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Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • Soyinka, Falana to Nigerians: Beware of Obasanjo

    Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) on Sunday warned Nigerians to be wary of a coalition formed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, purportedly to rescue Nigeria.

    They said Nigeria was in danger when politicians like Obasanjo, who “supervised the sacking of democratic governments” in Oyo and Anambra states, pretend to be the messiah.

    Obasanjo formed the Coalition for Nigeria Movement on January 24, 2018, which he said was meant to salvage the nation.

    He asked President Muhammadu Buhari not to contest next year’s election as he had “failed.”

    Soyinka and Falana, who described but didn’t name Obasanjo, spoke in Lagos at the 80th post-humous birthday of the late human rights lawyer Gani Fawehinmi (SAN).

    The event was the themed ‘Democracy for the masses through proper and effective governance.

    It also featured former Kaduna State Governor, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Senator Shehu Sani, Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, Afenifere chieftain, Senator Femi Okurounmu, among others.

    Soyinka said: “All I want to say in connection with the title of today is just one word: vigilance….There is no question whatsoever that democracy is in danger.

    “And so I find it ironic, that those who’ve proved themselves the enemies of democracy who’ve really taken, they’ve really committed acts, not just negligence, but actually inaugurated certain policies which contributed to our being at this point again are once again coming out and positioning themselves as saviours, as messiahs, as the sole possible rescue mission that this nation can even dream of, a nation of nearly 200 million people.

    “I find it very strange, and I find it even stranger because at the beginning of this movement towards ‘Rescue Mission’, there were one or two organisations that came out under different names and they had people in them whom I considered worth following, worth encouraging, worth encouraging others to study closely and even consider following.

    “The next thing I knew, these movements were being hijacked by the very people who laid the foundation, an ironic word by the way, for the collapse of the democratic edifice.”

    Soyinka said he turned one of the groups down when it approached him.

    He said: “The next thing we know, they are forming coalitions and I was invited by one of the rescue missions to address them and I telephoned them and I asked the question, ‘wait a minute, which one are you? Are you the original people I saw or is there a faction or is there now a fatherly umbrella under which everybody is moving?’

    “And I told them; don’t even come near me, if you’ve signed up on one of those who are the enemies of democracy in this nation.

    “Those who inaugurated so-called constitutional amendment programmes, total charades, to assist them to continue to run, which has been scuttled by the direction known as tenure elongation, third term, etcetera for which the entire national treasury was almost bankrupted. And suddenly, here they are they are forming coalitions all over the place, once again, confusing people.

    “Who are the genuine leaders, who are those that we can trust?  The answer to that is very simple: look at their track record. That’s all.

    He advised Nigerians not to allow themselves “to plunge into a zone of amnesia, in which you conveniently forget unpleasant realities.

    “We’ve had presidents in this nation, some of whom inaugurated a never-ending democratic process, which landed us eventually under the most brutal dictators that this nation has ever known.

    “We had others also who actually supervised sacking of ‘democratic government’; I’m speaking of Anambra, I’m speaking of Oyo State. A governor was kidnapped under their watch with their complicity; in another instance, thugs actually entered the House of Assembly, sacked the legislators and installed their own candidates; under the same watch.

    “And they call themselves the God-designated watchman over the fortunes of this nation? And suddenly, here they are and I see Nigerians flocking to them and asking them once again to lead.

    “Mind you, they’ve said very clearly if it becomes a political party count me out o, but paths are already being beaten to their doors, control by subrogation.

    “Even if they do not individually put themselves back in the position of power, they are already smoothening the way for their surrogates, their stooges, so that they can continue to misrule from their cosy farmsteads. So, all I’m urging is: be very vigilant. Just look closely at their records, look at the company they keep.

    He urged the youth to “grow up” and take political power.

    “Why can’t a new generation actually rise, throw us all out of the window and take control of their own lives by themselves? Why do we keep recycling the same jaded, traitors, enemies of the people? Why do you need to go for blessing somewhere if you’ve made up your mind that it is time to take control of your own existence?

    “Once again, I don’t want to be misunderstood, I know what I think about this government when voting time comes, I know exactly where I’m going to cast my vote but I’m not going to allow anybody to hoodwink me and say I will show you the path. No, this will be adding insult to injury.”

    According to Falana, the government would confiscate some of Obasanjo’s assets, including a university, “at the right time.”

    Falana said: “Our country is undergoing serious crises of governance but we must be very careful so that we do not allow those who destroyed the country, those who ruined the nation to pose as the saviour of our people.

    Read Also: 2019: Obasanjo under fire for anti-Buhari campaign

    “There’s somebody living very close to this place who has been parading himself as the saviour of our people; this guy ruled the country for 11 and a half years cumulatively – three and a half years under the military, eight years under a civilian dispensation. And even wanted to do a third term but Nigerians rejected him.

    “The guy is going round the country now, claiming to have solutions to our problems; I wish to say here and we are challenging him to name one thing that he did, any problem of the country that he solved.

    “On the contrary, this guy wasted $16billion to generate darkness for the country. This guy formed and took over the resources of the country blindly under what he called blind trust.

    “Nigeria is the only country in the world where a sitting President and a sitting Vice-President established private universities when the government refused to fund public universities and other tertiary institutions. But let me tell,

    “Gani went to court to challenge the extortion of state governments and contractors by a man who realised about N7billion to set up a so-called library.

    “Under the constitution, any gift received while you are in office, other than customary gifts, is forfeitable to the state; therefore, at the right time, this country, when it is properly organised will take over all those universities and libraries that were set up with public funds and that may be sooner than you think.”

    Kaduna State Senator, Sani, said Nigeria is not yet in a true democracy.

    He said: “In fact, our country is sick, the republic is sick; our people are dying, violence, bloodshed, killings, mass murder is becoming the emblem of our democracy today.

    “We are out of PDP misrule but we will be deceiving ourselves to say we are in the Promise Land; we are not in the Promise Land. We must keep vigil,

    “The political ruling elite are not yet prepared to see to a democratic Nigeria. Nigeria’s political reality is about personal interest.

    “Those who destroyed our country in the past are very much present as born against.”

    He urged Nigerians of integrity to support Buhari because “You can’t build a country because of the integrity of one person. The integrity of one person is not enough to rule and sustain a state. We have a President who is a man of integrity but integrity is not enough for leadership.”

    Sowore lamented that Nigerians rejected Gani for Obasanjo in 1999.

    He said: “I want to say very briefly that Nigeria must be regretting that when they had a chance to choose between Chief Gani Fawehinmi and a Barabbas, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, they decided to choose Obasanjo instead of choosing Gani Fawehinmi and that is why we are regretting today.

  • SDP to Buhari: Ngerian Youths are creative, hardworking

    The Social Democratic Party, (SDP), has declared that Nigerian youths are very creative and hardworking.

    This is contrary to the statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    SDP said tagging Nigerian youths as lazy as done by the president: “is the worst form of blackmail and character assassination that can ever be visited on the ever promising Nigerian youths”.

    National Publicity Secretary of the party Alfa Mohammed said in a statement on Sunday and made available to The Nation that: ” instead of marketing the resilience, creativity and productivity of Nigerian youths before  investors abroad, Mr President chose to de -market them.

    “The president’s claim exposes his ignorance of the great achievements and the breakthroughs in the film, music, sports industries and entrepreneurship for which our youths are being applauded internationally

    “Despite the prevailing economic hostilities created by poor government policies millions of Nigerian youths  still troop out daily  to the s factories, farms and offices to struggle to make ends meet”.

    Alfa Mohammed said it was therefore slanderous and libelous to tag such generation of youths as lazy.

    Mohammed said: “By all standards, Nigerian youths are the most hardworking and productive youths on earth.”

  • The week that was

    Two things happened this past week, indeed, within 24 hours of each other that very much gladdened my heart. These are, President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of irrepressible Festus Keyamo SAN, as his campaign’s chief spokesperson, by accepting which Keyamo demonstrated that despite the gloom and doom being deliberately celebrated  on social media by a colony of wailers, many there still are out there, who appreciate President Buhari’s  determined effort to rid this country of its putrid past of the PDP years,  and to pull it out of the hole of debauchery to which their unprecedented looting  landed it..

    In reacting to his appointment, Keyamo   said:  “I wholeheartedly and proudly accept the challenge to do this for the good of my country and for posterity. For in President Buhari I have found an approximation of the lofty values I cherish and have fought for all my life.

    “In the past two and half decades, I have been under intense public scrutiny while engaging successive governments (military and civilian) in the most critical way possible. ”The public has also watched me grow steadily all the way from that young, restless lawyer to the exalted position of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). In the process of my restless and relentless engagements of the authorities, I have been hounded, arrested, detained, paraded like a criminal, charged and discharged from courts severally, but I have remained unbowed.

    Continuing, he said the ultimate aim of every struggle is not really to enthrone a perfect, flawless system. “Only the starry-eyed, younger ones think such is possible. That is Utopia. Rather, the ultimate aim of the struggle is to enthrone a government (yes, even with the normal human flaws) that is focused, determined and fiercely opposed to the unscrupulous wheeler-dealers in the society, committed to protecting the interests of the downtrodden, the weak and the vulnerable. One of the obvious ways to ensure a better society  is to ensure that what belongs to all is not cornered by a few; and if they do so, to ensure that they are made to account and be brought to justice. I can boldly say,” he went on,” that no government in the history of Nigeria has recovered so much looted funds as that of President Muhammadu Buhari. The fact that the Buhari regime has clearly chosen this path in protecting the masses is one of the many reasons why I am proud and bold about my support for the re-election bid of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “And in doing this, I take a cue from my revered late boss, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN who mentored me. Throughout his career, he consistently and fiercely engaged every government in Nigeria and suffered as a result. The only government he supported fully was that led by General Muhammdu Buhari in 1984 – 1985; and that was to the chagrin of some of his professional colleagues and fellow “radicals”. However, he saw what they did not see at that time, because when that government was overthrown by General Babangida, what followed was the worst era in our history in terms of institutionalising corruption and political chicanery in Nigeria.”

    Fracas in the Senate

    In a Facebook post during the past week, Barrister Babatunde Ogala, former member. Lagos State House of Assembly, wrote as follows on the above:

    “…it is a highly condemnable act of brigandage and assault not just on the legislature but the constitution. It is sheer anarchy.  But in so saying, one must note that the Senate set the stage for the madness and anarchy with its suspension of Senator Omo-Agege in flagrant disregard of the Senate Rules and the Orders of Court. And why do I say so? The rules of the Senate has expressly provided that once a matter is pending before a court of law, the Senate shall not deliberate on same or do any act that may interfere with the proceedings of the court.

    Senator Omo-Agege had gone to court and obtained an order of Court to restrain the Senate and its Committee on Ethics and Privileges from taking further steps on the investigations of his conduct pending the determination of the suit.

    Despite receiving the Order of Court, the Senate at plenary rather than stay action proceeded to condemn the order of Court and abuse the judge who granted the order. It even had the temerity to adopt a motion to write and indeed wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria threatening and asking him to call judges to order.

    As if that was not enough, went ahead to invite the senator who at the committee sitting, declined to speak, reminding  the committee of the order of Court and  the Senate rule that prohibits it from deliberating on a matter that’s lis pendis.

    Before the instant case, he went on, the Federal High Court had ruled in the Senator Ali Ndume v NASS  case that the Senate or any legislative house  had no constitutional powers to suspend an elected  member holding  that it is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void.  In spite of all these, the Senate still went ahead to suspend the senator.

    Concluding, he said, “while I condemn the desecration of the hallowed chambers I hold the Senate fully responsible for laying the foundation for this anarchy.

    Reacting to the above, I wrote: “This ‘PDP’ controlled chamber of sorts, with elected majority APC but sold out to PDP, from what the learned Hrm Babatunde Ogala wrote here, is simply lawless.

    Even if the executive could be caught disobeying court judgment, which is wrong, it is completely unthinkable for a law making institution to be caught behaving so irrationally, arrogating powers of the court to itself and harassing the judiciary. All these point to the character and leadership of the entire 8th assembly and what happened has been long in coming. I have actually severally written that the self serving red chamber, not the green, should have been long sacked in what I called Storming the Bastille. 

    This senate is obviously a caricature of what a senate should be with all members forsaking law making and following its president sheepishly to court where he was being tried on criminal charges and committing several other illegalities like unconstitutionally suspending members thereby denying a large number of citizens due representation.

    This 8th senate shall surely pass into history, dubious history”

    Beginning with Saraki’s dubiety in selling his party’s victory in the legislative elections of 1915 to the opposition PDP which he singlehandedly gifted the deputy presidency, (a party just coming out of liyerally completely ruining the country)  n service of self, Saraki opened a chapter of uneasy relationship with the executive as he acted like he was above both the party and the government it formed at the centre. That was how he introduced instability into the entire government and since then the national assembly, especially the Senate, has become a centre of unmitigated opposition to the President Buhari’s government.

    The latest of this rable rousing is its totally unnecessary attempt at interfering with, and infringing on, the independence of the INEC, by altering the sequence of elections, an attempt to which the president refused his accent.

    Senator Omo Agege’s sin is verbalising the only too obvious truism that the proposed law is targeted at the president, a fact which only a fool will not easily know. This is the casus belli for its latest trauma and  unless the senate treads the path of civility, maturity and democracy, this will be only the beginning of its problems with the millions of Nigerians who know that Buhari’s means well for this country.

  • Christian group declare 30 days fasting to stop Buhari

    A group of Christian Leaders under the auspices of United Christian Leaders Eagle Eyes Forum (UCLEEF), has declared a 30 day prayer and fasting to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from winning the 2019 Presidential election and sending him into what they described as forceful retirement.

    The Christian group who presented a copy of the Holy Bible to President Buhari during the count down to the 2015 Presidential election asked Nigerians irrespective of religious, ethnic and political inclinations to “awake and save our dear nation” as it is the citizenry that have the power, right and choice to make the country great again.

    Addressing a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, Chairman of the Forum. Pastor Aminchi Habu said there was every indications that if President Buhari is re-elected in 2019, the country will continue to slide backward, asking Nigerians to expect more failures from the president.

    According to him, what the country needs to end the high level of social decadence and lack of development in the country was to elect a leader with a vision and the mindset to make the nation great

    He said: “The president knows that he has nothing you offer this country. So, he should just maintain his integrity by keeping to his word of doing only one term.

    “He failed already and will surely fail again because nothing will change. It will still be the same group of people. Just because engine oil makes a car run smoothly doesn’t mean it can revive an engine that knocks.

    “The president is not a leader anymore but has turned to a ruler. A leader put his people first while a ruler only thinks about himself. Right now Mr President is not thinking about the masses but himself only. He just wants to remain in power and not you serve thus country because he cannot.

    “We cannot continue like this and that is why we are urging Nigerians to vote massively against him and retire him forcefully. He has nothing to offer again. Mr President is known for blaming others for his failures. He blames the PDP girl the economic problems in the country and now he is blaming late Gaddafi for the insecurity problems in the country,” he quipped. 

    Pastor Aminchi noted that 30-day prayers and fasting had commenced by both Christian and Muslim faithfuls for a true leader to emerge out of the many aspirants, stressing: “I indulge each and every citizen of this country to awake and save our dear nation. We all have the power, the right and the choice to make the right and wise decision so that Nigeria will be great again.

    “What Nigeria needs is a leader with vision and a mindset to make this nation great. Nigeria needs a leader not a ruler. Someone who is bold enough to see failure and turn it to success not someone who will see failure and blame others for it.

    “That is why we as a Christian forum with some of our Muslim brothers with like mindset have entered into prayers and fasting that before we reach the middle of the year, that is June, a true leader will emerge out of the many aspirants”.

    He said further that “the APC are claiming that PDP failed and is the cause of all the failure in this present government. Well how can the government perform effectively when all those that are suppose to help it work better are among those that make the previous government failed. It’s like buying a new car and instead of using a new engine oil you decided to use the condemned one from your old car, you cannot blame the car if it develop fault.

     “And now we hear the president blaming Gaddafi for all the killings happening in the country, well it’s not surprising because the president is known for blaming others for his failure. He blames PDP for the economic problems in the country and now he is blaming Gaddafi a dead man for the insecurity problems. 

    “Next he will blame car manufacturers for all the accidents happening in our roads due to how bad the roads are, or even blame Text books authors for the failure In our academic system, or blame Kanji dam for the electricity problem. 

    “Even if those people are from outside the country it is still the fault of the president as the commander in chief of the armed forces of Nigeria. He closed those places that are supposed to be open like the border of Cotonou and live so many loop holes for infiltration. It is just as a man having a house, you didn’t fenced it and decided not to close your doors and windows at night without any security. 

    “You can’t blame anybody if armed robbers enter and create havoc in your house and of cause no one will pity you cause you brought it upon yourself due to your carelessness and negligence. Since the president don’t know how to protect the country, he should not blame anyone for his inability to keep his children safe as the father of the nation.”

     

  • PHOTOS: Buhari at CHOGM in London

    President Muhammadu Buhari this morning participated in the Executive Session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting ( CHOGM ) at Lancaster House, London. He was welcomed by British Prime Minister Theresa May and Sec Gen Patricia Scotland.

    PHOTOS: Buhari at the CHOGM in London
    President Muhammadu Buhari welcomed by British Prime Minister Theresa May and Sec Gen Patricia Scotland.

    Buhari at CHOGM in London

    Buhari at CHOGM in London

    PHOTOS: Buhari at the CHOGM in London

  • Niger Delta leaders drag Buhari to court on NDDC tenure extension

    Six Niger Delta leaders have dragged President Muhammadu Buhari to court following controversies surrounding the tenure of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The board led by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba as Chairman and Nsima Ekere as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer has embroiled in tenure crisis.

    The leaders who seek legal interpretation of the board’s tenure are Micah Akeems, Bayelsa; Ziprebo Emomotimi, Bayelsa; George Ufot Udoyara, Akwa Ibom; Elliot Tibakeni, Bayelsa; Unyeowaji Patterson Gabriel, Rivers; Patrick Stephen Abia and Alphonsus James Bayelsa.

    The plaintiffs in a suit filed at the Federal High court sitting in Abuja, sought a clear interpretation of the NDDC Act as it relates to tenure and rotation.

    In the suit, filed on December 15, 2017 and originating summons dated 16th of April, 2018, and made available to the Nation, the plaintiffs sought the determination of whether the Niger Delta Development Commission Act, 2000 is binding on all the defendants?

    They specifically want a decision on whether the defendants can in line with the NDDC Act, 2000 appoint/reappoint the Managing Director (of the Commission) whose letter of appointment is only for a one year term which will terminate in December 2017 or elongate the tenure outside the provision of Section 3 of the NDDC Act, 2000.”

    The plantiffs also sought the following reliefs among others from the court: “an order of court to halt any attempt to retain the Managing Director and other members of the Commission;

    “An order of court compelling the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to appoint the Managing Director of the NDDC from Bayelsa State in accordance with Section 12 (1) of the NDDC Act, 2000, which supports the principle of rotation of key offices of the Commission.”

    The plaintiffs said: “It will be a mockery of the NDDC Act, 2000 to disregard the said Act and not to follow the rotational principle as envisaged and contemplated in the intent and spirit of the said Act.”

    In an affidavit in support of the Originating Summons, Micah Akeems, the First Applicant, stated that since the establishment of the NDDC, the appointment/reappointment of Managing Directors had been on the principle of rotation.

    He added that the tenure of the immediate outgoing or outgone Managing Director of the NDDC ended in December 2017 in accordance with his letter of appointment.

    It was gathered that the suit came up for hearing on April 16, 2018, before Justice Anwuli Chikere and had the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs represented in court.

    The President and NDDC were, however, not represented.

    The court was said to have adjourned the matter to May 21 following an observation that NDDC was not properly served.

    The Summon was reportedly sent to the NDDC office in Abuja rather than the headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

  • Methodist Church back’s Buhari’s anti-graft, terrorism wars

    The Methodist Church of Nigeria, Metropolitan Diocese of Ikeja, has said it is satisfied with the Federal Government’s war against corruption and terrorism.

    It encouraged President Muhammadu Buhari “to remain focused, dogged and unwavering.”

    The Diocese stated this on Sunday in a communiqué marking the end of its three-day second annual synod at Elliot Memorial Methodist Church, Iju, Lagos.

    The statement was signed by the Bishop, Metropolitan Diocese of Ikeja, Rt. Revd (Dr.) Stephen Adegbite; Synod Secretary, Very Rev. Simeon Onaleke and Lay President, Frederick Ogunjuboun.

    It urged Buhari to avoid a selective anti-graft war “but a war under which no one is sacred or untouchable, not minding party affiliation or alliance.”

    The synod admonished the Legislature and Judiciary to complement Buhari’s efforts.

    “No arm of government should be seen to be mounting a stumbling block against concerted efforts geared towards winning this war,” it said.

    The synod noted “with joy” that the Boko Haram “has been severely decimated and its capabilities totally reduced.”

    It called for better cooperation in the intelligence community, “so that planned attacks can be nipped in the bud before they are carried out as it was the case in Dapchi, Yobe State, North East, Nigeria.”

    Synod also thanked the governments of Switzerland, the United States of America (USA), Great Britain, France and Belgium and the Red Cross for their efforts in securing the release of 101 of the kidnapped Dapchi girls.

    “Synod calls on everyone to continue to pray for the unconditional release of Leah Sharibu who is still being held because of her refusal to denounce her faith and others including the Chibok girls yet to be released,” it said.

    The church also commended Buhari’s emphasis on food security which, in its view, had boosted rice production to 17 million metric tons per annum from 5.7 million metric tons which it was in 2015.

    It, however, lamented the non-passage of the 2018 Budget and “epileptic” power supply in the country.

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, it said, had made “giant strides” especially in infrastructural development.

    The church congratulated Ambode for “the peace that continues to reign in state despite the religious, cultural and social diverseness of Lagos residents.”

    In particular, it noted the governor’s efforts to stop the notorious “Badoo Cult Group that terrorised the Ikorodu community.”

    It, however, appealed for the downward review of the recently increased Land Use Charge.

    The church also condemned hate speech, herdsmen attacks and cattle rustling menace, calling on the Federal Government to act fast on a solution.

    It added: “Synod regrets the pockets of agitation from across the country, from the Avengers, Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), coupled with the assertion of rights by Ijaw People’s Congress, Oo’dua People’s Congress (OPC), Arewa Youth Congress and Consultative Forum, etc.”

  • CHOGM: Stop de-marketing Nigeria, PDP tells Buhari

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to show leadership and stop allowing his re-election interest to further de-market the nation and block Nigeria’s chances of accessing international help in critical sectors.

    In a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party faulted the President’s claims when he told the British Prime Minister, Theresa May that he’s not preoccupied with the 2019 general election.

    According to the opposition party, the world is already aware that President Buhari’s 2019 campaign is already on stream.

    The statement said, “All over the world, well-meaning leaders relegate their personal interests, accept responsibility in the face of failure and use every opportunity to seek help and remedy a bad situation.

    “Nigerians are therefore miffed that instead of presenting the true state of affairs in our country under his watch, particularly, the comatose economy and worsened insecurity, President Buhari, obviously in a bid to give an impression of performance, chose to understate the challenges, thereby jeopardizing the chances of securing much needed international support for the country.

    “We are shocked that rather that engaging his international hosts on ways to pull our economy from the biting recession, President Buhari opted for self-praise, brandishing unsubstantiated record of achievements, thus stalling possible beneficial bilateral discussions and engagements in that area.

    “Is it not a disservice that President Buhari is sounding brass in London instead of seeking solution to the woes the poor policies of his administration have plunged our nation into?

    “In the last three years, under his watch, there have been little or no direct foreign investments; critical infrastructure has collapsed, with multinational companies relocating to other countries. Nigeria is no longer among the first ten investment destinations in Africa, leading to mass closure of businesses, massive job losses and biting poverty in the country.

    “Furthermore, is it not preposterous that President Buhari told the British Prime Minister that his administration is achieving food security when in truth, we are facing a major food crisis in Nigeria, with prices of staple food, particularly rice, now beyond the reach of the citizens?

    “Additionally, we are sure that the British Prime Minister will be pleasantly amazed over President Buhari’s success claims on security as the international community is aware that security concerns have worsened under his watch, with daily bloodletting and marauding of communities turning our nation into a large killing field”.

    The PDP expressed surprise that the President failed to seize the moment to open serious bilateral talks on practical strategies to end the scourge and ensure the safety for Nigerians, especially given his recent declaration that the marauders were deserters from Libya.

    “In spite of his belief to the contrary, it is obvious that President Buhari is completely preoccupied with his 2019 re-election ambition for which governance and the welfare of Nigerians have completely taken the back seat.

    “Finally, we hope that President Buhari would have the opportunity to address the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and we implore him to use the august occasion to present the true state of affairs in our dear country and seek help, so that Nigeria will access the necessary assistance from the international community”.

  • Senate sends 12 constitution alteration bills for Buhari’s assent

    The Senate on Tuesday cleared 12 bills, which it said would be forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent.

    The upper legislative chamber said the bills have met the requirements of the provisions of Section 9 of the Constitution.

    The bills had been passed and meant to be processed in line with the Acts Authentication Act before transmission to the President.

    They include Constitution (Fourth Alteration) Bills No 2 (Authorization of Expenditure in absence of Appropriation); No 4 (Financial Autonomy of State legislatures); No 8 (The Legislature); No 9 (Political parties and Electoral Matters); No 15 (The Nigeria Police Force); No 16 (Restriction of Tenure of President and Governor); No 20 (Submission from the Judiciary); and No 21 (Determination of Pre-Election Matters).

    Others are Constitution (Fourth Alteration) Bills No 22 (Consequential Amendment on Civil Defence); No 24 (Procedure for Overriding Presidential Veto in Constitutional Alteration); No 27 (Reduction of Age for Election); andNo 28 (Time Line for the Presentation of Appropriation Bill) respectively.

    The Senate said notwithstanding the resolution of some State Houses of Assembly on some of the bills, the action, it noted, would enable the institutions of government prepare for immediate implementation of policies and programmes pursuant to the provisions.

    It was sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu and 49 others.

    Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan who presented the motion on behalf of Ekweremadu said in processing the alterations, the Senate took cognizance of the provisions of Section 9 of the Constitution as amended.

    According to him 33 bills seeking to alter various provisions of the constitution were presented before the Senate and the House of Representatives in July 2017.

    Lawan recalled that the Senate approved 29 of the bills with the required two-thirds majority of members, adding that the House of Representatives also approved 21 of the bills with same.

    The Senate leader noted that the two chambers approved 17 of the bills without difference and were transmitted to the State Houses of Assembly for their resolution.

    He added that four of the bills were approved with amendment and have been committed to a conference committee for further action in line with legislative tradition.

    Senate Lawan said 35 state Houses of Assembly had forwarded their resolutions on most of the bills.

    When Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary put the resolution into voice votes, it was unanimously approved by majority of senators in attendance.

  • Cost of Buhari’s London treatment: CBN, Emefiele know fate June 5

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed June 5 for judgment in a suit seeking to compel the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its Governor, Godwin Emefiele to provide information on the amount the country paid for President Muhammadu Buhari’s treatment in London last year.

    Justice John Tsoho chose the date on Tuesday after parties adopted their final written addresses and made their final submissions.

    Chukwuwike Okafor, for the applicant – the Incorporated Trustees of Advocacy for Societal Rights Advancement and Development Initiative (ASRADI) – urged the court to discountenance the respondents’ argument and grant his client’s reliefs.

    Babafemi Durojaiye, for the 1st and 2nd respondents (CBN and its Governor), prayed the court to dismiss the suit.

    He argued among others, that the applicant’s grievance was misdirected.

    ASRADI had filed the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1142/2017 last year following the alleged failure of the CBN and its Governor to respond to a Freedom of Information request on what the bank released for the payment of Buhari’s treatment in London.

    ASRADI stated that the CBN and its Governor refused to honour its Freedom of Information request contained in a letter of October 19, 2017 for information on the amount released for Buhari’s medical treatment in London and the amount paid on behalf of the Nigerian government as parking fees for keeping the presidential aircraft and crew in the UK while the President’s treatment lasted.

    The group wants the court to declare that the failure of the respondents to provide it with information it sought through its letter of October 19, 2017 (on the expenditure of the President’s London treatment) “amounts to a wrongful denial of information and is a flagrant violation of the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011.”

    The applicant also seeks an order compelling the respondents to furnish it with information sought in the letter of October 19, 2017, and a further order, mandating the CBN and its Governor to pay the plaintiff N10million in damages “for the wilful refusal of the 1st and 2nd respondents to release information in respect of the applicant’s letter dated 19th Ocober 2017.”

    The applicant hinged its prayers on the ground that the applicant, being a civil society organisation, that advocates for public interest issues and engages in anti-corruption and other related campaigns, was entitled to the information sought under the FOI Act.

    In a supporting affidavit, ASRADI’s Executive Director, Adeolu Oyinlola stated that his group had, through a letter of October 19, 2017 filed under the FOI Act, applied to the CBN and it Governor for information on the country’s expenditure on President Buhari’s treatment in London, but was ignored by them.

    He stated that it was within the responsibilities of the CBN and its Governor to provide the requested information they “are responsible for all foreign currency transactions of the Nigerian government or transactions involving the Federal Government of Nigeria and foreign institutions as it concerns transfer of money outside the shores of Nigeria.”

    Oyinlola further stated that it was in the interest of the Nigerian public that the court grants his group’s prayers to compel the respondents to declare the requested information because ASRAD was daily inundated by demands from the public to investigate the amount of tax payers’ money spent by the Federal Government in the course of the treatment of President Buhari in London and what it cost to keep the Presidential aircraft at the Stansted airport for the duration of the treatment.