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Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • Jackals, hyenas around Buhari ’ll go, says wife

    Jackals, hyenas around Buhari ’ll go, says wife

    First Lady hints of power struggle

    President Muhammadu Buhari is getting better and will soon be back, going by his wife Aisha’s statement yesterday in London.

    The President’s wife last week travelled to London to be with her husband, who is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed ailment. She has also been carrying out other assignments.

    President Buhari left the country on May 7 for another round of treatment. He spent more than 50 days during his first medical vacation in London.

    On his return, he told the nation that he had never been that sick in his life adding that he underwent blood transfusion. But he did not disclose his ailment.

    On her Facebook page yesterday, Mrs Buhari, in a response to the July 6 post by Senator Shehu Sani, expressed herself in a figurative manner, using the animal imagery like the senator did.

    She wrote: “God has answered the prayers of the weaker animals. The hyenas and the jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom.  We strongly believe in the prayers and support of the weaker animals.

    “Long live the weaker animals. Long live Nigeria.”

    Director of Press in Mrs Buhari’s office Mr. Suleiman Haruna, said yesterday that the post was on the president’s wife’s “verified Facebook page”.

    As at 10:00 pm, about 257 people had made comments on the post, most of which were wishing President Buhari quick recovery.

    Senator Sani (Kaduna Central) wrote on his Facebook page on July 6.

    “Prayer for the absent Lion King has waned; until he’s back then they will fall over each other to be on the front row of the palace temple.

    “Now the hyenas and the jackals are scheming and talking to each other in whispers; still doubting whether the Lion King will be back or not.

    “Now the Lion King is asleep and no other dare to confirm if he will wake up or not. It’s the wish of the hyenas that the Lion King never wakes or comes back so that they can be kings. It’s the prayers of the weaker animals that the Lion King comes back to save the Kingdom from the hyenas, the wolves and other predators.”

    The senator is believed to be referring to those who are scheming to become president in 2019, crisscrossing the country in moves to taking advantage of the president’s absence.

    Some people who are holding political positions are also believed to be undermining the system to position themselves in the president’s absence.

    The President’s wife also yesterday posted her photograph speaking at an event in London.

    She wrote under the photograph: “Today I attended the Babatunde Osotimehin Memorial Lecture at County Hall, London.

    “It was an honour to have spoken about his achievements at all levels and his commitment towards women and children all over the world.”

    Osotimehin was the Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and a former minister of health, who died last month.

  • Yam growers bemoan non-inclusion in FG’s yam export drive

    Yam growers bemoan non-inclusion in FG’s yam export drive

    The Yam Growers Association of Nigeria (YAGAN) has accused the Federal Government of neglecting the country’s yam farmers in its nascent yam export drive.

    Alhaji Shuaibu Idris, the President of the association, expressed the viewpoint on Tuesday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    He said that the government had failed to carry the association along in its yam export initiative.

    He underscored the need to involve YAGAN in all the processes of the yam export programme, saying that its contribution to the success of the initiative should not be underestimated.

    “We are the growers and the producers, we know where it pinches and what to do to fill the gaps; everything is not about research alone, we should be considered relevant to the project,’’ he said.

    Idris noted that the Technical Committee on Nigeria Yam Export Programme (TCNYEP), in its assignment, liaised with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) and other relevant stakeholders.

    He then wondered why the committee failed to obtain the input of YAGAN in working out a framework.

    He described the yam export drive as a laudable policy which should be embraced as the yam exportation would boost the country’s economy.

    He, nonetheless, stressed that the association ought to have been contacted for its input and support to ensure adequate yam supplies for both exports and local consumption.

    “YAGAN is not against the government’s policy but since we are the yam producers; it is, therefore, not out of place for the government to call us for discussions on the processes of yam production and exports.

    “Does government farm? We are the farmers and our contribution will go a long way to sustain the venture,’’ he said.

    Idris, however, said that the venture would be successful if the government could support the development of commercial yam farms across the country.

    He said that government’s intervention was somewhat imperative, considering the huge investments involved in initiating successful commercial farming ventures.

    “Nigerian farmers are ageing, they are not strong enough to feed the nation; what they produce now is in small quantity, which is not enough to facilitate the development of commercial agriculture in the country and sustain produce exports.’’

    Idris noted that the country farmers were facing myriad challenges, even in producing the food for domestic consumption and particularly now when the food export was involved.

    He called on the government to provide the necessary incentives to attract more young men and women into agriculture, saying that farming should be considered as a means of livelihood.

    “The challenges cannot be shouldered by farmers or farmers’ associations alone; there is a need for government intervention; government should provide basic infrastructure such as irrigation systems and electricity to boost food security and internal security.

    “Government ought to develop access roads to farms, reduce tariffs on imported farm machinery, provide competitive agro-financial loans, while awakening Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Company to its responsibilities against disasters,’’ he said.

    Idris, however, said that even though farmers associations were striving to shoulder many responsibilities in order to contribute to the nation’s food security and development; yet the huge costs involved was weighing down their efforts.

    Also, Prince Uke Ubaka, a farmer and top official of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), described the yam export initiative as a worthwhile policy that would boost the country’s foreign exchange earnings but warned about its sustainability.

    He said that that this was not the first time that Nigeria would be exporting yam to UK.

    “The first time was in 2003 when AFAN, in conjunction with the Nasarawa State Government, exported some tubers of yam to Britain after understudying Ghana.

    “The export led to the promotion of so many Nigerian foods at the farmers’ markets in UK and the Americas,’’ he said.

    Ubaka stressed that now that the programme had been revived, government should carry out market feasibility studies so as to ascertain the requirements of the consumers and ensure steady supply.

    He, however, warned against undue bureaucracy, insisting that the government should not drive the programme.

    “It is okay for the government to champion the programme but I suggest that government should refrain from driving it so that bureaucracy will not kill the laudable programme.

    “It is left for government to sustain the creation of markets internationally and adequately monitor the transactions so as to earn more revenue via tariffs,’’ he said.

    Ubaka also advised government to sanitise and improve the markets, so that they would not be saturated to become open markets and dumping grounds for all sorts of produce.

    NAN recalls that in fulfilment of the economic diversification policy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Nigeria officially kick-started the yam export initiative by exporting 72 tonnes of yam to Europe on June 29.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, launched the yam export at Lillypond Container Terminal in Ijora, Lagos.

  • We’ve gone past quit notice – Orji Kalu

    We’ve gone past quit notice – Orji Kalu

    A former governor of Abia, Dr Orji Kalu, says Nigeria has “gone past quit notice” as the various ethnic groups that make up the country have lived harmoniously for many years.

    Kalu, who was referring to the quit notice issued to Igbo people to leave Northern Nigeria by Arewa youths, said everything possible should be done to strengthen the unity of the country.

    Kalu said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday that Nigeria had come to stay, but suggested that the country should go back to regionalism.

    The All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain said no strong politician would promote ethnicity and urged all hands to be on the deck to strengthen Nigeria’s unity.

    The former governor said that he would continue to preach One Nigeria, and “ talk about the virtues of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “As long as I remain an APC member, I will continue to espouse the ideas and good qualities of President Muhammadu Buhari,’’ Kalu added.

    He also said that Buhari would come back healthier and urged Nigerians to pray for him.

    The former governor also stressed the need for a strong and independent judiciary, as it would promote the rule of law.

    He said that an upright judiciary was necessary as the institution was the bedrock in any society and the last hope of the common man.

    Kalu said any issue between the executive and the legislature could always be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties by an independent judiciary.

  • Security chiefs debunk reports of 150 deaths in C/River communal clash

    Security chiefs debunk reports of 150 deaths in C/River communal clash

    The Cross River State Commissioner of Police Monday said reports that 150 persons were killed in the clash between Wanikade and Wanihem communities in Yala local government area recently, were untrue.

    Speaking when he received the Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), who was on a fact finding visit following the reports, in the company of all the security commanders in the state, Inuwa said going by details of their findings in the aftermath of the communal clash, the alarming figure of 150 persons reported killed were false as nobody in both communities could give names of those killed nor show graves of those that were claimed to be killed and buried.

    “What they told us is that their cultural practice is to bury immediately anybody that is killed at battle fronts but when we insisted to see the graves of some, only one grave was shown to us. And as for the number of houses destroyed, the figure was also false because the totality of the houses in the communities can be sum up to only about five hundred and not all the houses were destroyed, so we wonder where they figure of over 1200 houses being destroyed were gotten,” he said.

    The Brigade Commander of the 13th Brigade Army in Calabar, Brigadier-General Ismaila Isa, corroborated the briefing by the Commissioner of Police saying that incidentally he was around the area when the news broke.

    State Director of the Department of State Security Services DSS, Mr. Fubara Duke, also speaking along the same lines said, “if the number of death is to be put going by the single grave shown us, then it’s only one. Though houses were destroyed but certainly not the figures given because the total number of houses in the two communities are far less than what is said to have been destroyed.”

    The Minister was also briefed by heads of Immigrations, Customs and Civil Defense in the state before he proceeded to pay a courtesy visit on the state governor, Senator Ben Ayade.

    At the governor’s office, Lt. Gen. Dambazau told Ayade that the Federal Government heard news of the communal clash and the alarming number of deaths which prompted his coming to the state.

    He said that though reports he had gotten showed that the figures were not true, every life was important, hence he will visit the communities himself to see how both short and long term measures would prevent a reoccurrence of such clash.

    Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade thanked the Federal Government for the prompt response.

    He said the President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, have shown love and concern for Cross River State.

    He said the state was grateful and was praying that President Muhammadu Buhari will recover soon.

  • Buhari’s health: Jigawa declares Friday as public holiday to offer prayers

    Buhari’s health: Jigawa declares Friday as public holiday to offer prayers

    The Jigawa Government has declared Friday, July 7, as a public holiday to enable public servants offer special prayer for President Muhammadu Buhari’s quick recovery.

    Alhaji Isma’il Ibrahim, the Public Relations Officer, Office of the state’s Head of Civil Service (HoS), announced this in a statement in Dutse on Thursday.

    Ibrahim said that the State Executive Council took the decision at its sitting on July 5.

    He explained that the government declared Friday as a work-free day in order to enable public servants to join other citizens to offer special prayers for President Muhammadu Buhari’s wellbeing.

    “During this day, it is expected that all public servants and the entire people of the state will pray to Almighty Allah to grant our president quick recovery.

    “It is also expected that they will also pray to Almighty Allah to grant Jannatul Firdausi to late Danmasanin Kano, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule,” he added.

  • TCN will complete over 200 electricity projects, says Fashola

    TCN will complete over 200 electricity projects, says Fashola

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) will complete over 200 projects to improve power supply to the distribution companies (DISCOs), Mr Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, said on Wednesday.

    Fashola made this known in a keynote address at the Nigeria Energy Forum (NEF) in Lagos, entitled: “Roadmap for Incremental, Stable and Uninterrupted Electricity Supply in Nigeria’’.

    He was represented by Mr Louis Edozie, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power.

    According to him, currently, TCN is concentrating on completing over 200 projects it has at hand to ensure smooth transmission of energy to the national grid.

    “Electricity is a very topical subject in the country; lack of it affects production, security, comfort and standard of education.

    “If all of us will draw all energy needs from the grid, we will need over 13,000 Megawatts (MW), but unfortunately, the maximum we have from the grid is just 4,700MW.

    “This is not what we want and this is not where we want to be.

    “The government inherited a very weak transmission; throughout 2016, there was a challenge of energy evacuation in Eastern part of the country.

    “This evacuation problem which had been on for over 15 years in Calabar, Ikot-Ekpene, Alaoji, Ugwuaji Transmission Line had been addressed and the transmission is now in operation,’’ Fashola said.

    He said that the transmission line would aid the smooth evacuation of energy generated by power plants in the Eastern part to the national grid.

    Fashola said that the Federal Government was concentrating on legacy generation projects inherited from the past administration.

    He said that such project include the small, but important 1.2 MW Solar Power Plant in Lower Usuma Dam, Bwari, Abuja, which is the first solar project in the country.

    The minister said that the project was now in operation, powering some parts of Abuja metropolis.

    “The 10MW Wind Dam in Kastina, which has been under construction for many years, will soon be completed and commissioned for operation.

    “The 30MW Phase 1 project at Gurara Hydro Power Plant in Kaduna, which had been abandoned, will also be commissioned next year and this will boost supply to Kaduna and Jebba.

    “The work is ongoing to ensure smooth transmission line of the energy to the grid.

    “Also, the 700 MW Zungeru Hydro Electric Power Plant, which had been abandoned several years back, will be completed by early 2019 and connected to the grid,’’ Fashola said.

    The minister said that work had begun on the 3,050MW Hydro Electric Power Plant in Mambilla, Taraba which was conceived about 42 years ago.

    “It is through the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration that the project was redesigned.

    “The project will be delivered in 2024,’’ he said.

    Also, Prof. Jidere Bala, the Director-General, Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), said that energy worldwide was one of the drivers of economic and social development.

    Bala said that there was no way poverty could be eliminated without reliable energy supply.

    According to him, energy supply must, however, be done in a responsible and sustainable manner.

    “These involve energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability,’’ he said.

    In his remarks, Mr Dele Ayodele, the Deputy Managing Director, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), said that some of the challenges facing the power sector include technical and commercial losses.

    Ayodele said that technical and commercial losses were core issues that bedeviled the sector from performing its responsibility to consumers.

    He said that if the issues were not resolved, it would continue to linger on.

    In his address, the Chairman of NEF, Dr Daniel Adeuyi, said that the forum would enable the participants to exchange knowledge, build capacity and foster innovation in Nigeria’s energy supply industry.

    Adeuyi said no nation could develop in the dark, adding that sustainable energy was the passport to economic development.

    “Across Africa, the key energy challenge is how to electrify millions of households, remote communities and small-scale entrepreneurs as quick as possible,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that theme of the forum is: “Sustainable Energy for Economic Development’’.

  • Dabiri-Erewa hails signing of Diaspora Commission Bill

    Dabiri-Erewa hails signing of Diaspora Commission Bill

    Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora has described the signing into law of the Diaspora Commission Bill by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo as “a welcome development’’.

    Dabiri-Erewa, recalled in a statement in Abuja on Monday that the Bill was introduced by her six years ago when she was the chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs.

    “I’m so excited on the signing of the bill into law after introducing this bill to the parliament about six years ago. Finally, it’s now a law; we thank God.

    “Our advocacy for a one-stop agency for diaspora matters is finally a reality,’’ the elated SSA said.

    “I thank the National Assembly for passing the bill second time around and for President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration finally signing it into law by the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.’’

    Dabiri-Erewa said that 26 countries had full ministries for the Diaspora and “having a commission for our almost 15 million Nigerians abroad is a most welcome development’’.

    She recalled that Nigeria in June successfully floated a 300 million dollar Diaspora bond, saying that Nigerians abroad were willing and eager to contribute to the development of their nation.

    “With the signing of the Bill into law, the head of the commission will be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate,” she said.

    She explained that the Diaspora Commission Act “establishes the commission under the supervisory jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    “The ministry has the responsibility to coordinate and organise Nigerians in and from the Diaspora to contribute human capital and material resources, including expertise, for the development of Nigeria.

    “It will also provide a database of Nigerians on various fields and potential as resource base for Nigeria and the world to draw from as well as protect the interest of all Nigerians,” she said.

  • Buhari recovering from illness – APC

    Buhari recovering from illness – APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) said on Friday that President Muhammadu Buhari is fast recovering from his illness contrary to allegations that he is on life support.

    The National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, gave the assurance in Abuja while speaking with newsmen at the end of a meeting between the party`s National Working Committee (NWC) and state governors elected on the party’s platform.

     “We are glad to inform you that President Muhammadu Buhari is recovering in a very robust manner.

    “We hope he takes it easy and when he comes back, I have no doubt at all that we will have a new and active period of activities.’’

    He, however, said only the president’s doctors abroad could decide when he would be fit to return to the country.

    Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, had recently alleged that President Buhari was on life-support in a London Hospital where he is receiving medical attention.

    The APC chairman, however, refused to respond to the governor’s comment, saying he would do that at an appropriate time.

    “If I respond, I will be dignifying him.

    “At the appropriate time, people will answer him; at the appropriate level; at the appropriate time.

    “He is in a different world altogether,’’ Oyegun stated.

    According to him, the party’s leadership has confidence in President Buhari.

    He added that the meeting x-rayed the nation, ongoing agitation for its restructuring and inciting statements emanating from different parts of the country.

    Oyegun stressed that such inciting statements are not good “for the nation`s health and have to be stopped.”

    According to him, the party maintains its earlier position on the restructuring of the country as clearly stated in its manifesto.

    He further said the party’s leadership would do all it could at all times to ensure that the unity of the country was preserved.

     

     

  • Why presidential jet will continue to stay in London with Buhari

    Why presidential jet will continue to stay in London with Buhari

    The Presidency on Thursday defended the retention of the Presidential Aircraft, NAF 001, in London where President Muhammadu Buhari is currently receiving medical attention

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement  in Abuja said the decision was  borne out protocol, national security, diplomacy and prestige.

    The statement read:

    “The Presidency is constrained to decry criticisms, mostly on social media, on the retention in London of the Presidential Aircraft, NAF 001 as mostly informed by lack of understanding of protocol around foreign trips by Heads of State all over the world.

    “It is important to state that for reasons of protocol, national security, diplomacy and prestige, there is no world leader who travels abroad and is left without plans for immediate return or possible evacuation.

    “From operational point of view, this country’s Armed Forces as represented by the Nigeria Air Force are not to abandon their Commander-In-Chief in whichever circumstance he is. This is a standard operating procedure.”

    “We have also read claims about outrageous fees allegedly paid by Nigeria. The published amounts are totally untrue. Aircraft conveying Heads of State all over the world usually enjoy waivers even where payments for parking are differentiated by aircraft categories.

    “We have been assured that where the waiver is not granted, payment will not exceed £1,000, which is a quarter of the amount being peddled.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, this President is not the first to have a presidential aircraft standing by for him, as he will certainly not be the last. All past Heads of this country have had this privilege, and the part that surprises the most is that leaders who in the past travelled with three Nigerian aircraft did not suffer this trenchant criticism.

    “We appeal to Nigerians to ignore opposition campaign aimed at derailing this administration’s big plans for the country.

    “This is a government that is constructing the Second Niger Bridge, the Mambila Power Plant, the East-West and the North-South standard gauge railway lines.

    “We are a government that has saved this country an annual loss of two trillion Naira from fraudulent petroleum subsidy schemes by influential citizens and their children and rid the public service of about 50,000 ghost workers.

    “The Buhari administration certainly deserves a chance.”

  • NASS to seek special dollar exchange rate for pilgrims – Rep Salame

    NASS to seek special dollar exchange rate for pilgrims – Rep Salame

    The National Assembly will seek special dollar exchange rate for both Christian and Muslim pilgrims, a member of the House of Representatives (APC-Sokoto), Dr Balarabe Salame, has said.

    Salame, who is also the Chairman, House of Representatives Special Committee on Nigerian-Saudi Arabian on Hajj, made the disclosure on Thursday in Sokoto.

    He spoke at the maiden edition of the Stewardship Forum organised for both the state and national lawmakers by the state Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in
    collaboration with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

    The lawmaker said:”The gesture is to lessen the sufferings of prospective
    pilgrims and to enable more Nigerians to perform pilgrimage to in Saudi Arabia and Israel.

    ” The Federal Government gave an exchange rate of N360 to a dollar
    this year and this is on the high side.

    ”This is why the 2017 Hajj fare for Muslim pilgrims soared to N1.52 million per prospective pilgrim.”

    The lawmaker lauded the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration on the fight against corruption.

    ”Corruption is everywhere, even in the religion circle and more should be done to tame the socioeconomic monster,” he said.

    Salame also lauded the efforts of the Federal Government in securing the lives and property of Nigerians.

    He urged the government to establish warehouses at the nation’s borders for vehicle importers instead of outright ban on vehicles importation.

    ”With this in place, importers can bring in vehicles, pay the appropriate duties and move them into the hinterlands, rather than the outright ban of vehicles through the land borders,” Salame said.