The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • Just in: Buhari, Bauchi governor meet in Aso Rock

    Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, on Monday met behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, the former Federal Capital Territory, Minister disclosed that the people of the state are entirely in support of the Ruga settlement project.

    A raging controversy has trailed establishment of Ruga settlements by the Federal Government across the country.

    Mohammed noted that the Ruga project, which the Federal Government recently said was voluntary for states that indicate interest in it, will help address issues of insecurity.

    According to him, Bauchi State needed the Ruga project because the population of the state currently was about 60 to 70 percent Fulani.

    Bauchi State, he said, will always key into any federal government projects.

    He said “60 or 70 percent of the population in Bauchi are Fulanis and therefore we must leverage on all these.”

    Stressing that he will not be Abuja governor, he said that he would always be with his people.

    He said that he was at the Villa to confer with the President on some of the insecurity challenges facing the state.

    “We have illiteracy, insurgency and so many things that are bombarding us in terms of social challenges and security challenges. Definitely we will do that,” he said.

    Read Also: Atiku sues Buhari’s aide Onnochie for N2.5bn

    The governor also pointed out that Bauchi State loves President Buhari more than any state in Nigeria, because, “The President is there for all of us, he is not a partisan President.”

    Even he was elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), he said, “I am the leader of the people many consider more APC than PDP.”

    The state, he said, will continue to support the Federal Government because, “There are issues that are within us and there are issues that are beyond our capacity.

    “Therefore, we must establish partnership. I have come to discuss very serious issues concerning Bauchi because people in Bauchi have given me that leadership.

    “I must establish relationship with the Federal Government because of the serious challenges that we have, challenges in development, social issues and security issues,” he said.

  • Cabal: pro-Buhari group backs Abba Kyari

    The Buhari Diaspora Support Organisation, has absolved the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari of allegations of running a cabal that has held President Muhammadu Buhari hostage.

    The group noted that the allegation was a desperate attempt to smear the image of the Chief of Staff and introduce crisis in the President’s family.

    It will be recalled that wife of the Preaident, Aisha Buhari had repeatedly raised the alarm that her husband has been held hostage by a powerful cabal in Aso Rock, prompting solidarity from some groups that took to protest.

    But Chairman of the Diaspora group, Charles Efe Sylvester, in a statement made available to journalists, said that it was not surprised by the unwarranted attacks on Kyari.

    According to the statement, “we are not surprised that some agents of wickedness and corruption are fighting the Chief Of Staff and some family members of Mr President. Like Mr President will always say that corruption will fight back. So it’s not surprising that such agents of corruption and selfish interest are fighting the President,s core loyalists. However, the ferocity of the attacks by the sycophants is concerning”

    It continued that, “we are confident that the President will not sacrifice the love and loyalty of his family and true friends at the alter of politics. Moreso after his tenure comes to an end, the hypocrites will disappear and he will only be left with his loyal friends and family as usual.

    “Where were those hypocrites when the president was jailed by IBB? Where were they when his family needed help during his years of incarceration?, where were they when he contested for the presidency four times and was almost bankrupt?.
    Where were they when the president was ill and fighting for his life?

    “Then suddenly they pretend to love Mr President more than everyone and have the interest of the nation at heart. Human memory is sometimes short but we have the power to recall most of them. As recent as a few months ago, these same people wrote letters in the newspapers condemning Mr President. Further, they were the same group of people who were scheming to be Vice President and wishing the president to be dead, they were shamelessly running after the Vice President for consideration as Vice, when most of us were praying for God to heal and protect the President and the likes of Mamman Daura and the COS practically relocated to London and were busy running around to ensure that our President recovered from his sickness.

    Read Also; Atiku sues Buhari’s aide Onnochie for N2.5bn

    ” I remembered my conversation with Mr President in london, when I said to him your Excellency, we and millions of Nigerians are praying for you to recover and he responded that thank you, but I know that a few are also praying for me to die, with his usual sense of humour. True to his words,those who wished him dead and were planing to be Vice President are now hovering around the Villa to discredit those who truly love the President and the country. We are not ignorant of the efforts that the COS has made to foil the plans of the traitors to defraud the country via bogus projects or highly inflated budgets. No wonder they hate the COS with a passion”.

    The group added further that, “the years of silence by the President’s family members and the COS in the face of false accusations and bullying is not a sign of weakness but rather, it is a dignified silence backed by maturity, dignity and the respect they have for Mr President. Presidents or kings from time immemorial and in the future will continue to have close confidants, because, the top is a place where treachery and betrayals are common. But we are confident that the president is and has always had the ability to make his own decisions as well as his ability to distinguish between the hypocrites and his genuine supporters and lovers of Nigeria.

    “These traitors and their supporters must desist from their evil plots and should be exposed. Although corruption will continue to fight back, We should all Chanel our energies towards making Nigeria a great nation”.

  • Ruga not rugged enough

    After a long season of dithering over how to respond to nationwide killings by herdsmen across Nigeria, the federal authorities this week finally came up with an initiative proving merely to be one of the old tricks from the bag of a hag. We are on familiar grounds again. Nothing new has been said. It is the unveiling of the jaded strategy to bring the entire country under the rule of the cow, the cownisation of our communities nationwide.

    From the bag of the hag has come the explanation that the killer herdsmen are our brothers and sisters we must learn to cohabit with.  From the pouch also emerged the revelation that the herdsmen are fleeing warriors from Libya, looking for new theatres after the bloody conflict that consumed Libyan strongman, Muammar Gaddafi. Later, we were told the herdsmen are simple folks affected by the climate change that dried up the water and withered the grass their cattle fed on. The tale changed to one that claimed that the elemental fury of the itinerant herdsmen was their reaction to the blocking of their grazing routes in the areas they were turning into bloody zones. Then this: the anti-grazing law passed by some state governments was responsible for the genocidal farmers-herdsmen clashes, said to have caused the maiming, destruction of property, deaths and displacement of thousands of Nigerians.

    The government wouldn’t listen to popular pleas by the people to resort to less confrontational and provocative solutions to the herders’ problems, to confine the cattlemen to their states for grazing. There were suggestions of ranching the animals in settlements in the north complete with the basic needs for both cowmen and cows. Some state governors even said they were ready to accommodate the herdsmen in government ranches to stop them from open grazing and vandalism of farms. But the federal government and the cattlemen set aside these proposals. The government did a lot of somersaults: first, it talked of looking for states outside the core north to set up the cow estates; next it pleaded for unhindered movement down south for the herdsmen; finally, the central government decided on erecting what it called cattle colonies, chiefly in the middle belt and the southern parts of the federation.

    These proposals have all been rejected by the majority of the citizens on account of the failure of government to capture or address the concerns of the owners and inhabitants of the territories it wants to appropriate on behalf of the herdsmen. The landowners are suspicious of the motives of the government and the herdsmen it is fighting for. They do not believe the story would end with the cession of a few hectares or acres of prized land for the herdsmen and their families and their cows. You can’t establish an exclusive estate for a herdsman and expect him and family and animals not to come in tow. They are one household: the beasts, their owner and his harem and offspring. They come close to the population of a local government area in Africa’s most populous country.

    Now, despite opposition to its plan to erect these cattle colonies in some states, the federal government is poised to ram the idea down our throats. On Tuesday last week, the government through the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Umar, gave the impression there is no going back in the march to cattle estates in the states. He called it the Ruga Settlement. He said: ‘’The Ruga settlement is one of the very important things being done by the ministry and it is one of the best things that can happen not only to Nigeria but to most of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a concept that we developed to deal with internal security. We felt that to do away with herders-farmers’ conflict, we need to settle our nomads and those who breed animals. We want to put them in a place that has been developed as a settlement, where we provide water for their animals, pasture, schools for their children, security, agro-rangers, etc…and definitely in the next five to 10 years you will never see a nomad moving about, wandering or kidnapping. And this will end all these security challenges.’’

    He says this Ruga project has been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, starting with 12 states he failed to identify. But several states have said they must not be numbered among the Ruga community of herdsmen. All the five southeast states are saying a non-negotiable ‘no’ to it. One of them, Imo, insists it would not allow itself to be roped into Ruga. Benue, epicenter of the early days of the bloodiest herdsmen’s attacks, says it has no land for the cowmen. Taraba says it will not accept it. And down southwest, Ondo has said it doesn’t believe in Ruga.

    It is being rejected for a number of reasons. The central government’s cavalier approach to securing help for the herdsmen has alienated the people whose land it needs. The government thinks there is no alternative to its cattle colony solution. It is not addressing the anxieties of the states that a subtle form of internal ‘colonialism’ is in the making through Ruga. The government is about to open a deadlier era of conflict if it attempts to foist alien citizens upon an unwilling civilization. Why uproot one culture and plant it in a strange soil? The Buhari administration has disowned constitutional federalism by going for policies giving birth to suffocating centralism, uniformity and unilateral imposition. Federalism gains strength only when its diversities are acknowledged and respected and given depth by preserving them, not by killing them through domination of others in the union.

    President Buhari must review his stand on Ruga as it is built mainly to benefit the herdsmen with no advantage to their hosts. He should be worried that even at takeoff, the scheme can’t stand the simple test of acceptability in the hands of those who are key to its success. If the community to host nomads is already disavowing at a distance those the president is pushing towards them, isn’t it sufficient alarm that some danger would follow when they are eventually forced into a meeting or union?

    How can a rejected Ruga roar above the storms it would bring upon our fickle and fragile fraternity?

     

    • Ojewale writes from Ota, Ogun State.

  • Atiku sues Buhari’s aide Lauretta Onnochie for N2.5bn

    The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has sued the Special Assistant on Social Media to President Muhammadu Buhari,  Lauretta Onochie, for her alleged libelous tweet via her twitter handle on May 7, 2019.

    In the suit filed on June 26, 2019 before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Atiku claimed Onochie alleged in her post, that he was on the watch list of security operatives in the United Arab Emirates and had travelled to shop for terrorists in the Middle East.

    In a supporting affidavit, Atiku, a former Vice President, denied the allegation contained in the said tweet and stated that the tweet was “politically orchestrated” “solely to cause maximum damage” to his “high reputation.”

    Atiku stated that: “To say that the claimant is shopping for terrorists knowing same to be untrue and without any foundation is not only dishonest and reckless, but is calculated and politically designed to instigate security agents against him not only in the UAE, but across the world,” he stated in his statement of claim accompanying the suit.

    In a statement of claim, Atiku said he had in a May 14, 2019 letter, demanded an apology, retraction and payment of N500m compensation from Onochie “to assuage” the damage allegedly caused him by her social media post.

    Atiku stated that even when he threatened to sue her should she fail to accede to the demand within 48 hours, Onochie was unmoved by his demand letter, Atiku noted that rather than show “remorse by retracting her earlier publication”, she further, on May 20, made “another derogatory publication and also published same globally online in the social and other print media” against his person.

    He said sometimes in May this year, he had  embarked on a foreign trip to the UAE as he had done over the years, and while on the said trip, Onochie on  May 7, 2019, wrote, through her twitter handle:

    “Atiku on UAE watchlist- Security sources Security operatives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are keeping a close tab on a former Nigerian Vice Pres Atiku Abubakar who has been in the Middle East nation for several weeks now What is he doing there? Me: Shopping for Terrorists?”

    Read Also: On Atiku, Soyinka and other matters

    The claimant said “the defamatory publication” was also published by several newspapers nationwide and on several social media news.

    He denied the allegations contained in the said publication which he described as “a figment of the imagination of the defendant”, but said it portrayed him “as an evil man, mentor of terrorists, someone who has links with terrorists, and a person who is interested in destabilising the peace and unity of Nigeria.

    “The publication also portrayed the claimant as a security threat and terrorist to right thinking members of the public and the society at large.

    “The odious publication has clearly rubbished the claimant’s image and reputation. It has caused him national and international backlash and embarrassment and has done incalculable damage to him.

    “He has thereby been subjected to the shame and infamy of being viewed by members of the public as not only corrupt, but as a terrorist and sponsor of terrorism.”

    Atiku claimed that following the publication, he received numerous telephone calls, emails, visits, letters and private social media chats by his family members, friends, political and business associates, and international statesmen and women, confirming “the alarm and serious concerns generated by the defendant’s false publication.”

    The claimant said he would tender the call logs showing the text messages, and calls received by him in the aftermath of Onochie’s post.

    He described “the entire opprobrious and denigrating story” as “most misleading, baseless, false, malicious and totally bereft of any foundation howsoever”.

    He noted that the “inference and grave conclusions” contained in the postwere “politically orchestrated” and “invented by the defendant and others of her ilk, solely to cause maximum damage to the high reputation of the claimant, who is currently before the Election Petition Tribunal against her employer and boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, challenging the latter’s purported victory in the last presidential election.”

    The claimant said contrary to the said “derogatory, disparaging, mendacious and unrestrained defamatory statement, as published in various print, electronic and online media platforms” he had “never been on the security watch list of the UAE, or any other country, for that matter.

    “He has neither ever been denied entry into, interrogated, nor been declared wanted by the UAE Authorities, or any of its security agencies.

    “That Claimant was at the time of the said publication in the UAE and was never accosted by any security agencies over the said frivolous and baseless allegations.”

    Atiku is praying for among others, a declaration that the publications made by Onochie via her social media accounts on May 7, and May 20, 2019, concerning and touching on his “are utterly false, baseless, unfounded and defamatory of the Claimant, and injurious to his reputation.”

    He wants the court to direct the defendant to pay him N2,500,000,000,000 “representing general, aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages over the untold embarrassment, derision, public ridicule, odium, obloquy, marital disharmony,  mental agony and psychological trauma which the defendant’s publications have caused the claimant.”

    Atiku wants the court to compel the defendant to retract the publication and offer an apology to him “for the said offensive twitter and facebook publications on the same platforms, also to be published in three national newspapers with wide circulation within the country and also broadcast on AIT, Channels and NTA television stations.”

    The claimant antsan order of perpetual injunction restraining her whether by herself, her servants, agents, privies, assigns, friends and /or  representatives, or otherwise howsoever, from further posting such “offensive and libelous material or any other form of defamatory statements against his person.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Give NDDC MD’s slot to Ondo, group urges Buhari

    A group, the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to be courageous in applying the act of the interventionist agency, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), by granting Ondo State the slot of its next Managing Director in the interest of justice and fair play.

    A statement yesterday by its Secretary General, Blessing Akinlosotu, decried the purported report credited to a group, ‘Ondo Elders Forum’, that Yoruba had glossed over agitation on next NDDC’s leadership. According to NYCN, “It is often said that anyone that points at his/her father’s house with a left finger is definitely troubled.”

    It urged President Buhari to disregard the statement by the Yoruba Elders. The group said: “To set the record straight, Section 4 of the NDDC Act said the office of the chairman shall rotate amongst the member states of the commission in the following alphabetical order: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers, and shall continue in that order throughout the life of the commission.

    “Consequently, since the establishment of the NDDC, the chairman of the governing board has been appointed in accordance with the principle of rotation as outlined in the NDDC Act, while that of the Managing Director was captured in Section 12 (1) of the NDDC act.

    “There shall be for the Commission, a Managing Director, and two Executive Directors who shall be indigenes of oil producing areas starting with the member-state of the Commission with the highest production quantum of oil and shall rotate amongst member states in order of production.

    ”This unambiguous provision of the NDDC Act means that every member state shall produce the MD of the Commission in a rotational manner following a sequential order that uses the quantum of oil production starting with the state with the highest production at the time of the establishment of the commission.”

    The group called on the president to make the law effective as Ondo State is the next in line for the position of Managing Director of the Commision.

  • Azikel Petroleum supports Buhari’s economic blueprint

    ON April 5, 2017 when he launched his administration’s blueprint, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017–2020), President Muhammadu Buhari emphatically outlined his vision for a vibrant, non-import dependent economy.

    “We are determined to change Nigeria from an import-dependent country to a producing nation. We must become: a nation where we grow what we eat and consume what we produce,” the President stated.

    When leaders outline lofty visions, it is for patriotic citizens along with their corporate entities to key in. This is exactly what Azikel Petroleum Limited, a subsidiary of the Azikel Group, is doing. After a multi-million dollar investment that made it Nigeria’s first private sector refinery with ultra-modern processing equipment calibrated for processing some 12, 000 barrels per day, the Bayelsa-based company has moved one major notch further, signing  an equity partnership agreement with the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board.

    Initially though, cynics never believed that the modular refinery licences given out to some of Nigeria’s resolute private sector operatives, including the Azikel Group being promoted by Dr. Azibapu Eruani would really work. The fact that numerous such licences that were approved by previous administrations didn’t yield any appreciable results being recorded gave weight to such dismal expectations. But the Buhari administration and the Azikel Group have utterly disproved that assumption from different flanks of the investment process.

    Before the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s bold decision to address the long-persisting problem of petroleum products’ scarcity by approving 36 modular refinery licences, Nigeria’s government-owned refineries were only trudging on with at best, 20 per cent performance levels. Nigerians’ hope to see the nation enjoy sufficiency in the production of refined petroleum products was more of a mirage.

    Today, the story is positively much different; the licence granted the Azikel Group to construct a 12, 000 barrel per stream day (BPSD) hydro-skimming refinery has been impactful. Indeed, there is much confidence now that the pioneering success of the firm would ensure that, in no distant time, Nigerians would begin to enjoy high quality refined petroleum product. The Azikel Refinery, powered by the Azikel Petroleum Limited is presently wrapping up the deployment of high technology processing equipment at an unprecedented pace, with a productive pact and equity partnership between it and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.

    According to the President of Azikel Group and Chairman of the Azikel Petroleum Limited, Dr. Azibapu Eruani, the new partnership agreement is not only historic; it would also send the right signals to the international community about the Azikel Group’s strong resolve to facilitate Nigeria’s attainment of self-sufficiency in the domestic production/supply of refined products, along with the creation of more jobs through systematic value-creation towards achieving economic growth and development.

    However, being in the lead to deliver refined petroleum products to Nigerians necessitates ramping up production capacity towards filling a vacuum of hope and petroleum products. Hence, the Azikel Refinery has rapidly accelerated efforts towards the completion of its additional facilities in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.

    “Brief overview and indicators adjudged the Azikel Refinery as the best modern refinery presently and the near future in Nigeria. At completion, the products from the Azikel Refinery will be the best grade with euro grade V as the base standard. The product from the refinery will continuously be high quality to meeting international best standards. It is pertinent to know, that the product slates of Azikel Refinery are Petrol, Diesel, kerosene, LPG, aviation fuel and heavy fuel oil to redress the insufficiency of these products and ensure its availability in Bayelsa, the Niger Delta and Nigeria.

    “Beyond redressing the problem of insufficiency and providing availability of refined petroleum, the building of Azikel Refinery is geared towards catalyzing the industrial needs of Niger Delta and Nigeria, promoting the needed industrialization, creating employment and to rejig the economy of Nigeria,” Eruani said.

    Explaining the significance of the Azikel Group/NCDMB pact,. Eruani noted that even though Azikel Petroleum Limited has attained critical achievements, the participation of the NCDMB would usher in a productive paradigm shift and economic multiplier effects that would benefit the business, people of Bayelsa, the Niger Delta and the nation.

    Among others advantages, he notes that such partnership would reinforce confidence in NCDMB and what it stands for and more indigenous companies would be encouraged  towards participation in the downstream refining/petrochemical and upstream investment in the Nigeria Oil and Gas sector

    He said he was impressed by the leadership being offered by the Executive Secretary of NCDMB’s board, Engineer Simbi Wabote, noting that Wabote’s dynamic leadership does not only reinvigorate enthusiastic support for NCDMB but it also stimulates local industries’ interest for increased participation in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

    The background to this perspective includes the detailed due diligence applied by the NCDMB Board during its several visits to the Azikel Group’s project site in Bayelsa state, the Azikel Petroleum office Houston and further visits to the  Design and Fabrication Company in Houston, Texas, United States where NCDMB monitored the completion percentages of the Azikel Refinery Project.

    On his part, Engineer Simbi Wabote who represented NCDMB at the historic modular refining shareholders’ agreement signing ceremony, said the Azikel Refinery has achieved over  75% completion capacity, with clear indications of attaining 100% completion soonest, with massive potentials for contributing towards reversing the trend of petroleum scarcity in the country.

    Simbi explained that the company “represents the first and largest so far in their portfolios of various partnership in the construction of a modular refinery in the country,” noting that with its unique capacity, the Azikel Refinery would produce about 1.3m litres or 45 trucks of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) daily along with daily supplies of diesel, kerosene, mixed LPG and a small percentage of heavy oil.

    “The uniqueness that places Azikel Refinery as the best modern refinery stem from compliance with environmental standards and the lowest level of gas emission into the eco-system, and the prospect of the partnership is massive job creation, value retention, petroleum availability and the development of in-country capabilities.

    “The project fits perfectly with the vision of the NCDMB to serve as catalyst for the development of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, and we are proud with the professionalism demonstrated by the management of Azikel Petroleum Limited. ’The Azikel Refinery’s operational and design model is the best technology, operated with a Nelson 4.7 complexity model, a feature that distinguishes Azikel Refinery in Africa and the western countries,” Wabote said while calling on other licensed modular refineries to strive towards emulating the pacesetting patterns of the Azikel Refinery.

    He further explained that various analytical indices show that as soon as few more of such licensed modular refineries start performing optimally, the development would double the contribution of the oil sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

    “We are proud to be part of the journey to wean off our country from massive importation of petroleum products; our data analysis show that we can more than double the contribution of the oil sector to the GDP if we achieve the current growth trajectory in the refurbishment of existing refineries, the completion of the Azikel Refinery, Dangote refinery, and the on-going modular refineries which brings refining to about 50 per cent of our daily production capacity as against the current level which is 20 percent. There is hope of increasing percentage of production to 100 percent,” he stated.

    Noting that the NCDMB Act is not limited to oil refining, the Executive Secretary posited that the board’s assignment also extends to gas processing and utilisation, stressing that they are looking at establishment of inland gas depots across the country to complement the LPG penetration initiative, adding that it is part of the gas value chain as it utilises condensate which is a bye-product of gas.

    He commended the foresight and focus of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, noting that the positive change being achieved requires the perseverance and patience of all Nigerians to reach fruition.

    “The NCDMB is optimistic that in the next two years, no fewer than four refineries would be running in the country, and not forgetting the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) for  the provision of feedstock and also for working assiduously to see the policy of the federal government to outlaw importation realised,’’ Wabote noted.

    It is the general belief that if all well-meaning Nigerians with the capacity to invest in people-oriented projects do so, it won’t be long before Nigeria begins to record success in its drive for self-sufficiency which the Azikel group is daily thriving to achieve.

     

     

  • Buhari urges peace, security as ECOWAS 55th session opens

    President Muhammadu Buhari declared 55th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government open, urging the region to remain focused in the area of peace and security.

    Speaking at the opening session of the ECOWAS summit hosted in Abuja, Buhari noted that the sub-region has made some appreciable improvement in the area of governance.

    He, however, pointed out that for the region to actualise its dream of integration there must be peace and security as they are important improving the living standards of its people and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.

    He said: “Despite the overall appreciable progress we have made, particularly in the field of political governance, our sub-region continues to face considerable security challenges. We are all witnesses to the recurring incidents of inter-communal clashes, herders-farmers conflicts, banditry and terrorist attacks in all our countries. These threats, you will agree with me, have consequences on the peaceful co-existence between our communities and peoples as well as their livelihoods. This unrest also undermines all our efforts in achieving full regional integration. It is, therefore, necessary that we act collectively to end this menace in the interest of regional stability and wellbeing of our people.”

    Buhari therefore noted that the situation at hand has called for an adoption of a common strategy to combat the security challenge. “Taking into account the transnational nature of the threats confronting us, the need for the adoption of a common strategy at the national and regional level to combat them, have become imperative. By so doing, we will reinforce our actions and resources for a more effective response to protect our citizens and secure our common space. We should send a strong and unified message to the perpetrators of violence that we are resolute in our collective determination to confront and defeat them,” he said.

    Buhari also used the opportunity to commend heads of state that participated in mediation mission, for making success out of their assignment. “As we strive to create a secure, stable and prosperous environment in West Africa, we must also intensify our efforts to ensure sustainable economic and social development in our sub-region. By doing so, we will be able to tackle poverty and youth unemployment and contribute to our sustained stability,” he added. The session is expected to discuss several issues relating to different policies, programmes and projects.

    Read Also: Why security situation worsens globally – Buhari

    Also speaking at the opening ceremony, the Special Representative of the Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mohammed Ibn Chambas, noted that West Africa has continued to make strides to consolidate peace and democracy. He also assured that UNOWAS will continue to support free, credible and peaceful presidential elections in Burkina Faso, Cote d’ Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Niger and Togo next year. Only two presidents of the sub-region, Cape Verde and Senegal, did not attend the opening session in Abuja.

  • Buhari launches initiative to stop communal clashes

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari is reaching out to well-meaning citizens on finding a lasting solution to the security challenges in the country.

    He is said to have begun consultations for an inclusive stakeholders committee that will thoroughly interrogate issues believed to be fuelling communal conflicts across the country.

    The main task of the committee is proffering lasting solutions to age-long disagreements that have claimed lives and property.

    The Adamawa State Government, one of the flashpoints of incessant bloody confrontations between farmers and herders, on Saturday inaugurated a six-member committee to lead the state in the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan, designed to find an enduring solution to herdsmen/farmers conflicts.

    Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said yesterday that the president was disturbed by “communal clashes that have destroyed many lives and property, altered the destinies of families, and raised the profile of insecurity in the country by promoting generational tensions.”

    He cited the Tiv/Jukun relationship in Benue and Taraba States as an example.

    He said the proposed panel which will work with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, will comprise  traditional rulers, representatives of religious bodies, (specifically the Christian Association of Nigeria [CAN]  and the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs), age groups, market/farmer/hunters associations, local and state government officials, and relevant security agencies.

    Read Also: Why security situation worsens globally – Buhari

    Buhari, he said, believes Nigeria’s cultural diversity remains its greatest strength when properly harnessed and harmonized with a collective vision for unity, peace and shared prosperity.

    He urged more patience as government identifies and works towards creating more understanding.

    Also, the Adamawa State Government yesterday inaugurated a six-member committee on the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan, which is designed to find an enduring solution to conflicts involving herdsmen and farmers.

    Deputy Governor Crowther Seth said at the event in Yola that the panel members should work in harmony and use their decades of experience in the agricultural sector to represent the interest of the state effectively.

    Members of the committees are Professor Ambrose Alikidon Voh, Dr Garba Ahmed, Dr. Gideon Shelpela, Alhaji Usman Ibrahim Michika, Alhaji Suleiman Umar, and Malam Sajo Zakare.

    They are mostly vet doctors and people who have either retired from top positions in the agricultural sector or are close to retirement.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Professor Ambrose Voh, said on behalf of the members that in constituting the committee, the state government had shown that it is a pragmatic and action-driven government focused on solving the herdsmen-farmers conflicts bedevilling the state.

    “The decision to key into the federal government programme shows the commitment of the state to tackle the farmers-herdsmen crisis. On our part, we are working hard not only to effectively represent Adamawa State in the programme but to be ahead of the other states,” he said.

    The pilot states for the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan are Adamawa, Taraba, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue, and Oyo.

    The National Livestock Transformation Plan is a strategy of the federal government to tackle conflicts between herdsmen and farmers in states most affected by the conflicts. The states are each expected to be represented in the national programme by a duly constituted committee.

     

  • Cabinet: Buhari zeroes in on APC members

    It can now be confirmed that the majority, if not all, of President Muhammadu Buhari’s next ministers will be card-carrying members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The list has been compiled and is awaiting dispatch to Senate President Ahmed Lawan, possibly tomorrow, sources said last night.

    It was also learnt that the last lap of the screening of the ministerial nominees involved the verification of their names from the database of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with a view to ensuring that they are authentic members of the party.

    Getting maximum senate co-operation in approving the ministerial list was the key reason for last week’s meeting between Buhari and Lawan

    Highly placed sources said last night that the ministerial nominees list may be sent to the Senate President tomorrow.

    The President has kept the list to himself to foreclose any leakage.

    Sources said President Buhari had audience with Lawan on his vision for the nation and his ministerial nominees.

    It was gathered that the President reviewed the last four years and was displeased that the 8th National Assembly hampered his administration.

    “Buhari actually repeated his determination to leave legacies in the next four years and he asked Lawan to ensure that he gets the required cooperation from the lawmakers,” some of the sources said.

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    “He (Buhari) said he is ready to present his list of ministerial nominees to the Senate for confirmation in line with his agenda to really work on a fast pace this time around.

    “Lawan, who assured him of the cooperation of both chambers, advised Buhari to look for capable hands that will help him to fulfil his desire to leave sustainable legacies after two terms in office.

    “The President did not reveal any of his nominees to the President of the Senate.”

    Another source said last night that barring any last minute change, “we are hopeful that the President may send the list to the President of the Senate on Monday.”

    Continuing, the source said: “Security agencies have worked round the clock to screen and verify the dossiers of some of these nominees. In fact, the names of some of them, suspected to be coming on party basis, were sent for verification from the database of APC.

    “There is anxiety within the party, among ex-ministers and some associates of the President because no one is sure of those to be appointed by the President.

    “Buhari still keeps the list to himself and he has cautioned against any leak of the list. It is this secrecy that has heightened the jostle to be in the cabinet.”

    When contacted, a presidential aide: “As to your enquiries on the cabinet, I don’t have any information on that.”

    Section 147(1-3), provides that the President has to run his government with at least 36 ministers at one each per state.

    The section reads:   “There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.

    “Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.

    “Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution:

    “Provided that in giving effect to the Provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.”

  • Buhari congratulates Amb. Kingibe, Obi of Onitsha for honorary degrees

    President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated three recipients of honorary degrees awarded by Nnamdi Azikiwe University, UNIZIK, Awka, Anambra State, recently at the institution’s 13th convocation.

    The recipients are: Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who was given Nigeria’s second highest honour, Grant Commander of the Niger, GCON, following President Buhari’s recognition of June 12, 1993 elections believed to have been won by Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

    Another recipient, Sir Emeka Offor, Executive Vice Chairman of Chrome Group of Companies and founder of Emeka Offor Foundation, who had contributed a lot towards eradication of polio, river blindness, glaucoma, and facilitated cataract surgery and many researches in Nigeria.

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    And the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka, who has waged a successful war against unlawful and obnoxious cultural practices in the Southeast.

    The President, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity  Garba Shehu, rejoiced with the recipients, their families, friends and associates, urging them to continue working for the betterment of the country, and humanity.