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Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • PHOTOS: Buhari breaks fast with Tinubu at Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari breaks Ramadan fast with the APC National Leader Asiwaju, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the residency Presidential Villa Friday Night in Abuja.

    PRESIDENT BUHARI RAMADAN BREAKFAST WITH ASIWAJU 1-4. President Muhammadu Buhari breaks Ramadan fast with the APC National Leader Asiwaju, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the residency Presidential Villa Friday Night in Abuja. 

  • Labour cannot blackmail me over Kokori – Ngige

    Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige on Thursday gave graphic details of how his private residence was picketed by Labour leaders on Wednesday.

    The act, he said, was not picketing but invasion of private residence for which he vowed to sue the Labour leaders.

    He also declared he will not bulge over his opposition to the appointment of ex-labour leader, Frank Kokori, as head the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

    He stated he will go on with the inauguration of the board despite the opposition of the Labour union.

    Besides, he said a new date for the inauguration will be announced very soon.

    He stressed that the provisions of section 4(a) of the NSITF Act is very clear on the sole responsibility of the Minister of Labour and Employment to nominate a neutral, fit and proper person for the approval of the president for the Chairmanship of the board.

    He added that Kokori was not nominated because he is not neutral.

    President Muhammadu Buhari last month replaced Kokori with Austin Enajemo-Isire, a Chartered Accountant, professional Insurance Executive and Banker.

    Speaking on the allegation he sent thugs to attack workers at his house in Asokoro, the minister described the report as misleading and unfortunate, insisting that NLC led by Wabba were hooligans who he was going to sue for arson.

    Ngige alleged Wabba led people to his to his private residence at 4:30am on Wednesday and blocked the entrance to his house and neighbours’ with two tankers laden with petrol.

    He said the workers did not only succeed in traumatising occupants of both houses, which included children, they also succeeded in preventing his neighbour and his wife from doing their business for the day as they were presented from leaving their home.

    Read Also: Activists to NLC president: apologise to Ngige

    Ngige said: “Well, I just read the dailies today and I saw that story. It is a very fortunate misleading story because the scenario that emerged yesterday (Wednesday) was that I was woken up at 5am by my wife who reported to me that the security men were having problems with some strange fellows at the gate of the house. And that some people were also on the walls of my home, that they arrived there by 4:30am.

    “When the security people accosted them, they discovered that it was the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress himself that came physically with two tankers one laden with petroleum, the second was half empty. One was put at the gate of my house and the second at the gate of my neigbour’s house.

    “When I heard the story it was very strange. When I looked from upstairs I saw that the tankers were actually blocking the entrance to my house.

    “I came down and asked for the chief detail who told me the whole story. And it emerged that they even had a scuffle with the president of the NLC when they were struggling for the key to the tanker.

    “So I went back and made some calls to the Commissioner of Police FCT, Director SSS and also the Federal Road Safety to see if they could move the vehicles.

    “Picketing does not mean that you go to private residence because you don’t know who occupies there.”

    He went on:  “For example in my home, my wife, my children and the children of my domestic staff and security personnel were trapped.

    “My neighbour, his wife and children couldn’t go out. It is obstruction, it is against the law of the country. Then putting a tanker with petrol is arson, the place can be caught on fire, the entire street could have been engulfed on fire. I don’t know what to say.

    “That is not trade unionism; that is hooliganism. I have been preaching that you cannot exchange hooliganism for trade unionism.

    “Trade unionism means you dialogue, you discuss, you talk. That is why we call it social dialogue because you must continue to talk if you are government you continue to talk, if you are Labour you continue to talk with your employer and if you are employers you continue engaging them.

    “So, I was surprised to read about thugs and people hospitalised, people beaten. I have tried to do some investigations and enquiries and from my preliminary enquiry and the reports I got, it looks like the NLC people disagreed with the people they brought to my house.

    “I understand that they were contracted to work till 10am which is council time, the aim being to obstruct me from going to council. I left my house at 8am, a friend picked me up and I was able to make it to council.

    “So, I am very, very distraught, my family is traumatised, the people in my house are traumatised, my domestic staff with families are traumatised.

    “Even my neigbour and his wife couldn’t do their business for the day. Those tankers were removed around 6pm.”

    Asked if he was planning to take any action, the minister said: “my neighbour said he is going to take legal action. I will also take legal action, illegal actions are actionable, nobody is above the law.

    “Their grouse is the inauguration of the NSITF board. We had fixed the date for April 18th and they invaded the place with thugs and disrupted the function.

    “We had postponed the function and said we were going to fix another date for inauguration but since then, they have been maligning my character and integrity because I am the Labour minister.

    “And they forget that according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) convention, I am what they refer to as the competent authority.

    “Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Secretary to the Government of the Federation will not come and do Labour matters. But, it is an obtuse thing we have here.

    “The Labour people led by Wabba feel that they are secondary arm of government and he answers President of NLC, so he equates himself with the president of Nigeria.

    “But there is only one sovereign authority of Federal Republic of Nigeria and for today by the grace of God, is President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “The Act setting up the NSITF gave Labour two nominees, private sector under NECA two nominees. Labour appropriated the two for NLC and made a nomination and government has also made a nomination.

    “What we are doing now is that we have proposed and the government has approved a fit and neutral person, not a government officer, not a Labour coloured man and not a private sector man. That is what obtains in tripartitism and we exhibited it for you all to see under the national minimum wage tripartite committee.

    “Ms. Amal Pepple is a neutral person that has experience and background as a former permanent secretary, former minister of housing, former head of service of the federation and even a former Clark of the Senate.

    “So she was a round peg in a round hole. We are also going to put a square peg in a square hole. We are going to go ahead and inaugurate the board, we will not have any further distractions on  this and we are consulting to fix a date for the inauguration immediately.”

    Asked if Kokori was not neutral person, Ngige responded: “I did not recommend him. I am the minister permitted by law to do that recommendation and I am telling you unequivocally that I did not recommend him, simple.”

    Asked if he had anything personal against Kokori, he said, “Nothing. I am just following the law. I cannot recommend a labour coloured person. I did not recommend him and I am not foolish to do so.

    “And if I am not foolish to do so, NLC should not arm twist me, blackmail me into a submission. I am not a man who will submit to blackmail and you will floor him, no!”

    Asked if he was summoned to the Villa because of the matter, Ngige said: “No. Mr. President did not summon me, I came for a meeting and I have finished my meeting and I am going.”

  • Breaking: Buhari suspends FEC to break Ramadan fast

    The weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) has been suspended to enable Muslims break their Ramadan fast.

    President Muhammadu Buhari is presiding over the meeting, which started at about 11am.

    The meeting had earlier gone on break after considering three memos out of the 29 billed for consideration today.

    Read Also: Buhari seeks global help to tackle Boko Haram

    Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Femi Adesina, said the meeting was expected to resume deliberations after the religious obligations at about 7.15pm.

    This will be the second time within the last one week that FEC meeting will last late into the night.

    The last one on Thursday was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    It also lasted late into the night.

  • Drivers, ex-militants block East-West road over killings, kidnappings

    Aggrieved drivers and ex-militants on Wednesday barricaded a section of the East-West road to protest rising cases of killings, kidnapping, armed robberies and other criminal activities along the gateway road.

    Chanting songs in solidarity, the protesters insisted the worsening insecurity along the Rivers State axis of the road was alarming and called for deployment of soldiers at strategic points on the road.

    The leader of ex-agitators, Ebi John, said gunmen were operating with impunity on the road terrorising drivers and commuters by kidnapping and holding them hostage in the surrounding bushes.

    He said the criminal activities made the road a death trap and lamented that women were freely raped while others were killed by the marauders at slightest provocation.

    He said: “We are in pains. Every single day there are killings, kindnapping, arm robbery along the East-West road and in the entire Niger Delta, which we are not happy about.

    “We are appealing to the government to send soldiers to the troubled areas on the East-West road.

    Read Also: Eat well, FRSC advises drivers

    “We need the military troops because we are not safe anymore. Our wives are raped, our brothers and sisters are kidnapped and they cannot travel through the road free again.

    “We are urging the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe (ODS) to deploy troops in the areas where the kidnapping is happening. We will continue to protest until this problem is over”.

    John argued the failure of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) contributed to the insecurity and appealed to the coordinator of the scheme to douse the tension in the region.

    Another ex-freedom fighter, Oweikpele said most of the problems that led to the agitations in the region remained unresolved despite huge sums of money released to tackle all the issues by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He said: “The people are still roaming the street and they are still subjected to other unforeseen circumstances. There should be a town hall meeting where all the stakeholders will find an end to these problems”.

  • Again, Buhari declines assent to two more bills

    President Muhammadu Buhari has once again declined assent to two more bills passed by the National Assembly and forwarded to him for his signature.

    The latest casualties in the string of rejected bills are the Nigeria Tourism Development Authority Bill and the Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority Bill.

    The rejection of the two bills has brought to 40 the number of bills the President rejected for one reason or the other in the Eighth Senate.

    Buhari conveyed his withdrawal of assent on the two bills vide two separate letters addressed to the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and which the latter read at Wednesday’s plenary session.

    On the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, the President said Section 14(d) and Section 30(2d) contradicted Section 4(1-3) and Paragraph 60(d) of the Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended).

    Section 30 (2d) of the bill had proposed a tourism fee on all in-bound international travelers, a tourism levy on all out-bound travelers and a tourism departure contribution fee of one percent per hotel room rate.

    The President’s letter stated inter alia, “Such flat fee has been fixed by the authority and a corporate tourism development levy of one percent to be charged on the revenue of banks, telecommunications and other corporate entities.

    Read Also: Buhari seeks help to end Boko Haram

    “This will be inimical to the growth of the tourism and hospitality industry in Nigeria and constitute additional burden on the tourism business”.

    On the Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority Bill, the President cited issues of funding and overlap of functions for rejecting it.

    His letter reads: “The comprehensive definition of the Nigeria Inland Waterways covers virtually all rivers, lakes and lagoons irrespective of the location of the body.

    “The bill contradicts provisions of the constitution which limits the power of the National Assembly to make laws in relation to water from sources affecting more than one state of inland waterway which has been declared to be an international waterway or inter-state waterway.

    “The bill, as currently drafted, subjects the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Environment and Nigeria Ports Authority to the supervision of the Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority.

    “The funding provision of the bill, which seeks to appropriate 25 percent of the ports development levy annually, 15 per cent of the ecological fund annually and one percent of the funds accruable to the federal government for oil and gas within the cleared waterways and the right of way; and 2.5 percent fees annually paid by companies operating power plants within waterways, are grossly excessive and will negatively affect the revenues of the federal government”.

     

  • Breaking: We will be fair to all, Presidential tribunal assures Atiku, Buhari, others

    The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) has assured that it would be fair to all parties in the four petitions pending before it that it.

    The petitions are challenging the outcome of the last presidential election, won by the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), who is heading the tribunal’s five-man panel, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa gave the assurance on Wednesday while speaking at its inaugural sitting, held at the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal.

    Justice Bulkachuwa said: “We assure all stakeholders that each litigant will be given equal opportunity to present his case in a mature manner before us.

    Read Also: Buhari, Jonathan, Atiku and who?

    “As we gather in this honourable courtroom today, I wish to use this opportunity to reassure Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, that the Court of Appeal will work in accordance and within the dictates of the Constitution, the law and international best practices, to dispense justices to all, without fear or favour, affection or ill will.”

    She sought the cooperation of all, particularly the senior lawyers in the cases, and warned that the court will penalise infractions.

    Bulkachuwa said there are, presently 786 petitions, with Imo State having the highest number of 76 petitions, which necessitated the posting of six panels to the state.

    The PCA, who stressed the importance of an independent Judiciary in every democracy, noted that on Jigawa State where petitions were not filed.

     Details later

  • Buhari seeks help to end Boko Haram

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday approached the United Nations (UN) for help in his battle to make the country safe for all.

    He urged the world body and the international community to support the Federal Government in addressing the insecurity that has become a major concern to all.

    The President decried the prevailing condition of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the various camps across the troubled states.

    Buhari’s plea came on a day the UN poured cold water on Nigeria’s bid to take a permanent seat at the U.N. Security Council.

    The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, who arrived in the country on Monday, said the much-talked about reform aimed at opening up the Council may be a mirage after all.

    Her reason: there is no political will to see the reform to a logical conclusion.

    On Nigeria’s rising security challenges, Buhari said: “The condition of IDPs in the country is pathetic. We have at least a million children who neither know their parents nor where they come from.”

    The President also pointed out the damage to infrastructure, particularly in the Northeast, which he said will need international help to restore.

    “Bridges have been blown up, schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, and other buildings have been destroyed. All these will be rehabilitated, and every form of international help is welcome,” the President noted.

    On the recharge of Lake Chad through inter-basin water transfer from Congo River, Buhari said climate change was quite real, noting that no fewer than 30 million people have been affected by the shrinking lake, with at least half of them being Nigerians.

    Read also: PDP faults Buhari over ‘kidnapping as business’ comment

    He stressed the role the international community needed to play in the endeavour, since recharging the lake is beyond the financial power of the affected countries.

    On the lack of political will to push through reform in the UN Security Council, Ms. Espinosa Garcés said it was bogged down by divisive bickering.

    The 15-member UN Security Council has only five permanent members – United States, (U.S., Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom (UK).

    The remaining 10 are non-permanent members that are chosen yearly for two-year terms, distributed on a regional basis as follows: five for African and Asian states; one for Eastern European states; two for the Latin American and Caribbean states; and two for Western European and other states.

    The reform would have expanded the permanent seat, Nigeria has been jostling for Africa’s envisaged sole seat in the Council.

    Ms. Espinosa said: “Regarding the question of UN Security Council reform, I have to say very honestly that this is one of the most complex, divisive and contentious negotiations processes at the UN.

    “As you know, the reform of the Security Council is under the responsibility of the UNGA, and I have appointed two co-chairs to lead the works of the inter-governmental negotiations that have been taking place for 10 years now.

    “The process of reforms started 25 years ago and the mandate to negotiate the reform came 10 years ago when I was the Ambassador of Ecuador at the UN. And at the time I thought we had a resolution to start the negotiations and with a great naivety, I thought this is going to be a process that will, perhaps be for two or three years.

    “Ten years later, I have to say that there is no consensus, there are very different views and positions regarding the reform process. As we know, we need consensus to advance reforms.

    “This is one of the issues where my work as the president is to lead to make sure that we agree on the fundamentals to ensure that the process is inclusive and transparent. That the outcome of the reform is going to depend very much on the political will of member states themselves.

    “Then, of course, the African position is well known and there are also different groups that also have different positions; we are trying to bring them together and find a common denominator.

    “And the common denominator is that the Security Council has to deliver more and better because they have the main responsibility to deliver on peace and security agenda of the organisation.”

    Speaking on the humanitarian needs around the Lake Chad area and the role of the UN, the UNGA President said the global body would deploy its capacities in conjunction with governments of the Lake Chad Basin to improve humanitarian aid to meet the people’s need.

    She said: “I have specific numbers on how much, specific coverage and people but everything we do is in strict and close coordination with the governments of the Lake Chad Basin.

    “As you know, the UN has signed a five-year UN cooperation framework with Nigeria whereby $4.5 million will, channelled there, according to the Nigerian government’s priorities.”

    Ms. Espinosa, who is UNGA’s 73rd President, was also quoted to have praised President Buhari’s leadership of ECOWAS, and of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, pledging to call the attention of the international community to the “hurting effects” of the Lake Chad problem, and other issues raised by the Nigerian leader.

    According to a Presidency statement issued at the end of the meeting at the State House, the UNGA President also praised Nigeria for rehabilitating the UN building in Abuja, which was destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents during an attack in August 2011.

    She commended Nigeria for being a key part of the UN system, saying the country was well respected in the global body, as “Nigeria is a major troops’ contributor to peace keeping operations, and a major part of the human rights architecture”.

  • Rising insecurity: Sack all Service Chief now, ADP tells Buhari

    Worried by the increasing insecurity across the country, the National Chairman of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Engr. Yabagi Sani wants President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack all the security chiefs for lacking ideas to end the constant killings, kidnapping and banditry across the country.

    Speaking in an interview in Abuja, Engr. Sani reminded the President that he was elected to protect the lives of Nigerians and asked whether if Nigeria his private company losing profit daily, “will he keep the manager of such company?

    He said that until the current service chiefs are sacked by the President, the insecurity situation in the country may not abate, saying “On the issue of insecurity, I think we know why it has become so embarrassing.

    “We cannot be doing the same thing and be expecting different results. You cannot retain the same service chiefs in the same positions and expect a different result.

    “This man (Service chief) has done it so many times and nothing has worked. If it were to be your private company where you recorded a low turnout, will you continue with the same manager?

    “This president (Buhari) should be somebody who should know more than all of us that to boost the morale of the Force is something that is at the bottom of commitment. They are profiteering with people’s blood. You won’t believe the amount of money going into insecurity. If insecurity is man-made then we are the ones fueling it. The President knows what to do as a former Head of State.”

    Read Also: In search of Buhari’s ‘Next Level’ cabinet

    The ADP Chairman throw his weight behind the debate to allow more political parties, saying the “multiplicity of political parties is not bad Nigeria but Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should introduce certain criteria that parties should meet before they are allowed to be on the ballot.

    “What I am saying is that multiplicity of parties is not bad for a country like Nigeria, what the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should consider is to introduce certain criteria that parties should meet before they are allowed to be on the ballot.

    “For instance, if you want to be on the national ballot it could be said that you should churn out what you have done before in terms of membership of the House of Assembly which could be used as a yardstick to enable us weed out incompetent people.

    “The issue of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the PDP commandeering the political space is because they have government either at the State or national level. Election in this country is not just what the electorate wants; it is about how much control one has over the security apparatus or people’s money. Parties like ours are not there yet.

    “That is why there is always a vicious fight if the power in the state is not at the federal level mostly between the PDP and APC.  So that is the reason it happened the way it did. But it is not to say that there is no hope. Nigeria is moving on. We are gathering more experiences regardless of what people say. People are becoming more informed of their rights.

    “I believe that what is happening in other climes today will happen here where people will rise up against the establishment of unfavorable activities.

    “On the multiplicity of parties that we are talking about, I think that for a growing democracy like Nigeria with over 200 million people according to the United Nations, with so many religious and ethnic diversities, it is okay to allow the multiplicity of parties so that those who may not be interested in the national politics but are interested in their locality can be involved.

    “The unfortunate thing is that we need to go beyond the arrangement of government. Independence should be allowed there to enable them control their resources. If they are allowed to control their resources people will focus on the state since they have their resources to use.”

  • Breaking: Osinbajo averts impending unrest, calms FCT protesters

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday averted what was an impending civil unrest when he alighted from his convoy to assuage protesters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

    The Vice President who was headed to Ekiti state for the launch of the National Home Grown School Feeding scheme ran into the protesters who had barricaded the road, he alighted from his car and had a chat with the irate youths who began chanting his name soon as he was identified.

    The protesters comprising mainly of young men and some women from Gbayi village were protesting at Gossa, the alleged invasion of their land by the Nigerian Military, urged the Vice President to intervene in the issue.

    Responding to their plea, the Vice President assured them that he would meet with the village leaders to find lasting solution to the problem at hand.

    He urged the youth to seek more diplomatic ways of solving issues. He assured them that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is dedicated to the people and that the dividend of democracy will be enjoyed by all.

    The protesters said if they had known that the Vice President was going to ply the road they would not have acted in the manner which they did.

    Read Also: Osinbajo assures on completion of 2nd Niger Brige

    Thereafter, the youths once again began to chant his name and then made way for the Vice President to proceed to the airport.

    Speaking to the media, a protester who identified himself as Danlami Abdulgafar praised Prof. Osinbajo for his humane nature. He said the Vice President understands and relates with the plight of ordinary Nigerians.

    “Imagine that all Nigerians politicians are like Prof. (Osinbajo), this country would have succeeded since the 70s. He came down from his vehicle and he addressed us, in fact we were happy that he accorded us so much respect.

    Another protester, Gwatana Muktar said if it were to be any other politician they would not even listen to the person. “You know during campaign he visited almost all the villages and we saw him first hand. He is a very humble man and God will continue to bless him,” he said.

     

  • Group reacts to “change” of security chiefs

    The National Democratic Front has accused opposition and enemies of democracy of being desperate to oust the current government led by President Muhammadu Buhari.
    The group warned them against heating up of the polity by those attracting unnecessary attention to the military with propaganda.
    NDF was reacting to the report in some quarters, which claimed President Buhari had fired all the security chiefs.
    Dr. Bolaji Abdulkadir, Secretary General of NDF in a statement forwarded to our reporter on Saturday, said the claim was a clear indication that the oppositions were not tired on their quest to topple the current government.
    It said the report of change of Service Chiefs was another coup plot by opposition elements to infiltrate the military for their sinister motive of destabilizing Nigeria’s democracy
    The statement reads below.
    The National Democratic Front (NDF) is alarmed at the unnecessary attention being directed at the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in recent day because we believe that such development cannot be good for our democracy. Our reference is specifically to the hoaxes making the rounds about the military service chiefs having been changed, sacked or about to be replaced.
    Our decision to express concerns over this development was borne out of several factors. The first is that we observed that the hoax and stories are being published by outlets that have shown a track record of being sympathetic to the opposition or have fully aligned with the opposition in the past. This, for us, is indication that the hoax is part of an elaborate plan that predated the General Elections, which calls for concern knowing the extent of acrimony the opposition had displayed at that time.
    The second factor that gives us concern is that this same opposition had been named in a plot to pressure President Muhammadu Buhari to drop the service chiefs so that a new crop of military chiefs that are sympathetic to the opposition will be appointed following which they will overthrow the government and hold a shabby transition to hand over power to the opposition. There is no proof that the opposition has renounced this plot, which means the concocted stories about the Service Chiefs is a pointer to how the plot is being modified in the aftermath of the elections. Already, we are already witnessing series of unwarranted protests that were previously revealed as the excuse that rouge military personnel that have been recruited would use to attempt unseating the government.
    We are equally concerned that even if the opposition has no design to overthrow the government, the twentieth anniversary of our transition from military dictatorship to civil rule is not the best time to focus unnecessary attention on the military. Obsessing about the military chiefs and their tenure at a time when there are other pressing issues of national development amounts to saying that some people want the military back in the saddle of leadership or that they are nostalgic about losing the civil rights that many Nigerians died to secure for the country. Such mind-set goes beyond irresponsible and is squarely in the territory of criminality.
    We are aware how these same people that are peddling rumours about the sack of military chiefs have been the ones worsening the country’s security breaches. They have coined fancy names for the people they contracted to cause trouble for Nigeria so that the true extent of their complicity will remain hidden. It is no surprise that some of them will always jump up to amplify whatever atrocities have been committed by their rebranded Boko Haram/ISAWP, killer herdsmen, unknown gunmen, killer herdsmen, kidnappers and any other malaise they have decided to afflict the country with.
    It has now been revealed that the contacts of these political jobbers in the military have been actively sabotaging ongoing efforts to neutralize the security breaches by leaking information to their political patrons, who in turn pass the information to their hired killers operating under the aforementioned names.
    The serial failure of these killer groups to spiral Nigeria into crisis has now made these detractors to turn their attention to the military in the hope of undermining it for that is precisely what will happen if they are able to cast the military in the mould of a political component. This strategy is uncharitable given that our military is undergoing reorganization and professionalization under President Buhari.
    It must also be stated that issues of the military leadership, being a matter of national security, should not be reduced to a matter for beer parlour talks, which appears to be the preferred platform for certain politicians to discuss national issues. The dynamics around those that have been doing much to secure the country from growing existential threats cannot be degraded to being placed on the same pedestal as those for contemplating political manoeuvrings and permutations. We therefore see these conjectures and hoaxes being offloaded on Nigerians as an attempt to politicise the military, which we had condemned in the past and will continue to condemn because we know that it runs contrary to the wellbeing of the country.
    NDF therefore warns those behind the fake news about change in military leadership to desist from spreading falsehood irrespective of what motivates or incentivize them. The line between what they are doing and executing a coup against the government of the day is very thin. They cross that line and the consequences provided in the law kick in and at that stage being in the opposition, activist or NGO community will not guarantee immunity from tasting the full flavour of the law.
    Our warning extends to the agents of these elements in the military services. The reports that some of the military personnel have been contacted to behave in certain ways to compromise the government and the entire country is well known. Anyone caught collaborating with those that want to destroy Nigeria can be rest assured that Nigerians will rally for them to get the stiffest of the punishments prescribed for coup plotters. We cannot be striving to make our country better while others sabotage the rest of us for pecuniary gains, even when they work in the military services.
    NDF unequivocally warn the elements behind the latest hoax to keep away from the military and security chiefs as they have made it abundantly clear that the military will remain apolitical. We do not want anything that will degrade Nigeria’s democracy or security, which unfortunately now appears to be the life goal of the opposition.