The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Minister of Information and Culture

  • Arms scandal report not doctored – FG

    Arms scandal report not doctored – FG

    The Federal Government says the report of the Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Armed Forces (2007-2015) is not doctored.

    In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, dismissed insinuation in certain quarters that the report was doctored as untrue.

    The statement was signed by the Special Adviser to the Minister, Mr Segun Adeyemi.

    The minister explained that what had been released so far was the report of the audit covering the period 2011 to 2015.

    He added that the committee would commence the audit of procurement from 2007 to 2010 as soon as the necessary documents were available.

    “When the documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010 are available and scrutinised, the committee will then issue its report on that.

    “The audit is being done on phases, and the report that was released on Thursday is the third of such,’’ he said.

    Mohammed assured that the federal government’s anti-corruption fight was non-discriminatory and called on Nigerians to keep an open mind as events unfold.

    “No one should attempt to distract from the seriousness of the issues involved in this audit of defence equipment procurement,’’ he urged.

    The minister noted that with more than N185.8 billion and 685.3 million dollar spent on procurement and operations within the period, the irregularities in the awards denied the military from getting value for money.

    He emphasised that the corruption in the defence sector had very serious consequences for the country.

     

  • We are not elected to make excuses, says Lai Mohammed

    We are not elected to make excuses, says Lai Mohammed

    Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has assured Nigerians that the present administration was determined to turn around the economic situation for good.

    Mohammed noted that the administration was aware that it was not elected to make excuses but to put the nation back on a sound economic footing, ensure the security of lives and property and banish corruption.

    He therefore assured Nigerians that the change promised was real, despite the current tough situation.

    Speaking at a meeting with members of Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON) in Abuja alongside four other ministers, the minister reassured Nigerians that the present administration was not lacking in political will, commitment, discipline and prudence.

    Other ministers in attendance are: Dr. Chris Ngige,  Labour and Employment;  Babatunde Fashiola, Power, Housing and Work; FCT, Musa Bello and Trade and Investment, Okey Enelamah.

    Information and Culture minister also noted that for keen followers of the activities of government in the past one year will admit that the administration has made great strides towards fulfilling its campaign promises.

    He said, “As I have said at many fora, our economy, or whatever is left of it after years of serial mismanagement and massive corruption, is in a bad state.

    “Throw into the mix the huge fall in oil price, and you have nothing but a disaster of an economy. But then, this Administration is aware that it was not elected to make excuses but to put the nation back on a sound economic footing, ensure the security of lives and property and banish corruption.

    “We have therefore decided to turn the disaster that we inherited into a blessing by diversifying our economy away from the mono-product of oil, leveraging on agriculture, solid minerals as well as culture and tourism, among others.

    “Let me assure Nigerians that the change we promised is real, despite the tough situation we are in at the moment. It is real because there is no shortage of political will, commitment, discipline and prudence on the part of government, under the dedicated and visionary leadership of President Buhari.

    “Now, make no mistake about it: The road will be rough. But as the saying goes, the darker the night, the brighter the morning. Our long suffering people will surely smile again. Change is no instant coffee. It is a process. We are now laying a solid foundation for our country.

    “By earmarking 30 per cent of our budget to capital expenditure, we are building and rebuilding infrastructure. Through our massive social intervention this year alone, we are catering for the weak among us through the conditional transfer of 5,000 Naira to the vulnerable, we are creating jobs as we move to employ 500,000 graduates and 100,000 non-graduates, we are offering soft loans to market women, men and traders, we are ready to feed 5.5 million school children once daily, and we are providing scholarships to 100,000 students studying Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

    “In total, over 8 million Nigerians will benefit directly, and millions more indirectly, from our social intervention fund.

    “Nigeria will overcome the economic catastrophe caused by years of bad governance, mind-boggling corruption and unprecedented profligacy. But we must not despair. We must keep hope alive.

    “The Buhari Administration has also squarely taken on the fight against corruption and it is winning. Today, the issue of corruption has become topical in national discourse and the corrupt are no longer able to flaunt their ill-gotten wealth with impunity, as they used to do. This is because the government has succeeded in sensitizing Nigerians to the cost of corruption to their lives.

    “For example, it was corruption that prolonged the war against Boko Haram and dispatched many soldiers and civilians to their early graves; It was corruption that ensured that while oil was selling for over 100 dollars per barrel, the country had nothing to show for the windfall; it was because of corruption that even though the national budget has increased from less than a trillion in 1999 to over 6 trillion in 2016, poverty has grown almost at the same rate that the budget has increased; It was corruption that gave Nigerians darkness, instead of light, while successive governments pumped millions of dollars into the power sector.

    “Nigeria’s economy poses a great challenge! Nigeria has lost a huge chunk of its earnings to the massive crash in the price of oil.

    “But the Administration has decided to see opportunities rather than difficulties by working assiduously to diversify the nation’s economy away from oil.”

    Commending Nigerians for their support, understanding and perseverance in the past year, the minister agreed that the country was passing through a very difficult situation at this time, with the loss of over 60 per cent of national income due to the drop in the price of crude oil.

    On his response to the question of the economic status of the country, he said: “Many have asked me if indeed Nigeria is broke. In answering them, I have shunned semantics. I have simply asked them: If a man earning 100,000 Naira a month suddenly sees his salary plummet to 40,000 Naira, what is that called?” he asked.

    Also speaking, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, insisted that the organized labour was duly carried along during the entire consultative meetings held before the recent hike in price of fuel.

    This he explained was why oil workers and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) backed out of the strike called against the deregulation.

    Nigige also disclosed that it was the idea of labour that for deregulation to work, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) must also sell its own petrol at same price as independent marketers‎, otherwise the issue of diversion and smuggling of the NNPC’s product will continue.

    “That’s why TUC backed out because they know this was held and ok and everybody was on board,” he said.

    Ngige lamented that the country which produced oil at OPEC production level of about 2.2 million barrel per day currently produces 1.4 million litres per day, losing about 800, 000 a day.

    The minister also raised an alarm that “We are under-producing and our revenue has been going down.”

    He further disclosed ‎that his intervention saved what could have been resulted in massive lost of job in the oil sector as most oil firms shelved the plans to massively reduce their workforce.

     

  • Buhari condemns increased global risk to journalists

    Buhari condemns increased global risk to journalists

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja condemned the increased global risk to journalists in the performance of their professional duties.

    The President spoke at the opening of the Congress of the Federation of

    African Journalists hosted by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the president delivered a keynote address on the theme: ”The Political Change and the Safety of Working Journalists in Africa”.

    Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the risk came in the form of “harassment, arrests, detention and murder”.

    “According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 72 journalists were killed globally in the year 2015, the most recent information available in that respect. Eleven of the 72 who died in that year were killed in Africa.

    “The same year, out of 20 listed deadliest countries for journalists, five were from Africa – South

    Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Libya.

    “Also, 90 journalists are currently being detained in many countries.

    “It is, therefore, fitting that the safety of working journalists in Africa will be of concern to your organisation, the Federation of African Journalists, ” he said.

    The President said that journalists were targeted not only to restrict the free flow of information, but increasingly as leverage to secure huge ransoms and political concessions through sheer violence.

    He charged the Federation to work with the governments of their countries to remove the existential threats to media practitioners.

    He said the Federation could also work with other organisations committed to the protection of journalists.

    Such organisations according to him, include the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists and the International Press Institute, to eliminate or reduce the risks to journalists

    “It is also important for media institutions to ensure the adoption of best safety protocols for their journalists.

    “They must develop and implement procedures and tools aimed at ensuring the physical and

    psychological safety as well as the digital security of journalists, ” he said.

    The President said his administration saw the media as a partner in progress, and “has never contemplated harassing, not to mention killing, any journalist” .

    “The media represents the eyes and ears of the world and attempt to

    silence it through the harassment, arrests, detention and murder of

    journalists, is akin to making the world go blind and deaf.

    “I can report to this Congress that not a single journalist is being detained or harassed in our country today.

    “The government of the day is not a threat to the media, and it is not about to stifle press freedom or deny anyone his or her constitutionally guaranteed rights, “he said.

    The president also noted that his Administration placed preference to security and welfare of its citizens.

    He declared the summit open and wished participants fruitful deliberations.

  • Herdsmen’s killings: Buhari gives Chief of Army Staff, IGP matching order

    Herdsmen’s killings: Buhari gives Chief of Army Staff, IGP matching order

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday ordered the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Abayomi Olonishakin and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase to take immediate steps to secure communities under attack by herdsmen.
    The President also ordered Olonishakin and Arase to go after groups terrorizing innocent Nigerians in communities and villages.
    The President gave the matching order at the presentation of the book, “Who will Love my Country” written by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, in Abuja.
    President Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, warned that his government will no longer allow the attacks to continue.
    He specifically condemned the attacks said to have been carried out by Fulani herdsmen in Uzo-Uwani local government of Enugu State which claimed many lives on Sunday.
    He said, “Let me start by condemning in strongest terms the attacks by herdsmen in Enugu State on Monday.  I deeply sympathize with those who lost their lives as well as those who lost their property.
    “I have directed the Chief of Defence Staff and the Inspector – General of Police to secure all communities under attacks by herdsmen and to go after the groups terrorising innocent people all over the country. This government will not allow these attacks to continue.”
    On the book, Buhari said that the author saw the need for attitudinal change for the purpose of fighting corruption and impunity and of course the need for Nigerians to love their country.
    He noted that “the author demonstrated in the book that Nigerians can only get the Nigeria of their dreams if they make bold efforts to put the nation’s interest above their individual interest.”
    He said, “We should start with individual attitude of change,  if we change our ways, the society will change for the better.
     “The author urged all tiers of government to undertake programmes and policies that will enhance the living standards of the people and ensure their happiness.
    “The 2016 budget is designed to bring our people out of poverty, enhance their living standards and bring smiles to their faces. The N500billion social intervention fund was designed to among others create jobs for 500, 000 unemployed graduates, provide loans for one million Nigerians including market men and women as well as artisans to start up their business.
    “It also includes feeding of 4.5million students in schools. Nigerians can only have and live in the country of their dreams by shunning corruption and desist from converting public property for personal usage or divert public funds to their private pockets.
    “I commend Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, for investing his time and energy to write the book which is a wake up call and thought provoking.”
    Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) who chaired the event said that from the title of the book, it is easy to determine that Ekweremadu has set out on a journey of self discovery.
    Gen. Gowon said, “It is a journey that is hinged on patriotism. I will want to believe that the motivation to write this book, derives in that part from the circumstances of our nation’s contemporary history. In itself this could be likened to bad times in which new life cannot be brought forward.
    “Many years back we fought a war to remain united, indivisible nation, this was because we believe and still believe that what bounds us is far greater than what divides us.
    “There is no denying the fact that Nigeria is stronger together and that the future remains very bright. Let us continue to move together as one. Nigeria has a great potential to become great, but it is left for each and every one of us to do our best to ensure and hasten the process.
    “Who will Love My Country?  The truth is no one but you and I. The foreigner cannot love our country the way we will love it. Neither can you love other country more than you will like your own.
    “We shall overcome all challenges if the leadership is committed to truly serve the people, and avoid corruption which I believe that the current leadership will tackle.
    “Definitely not insurgency or Fulani herdsmen’s menace will divide us because with the help of God and cooperation of the citizenry and the gallant security forces, we shall soon conquer.”
    Senator Ekweremadu in his speech asked Nigerians to show more love for the country by rising above tribe, ethnic, religious and political persuasions, with a view to subordinate all the aforementioned interests, to the overriding interest of the country.
    He also called on Nigerian leaders to govern effectively and use power wisely, saying that was the only way to safeguard the citizens’ interest.
    He noted that to love Nigeria, would entail Nigerians to critically revise and reexamine their attitudes,  values, and how they treat one another, which “demands of us some sacrifice.”
    He asked: “Are we going to bequeath to our children a banner stained by corruption, bad governance, ineffective leadership, ethnicity, slacking moral values, decadence, mediocrity, and sloth? God forbid!”
    He said Nigeria needed to return to the path of progress and unity charted by the founding fathers.
    He said: “If you are on a journey and you find out that you are travelling the wrong road, the right thing to do is to turn back and take the right path.
    “We must be ready to surrender our perceived narrow advantages to the general good. We must let go, for unless you release the man you are holding to the ground, you would not also be able to move an inch. Now is the time to offer one another a hand of comradeship and together we can move to the Promised Land.”
    He reiterated the fact that he wrote the book, not as the Deputy President of the Senate, nor as a card carrying member of any political party, but as a patriotic Nigerian, who was concerned about Nigeria’s future.
    He added, “I lay no claims to having the solutions to Nigeria’s problems; I simply want to challenge and inspire Nigerians to rise above ethnic, partisan and selfish interests and focus more on how to build a better country for us and our children.”
    Ekweremadu, further charged Nigerian Leaders to “show fidelity to democratic imperatives of accountability and transparency, respect the laws of the land and respect the rights and liberties of citizens.
    “Nobody can save or help Nigeria but Nigerians. As Timi Dakolo rightly pointed out in his thought-provoking song, Great Nation, ‘We are all we have’. That is the message of this book.  There are no problems Nigerians cannot solve if we act in good faith, guided by the nation’s best interest.
    At the event, where a minute silence, at the behest of Ekweremadu, was observed in honour of those who were killed in Uzo Uwani in Enugu State as well as other parts of the country, the Deputy President of the Senate said “the sad incident further reinforces the need for this book and the ideas espoused in the book”.
    “The primary responsibility of government is the security of lives and properties of the citizens. We must rethink our security system to serve us better”, he declared.
    The book presentation had in attendance a retinue of serving and former governors, ministers, party leaders, federal lawmakers, across political divides.
    It also recorded a high turnout of members of the academia, diplomatic corps, and the civil society.
  • FG ‘still tracking’ Chibok girls

    FG ‘still tracking’ Chibok girls

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has restated commitment of the Federal Government to tracking the location of the missing Chibok girls.

    Mohammed said it was important for the military to adopt less lethal procedures compared with the drastic measures employed by neigbouring countries along the Sambisa Forest.

    He said the public should commend the military and provide needed information to further decapitate the insurgents.

    Mohammed, who spoke during Channels TV, Sunrise programme, said “we are a bit constrained. I know that some countries have set certain fire around the Sambisa forest in order to smoke out the Boko Haram insurgents but we are being careful because we are still looking for the Chibok girls and we do not want unnecessary collateral casualties.

    “I know that many of our neighbours like Mali and Niger have employed certain procedures because of our major objective that we are still looking for the Chibok girls, so in some parts of Sambisa forest, we cannot adopt such drastic approaches.”

    The 235 Chibok girls were declared missing for about 300 days, while efforts were made to ensure their safe arrival.

    The Minister stated that prior to the assumption of the current administration; the entire north east was almost taken over by the insurgents.

    However, he restated need to applaud the military for recovering about 20 local governments from the entire councils lose to the sect.

    “People must own the war. They must report suspicious movements and complement efforts of the military. How many bars or football viewing centres in Lagos can you secure? No, but if you have enough information to beef up the security, it would help,” he added.

    “That is absolutely incorrect. It is possible for insurgents to lay ambush on the road. It doesn’t mean that they are in control of those local governments. I travelled 89 kilometres from Maiduguri to Bama.

    “We are not saying we are going to route or eliminate ambush or attacks overnight. It’s never done in any insurgency but what we are just giving the fact, less than a year ago, the entire north east was
    almost in their control, today they don’t have that kind of command. It’s just about one local government that they have swayed at all,” the Minister said.

    He emphasized that the public should complement efforts of the military by contributing to intelligence gathering.

  • “Nigerians will get the change they voted for”

    “Nigerians will get the change they voted for”

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has assured Nigerians that the change they voted for is guaranteed, promising better times.

    The Minister on Tuesday said that “this Government will not give excuses. The painstaking and methodical approach by the Buhari Administration, its deep analysis and understanding of the challenges and the recent inauguration of the cabinet will herald a new dawn.”

    Alhaji Mohammed, who stated this at a meeting with representatives of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Abuja on Tuesday, said that in the next few days, the Administration will start firing from all cylinders, starting with the unveiling of the 2016 budget.

    “Nigerians will witness measurable and impactful progress in all spheres of governance. We shall not abandon our social intervention policies such as one meal a day for school children and the payment of 5,000 Naira each to vulnerable Nigerians. We are committed to lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty,” Alhaji Mohammed said.

    On how the Administration will fund its programmes, in view of the drastic fall in the price of crude oil, the Minister said it would be through the diversification of the economy, plugging of leakages as well as exploiting and widening the country’s tax base without necessarily raising taxes.

    “A comparative analysis between Nigeria and South Africa will drive the point home. In 2013, with a population of 160 million and GDP of $510 billion, Nigeria collected $30 billion in taxes, whereas South Africa, with a population of 54 million and GDP of $366 billion, collected $74 billion in taxes.

    “In 2014, Nigeria, with a population of 170 million and GDP of $535 billion, collected $26 billion, while South Africa, with a GDP of $350 billion and population of 54 million, raked in $70 billion. From the figures, it is obvious that if only we can widen our tax base, we do not need to raise taxes to increase our tax revenue,” he said.

    The Minister commended the CSOs for the role they played during the last general elections, saying the organizations, especially those grouped under the Situation Room, contributed hugely to the success of the polls.

    He said the Buhari Administration will carry the Civil Society along in its efforts to change, for the better, the country’s fortunes.

    “That is why we have started our engagement with you this early. Therefore, this will be the first in a series of engagements with the Civil Society. We see you as credible, and we see you as patriots, who are genuinely interested in the welfare of the people,” the Minister said.

    In his speech on behalf of The Situation Room, Mr. Clement Nwankwo urged the Federal Government to tackle growing national issues with the urgency that it deserves.

    “Expectations are very high amongst Nigerians for the changes promised by General Buhari during the campaigns. The need to deliver on campaign promises is against the background of the complete lack of public trust in government and its institutions,” he noted.

    Mr. Nwankwo listed urgent symbolic steps and quick wins to be urgently implemented by the government as including transparency and openness of recovered loots from officials of the immediate past regime, openness of the national budget, sale of some of the presidential jets, zero tolerance for impunity and the probe of the FCDA land swap.

    [news_box style=”2″ display=”tag” link_target=”_blank” tag=”Minister” count=”8″ show_more=”on”]