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Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • Lawan: I won’t preside over a rubber-stamp Senate

    Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan, has dismissed insinuations in some quarters the Senate will become a rubber-stamp body to President Muhammadu Buhari if he emerges the President of the Ninth National Assembly.

    Lawan, who spoke on Tuesday in Abuja while playing host to the leadership of the All Progressives Youth Forum, said the principle of separation of powers does not necessarily entail adversarial relationship among the three arms of government.

    Rather, he said the principle demands healthy working relationship between the legislature and other arms, particularly the executive arm, which is headed by the President.

    Lawan, who is a front runner in the race for the presidency of the Ninth Senate, observed the adversarial relationship between the Eighth Senate and the executive arm denied Nigerians of the needed development and progress.

    According to him, the schism between the leadership of the two arms did not allow Nigerians to get the best from President Buhari and the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) in terms of delivery on the APC manifesto.

    Lawan however pledged to mobilise his colleagues to ensure the success of the APC manifesto and the actualisation of President Buhari’s good intention for the country.

    The senator representing Yobe North promised that if elected, the Senate under him, will support Buhari by preventing the distractions that characterised the relationship between the legislature and the executive in the Eight Senate.

    Read Also: ‘APC governors, others endorse Lawan, Gbajabiamila’

    Lawan said: “My campaign is based on a slogan of leading a Senate and National Assembly that will work for Nigeria.

    “We are not going for the Senate presidency because of name but to make serious and positive difference in the governance of the country.

    “We will work with Mr. President and his administration to fulfill all his campaign promises that he promised Nigerians in 2015 and 2019, which are the same.

    “2023 will be a testy period for the APC. That is when the party will know whether it is solid enough or not. Today, APC is largely revolving around President Buhari. Take away the President and the present APC will be in trouble”.

    Promising to lead an all- inclusive Senate will carry every senator along, regardless of party affiliation, the Senate Leader said he will extend a hand of fellowship to every senator across party lines, both returning and new ones.

    Senator-elect, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, appealed to both returning and newly elected senators to give Lawan the needed support, assuring that the three senators elected to represent Ekiti State have aligned with Lawan’s aspiration.

    Adeyeye, who has been elected to represent Ekiti South senatorial district, urged senators in the incoming dispensation to put the collective interest of the Senate above personal ambitions, stressing that in doing so, the overall interest of the nation will be served.

    Some of the new and returning senators on hand to give Lawan their support included Opeyemi Bamidele, Ajibola Bashiru, Sabi Abdullahi, Jibrin Barau among others.

  • ‘Corruption fight will be frontal in Buhari’s new administration’

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has assured the international community that President Muhammadu Buhari’s new administration will be more determined in the fight against corruption.

    Mohammed who gave the assurance in Washington D.C., in an interview with the Voice of America (VOA), said  the president will not compromise his anti-corruption programmes and policies.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the Minister is in Washington to engage international media and think tank, promote and reiterate the successes of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    The interview anchored in English by Alhaji Aliyu Mustapha of the VOA Hausa service, the minister said that the anti-corruption fight would be frontal in the agenda of the government because corruption is one of the major causes of poverty and underdevelopment in the country.

    He recalled a saying by President Buhari that “if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us’ and reiterated the government commitment to the fight against the scourge.

    The minister also reiterated the discovery during the past administration, that 55 Nigerians shared a whopping sum of N1.3 billion equivalent to what the present administration had spent on infrastructure development in four years.

    “The President is committed to the fight against corruption and the administration will continue with it.

    “For example, the Treasury Single Account has instituted accountability in government‘s earnings and spendings and the whistle blower policy has led to the recovery of billions of Naira.

    “It takes more than four years to clean a country endemic in corruption. However, it is on record that this administration has driven corruption under the carpet in four years.

    Read Also: Osinbajo urges journalists to expose corruption

    “In the next four years, therefore, the government will consolidate on the achievements recorded particularly in the fight against corruption,” he said.

    Speaking on insecurity, the minister said that the administration would apply multi-dimensional approach besides deployment of forces.

    He said the government was not unaware of other remote causes of the crises in the affected areas including economic and social reasons, non-inclusiveness, lack of infrastructure and job opportunities.

    The minister noted that, by and large, the administration had performed well in addressing insecurity and the country is safer than it was in 2015.

    Specifically, he said the government had successfully secured the entire territory of the country from the Boko Haram while the farmers/herdsmen clash in Benue had been curtailed.

    Mohammed said that the fight against banditry, killings and banditry in Zamfara and Kaduna has been put under control in the last two weeks because of the synergy among the security forces.

    He assured that the government will continue to strengthen partnership on the regional and international levels in addressing the challenges.

    The minister also said that the administration has made progress in economy recovery with deliberate programmers of diversifying the economy through agriculture and other sectors as well as developing infrastructure.

    Speaking on the general elections, the minister said that President Buhari’s victory was well deserved and represented the triumph of the ordinary Nigerians over the elites.

    He said having delivered on his electoral promises, the people voted for Buhari and he won the elections fairly and squarely with about four million votes.

    Mohammed said with the wide margin of winning, the government did not envisage any attempt to delegitimize the will of the people.

     

    NAN

  • NLC urges Buhari to tackle security challenges

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday said the rising wave of insecurity across the country was unacceptable. It urged President Muhammadu Buhari to rise up to the occasion and come up sustainable strategies to address the situation.

    It also condemned incidences of inconclusive elections that characterised the last general election and series of violence and vote buying, saying such incidences were a major threat to the nation’s democracy.

    In a communique at the end of its Central Working Committee meeting in Abuja, the  Congress rejected planned hike in Value Added Tax (VAT) and removal of petrol subsidy by the government as a recommendation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying the recommendations of the Bretton Wood institution has never been in the interest of the Nigerian people.

    Read also: NLC to FG: Don’t accept IMF recommendation

    Signed by Congress President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson,  it advised government to explore other means to raise fund for minimum wage implementation.

    It condemned incidences of hate speech, vote buying, ballot box snatching, abuse of provisions for manual accreditation, logistics tardiness and isolated cases of violence in the election.

  • Senate Presidency: Shettima backs Lawan

    Borno State Governors Kashim Shettima Monday threw his weight behind the candidature of Senator Ahmed Lawan as the President of the ninth Senate.

    Shettima who spoke to reporters in Abuja said that his decision to back the candidature of Lawan is line with the position of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The APC has already endorsed Lawan (Yobe North) as the party’s choice for the Senate President.

    Shettima insisted that the decision of the APC about who becomes the President of the ninth Senate must be respected as way to enforce party discipline and cohesion.

    The governors who said that it was not true that Borno elders were backing Senator Ali Ndume to emerge Senate President noted that as the first citizen of the state he made wide consultation before his decision to support Lawan.

    He said, “Thank you so much. I have very little to say. Ordinarily I am not even supposed to come here because there are three things to be combated.

    “I hail from the same state with the distinguished Senator Ali Ndume. And I appreciate the fact that politics is local. But politics is also national. And I believe the blood that binds us together supersedes whatever we might harbour.

    “But I fully aligned with the aspiration of my party, to the aspiration of President Muhammadu Buhari and by the grace of God; we are going to mobilize all our goodwill to see that we are fully on board.

    “We are for Senator Ahmad Lawan, we are for Femi Gbajabiamila and all other senators and other House of Representatives members endorsed by the party.

    “We are for party discipline that allowed everyone to aspire for political offices. We believe that we must respect the party. All of us won under platforms. There is no provision for independent candidate.

    “I don’t know whether anyone has won under an independent platform. Except maybe Senator-elect Ifeanyi Ubah who brought in an anonymous party and won.

    READ ALSO: Senate Presidency: Adeyeye urges APC to discuss with Ndume, Goje, others

    “So, I feel honored by the visit but honestly this visit is unwarranted. I am fully onboard. I am for Senator Ahmed Lawan for Senate president.

    “Well, I am the first citizen of the state; I have made wide consultations with our leaders from Borno before resolving to back Senator Ahmed Lawan.

    “And most importantly, let’s be brutally honest, Muhammadu Buhari is the single candidate in the country that most of us from the North won election by aligning with Muhammadu Buhari.

    “So, we have no basis to undermine him or to disrespect him. People like Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Sen Ifeanyi Ubah, Sen Francis Alimikhena won in spite of Buhari not because of Buhari.

    “But most of us from the North have no basis not to align ourselves with President Buhari and whoever he enforces.

    “He has endorsed some of the best hands we have in the system and where we hail from; Sen Ahmed Lawan is one of the best hands we have.

    “It is a reality. He has been in the National Assembly since 1999; he has the experience, exposure, pedigree, intellect to redefine the process. He is the best amongst equals.

    “He is level headed, calm, matured and we need such quality of leadership to drive the 9th Senate.

    “We, the people of Borno, the elected representatives of the people of Borno and we are the representatives of the people. “We are not at war with Senator Ali Ndume, he is my kinsman but we will continue to prevail on him to align himself with the aspiration of the party. We are not at war. We belong to the same paternity.”

  • Police officers to Buhari, Senate: investigate IPPIS over salaries

    Police inspectors and rank and file under the Akwa Ibom State Police Command have called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate and the Inspector General of Police to investigate the consistency in the payment of their salaries.

    The officers specifically queried the activities of the Integrated Personnel, Payroll and Information System, IPPIS, saying they suspect fraud.

    According to the officers who pleaded anonymity, they have been suffering underpayment of their regular salary every month since 2018 when payment of police Salaries and allowances was moved from Mechanized Salary Section (MSS) to the IPPIS, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Finance.

    One of them further lamented that all their efforts to get the anomaly corrected had been futile especially as nobody has given them any reason over the issue.

    He said, “We made complaints at the MSS Uyo and the officers there blamed the IPPIS saying problem is from the IPPIS. And when some of us suffered and travelled to IPPIS office in Abuja they were referred back to the MSS in Uyo and blamed the MSS for the short payments and non-payment in some months.

    “Since IPPIS took over payment of our salary in March 2018 discrepancies in our salaries has become a nightmare. Our monthly salary is no longer a fixed amount such that policemen in the same grade level received different amount of money.

    “Some inspectors on same grade level 10 now receive N50, 000, N60, 000, some N40, 000. And we also have situations where constables are receiving N250, 000 monthly salary, while sergeants, inspectors are paid N10, 000, N32, 000, and even N9, 000 as monthly salary.

    ”We demand to know why officers in the same grade level are paid different as salary, and why the amount paid each monthly is not consistent.

    “The situation is that we no longer know what our salary is per month as IPPIS pays whatever amount they deem fit for each month. Some people lose up to N60, 000, each month from what they have been receiving before IPPIS took over our salary payment.

    Read Also: Northern CAN backs leader’s visit to Buhari

    “We are therefore appealing to the president, the Inspector General of Police IGP to as a matter of great importance institute a high powered investigative panel to unravel this endemic corruption. IPPIS activities as it relates to payment of police Salaries should be investigated from February 2018 till date”

    Another affected police officer said that they have found out recently that their colleagues with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC have been paid refund from the short payment after going to IPPIS office in Abuja to threaten them.

    “In fact we gathered that few of our colleagues that have corrected their own short payment did so by visiting IPPIS through back door. That is why we are calling on the IGP, Chairman Senate Committee on Police Affairs, to set up a fact finding team to go across the command and hear the agony of the men before we embark on protest to expose IPPIS and they fraud they have been committing.

    “Even the implementation of the new salary package approved by President Buhari for the Nigeria Police Force December 2018 is another source of concern as the fraud by IPPIS continues. It is unfortunate because this is only a mockery of the President’s fight against corruption”

  • Ogoni Clean-up: Paramount ruler urges FG to mobilise contractors

    The Paramount Ruler of Bodo City in Rivers, King John Beredon, has urged the Federal Government to mobilise contractors to site to commence the remediation and recovery stage of the Ogoni Clean-up programme.

    Beredon made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers.

    He said that if contractors were adequately mobilised, Ogoni people and the entire Niger Delta region would have renewed confidence in the Federal Government’s promise to kick-start the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report implementation in Ogoniland.

    The paramount ruler, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari on his political will to drive the clean-up programme and pleaded that contractors be mobilised to site without further delay.

    “We expect that contractors with specialised reputation should be mobilised to site, that is the first thing we expect because the presence of the contractors will make the environment lively to accommodate other processes as stipulated in the report.

    “We expect that the exercise should start in earnest with a progressive proof with contractors starting the remediation of impacted sites.

    “The coast is now clear, there is absolute peace and the elections are over too, so, let the Federal Government begin to give adequate attention to fulfilling its promise on Ogoni Clean-up.

    Read Also: ‘Mobilise your neighbours for APC’

    “Going by the UNEP report, I know that the entire clean-up process is a long term programme but I believe that if bureaucratic bottlenecks are checked, the exercise will be concluded in good time,” Beredom said.

    “The programme with a life span of about 25 years will take quite a long time, the truth is that our people cannot continue existing in a polluted environment for as much as a decade that is why I’m calling on government to give urgent attention to the plight of Ogoni people and her environment.

    “The Federal Government and relevant authorities should adopt a very active method in tackling the Ogoni Clean-up just the way fire fighters will stop the spread of fire because it is long overdue.’’

    The paramount ruler also said that there was the need for government to recruit only experts for the clean-up to avoid unnecessary alterations and deviation from the provisions of the UNEP report.

    He commended government at all levels for an improved security in the state.

    “From the state down to the local government, there has been an improved security formation.

    “I want to particularly commend the state governor, Mr Nyesom Wike, whose relevant synergy with the federal security has contributed towards the security improvement in my domain,” he said.

     

     

  • Don urges Nigerians to support Buhari

    Dr Bashir Yankuzu, Federal University of Technology, (FUT), Minna) has urged Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari to build a stronger and greater nation in the next four years.

    Yankuzu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna on Monday.

    He said that it was time for leaders and followers to unite and support the move by the present administration to build a Nigeria of everybody’s dream.

    The Don also said that time had come for all Nigerians to set aside their political differences and support the policies and programmes of the Buhari-led administration.

    According to him, with the collective support of all Nigerians, the country will overcome its current insecurity and other challenges.

    “Nigerians must be supportive, patient and prayerful for God’s intervention in the socio-economic and political growth of our country.

    Read Also: Northern CAN backs leader’s visit to Buhari

    “We are going to witness a better four-year,my advice is for all to unite and support the government,” Yankuzu said.

    He said that the Buhari administration had made several land mark achievements in so many areas such as road construction, transportation, security, agriculture and physical infrastructure.

    Yankuzu, who lectures at the Department of Educational Sciences in the institution, however, advised the Federal government to be more proactive in tackling kidnapping and banditry across the country.

    He said arresting and prosecuting all those involved in criminal activities would enable rural farmers resume farming activities and boost food production.

    NAN

     

  • Edo 2020: APC passes vote of confidence on Obaseki

    Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has passed a vote of confidence on Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    It said the unprecedented achievements of winning all the 24 seats in the State House of Assembly was a referendum of the administration and performance of Governor Obaseki.

    This was contained in a statement signed by State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Chris Azebamwan after the APC’s State Executive Committee meeting.

    Read Also: APC’s claim on my birth is ridiculous, pedestrian, says Atiku

    The statement said the party would continue to sustain its commitment to give Obaseki the needed support to keep it focused and on track.

    It reads in parts: “Members congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari for his well -deserved victory and the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for the overall success of the Party in the general elections nationwide.

    “Members also noted the role of the party’s leadership in guiding our members at the National Assembly in relation to their leadership as both desirable and commendable.”

  • There is hope for return of Leah Sharibu, remaining Chibok girls, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari says his promise to ensure the release of Leah Sharibu and the remaining Chibok girls in captivity of Boko Haram remains valid and will be fulfilled.

    The President renewed the pledge in a message by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, to mark the fifth anniversary of the abduction of the Chibok girls.

    About 210 school girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State were kidnapped on April 14, 2014, with 107 of them later released following successful negotiations between the Buhari administration and the abductors.

    Buhari had promised the parents of the kidnapped girls when he met them at the beginning of his first term as president, that he would ensure their daughters returned home.

    The President acknowledged that it was this promise that made the people of Chibok vote for him overwhelmingly in the February presidential election.

    He said that though his government had so far succeeded in securing the release of 107 of the girls, ”it will not rest until the remaining are reunited with their families”.

    The President assured the parents of the girls that his administration is still on the matter.

    ”Diverse efforts are being intensified to secure the release of the Chibok Girls, along with all hostages in Boko Haram captivity, including Leah Sharibu, who was kidnapped from her school – Science Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, on Feb. 19, 2018.

    ”On Leah Sharibu’s abduction, the interlocutors have reported encouraging progress so far.

    ”The report reaching us says her return to her family has unfortunately been hindered by the fear of the militants.

    ”They worry that heavy military presence in areas where they previously moved about freely could affect their safety after they return her to the government.

    ”At the same time, the military cannot jeopardise the security of the entire north-eastern region by halting their operations to accommodate Boko Haram’s fears,” he added.

    According to him, Leah Sharibu will be reunited with her family as soon as any conclusions are reached on a number of options being considered for her safe transportation.

    READ ALSO: Address killings within 48 hrs, Reps tell Buhari

    “The success of the Nigerian military in subduing Boko Haram is evidenced by the large numbers of militants who have surrendered recently, especially in neighbouring Cameroon and Niger.

    “A similar mass surrender of militants is expected to happen soon in Nigeria.

    “While Nigerian military operations are ongoing, the government is also engaging with the militants but the talks have been affected by the factionalisation of Boko Haram – with one group adopting a hard line posture and intensifying attacks on Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad, and another group engaging with the government for peaceful resolution,” he said.

    Buhari used the opportunity of the commemoration of the Chibok tragedy to commend the girls, now women, saying they had triumphed over it all.

    He also saluted the 106 girls sponsored by the Nigerian government to continue their studies at the American University of Nigeria, Yola.

    He encouraged them to stay focused on becoming women, who could inspire other girls in Nigeria and around the world to triumph over “the daily battles they face in a world that often unfair to the girl-child”.

    The President also extended his best wishes to the Chibok girls in other schools in Nigeria and around the world.

    He congratulated Yaga Bitrus, who has excelled beyond expectations in her college in Maine, USA, and who is soon to receive a special ‘Against All Odds Award’ from her school.

     

  • Buhari challenges regional leaders on illegal flow of arms into Nigeria

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday in N’Djamena, the Chadian capital stressed the need for wider cooperation among countries of Sahel and Saharan regions to counter the infiltration of small arms to Nigeria.

    The president made the call at the one-day Extraordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) in N’Djamena.

    The Nigerian leader maintained that the call had become imperative as such illegal arms were flowing into ”the hands of militia forces, bandits and insurgents who are becoming a threat to human rights and internal security.

    According to him, his administration has worked closely with immediate neighbours in the last few years to stem the widespread availability of small arms and light weapons making their way into Nigeria.

    He, however, noted that the “very disturbing recent developments” had impelled the administration to seek support from a wider circle of countries if the illegal inflows are to be curtailed.

    Malam Garba Shehu, Presidential spokesman said in a statement that ”the President is also putting on the table for discussions, the problems of irregular migration, trafficking in persons, especially of women and children as part of the security nature of his engagements.

    READ ALSO: Japan congratulates Buhari on reelection

    ‘It is in view of the significance of this organization and the role it can play in furthering domestic security that President Buhari ordered the reinvigoration of our nation’s interest, approved the payment of the backlog of unpaid funds and for a speedier work on the processes of the ratification of the treaty binding the members of the organization.

    ”While in N’Djamena, President Buhari is also expected to press for the protection of the well-being of the large population of Nigerians living both legally and illegally in Libya, which is the host country of the CEN-SAD 

    President  Buhari, alongside his host and current Chairperson of CEN-SAD, Idriss Deby Itno and their counterparts from Niger and Togo, with high-level representations from other member-countries are expected to issue a communique at the end of the summit.

    NAN