President Muhammadu Buhari stepped into the Council Chamber of the State House around 11am.
He immediately started the proceedings for the inauguration of the ministers designate with the rendition of the National anthem.
Buhari, at the end of two- day retreat for the ministers -designate on Tuesday, had charged them to hit the ground running as remaining four years is short.
The hall was filled with the ministers designate and some members of their families.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commenced the process towards declaring Nigeria certification a polio- free country.
The body noted that it would be looking at data and where it is proven negative, the country will be declared polio free early 2020.
Dr. Clement Peter, WHO representative, stated the next six months is very crucial for the government and country to attain the status.
Details shortly…
The National leader of the All Progressives Congress(APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has arrived the Council chamber for invitation of ministers-designate.
He was in the company of former interim National chairman of the party Chief Bisi Akande
The Secretary to the Government (SSG) of the Federation, Boss Mustapha arrived for the inauguration of the new cabinet.
Mustapha’s office had organised a two- day retreat for ministers-designate to galvanise them for the assignment ahead of them in the next four years.
He walked into the Council chamber around 10.30am
The two-day Presidential Retreat hosted by President Muhammadu Buhari came to an end on Tuesday, with a charge from the President to the ministers-designate to give their best to the task of delivering a more prosperous country for all Nigerians
A statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said the second and final day of the retreat kicked off with a presentation on cabinet processes and procedures by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
He said that this was followed by a presentation by the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on aligning government policies with the ideology, manifesto and campaign promises of the ruling party.
“Subsequent presentations touched on Budgeting, Civil Service Reforms, Public Procurement, the Relationships among Ministers and Permanent Secretaries, and Effective Partnerships between Executive, Legislature and State Governments,’’ Adesina further stated.
Adesina revealed that the ministers-designate would be sworn in on Aug. 21, at the State House, after which they would be allocated portfolios by the President.
“Following the swearing-in, each minister will be given a mandate, based on the assigned ministry, and which will spell out priorities, deliverables and timelines.
“In addition, a robust monitoring and evaluation framework will also be put in place to track the implementation of all policies and programmes over the next four years,’’ he said.
The embattled Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, on Wednesday made a surprise appearance at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Presidency is billed to inaugurate new cabinet today.
Oyo-Ita arrived the forecourt of the State House in her official SUV around 9.45am.
She had walked straight to the office of the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
She had been absent at the two-day Presidential Retreat for ministers designate, federal permanent secretaries and top government functionaries held at the old Banquet Hall on Monday and Tuesday.
Oyo-Ita, specifically didn’t show up on Tuesday when she was scheduled to speak on ‘Consolidating Ongoing Reforms in the Public Service’.
Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had last week Tuesday grilled Oyo-Ita over alleged N3b contract scam.
Media reports on Monday had claimed that Oyo-Ita had submitted her letter of retirement from the service
But the Presidency had countered by saying that it was yet to receive the resignation letter.
Oyo-Ita was still at the Chief of Staff office at the time of filing this report.
Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu has given reasons why his members would not retreat in attacking Igbo leaders in foreign countries.
He blamed the death of over 600 of his members through ‘Operation Python Dance’ on the leaders who he said allowed the desecration of Igbo tradition and culture following the invasion of his father’s compound by Federal troupe.
In a press statement issued Tuesday by the group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful titled: “Setting the Records Straight…..” Kanu alleged that the interest of the Igbo politicians was his death, that of IPOB, as well as the death of its dream of freedom for all.
He said the explanation became necessary following the Nuremberg encounter in order to refresh memories, particularly of those “in the habit of excusing intolerable evil and wickedness.”
The statement partly read, “These men instigated, financed and defended a full-scale bloody military invasion of Biafraland; they tagged Operation Python Dance that led to the torture and untimely death of over 600 Biafrans, 28 of which fell in my compound.
“These men sanctioned the desecration of the home of an Igbo tradition ruler by Fulani soldiers and did not care if my father HRM Eze Israel Okwu Kanu and my mother, who were home with me during the unprovoked invasion, is killed or not.
“In view of the Nuremberg encounter, it has become necessary for us to refresh our memories lest it succumbs to confusion and deliberate misinformation because most people, unlike we IPOB, are in the habit of excusing intolerable evil and wickedness but we not.
“Every perpetrator of evil, every purveyor of iniquity, every merchant of misery and every defender of injustice must and will be held to account. We will not relent until justice is served.
“Those with a conscience can now understand the root cause of our anger and why we won’t stop until they all pay dearly for their sins.”
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday retained his position as the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
Buhari, who was the Minister for the same ministry for four years, made the disclosure while assigning portfolios to the new ministers after they took oaths and the new cabinet inaugurated.
Other portfolios assigned on Wednesday included
1. Dr. Ikechukwu Ogah (State, Mines & Steel)
2. Mohammed Musa Bello (FCT)
3. Godswill Akpabio (Niger-Delta)
4. Chris Ngige (Labour & Employment)
5. Sharon Ikeazor (State, Environment)
6. Adamu Adamu (Education)
7. Maryam Katagun (State, Industry)
8. Timipre Sylva (State, Petroleum)
9. George Akume (Special Duties)
10. Mustapha Shehuri (State, Agriculture)
11. Goddy Jedy Agba (State, Power)
12. Festus Keyamo (State, Niger-Delta)
13. Ogbonnaya Onu (Science)
14. Osagie Ehanire (Health)
15.Clement Ike (State, Budget)
16. Richard Adebayo (Industry)
17. Geoffrey Onyeama (Foreign Aff.)
18. Ali Isa Pantami (Communication)
19. Emeka Nwajiuba (State, Education)
20. Suleiman Adamu (Water Res.)
21. Zainab Ahmed Finance (Budget and National Planning)
22. Muhammad Mahmood (Environment)
23. Sabo Nanono (Agriculture)
24. Bashir S. Magashi (Defence)
25. Muhammad Buhari Petroleum
26. Sen. Hadi Sirika (Aviation)
27.Abubakar Malami (Justice)
28.Ramatu Tijjani (State, FTC)
29. Lai Mohammed (Information)
30. Gbemisola Saraki (State, Transport)
31.Babatunde Fashola (Works & Housing)
32.Adeleke Mamora (State, Health)
33. Mohammed H. Abdullahi (State, Science & Tech.)
34. Zubair Dada (State, Foreign Aff.)
35. Olamilekan Adegbite (Mines & Steel)
36. Tayo Alasoadura (State, Labour)
37. Rauf Aregbesola (Interior)
38. Sunday Dare (Youth & Sports)
39. Paulen Talen (Women)
40. Rotimi Amaechi (Transport)
41. Maigari Dingyadi (Police Aff.)
42. Sale Mamman (Power)
43. Abubakar D. Aliyu (State, Works & Housing)
44. Sadiya Umar Faruk (Humanitarian & disaster )
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared its struggle for Biafra emancipation had been taken international dimension, insisting there was no going back.
It said it had no regret attacking former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu in Nuremberg, Germany.
In a statement by its Head of Directorate of State, China Edoziem, the group described those condemning the attack on Ekweremadu as sycophants, vowing not to relent in its struggle for a sovereign state of Biafra.
The statement partly reads: “The Indigenous People of Biafra led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will continue in the avowed pursuit of our right of existence as a people, independent of the evil enclave called Nigeria.
“We’ll be unhindered, unperturbed and unfazed by the cacophony of morally bankrupt manufactured voices that appear to rally round one of them, Ike Ekweremadu.
“Going through the vomit of some of these faceless sycophants with no iota of influence on the ground in Biafraland apart from dishing out meaningless drivel in the name of press statements, one is confronted with the mindset of a people living in a Banana Republic in which all forms of freedom of expression is brutally repressed and mediocrity extolled to high heavens.
“This battle which we the Indigenous People of Biafra has embarked upon will be at a time, place and methodology of our own choosing.
“It is imperative to state that in making that choice, there will be no differentiating between the subservient Biafran politician(s) who see nothing and hear nothing wrong when Biafraland is under military siege and their caliphate masters that dehumanize, abduct, torture and murder at will.
“Very soon, we shall show Dave Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi State that IPOB has not only the capacity and reach but also the power to achieve our set objectives and fulfill our promise to the living and the dead.
“We are waiting for them and their trumpeters in all the civilized nations of the world. The story of their humiliation will become a subject of study in foreign institutions.
“Our struggle has shifted to the international arena where every eye will be watching and taking note”.
A Chieftain of the Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State, Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi, a.k.a. Auxiliary has stated that for states in South West to win battle against kidnappers and insurgency there should be a cordial and sincere cooperation between the government and union .
Alhaji Lamidi who addressed journalists on Tuesday in Ibadan said both the kidnappers and terrorists are not operating as invisible spirit but human being, they move on roads either by the Federal Government or State Government or even local government.
“If government’s fight against insecurity, especially kidnapping, robbery in the south and insurgency, terrorism in the north will yield good result, state governments need to collaborate with the Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). For instance, in Oyo State, our Union is perfecting arrangement to install 4g telecommunication and information technology gadgets in our garages and vehicles.
“We are in good talk with some professionals and consultants both here and abroad and we shall employ over 500 graduates of computer/information technology and transport management for this purpose. Our Union is ready to form synergy with Oyo government to flush out criminals from the state and make the state habitable to everyone,” Auxiliary declared.
Auxiliary also appealed to everyone in the state to support this great move and warned parents to discourage their children from joining hands with the enemies of the present administration as well as those against the ongoing transformation process in the Union.
He said “some elements, people without tangible or traceable sources of wealth are gathering gullible boys for selfish interest against the state government and the Union. My advise goes to all parents to consider the present state of insecurity in the state and warn their children against any violent act or unwarranted uproar against the state or NURTW, as security agents in the state would not encourage nor entertain any activities capable of disturbing peace in the state.”
“We have equally talked to every bonafide member of NURTW in the state to always remember that the Union is legally registered as a trade union to carry out legitimate businesses relating to transportation of goods and human, therefore they should desist from harbouring or working for disgruntled elements seeking refuge with the Union. Do not forget that clampdown on fraudsters, yahoo boys and armed robbers by the security operatives in Oyo State is very effective and it has forced most of them out of business, hence they continue seeking refuge in politics and NURTW. We shall flush them out of our Union, we are professionals, we would not allow anyone to use our Union against the government of Engineer Seyi Makinde and the progress of the state.”
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday charged Ministers Designate that Nigerians have great and quick expectations from his administration.
He spoke at the Presidential Retreat for the Ministers Designate in Abuja.
He noted that the majority of Nigerians are poor and hoping for a better life.
While the Ministers Designate are expected to be inaugurated on Wednesday, the President
said that the retreat was the beginning of their work.
According to him, it was the responsibility of the government to meet the great needs of the people.
He also said that the incoming Ministers will be responsible for the implementation of agreed initiatives and that a monitoring evaluation framework will be put in place to check the performance of members.