach to issues is inspiring. Blossom Isika, right from the day she was directed to restore the line last Thursday evening, had been wonderful and so humble on phone whenever l had anything to complain about. Indeed, thank you, too. And to Ada Mbuno, I really appreciate you for being a good and dutiful staff of Airtel.

    However, one James, also of the company’s PR department, is not deserving of these encomiums. He was so insolent on phone and disdainfully evasive of customers. Mr Segun Ogunsanya, the Nigerian CEO of the company must beware of a staff like him for he lacks the disposition of a relationship person. Nevertheless, my line is back and l hope that a repeat will not occur as the company had promised me.

  • Jonathan provides more infrastructure in Niger Delta – Maku

    Jonathan provides more infrastructure in Niger Delta – Maku

    The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said on Thursday that President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration provided infrastructure in the Niger Delta much more than any other past government in the country.

    Maku said this at the ongoing accountability forum organised by the Federal Ministry of Information tagged: “Ministerial Platform.”

    He said the quantum of development in the region could be attributed to government’s commitments through allocations to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    He said state governments in the region had begun to reverse the infrastructure gap gradually through improved federal allocations and interventions by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the NDDC.

    “This ministry was carved out in 2008 under the Yar’Adua-Jonathan administration to address the major issues of infrastructure gap in the Niger Delta.

    “Since that time, government has been committing resources to help the Niger Delta get additional infrastructure.

    “When I went to the Niger Delta recently on the national good governance tour I can report to you that the Niger Delta is witnessing progress that has never been seen in that region since 1960.

    “Uyo now has first-class infrastructure, first class roads and underground drainages.

    “These are classic examples of the additional attention which the Niger-Delta has received particularly under our democratic dispensation,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Maku as saying at the programme.

     

  • Lagos Govt, ACN: Labaran Maku is misinformation minister

    The Lagos State Government yesterday condemned a statement credited to the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, that Governor Babatunde Fashola has done nothing in the state.

    In a statement yesterday, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, said: “We read with a sense of pity the story of Maku’s denial of Fashola’s verifiable achievements. On one hand, we feel great pity that Mr. Maku has, within a short time, lost touch with the ethics of journalism, which emphasise accuracy, objectivity and facts.

    “On the other hand, we pity the country, if the man with the status of Hon. Minister of Information can descend so low as to misinform the world with such impunity.

    “Although his reason for such inflammatory remarks is still hard to discern, he would have done himself and the nation much good by limiting himself to his brief, rather than dabbling into issues he knows next to nothing about.

    “In an assignment such as ministerial briefing, which the Lagos State Government just did to mark Fashola’s sixth anniversary, all Maku would have done was to concentrate more on the achievements of the Federal Government, if there is any, and if there was nothing to report (as is clear from his vituperation), he could have done himself a world of good by keeping quiet (as journalism dictates), instead of exposing himself to ridicule through the unguarded statement credited to him.

    “One is, however, not perturbed by his behaviour, since it has become his stock in trade, going by the way of his earlier outburst about the National Assembly, for which he later had to apologise when the House cautioned him.

    “We believe that if Maku had taken time to research Fashola’s performance in power, agriculture, transportation, housing, health, education, sport, etc, for which the government has received many accolades, even from PDP leaders, his submission would have been better moderated as a communicator.

    “The issue of Environmental Sanitation raised by him betrays his understanding of the pedestal for good governance in any society. It becomes apparent that the Hon. Minister was befuddled by the state of development in Lagos, the nation’s former capital, which had been left to rot away, but which the BRF administration is taking to higher heights.

    “That the BRT buses run on Federal Government roads is quite laughable. One may wish to ask that since the capital moved to Abuja, who has been maintaining most of the infrastructure left behind by the Federal Government?

    “The questions are: Why has the Lagos-Ibadan road become daunting to the Federal Government? Why has the Federal Government failed to replicate the BRT system in Abuja or all over the country?

    “Perhaps Mr. Maku should have taken a trip to Lagos to see the ongoing transformation in the state through the expansion of the Lagos–Badagry expressway into 10 lanes, with light rail and BRT lanes; the 39km Eti-Osa/Lekki-Epe expressway, the recently inaugurated cable-stayed bridge linking Lekki and Ikoyi; the ongoing expansion of the Mile 12-Ikorodu road; the greater attention to water transportation; the infrastructural facilities being provided all over Lagos and several other people-oriented programmes, before concluding erroneously that Fashola has not done anything in Lagos.

    “Recently, President Goodluck Jonathan and former United States (US) President Bill Clinton were hosted at the inauguration of the Eko Atlantic City, where President Jonathan pledged that the Federal Government would replicate the project in other parts of the country, and yet Fashola has done nothing.

    “The Hon. Minister should know that democracy is not about playing politics with facts. Also, journalism does not approve of people giving judgment based on personal interests.

    “The fact that we did not allow Maku to take credit for our projects in Lagos in the name of ‘Good Governance Tour’ does not give him the latitude to attempt to discredit a performing governor, who has continued to receive accolades from across the nation and internationally. Fashola is working, Lagos is working.”

    Also yesterday, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state accused Maku of trying to blackmail Fashola because the governor refused to host his “good governance tour”.

    It described Maku as “a disoriented wayfarer, who has ridiculed the Information Ministry with his attempt to waste the resources of states through his phantom good governance tour, even though he has done nothing to lift the Ministry of Information above the staid position of purveyors of infantile propaganda”.

    ACN was reacting to Maku’s statement that Fashola is not doing anything in Lagos.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, ACN said: “It is ridiculous for an Information Minister to demonstrate this low opinion about a globally lauded administration, just because Lagos refused to entertain the kind of banality Maku and his ilk have employed to waste states’ resources in the name of good governance jamborees.

    “The Lagos State Government exists for the people of Lagos, who know and appreciate the value of good governance, and not pay-for-hire jobbers like Maku.

    “Ordinarily, we would not be drawn to join issues with Maku because he does not know what good governance is and will never recognise one if he comes in contact with it. We know Maku is a professional jobber, who said he employed student unionism to live like a king.

    “This says a lot about the character of a man, who is no more than a jester and praise singer in a government that has failed in every facet of governance.

    “We know Maku is merely vending sour grapes because the Lagos State government saw through his folly of organising a programmed revelry in the name of good governance tour when he had done nothing to uplift his ministry.

    “One would have expected a parodist like Maku to come to Lagos to unveil the new Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the new Lagos-Abeokuta Expresway, the new Lagos-Badagry Expressway, the new Airport Road, the new Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, state-of-the-art schools, hospitals, railway, etc, which the Federal Government has fixed with the whopping 52 per cent monthly allocation it corners monthly.

    “But here we are; Maku jumped through the death traps, which the so-called federal roads have become, to come and play pedestrian Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) politics in Lagos.

    “If Maku, in his voluntary blindness, saw only progress in the environmental sector in Lagos, can he tell us even one sector where the PDP-led Federal Government has made a mark in its 14 years of waste laying in Nigeria?

    “Can he show us what he has done in the Federal Ministry of Information since he became minister? Can Maku tell us any thing the PDP governments he patronised during his tour of folly have done better than the Lagos State government?

    “We challenge Maku to tell Lagosians and Nigerians the so-called structures his government built in Lagos, on which he claimed the state government is collecting tolls.

    “It is a pity that someone that occupies such a position as Maku has reduced it to this low level by his infantile desire to take liberty with the truth because the Lagos State government refused to be part of his wasteful mission.

    “One would have thought that once the Lagos State government disallowed his frivolous jamboree of good governance tour, Maku would have come to Lagos to show us what the government he serves as a chief propagandist has done in the health, education, security, science and technology sectors and indeed every other sector, especially as they relate to Lagos.

    “But he did neither of these because there is nothing Maku and the Federal Government can show for the trillions of Naira they spend yearly. But Maku, blinded by the fury of his unmet demand, came to Lagos to expose the ignorance that has made him a misinformation minister, who thrives in singing the praises of a bland and incompetent regime that has failed in all scores of governance.

    “Maku came to Lagos to play the blind PDP politics of denial of the great transformation going on in Lagos, even when his party’s governors loudly acclaim these achievements and have come to understudy some aspects of Lagos governance.

    “We wish Maku some luck in this ludicrous mission, but wonder how he can recognise what good governance is when the government whose praises he blares has become a huge joke and a piece or ribaldry among Nigerians.”

     

     

  • Maku: we’ve had deficient governance

    Maku: we’ve had deficient governance

    The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, has disclosed that Nigeria as a country has contending issues with good governance.

    He noted that without good governance, nothing works.

    Maku who represented President Jonathan at the former launch of the book: Youth Guide to Self Employment admitted that the country has had issues with good governance.

    He said: “Since the First Republic and the advent of the military government, we have had issues with governance. That is why Mr. President has now made it a priority to put attention on improving the quality of governance. Mr. President is doing this by looking at certain issues, by improving the institution of democracy. Good governance has been the driving force of the current Transformation Agenda of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.”

  • FG to inaugurate 10 power plants by Dec – Maku

    FG to inaugurate 10 power plants by Dec – Maku

    The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, says the Federal Government is expected to inaugurate 10 power generating plants by December 2013.

    Maku stated this on Monday when he inspected N78 million Maigora electrification expansion projects being executed by the Katsina state government in Faskari Local Government Area (LGA).

    The Minister, who is on `Good Governance Tour’ in Katsina state, said other separate power generation projects were awarded in Niger and Adamawa states with combined capacity to supply huge megawatts for nation’s consumption.

    Maku expressed satisfaction with Katsina State Government’s preparation to maximally harness the Federal Government power generation projects.

    According to him, such efforts will surely boost economic activities of the rural areas.

    `When the plants became operational, Katsina will be among the high benefiting states from the development on the ground.

    “The effort would facilitate active performance of local entrepreneurs, cottage industries and other small scale businesses that would rejuvenate economic growths in the communities.”

    Maku also inspected the ongoing N167 million Yankara water supply project in Faskari LGA awarded by the state government.

    The minister expressed optimism that the initiatives would improve the wellbeing of the people.

    He also inspected the 35 km Yankara-Maigora road, 40 km Shema-Kankara road as well as the 45 km Kakume-Guga-Bakori road, among others in Katsina south senatorial zone.

    Speaking during the inspection tour, Katsina State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Garba, reiterated the state government’s determination to provide people oriented projects, aimed at enhancing the standard of living of the people.

    He said the projects executed have touched all aspects of their standard of living, such as education, health, agriculture, infrastructure and economic growth.

    Abdullahi said that all projects were in line with the Federal Government development policies as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) initiative.

    Also speaking, the Transition Committee Chairman of Faskari LGA, Alhaji Isiyaku Faskari-Ahmad, said that adequate arrangements were made to ensure that people benefited with the electrification project.

    He said that rice processing mills and other agro-allied industries as well as domestic businesses would be encouraged at the grass root.

    NAN reports that the Minister was received by Katsina State Deputy Governor at the Zamfara state boarder.

  • Boko Haram: Amnesty not first option, says Maku

    Boko Haram: Amnesty not first option, says Maku

    Proponents of amnesty for Boko Haram insurgents heard yesterday that the Federal Government would not jump at the offer.

    Promoters of the offer feel it will douse tension in the North and end the sect’s insurgency.

    But the government has ruled out amnesty as the first option to rein in the fundamentalists targeting to Islamise the North.

    Information Minister Labaran Maku, who announced government’s stand, said amnesty could only come after members of the sect may have pulled off their veil to engage the government in talks.

    “It can only come up in the process of discussion,” Maku said, wondering how any responsible government could announce amnesty to an evasive group.

    The minister noted that the ceasefire agreement entered with the group by the Borno State government has collapsed as the group struck a few hours after the truce was brokered.

    According to him, there has been no credible discussion with the group in the last one year. “We have not seen anybody come up to say that he can negotiate for the group, Maku said.”

    Reacting to the call by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III and other Nigerians, for amnesty and dialogue with the group, Maku said though the Sultan’s call was done in good faith, amnesty cannot be the first option.

    But the minister said the government has not foreclosed negotiation with the sect.

    “Right now, the condition for amnesty is not there. Government is not dealing with a group that is secretive. There is no clear one person who can speak on behalf of the group,” he said.

    He, however, did not rule out the possibilities of some individuals talking to the group, but insisted: “It will be too early to say that there is credible conversation” between government and the group.

    According to the minister, the government will continue to look forward to the day when formal discussion with the group will begin.

    “But the condition for amnesty is not there,” he added.

    He also claimed that the security situation in the North is not overwhelming, adding that the security agencies have succeeded in their strategy to contain the group.

    The minister urged Nigerians to offer useful information to aid the efforts of security operatives to end the insurgency.

    Justifying the amnesty granted to militants to end the unrest in the Niger Delta, Maku recalled how Southsouth leaders, including governors, came out to the negotiating table with the militants, a development he attributed to the sustenance of peace in the oil-rich region.

    He insisted that without the support and cooperation of the people, the unrest situation in the North will fester.

    On the failure of the government to end Boko Haram’s activities by the middle of last year as promised by the President Goodluck Jonatahn, Maku said a lot of success had been recorded.

    The minister who disagreed that corruption was fueling the insurgency, however, admitted that governance in some of the affected states may not be ruled out.

    To Maku, it will be totally wrong to blame Boko Haram on corruption because, in his view, terrorism is a global phenomenon.

    The minister lashed out at some politicians, who he accused of speaking on issues of national security without any sense of responsibility and patriotism.

     

     

  • FG to save N300b on wheat importation – Maku

    FG to save N300b on wheat importation – Maku

    The Federal Government will save about N300 billion annually on the importation of wheat through the use of 20 per cent cassava flour for bread production.

    The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, announced this on Monday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2012.

    Maku said the amount spent on wheat importation had so far been brought down by N200 billion following the improvement in the production and processing of cassava flour.

    He said the government was exploring agriculture as major area to create jobs and wealth generation.

    The minister said the transformation that had taken place in the sector in the last one year was aimed at ensuring food security, curbing importation and diversifying the economy.

    He said the “Growth Enhancement Scheme’’ initiated by the Minister of Agriculture was designed to support small scale farmers to enable them get access to fertilisers and seeds directly at affordable prices.

    Maku stated that the introduction of the “Electronic Wallet System’’ (e-Wallet) for the distribution of fertilisers to farmers was aimed at eliminating corruption.

    “Nigeria is the first country in Africa to launch the e-Wallet system for the distribution of subsidised agro-inputs to farmers.

    “The focus is also to check corruption in fertiliser and seeds distribution to farmers, strengthen commodity and input market and start up staple crop processing zones across the country,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the minister as saying at the forum.

     

  • I was lucky to escape crash – Maku

    I was lucky to escape crash – Maku

    The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, on Wednesday recounted how he narrowly escaped death last Saturday’s helicopter crash in Bayelsa State.

    Maku, who moved the motion at the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting for members to condole with Mr. President, Vice President and the Nigerian People, said it was a twist of fate that he was not involved in the unfortunate incident.

    He said “Saturday, 15th December remains a gloomy day for this country. On that fateful day, a number of us were in Okoroba Kingdom in Bayelsa State to pay last respect to the departed father of Special Adviser to the President on Strategy and documentation, Mr. Oronto Douglas. I went there because Oronto has been an old friend of mine and we have worked in government together.

    “When we arrived, the late Governor of Kaduna State, Mr. Patrick Yakowa and Gen. Andrew Azazi were already seated. The two of them were full of life, we greeted, we embraced and later we went for the funeral. But unknown to us, we did not know it would be the last moment we will have with these two distinguished sons of Nigeria.

    “Council members would recall that General Azazi served in this chambers with us when he was National Security Adviser, he also rose in the distinguished career of this nation to the rank of a full four star general. He gallantly served as the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Staff, then he was invited by Mr. President to help this nation overcome one of the most serious security challenges since the end of the civil war in 1970.

    “He served his nation with distinction, he served to the best of his ability. He was able to manage the situation he found himself in until the time came for him to have a relief and be replaced by another Nigerian to continue with the efforts by Mr. President to give this nation peace.

    “Governor Patrick Yakowa served and had distinguished career in the Civil Service and rose to the position of Permanent Secretary in the Civil Service of the Federation and ultimately the highest political office in Kaduna State.”