The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • Empowering more Nigerians 

    The President Muhammadu Buhari administration has taken its Social Investment Programmes (SIPs) to the grassroots to assist petty traders financially.

    The newly launched initiative under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), called the TraderMoni, plans to empower at least two million petty traders across the country before end of 2018.

    Knowing that many of the petty traders don’t have what the commercial banks require to grant them loans, the Buhari’s administration through the new programme is determined to boost the businesses of such pretty traders to make them grow.

    To make this possible, the government has now started to give collateral free loans to at least 30,000 beneficiaries in each states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    To select and identify beneficiaries, no less than 4,000 enumeration agents have been engaged by the Bank of Industry.

    The petty traders are now getting N10,000 collateral free loans.

    They are entitled to between N15,000 and N50,000 fresh loan the moment they pay back the initial N10,000 loan at the end of six months.

    Earlier, the government’s attention was big traders, where it gave much as N100, 000 each to traders under the programme, which is also a GEEP programme.

    The new programme, TraderMoni, which is rolling from state to state, has already taken place in Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Abia and Osun states and the FCT.

    For Lagos State alone, the scheme was launched in five markets including in Mushin, Ikotun, Agege, Ketu, and Abule Egba.

    Launching the scheme in Utako in the FCT, last Thursday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said, ”This programme is for the petty traders selling in the markets, it is not for bigger traders. It is for the petty traders to improve their businesses.

    “For now, we are giving you N10, 000, if you pay back in six months or less, you will get another N15,000.

    “We want to encourage petty traders, so that they can have sufficient amount to improve their businesses.

    “The one we did before was for big traders under the GEEP programme, we gave them as much as N100,000. If you do well with this one we are giving you now, we will increase the amount.

    “Everybody can benefit from this scheme, the President himself has said that he wants to make sure that those who are selling small items in the markets benefit from this programme.

    “When we give you this money, we want you to pay back and no interest is involved.” he stated

    The message was not different when Osinbajo launched the scheme in Odo-Ori market and Abattoir in Iwo, Osun State last Tuesday.

    He said “The policy of the Federal Government is to support businesses, not just big businesses but small, medium-sized businesses and micro businesses.

    “We recognise the hard work of traders who wake up everyday and toil in the markets with a dream to become financially independent and secure a future for themselves and their children.

    “We will give them more as they begin to repay the N10,000. If they repay the N10,000, they will be given N15,000.

    “And if that is repaid, they would be given N20,000. We are working with the banks to open accounts with BVNs for TraderMoni beneficiaries so that they can be financially included.” he stated

    Many Nigerians, no doubt, have been expressing appreciation to the Federal Government for introducing the new scheme, TraderMoni.

    Some other Nigerians have also criticised the new scheme as they linked it to the forthcoming elections and seeing it as moves to get the support of more Nigerians.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had topped the list of Nigerians and political parties that have criticised the new scheme.

    Specifically faulting the launching of the scheme in Osun State, PDP’s spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, criticised the scheme on his Twitter handle

    “It’s a shame that a pastor and a professor of law, VP @ProfOsinbajo will stoop this low to encourage the 10k “agbo jedi” empowerment in Osun.

    “Aregbe has made life so pitiable for Osun citizens,” he stated

    A former Minister of Education and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) Group, Oby Ezekwezili, on her Twitter handle also accused the Federal Government of “deliberately corrupting the elections in Osun” by launching the TraderMoni scheme in the state three weeks before its scheduled governorship elections.”

    “The Federal Government either failed to be Ethically Circumspect or in fact Deliberately decided to CORRUPT the Elections in Osun by handing out Cash to Traders on the heels of the State Elections,” Ezekwezili tweeted on her Twitter page.

    “Such behaviour after the Grand Corrupting of Voters in Ekiti is REPREHENSIBLE,” She stated.

    Whether it is for political reasons or otherwise, any move that will take more Nigerians out of poverty should be welcomed by all.

    The government should continue to show sincerity and commitments towards eradicating poverty in the land.

    That, definitely, is part of the change they hoped to see in the present administration.

  • PDP Govs. decry alleged persecution by security agencies

    Governors elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have decried what they described as the politicization of the nation’s security agencies by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government.

    Rising from an emergency meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum held at the Ekiti State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja on Monday, the governors accused the security agencies of having become organs and tools of the federal government to harass and intimidate opposition and dissenting voices.

    In a communique issued after the meeting and signed by the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, the governors also complained that security agencies were being used to perpetrate electoral fraud.

    They cited instances of such abuse in states like Ekiti, Osun and Rivers states. They urged the security agencies to be non-partisan in the performance of their duties in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.

    The communique read, “The Forum further condemned the flagrant violation of democratic ethos by operatives of this government as shown recently in the infamous act by the Police at the residence of Elder Statesman, Pa Edwin Clark, and the harassment of innocent Nigerians across the country on frivolous claims.

    Read Also: Sokoto PDP is united, focused -Tambuwal

    “The Forum noted the INEC needs to reinvent itself as a truly independent umpire of the electoral process in the country. For now, we have no confidence in INEC. The commission has conducted itself as a tool of the APC-led Federal Government, especially with the roles of the Chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, and a National Commissioner, Mrs. Amina Zakari.

    “The Forum condemned the surreptitious, selective and suspicious payment of N16 billion purportedly from the Paris Club Refund. We are of the view that the money is to fund corrupt inducement of voters in the forthcoming Governorship election in Osun State on September 22, 2018.

    “The Forum resolved to have an all-inclusive meeting with all the presidential aspirants, with the National Chairman, two national officers of the party, and the leaders of the party in both chambers of the National Assembly in attendance”.

    The governors also condemned unequivocally, the refusal or failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign into law the amended Electoral Act.

    According to them, the action of the President was an indication that Buhari and his party were afraid of electronic voting or the introduction of technology into the electoral system.

  • Buhari not against e-voting, card readers, says Presidency

    President Muhammadu Buhari has nothing against e-voting and the use of card readers in the upcoming elections, the Presidency said yesterday.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity,  Garba Shehu, rejected the allegations by some opposition politicians and newspaper editorial opinions creating the impression that the President was against its use in coming elections.

    He also said that it was not true that the allegations informed the President’s decision to decline assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, thrice.

    He said: “We wish to state in clear and unambiguous terms that the issue of e-voting and use of card readers was never an issue for the President’s decision to decline assent to the Bill.

    “It is equally important that this issue was not raised either by the Executive or the Legislature in the recent reviews. Moreover, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) adoption of e-voting reforms is enshrined in the 2015 Amendment Act to the Electoral Reform Act. Card reader is therefore a settled matter.” he said

    According to him, the President’s recent decision to decline assent to the Bill has no effect whatsoever on INEC’s use of card readers.

    He added: “Regrettably, purveyors of ‘fake news’ have been quick to churn out sensational headlines such as that of a leading newspaper, which screamed: “Card Reader in Jeopardy, Buhari Rejects Electoral Act Amendment Bill Again.

    “Unfortunately, most of the critics of the President, including the editorial of a national daily this morning (yesterday) read out parts of the letters, as made available by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, detailing the issues that were of concern to the government.

    “An issue has been raised by the President concerning some ill-prepared and flawed parts of the bill for which corrections needed to be made to allow for his signature.

    “The President wanted engagement with the parliament for the corrections to be effected so that, at the end of the day, both arms of government will be happy with the fact that we have a good electoral law in place.”

    Stressing that the President was not in confrontation with the parliament on the issue, Shehu said: “He has asked his officials to dialogue with the legislature for the corrections to be effected.

    “As for his alleged rejection of the card reader, nothing can be farther from the truth.

    “The President is the country’s number one fan of the card reader. For a candidate who ran three times and “lost” in an electoral environment in which votes were allocated and losers asked to go to court if they felt unhappy, the President knows fully well the role that the card reader played in his emergence in 2015.

    “He has said times without number that he would strengthen and widen its application in the country and this, he is determined to do.

    “Accordingly, we would like to appeal, especially to the media to disregard baseless allegations against the President, even as he puts in his best efforts in working with the National Assembly to give the nation a good electoral law, and in time.

    “The card reader is not in danger of being discarded. It is a sine qua non for credible elections.

    “We appeal to the National Assembly to reconvene as soon as possible to consider and approve the necessary corrections to the amended electoral act.”

     

  • Buhari’s visit to China yielding results, says APC UK

    The United Kingdom chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s official visit to China is yielding result.

    Mr. Ade Omole, leader of the chapter, in a statement yesterday in Abuja to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the President deserved commendation.

    He stressed that the visit was yielding results, especially with the assurances from the Joint Venture Partners handling the 3,050 Megawatts Mambilla Hydro-electric Plant project.

    Omole said the fact that work would begin on the project early next year, as assured by the contractors, was a good development that deserved praise.

    He recalled that President Buhari received the assurance at a meeting with Prof Lyu Ze Xiang, the president of Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC), the construction company handling the project, in Beijing, China during the visit.

    “Electricity is key to national growth and a major feature for business sustainability.

    “We understand how critical the Mambilla project is to your country and we will take a serious look at it and ensure that it succeeds because of its social and economic importance.

    “We understand the importance of this project to the economic and social well-being of Nigeria,” Xiang said during the visit.

    Omole said arrangements on the beginning of the project in early 2019 had reached advanced stage, adding that the Federal Government was doing everything to improve people’s lives.

    “The contractor has assured that pre-commencement work will begin with access to site and putting in place support infrastructure such as power, water and transportation,” he noted.

    Omole said when completed, the plant would provide 3050 megawatts of electricity, thereby boosting the power grid for development.

    NAN reports that President Buhari had asked for support from China at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, for the country’s aspiration to build the 3050 Megawatts Mambila hydroelectric power project in Taraba State.

    This followed the signing of $328million for the Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone Phase II (NICTIB II) project by the two countries.

    The concessional loan agreement between Galaxy Backbone Limited and Huawei Technologies Limited (HUAWEI) was signed by Finance Minister Kemi Adesoun and Wang Xiaotoa, the director-general, International Development Agency, in the presence of presidents of the two countries.

    Nigeria and China also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR).

     

     

  • Buhari to Catholic bishops: no plan to islamise Nigeria

    There is no plan to islamise Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari told Catholic bishops in Sokoto yesterday.

    Speaking at the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), the President said contrary to the propaganda and narrative in some quarters, there was no fact to indicate that the present administration was out to Islamise Nigeria.

    He noted with dismay that such negative propaganda and innuendos were being promoted by outsiders.

    According to him, such religious propaganda has created suspicion and distrust, leading to division and disharmony in the country.

    Buhari, who spoke through the Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF), Boss Mustapha, stressed that such negative propaganda being promoted included, the membership of Nigeria to the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), introduction of Shariah in northern states, the Boko Haram insurgency as well as farmers/herdsmen clashes.

    He blamed the propanda on some desperate politicians, who have decided to use religion as a tool to spread hate and division.

    Saying the four issues predated the present administration, the President said: “It is pertinent to note that due to circumstances we have found ourselves as a nation, suspicion on religious grounds has almost destroyed the fabrics of unity and love that bind us.

    “There has been a lot of negative propaganda being instigated by outsiders and finds narrative in the church that there is a plan to islamise Nigeria without any credible fact.

    “The issue of membership of Nigeria to OIC, Shariah and farmers/herdsmen clashes had created a lot of suspicion in the minds of the people despite the fact that the problems had existed in the country for several decades.”

    Buhari noted that Christian and Muslim religious leaders had been victims of killings in some parts of the country.

    Restating the Federal Government commitment to security of lives and property, he said: “I assure all Nigerians that criminals will be fished out and dealt with. The Federal Government will continue to provide a safe society for everyone.

    “The fight against the Boko Haram insurgency is achieving the desired goal, while efforts are being made to tackle myriad of challenges in the polity.”

    The President believed that the country would overcome its myriad of challenges.

    He stressed the need for the church, especially Catholic bishops, to rise up to the occasion and educate the people on the negative propaganda being spread by politicians in order to achieve their selfish aims.

    “As you round off this conference, I urge you to go back to your various communities and preach a message of hope, reconciliation and peace,” he said.

    In a remark, Conference President Augustine Akubueze said the bishops were in Sokoto to deliberate on issues affecting the church and the nation, as well as advise Nigerians to make informed decisions ahead of 2019 elections.

    He called on Nigerians not to despair, despite the challenges bedevilling the country, stressing that only those who confronted their challenges achieved the desired goals.

    Akabueze cautioned youths against engaging in fraudulent acts, saying they should uphold the virtues of honesty.

    He warned politicians to desist from using religion and ethnicity to divide Nigerians.

    The cleric said: “We want to use this medium to warn politicians who are instigating hatred and division by using religion and ethnicity, to desist forthwith.

    “We say to these politicians, enough of your deceit. They steal our money while they distract us with religion.”

    The Apostolic Nuncio of Nigeria, Monsignor Antonio Filipazzi, who preached peaceful coexistence, urged the government to end the violence ravaging some parts of the country.

    He said the people should rather give priority to peace and dialogue among various religious and ethnic groups.

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, enjoined the bishops to redouble their efforts towards promoting peace and mutual understanding among various religious groups.

     

  • Ruin of law

    Let’s not get it wrong. President Muhammadu Buhari did not blindside us with the rule of law discharge. From many comments, including the sapient intervention from Professor Wole Soyinka, the president emerged as though plotting a stealth outburst of cannonades on human rights.

    We don’t have to look to see that we have been bleeding inside our bones. We don’t need to expect another blow. In the words of a character in Shakespeare’s play, King Lear, we can “see it feelingly.” If it happens later, it is not because we needed an ominous reassurance of the coming reign of terror. Buhari is not a stealth bomber. He is a B-2 Bomber, telegraphing the doom ahead of its evil hour. If you don’t see, it is because you are not looking, or you are not hearing.

    When he remarked that the national interest superseded the rule of law, he was speaking from an instinct. He was echoing what he was already doing and what he understood by the rule of law. He was not asking anyone to agree or disagree. He was not throwing the matter open for debate. He was just making what he saw as a routine affirmation of tested truth.

    It was a written speech. So, it was no accidental discharge. His intellectually vacant attorney general must have seen that cave man’s justice in a presidential speech of the 21st century, and he let it go.

    The tested truth Buhari learned when he was in the army. The Nigerian Army, rooted in the old hierarchy of colonial logic, saw the state as the first estate. The state made the laws, and the laws were subject to the state. He served in the army cut out of the Prussian era of the 19th century. It was an army with a state and not a state with an army. The army saw itself as the creator of the state, and the state then created the laws. How could the national interest of such a state be subject to the rule of law when the rule of law was the baby of a cabal in power?

    Nor is Buhari alone. Our political elite is not innocent. The APC at the moment is in the grips of a philosophical crisis as to whether to adopt direct or indirect primaries. Our elite find it difficult to form a consensus on what values should undergird our laws. So, how could they agree on a law or set of rules? Laws for our leaders are not essentially about values, but interests. In such a scenario, rule of law, or the law of rules, will matter only to the extent that they fondle their interests.

    Buhari comes from two traditions that make such a contempt for the rule of law feel like a force of nature. Apart from the army, it is the feudal background. In such cases, it is easy to understand that he sees the supremacy of what he calls national interest as preceding the law. It has always been so in this country, even under our so-called democratic presidents. John Adams described the America as a nation of laws and not of men. His world view is the opposite, just like most of our political elite.

    Obj did that when he was president. Jonathan did so when he was president. Buhari is doing so now. They define national interest in their own rights.  They privatised the definition of the interest, and go ahead and act with force. They don’t see it as impunity but the anguished majesty of the law.

    In the case of Sambo Dasuki, whatever he has done wrong, is perceived as against the nation’s interest. If the law courts are disobeyed, it is because the law is foolish, and they who made the law are wiser.  If El Zak Zaki remains under lock and key, it is because John Locke’s concept of law and liberty make no sense except in the English or European provenance where the philosopher conceived it.

    We need to free our democracy for democracy’s sake. We have not understood the power of law over individuals, even if that individual is the president. That is what is still malignant in this democracy. The strong man edges out the small man because he contains the law. The law was made for the big man and not the big man for the law.

    History has recorded cases where the law was abandoned in democracies. One of such was during the Second World War in the United States. Under President Franklin Roosevelt, Japanese Americans were swept into camps because the United States was at war with Japan. But the Japanese were citizens like any other Caucasian. But Roosevelt saw it differently. The nation was largely quiet. It was a gross violation of individual liberty and the sovereignty of human rights. Today, the Caucasians conveniently lament that episode. The second was during the American Civil War, and Abraham Lincoln suspended the habeas corpus. Habeas corpus is a writ that requires a person who has been arrested to be brought before the court. Lincoln saw this as a luxury in war just as the fear in Roosevelt prompted him to intern the Japanese Americans.

    The difference between what Buhari is doing and what Lincoln did was that Honest Abe sought Congressional approval. Roosevelt invoked his executive order, and put over 110,000 persons in concentration camps.

    It shows that democracy is very fragile and one man can amass coercive powers and it could seem legitimate. In the 1960’s, historian Arthur M. Schlesinger called it “the imperial presidency,” but it dates back to the age of President Andrew Jackson, the role model of Trump in his fever of xenophobia and white supremacy.  Such powers are in vogue these days from Donald trump in the United States to Duterte in the Philippines. It is nothing new today, but it has taken over the psyche of desperate masses in what Yale professor David Runciman describes as “zombie electorate” in his new book, How Democracy Ends. Law is in danger of the mob today because a popular leader can suspend a law and the people will follow.

    This undearmines the purpose of the rule of law. On the surface, the argument is that the law belongs to the people, and if the majority agree with the suspension of a law or a roguish update of its meaning, then actions taken by the new interpretation are legal. Especially if you get judges to back you up. Clever dictators don’t undermine the law, they remake them. That is what is dangerous. From the preventive detention act of the first republic and in several African countries in the 1960’s to decree two. When Buhari said, “the press? I will tamper with it,” he found a law to justify it. Rule of law is great, but whose rule of law before we ruin it?

    Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, even apartheid had what you may call popular governments, and their laws, however savage, trumped all common-sense approaches. That is why some political philosophers have called for what is termed epistocracy, which is system based on knowledge. But who determines when the electorate is wise or foolish? John Stuart Mill believed in this, but modern democracies are not fuelled by logic but sentiment. Is it a death knell for democracy, or it is just a puff that will pass away? It is good to fight for the rule of law, but let us know the law first. As Thoreau said, “the law never made anyone a whit more just,”

    Our own democracy is looking more like a “dumbocracy” than an epistocracy, and in that sense we are no different from what is prevailing in the world. Poverty is playing a big role in this, and our politicians are exploiting this cynical feast.

     

     

    Lalong vs Dalung

    The names sound almost the same. They have two phonemes.  One starts with an L and the other with a D. In the second part of the name, they sound the same, except that one is spelt with an O and the other with a U. They hail from Plateau State, and they are both politicians. Both are as far apart as their names are close. The first is Simon Lalong, Plateau State Governor. The other is Solomon Dalung, sports minister.

    But it is Dalung that is long on foolishness. It beats me why Buhari has not fired this disgrace in the Federal Executive Council. This is the man who has disgraced Nigerian football, disdained the rule of law, flouted the codes of international soccer and FIFA and thrown soccer in chaos. As if that is not enough, he has the shameless boldness to speak on violence in Plateau, stoking the blame on his not-namesake.

    Quite a few days before the rise of violence, the state warned that some people were trying to revive violence for political reasons, and we saw the series of killings afterwards. What is Dalung doing in the centre stoking the flames in his own state by throwing rhetorical flames at Gov. Lalong? The violence ought to be handled by the Federal Government of which he is a part, and if politics is in the heart of it, he should be part of the solution. Shame indeed.

     

  • 2018 Hajj: NAHCON lauds President Buhari, Saudi authorities

    The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria(NAHCON) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his continued support to the activities of the commission and paving the way for it to conduct successful Hajj operations.

    The Head of Public Affairs Division of the commission, Mrs Fatima Sanda, in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, said the Chairman of the commission, Abdullahi Muhammadu, made the commendation during a meeting with the Chairmen of State Pilgrims Boards in Makkah.

    Muhammad also lauded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for overseeing the Hajj season devoid of outbreak of any major diseases and mishaps, and called for more prayers for more prosperous Hajj seasons.

    He acknowledged how difficult handling the affairs of millions of people from different socio-cultural backgrounds could be, yet, he said, the Saudi Authorities, went “extra mile to protect and provide satisfaction to guests of Allah”.

    Similarly, the chairman also expressed appreciation to all the Chairmen of State Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards, Nigerian pilgrims, and all relevant Agencies and stakeholders for ensuring a successful 2018 Hajj operation.

    He urged them to continue to join hands with NAHCON and air carriers for the smooth movement of pilgrims back to Nigeria.

    He also advised them to educate pilgrims on the need to comply with luggage regulations to avoid unnecessary delays at screening points at the airport.

    Read also: PDP: Anger in Mark’s, Jang’s camps over Saraki’s consensus bid

    Muhammad praised Nigerian pilgrims for their patience, comportment, especially their orderliness before, during and after the Hajj rites.

    He said that most of the Nigerian pilgrims remained within the precincts defined for hand luggage, thus, the bane of arriving Jedda Airport with multiple excess luggage was minimal compared to other years.

    He promised that all the pilgrims would be transported back to Nigeria within the shortest time possible, adding that 40 flights had so far been transported – about 12,000 pilgrims back to Nigeria with FlyNas making the most trips.

    ” So far, Kogi, Oyo,Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory have concluded movement of pilgrims back to Nigeria, while Ogun, Lagos are at the verge of concluding.

    Meanwhile, three groups comprising staff of NAHCON and State Pilgrims Boards have been created to begin preparations for 2019 Hajj, vis-a-vis arrangements for accommodation and other matters in Makkah and Madinah.

  • 47 APC aspirants kick against indirect primaries in Katsina

    A total of 47 aspirants under the All Progressive Congress ( APC ) have unanimously opposed the adoption of indirect primaries by the party in Katsina State in electing the party’s candidates for the 2019 general elections.

    This is contained in a communique signed by Alhaji Abubakar Samaila, on behalf of the aspirants, and made available to newsmen on Saturday in Katsina.

    ‘’47 aspirants opposed the use of indirect primaries in the state in electing the party flag bearers for various positions during the elections.

    ‘’Direct primaries remained the most transparent and credible process of electing popular candidates for the party.

    Read Also: Shekarau officially defects to APC

    ‘’We are not part of those who adopted indirect primaries in the state, we have unanimously rejected any process other than direct primaries in electing those that will represent the party in 2019 elections,’’ he said said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the party had adopted indirect primaries during its stakeholders meeting held on Thursday, and said that the decision was binding on every member of the party in the state.

    The APC Chairman, Alhaji Shitu  Shitu, also said that the stakeholders have unanimously adopted both President Muhammadu Buhari and Gov. Aminu Masari as sole candidates for President and Governor respectively in 2019.

  • 2019: Buhari deserves second term – party chieftain

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi, Chief Egwu Chima said that President Muhammadu Buhari had done well in the delivery of his electoral promises to deserve a second term.

    Chima, a former Commissioner of Information in Ebonyi, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday in Abakaliki.

    He said that the outstanding performance of the President in his first term had brought a lot of attraction to the office of the presidency of the country as attested by the number of presidential aspirants jostling to take over from him.

    Chima said that Buhari had restored and repositioned the country’s battered international image, making Nigeria a hub for genuine international investors.

    The party chieftain said that though there were still some challenges in the country, Buhari had performed remarkably and had acquitted himself well as president of the country.

    Chima, who is also a member of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), said those who said Buhari had not done well were either playing politics or refused to check the facts.

    According to him, the president has achieved a lot in the areas on which he anchored his campaign promises, despite the herculean problems he met on ground.

    “President Buhari has done well based on the facts available and not sentiments.

    “He has done well in the delivery of his campaign promises despite the big problems he met on ground, especially in the fight against financial corruption, insurgency, and creating job among others.

    Read Also: Group purchase nomination form for Buhari

    “He has made the office of the presidency more attractive than any other president before him.

    “The multiplicity of presidential aspirants, especially from the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), jostling to take over from Buhari is a testimony of one fact; thatt Buhari has made the office more attractive.

    “Others who had ruled this country before dwelt on fear, trepidation, not identifying real issues and had played to the gallery.

    “But he came and tackled what others feared to tackle and confronted those issues posing national disgrace and embarrassment head long without fear or favour.

    “It is the excellent work that he is doing that he is now stepping on toes of those stealing from the country because so many of his policies are touching on the reach.

    “He has steered the country back to economic growth after the global economic recession while some other countries are still wriggling under recession caused by crash in commodity prices.

    “The country is out and is even doing well in the area of economic diversification,” Chima said.

    He said that the credibility problem of the other aspirants from the opposition parties had made Buhari almost a ‘sole’ candidate in the 2019 presidential election.

    “Buhari’s popularity has continued to soar with support base from every nook and cranny of the country.

    “With the ‘integrity’ problem of most of the major aspirants from the opposition parties, Buhari will run almost as a sole candidate in the presidential election.

    “Nigerians will massively vote to re-elect him for the second term in office in 2019.”

    Chima, one of the founding fathers of Ebonyi, said the opposition was only seeing Buhari’s performance based on their perspectives which did not reflect the facts on ground.

  • Buhari back home from China

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday night returned to Abuja after attending the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing.

    During the six-day visit to China, Buhari held bilateral talks and witnessed the signing of some agreements between Nigeria and China in the areas of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the economy.

    He also participated in the high-level dialogue between Chinese and African leaders and business representatives.

    At the FOCAC meeting, Buhari expressed the appreciation of ECOWAS member states for China’s increasing investment in the sub-region with the aim of building a prosperous and shared future.

    He noted that China was the largest investor in the sub-region in both private and public sectors, covering areas, such as infrastructure development in energy, agriculture, mining and health care.

    According to him, China also provides significant assistance in emergency humanitarian aid and response to climate change for Africa.

    Buhari, at the FOCAC Round Table on Tuesday, attended by African leaders and Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Nigeria’s partnership with China through the FOCAC had resulted in the execution of vital infrastructure projects worth over five billion dollars.