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Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • IMF okays Nigeria’s recovery pill

    IMF okays Nigeria’s recovery pill

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday backed the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) released last month by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    The ERGP is a blueprint for Nigeria’s economic recovery, growth and sustainable development.

    Speaking at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, the Assistant Director and Head of Fiscal Policy and Surveillance Division of the IMF, Catherine Pattillo, said the plan would tackle diversification and some of the deep-seated problems related to strengthening structures and building revenues, particularly oil revenue.

    “So, we very much welcome the ERGP. As you are aware, Nigeria went into recession last year; there has been forecast recovery, but the need to address the fiscal situation is urgent. Our recommendation is for the continued fiscal consolidation. One striking statistics I think is the fact that over the past years, the ratio of interest payment to tax revenue has doubled to 66 per cent in Nigeria,” she said.

    According to Pattillo, two-thirds of all tax revenue is going into interest payment, illustrating the need to raise tax revenue to allow the government implement the social and growth-friendly policies that are part of the objectives of the ERGP.

  • Abuja runway completion credit to Buhari govt – Minister

    The timely completion of the Abuja International Airport runway has confirmed that “Nigerians elected a responsive, responsible and capable federal government”, under President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said this on Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Mr Segun Adeyemi.

    The completion of reconstruction of the Nnamikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and run way paved the way for the re-opening of the airport, after a six-week closure. And it was done ahead of schedule.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika had vowed to resign his appointment as minister in the event that the deadline for the reconstruction was not met by the contractors handling the project.

    The reopening of the airport for air operations came a day before the expiration of the official deadline and the first airline to land at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport was the Ethiopian Airlines which relocated to Kaduna Airport after Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport was shut down.

    The minister said that the delivery of the project even before the scheduled date showed government’s ability to live up to its promise and rise up to any occasion, irrespective of how daunting the challenge may be.

    He described as “a remarkable achievement” the ability of the government to complete the reconstruction of the runway within the stipulated time, despite doomsday predictions.

    “The clock-work precision with which everything concerning the closure of the airport and the temporary relocation to the Kaduna Airport was handled is the clearest indication yet that Nigeria can tackle any challenge,” he said.

    He noted that the rehabilitation of the Abuja-Kaduna road, the provision of effective security along the highway showed that
    Nigerians have what it takes to make the country a proud member of the comity of nations.

    Mohammed also hailed the perfect handling of the massive logistics involved in ensuring that the Kaduna Airport
    was able to handle a large number of flights.

    “It is to the credit of the security agencies and the Federal Road Safety Corps that passengers travelling along the ever-busy
    Abuja-Kaduna highway were largely kept safe while the closure of the Abuja airport lasted.

    “There was no known security scare while accidents on the road were kept at the barest minimum, despite the increased vehicular traffic.

    “Who can forget the timely departure and arrival of the Abuja-Kaduna train that ferried thousands of passengers
    back and forth during the Abuja airport closure?

    “Indeed, the closure of the Abuja airport runway and the logistic nightmare it triggered must rank among the most intimidating
    challenges faced by this Administration,” he said.

    The Minister reminded those who might want to trivialize the feat by the present government to realize that what could not be done in the over 30 years the runway was left to deteriorate was achieved in just six weeks, even under an economic recession.

    He also recalled that the Port Harcourt International Airport was closed for almost two years by the Jonathan administration.

    Mohammed thanked Nigerians for enduring the inconveniences that came with the relocation of Abuja flights to Kaduna.

    He also thanked the Ethiopian Airlines that operated its scheduled Abuja flights to Kaduna and the Julius Berger construction company that worked day and night to deliver the project ahead of schedule.

    Mohammed said the success recorded in the timely reconstruction of the runway could only rank next to the determined effort with which the government contained the Boko Haram insurgency.

    The minister noted that the current administration under the stewardship of President Muhammadu Buhari  was employing the same uncommon determination to tackle all the challenges facing the country.

     

     

  • Recession: CIBN urges Buhari to allow banks handle their toxic assets

    Recession: CIBN urges Buhari to allow banks handle their toxic assets

    The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has urged government to reduce Nigeria’s current financial stress buy allowing every bank to handle its toxic assets. CIBN added that the ongoing inflation rate and corruption in the country is due to the activities of saboteurs within the system.

    Kwara state Chair of CIBN, Abdulraheem Yusuf told The Nation in an interview in Ilorin, the state capital.

    He said he has two solutions to the country challenges. “The intervention programme of the government in the area of agriculture can take us out of the present challenge; Effective management of our exchange rate can also take us out. Let us be able to add value to the agricultural products and we will earn more foreign exchange.

    “At the moment it is only the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) that buys toxic assets of banks. If government can take on every bank to handle its toxic assets the stress that is currently visible in the financial sector will be reduced.

    “There is a lot of people within the system is sabotaging President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti corruption war. Government is battling with exchange rate and the issue of fraudsters among both public and private office holders.

    “I am of the belief that if government can reduce the volume of corruption within the system and the sabotage going on in the management of the foreign exchange, very soon we will be out of the current recession.

    “But one major challenge is the corruption issue and with the introduction of the whistle blowing thing we expect that very soon the National Assembly will pass into law the enabling law that will allow whistle blowing policy,” he said.

    On President Buhari’s economic team, Alhaji Yusuf said “we are satisfied but people have called for the involvement of players in the private sector. They believe that the government has not involved the private sector enough to an extent. Most of his advisers are the ones brought on board to manage the economy.”

    He also urged the government to police our borders adequately, as according to him (smuggling is having dangerous effects on our economy.”

     

     

  • Shekarau applauds Buhari’s anti graft war

    Shekarau applauds Buhari’s anti graft war

    Former Kano state Governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau‎ has applauded the President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti graft war, saying that “it is what most Nigerians have been yearning for.”

    According to him “Anyone who acquired wealth through illegal or fraudulent means should be investigated and brought to justice.”

    He noted that it takes a true and honest individual to right track a nation like Nigeria against corruption, pointing out that” we will join hands provided it is done with fairness.”

    Shekarau who spoke to reporters in Sokoto on Sunday on the sidelines at the 22nd Annual National Ummah Convention(NUC) held in Sokoto, declared open by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III said the anti graft war was a right step in the right direction.

    According to the former Presidential candidate in 2011 on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party(ANPP) and one time governor of the state described as the northern ‘commercial hub’‎ second to Lagos, “Nigeria and Nigerians need absolute system reformation where justice, fair hearing and strict adherence to the rule of law are premium.

    “Let me share with you that Kano state during my government was the first and only state to key in and evolve an anti corruption machinery when then President Obasanjo came up with EFCC‎”, he added.

    The one time Minister of Education and first to set a record of two terms of 4 years as governor in Kano state said the present APC led government under President Buhari should not jettison the baseline of due process and avoid selective justice in its anti corruption fight.

    “Our system needs to be sanitised for prosperity. But meting injustice to an unjust person amounts to no justice.”

    On the crisis rocking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to which he owes allegiance, the former governor said ‎it was a normal political hurdle that would come to pass, adding that “we are re-strategising and we will sail out of the perceived  woods.

    “We are only going through political reformation to come up with acceptable leadership with people oriented ‎agenda”, Shekarau explained.

    On the Sharia system entrenched ‎during his government, the former governor said “there is nothing wrong in being godly which entails the fear of your creator by been just, truthful, honest, sympathy, patience and morally up right. Both Islam and Christianity are adherents of these teachings and tenets.

    “They are not new and strict adherence would have shaped‎ our society as a nation. Only that some quarters have a different perception and misconception about what it entails.

    “It may interest you to know that the National and state bodies of c gave me a commendation letter ‎on Sharia”, he disclosed.

    On the convention, Shekarau noted that it was a good platform to objectively dissolve national problems‎ associated with the revival of agriculture not only in the north but Nigeria as a whole.

    According to him “we have to encourage responsive leadership and favourable policies that would transform the country’s agricultural sector to glory.”

    He said Nigeria’s greatest challenge ‎was the lack of coordination and absence of a genuine and responsive platform that would galvanise existing potentials and capacity to produce in large commercial quantity.

    “We have the land and human capital but without coordinating other components, we cannot make the desired impact”, he pointed out.

    He further attributed the country’s crash in agriculture to ‎the politics of state creation, adding that “the creation of additional states has further set us back.

    Before, states were doing well and a lot in agricultural activities because there was control chain in the system especially when northern marketing board was in operation which we need to reverse to augment strategic agricultural policy framework to be braced by a more holistic mechanism for the production, marketing and sales of grains between the farmer and final consumer destination”, he explained.

     

  • FG anti corruption fight, good omen for Nigeria – Shekarau

    FG anti corruption fight, good omen for Nigeria – Shekarau

    Former Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, has lauded the anti corruption fight by President Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as a good omen.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)reports that the former Kano State governor, made this disclosure to newsmen in Sokoto on Monday.

    Shekarau said: ” The efforts by the president to fight corruption in all its ramifications is good for Nigeria.

    “Anybody, who gets any money fraudulently should be arrested, thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.

    “I am a strong advocate of anti corruption fight, as I set up an anti corruption and public complaints commission in Kano State in 2005”.

    The chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, cautioned against selective justice in the anti corruption war.

    Shekarau further urged that ”nobody should be above the law in this direction; there should also be respect, adherence and respect for the rule of law.

    “You are innocent until you are proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt,” the former minister added.

    On security, Shekarau called for improved funding of the nation’s security agencies.

    This, he noted, would ensure the provision of ultramodern weapons, logistics, training, retraining, as well as the need to improve their welfare.

    On agriculture, the former governor called for the reintroduction of commodity boards in the country.

    He said: “This will add value to farming, boost food security and encourage farmers.

    “Food security is next to nothing and any nation that fails to provide it remains weak and vulnerable”.

    On politics, Shekarau said,” PDP will bounce back and reclaim its lost glory in 2019″.

  • I was never banned from Presidential Villa – El-Rufa’i

    I was never banned from Presidential Villa – El-Rufa’i

    Nasiru El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State says he was never banned from coming to the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The governor, who stated this while fielding questions from State House correspondents after joining President Muhammadu Buhari to perform the two-raka’at Juma’at weekly prayer at State House Mosque, Abuja, on Friday,

    Reports on the social media said El-Rufa’i was banned from the Presidential Villa for allegedly leaking a memo he wrote to Buhari on Sept. 22, 2016.

    In the memo, El-Rufai alerted President Buhari that he was losing the vision and the momentum with which All Progressives Congress (APC) started its Change Agenda.

    The governor also in the memo, advised the President to effect changes in the leadership of some federal agencies and establishments, and to communicate constantly with Nigerians, so they will know the plans of his government.

    El-Rufa’i, however, told the State House correspondents that he was not stopped from coming to the Aso Rock, and that nobody can stop him from visiting the Villa.

    According to him, he stopped frequenting the villa because the President needs quality time to rest and also attends to challenges of governance.

    “No one ever stopped me from coming to the villa and no one can stop me from coming to villa.

    “As a governor I come here, I have blank cheques, no one checks me at the gate but I believe what the President needs is for those that love him to keep away from him and allow him to rest.

    “The President needs quality time to rest because it is meeting too many people that strains leadership.

    “I am a governor and I know that when I meet 10 people in a day I get really tired, it is not the paperwork, it is not really the memos approving them or asking questions that strain a leader, it is the stream of visitors.

    “I do not want to contribute to the President’s problem by coming here every day. I am in touch with him,’’ he added.

    The governor, therefore, appealed to Nigerians to show more understanding and love to the president by allowing him to rest and also concentrate more on his private and official engagements, saying that “visitors stress leaders’’.

    “Let me appeal to all of us that love the President to please allow him some space so that he will recover.

    “We need him and the country needs him, it is in our interest for the stability of the country, we should just let him be.

    “It is absolutely necessary lets us leave him to do his work in the privacy of his room or his office without strings of visitors. Visitors stress leaders.’’

    El-Rufa’i also described his relationship with Buhari as cordial, saying that the relationship had never been strained in anyway.

    He, however, acknowledged that there were people within the presidency “that like me and there are those who don’t and it is normal.

    “My relationship with the President has never been strained in anyway. I met with him last
    night,

    “I did not talk about things like that but our relationship with him is like that of father and son and it is privilege for me.’’

    Meanwhile, Chief Imam of the State House Mosque, Sheik Abdulwaheed Sulaiman, has called on Muslims and Christians to unite as brothers and sisters given the common Abrahamic origin of their religions.

  • Trump plans to move ahead with Nigeria planes sale -Sources

    President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing forward with plans to sell up to a dozen aircraft to Nigeria’s air force for the fight against the extremist group Boko Haram.

    Sources said the deal could be worth up to 600 million dollars.

    Sources also said the Super Tocano A-29 aircraft, an agile, propeller-driven plane with reconnaissance and surveillance as well as attack capabilities, is made by Brazil’s Embraer.

    A second production line is in Florida, in a partnership between Embraer and privately held Sierra Nevada Corp of Sparks, Nevada.

    Former President Barack Obama’s administration originally agreed on the sale, but delayed it after incidents including the Nigerian Air Force’s bombing of a refugee camp in January that killed 90 to 170 civilians.

    The Trump administration wants to push ahead to boost Nigeria’s efforts to fight Boko Haram and bolster hiring in the United States by defense firms.

    “We’ve been told that the administration is going to go forward with that transaction,” a congressional aide said.

    Formal notification of the deal has not yet been sent to Congress but is expected shortly.

    Trump has said he plans to go ahead with foreign defense sales delayed under Obama by human rights concerns.

    A senior Nigerian military source in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, confirmed that the sale would go ahead and said it would also involve training, surveillance and military intelligence “to support … the ongoing insurgency war.”

    In March, the Trump administration informed Congress of its plans to pursue a five billion dollars sale to Bahrain of Lockheed Martin F-16s and related equipment, which had been held up under Obama when Bahrain failed to meet human rights targets.

    Reuters first reported the Obama administration’s plan to sell the Embraer aircraft to Nigeria in May 2016, as a vote of confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive to reform the military.

    The Super Tucano costs more than 10 million dollars each and the price can go much higher depending on the configuration.

    It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT six engine.

    Trump’s plan to move ahead with the Nigerian sale was first reported on Monday by the Associated Press.

    The U.S. congressional source said rights concerns remain, despite support for the sale from some lawmakers.

    There are also questions about whether Nigeria will be able to pay the full 600 million dollars for the aircraft, equipment, training and support.

    U.S. officials said Buhari raised frustration with delays in the sale in a phone call with Trump in February.

     

  • FUK Gombe employs seven first class graduates

    Federal University Kashere (FUK) Gombe State has offered employment to seven of its 309 graduates in the 2015/2016 academic session.

    The seven made first class.

    Prof. Alhassan Gani disclosed this during the second convocation ceremony in Kashere , Akko Local Government Area on Saturday.

    He said that among the seven offered jobs, was a female from the department of Mathematics, who was the best overall.

    Apart from first class graduates, 114 made second class upper, 144 second class lower, 43 third class. One person however made an ordinary pass.

    “In keeping with our tradition of giving automatic employment to our first class graduates, let me assure the 7 first class graduates of employment after completing their National Youth Service Corp (NYSC)”, he said.

    He said the 309 graduates came from three faculties. The Faculty of Agriculture which commenced a five year academic programme in 2013 will graduate its students this year.

    Gov. Ibrahim Dankwambo congratulated the students and wished them well in their future careers.

    Dankwambo who was represented by his deputy now the ag. Gov. Mr Charles Iliya, called on the university management to introduce additional courses to give the teeming youth opportunities.

    Iliya gave the assurance that the state government would continue to support the university within the limits of its resources.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, the visitor was represented by the Director National University Commission (NUC), Dr Rukayyatu Abdulkarim.

    Buhari urged the graduands to apply the knowledge acquired for their future success.

    He commended the Gombe State for handing over the Agricultural Institute to the university

     

  • NANS wants FG to address poor social amenities in tertiary institutions

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to the Federal Government to address the issue of student’s welfare, such as poor social amenities in various universities in the country.

    NANS president Chinonso Obasi, who made the call in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said that this would go a long way in creating environment conducive for the Nigerian students to learn.
    “We call on the Federal Government to take the issues of student’s welfare serious.
    “We want the Federal Government to take the infrastructural decay and poor social amenities in various campuses very seriously.
    “ We also want to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to beam the anti-corruption searchlight on the nation’s tertiary institutions,” he said.
    He however, expressed happiness over the unconditional release of 13 students of University of Lagos (UNILAG) from detention at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison.
    A Special Offences Mobile Court in Lagos had on April 1, remanded 13 UNILAG students in Kirikiri Prisons, pending their bail applications.
    The accused persons were alleged to have engaged in unlawful invasion of Television Continental in Lagos.
    They were arraigned on a two-count charge of unlawful invasion and disruption of activities which they all pleaded not guilty.
    Obasi said their release came before the expiration of 24-hour ultimatum given to a Special Offences Mobile Court in Lagos to free the students or the union would relocate to the Kirikiri Prisons.
    “Our joy stems mainly from the fact that the gesture from the special court averted what would have undoubtedly sparked off a major students’ unrest in the country.
    “Because we were greatly pained that such a harsh punishment would be handed to long-suffering students at a time of immense socio-economic challenges.
    He therefore, commended the magistrate and the Special Offences Mobile Court for the wisdom and circumspection displayed in the matter.
    The NANS president urged the police authorities to always treat university undergraduates with care and caution, knowing the hard economic and social conditions they go through.
    “Because any attempts to deny students their right of free speech or treat their peaceful protest against high handed policies usually lead to needless violence and destruction of property,”Obasi noted

     

     

  • FG reconstitutes boards of agencies, parastatals in education ministry

    FG reconstitutes boards of agencies, parastatals in education ministry

    April 7, 2017 (NAN) President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reconstitution of the boards of 19 agencies and paratatals under the Federal Ministry of Education for a period of four years.

    Mrs Chinenye Ihuoma, Director of Press in the ministry, made this known in a statement issued and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

    Ihuoma said the President took into cognizance provisions of the respective legislation with respect to composition, competence, credibility, integrity, federal character and geo-political spread.

    She said those appointed are Prof. Ayo Banjo, National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr Emeka Nwajiuba, Tertiary Education Trust Fund( TETFund) and Dr Ekaete Okon, National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA).
    Others are Dr Mahmud Mohammed, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Prof. Zainab Alkali, National Library of Nigeria and Dr Abubakar Saddiq, National Examination Council (NECO).
    Also, Dr Gidado Akko, National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC), Prof. Gidado Tahir, National Commission for Normadic Education (NCNE) and Prof. Leonard Karshima, National Business and Technical Education (NABTEB) made the list.
    Prof. Adamu Baikie Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Maigari Dingyadi, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and Malam Kaka Yale, National Teachers’ Institute (NTI).
    Prof. Buba Bajoga, National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Dr. Emmanuel Ndukwe Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Chief N. N Nnabuchi National Institute of Nigerian Languages (NINLAN).
    Mr Paul Unongo, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) and Prof. Saliba Mukoro, Nigerian French Language Village (NFLV).
    Others are Prof. Modupe Adelabu, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and Prof. O Oladusi Nigerian Arabic Language Village (NALV).

    She said the Boards, consisting of the Chairmen and Members, would be inaugurated on a date to be announced soon.