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Tag: PRESIDENCY

  • Presidency urges Senate to lift embargo on confirmation of nominees

    Presidency urges Senate to lift embargo on confirmation of nominees

    The Presidency has urged the Senate to lift the embargo on confirmation of nominees sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    It would be recalled that Senate on July 4, 2017 resolved to suspend all issues relating to confirmation of nominees submitted by the executive over what it termed as a move to reduce its legislative powers.

    The senators had said the decision would remain until the issues of confirmation as contained in the Constitution and the laws of the federation were adhered to.

    All the same, the presidency had in October 2017 nominated Mrs. Aisha Ahmad as a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) to replace Dr. Sarah Alade, who retired from the bank in June.

    Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) Mr Ita Enang said “the president had submitted as required by law and the confirmations are pending before the legislature.

    “We are engaging with the legislature within the law.

    “Therefore we are conscious that the legislature, in particular the Senate, is very responsive and very concerned about the economy.

    “And the Senate is also conscious that nothing should be done that will be detrimental to the international image of Nigeria and perception of Nigeria.

    “So we are engaging with the legislature particularly the Senate on this and the Senate is very sensitive to the public to what is likely to happen.’’

    He said the senate must have been engaged  with a number of bills  last year and were prioritising issues.

    “They are going to attend to it. Any matter that is standing as an issue between the executive and the legislature which may be the reason for the embargo, we are going to address it and make sure it is surmounted.

    “Therefore, Nigerians should be comfortable that the Senate will answer questions within the law,” Enang said.

    NAN

  • Buhari yet to decide on 2019, says Presidency

    Buhari yet to decide on 2019, says Presidency

    Despite pressure from some governors, ministers and others for him to run in next year’s election, President Muhammmadu Buhari has not made up his mind, the Presidency has said.

    Although the President told the Nigerian community in Cote d’Ivoire during his visit to that country in November last year that he might need their votes in future, presidential spokesman Femi Adesina said last night: “Nobody knows whether or not the President will seek reelection. About four groups have come to the President, asking if he will go for second term. The last of such groups was Good Governance Support Group, but the President has not said anything.”

    A source said at the weekend:  ”Many governors, ministers and groups have been coming to the Presidential Villa to feel Buhari’s pulse on the 2019 poll and to urge him to seek a second term ticket or ask for direction on the next poll.

    “Buhari has however kept everyone in suspense. He is yet to make a commitment.”

    But it was learnt that some former presidents and top Northern leaders will soon advise President Muhammadu Buhari on his political future.

    “The advice might come in form of a private meeting or through a letter to the President.

    These leaders (names withheld) have had up to three consultative sessions in the past few months to fine tune “their position on the way forward for Nigeria from 2019”.

    They, however, maintained that their position on the second term option will be “strongly advisory and not binding on Buhari in the light of the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution on two terms of eight years.

    A source privy to consultations among the ex-leaders and others said: “From the look of things, some former President and Northern leaders will soon make their advisory on 2019 poll available to Buhari. This will be a major package which will help define the next general elections.

    “Some of these leaders provided advisory and support which guided the emergence of Buhari in 2015. They have been consulting on the next poll and what in their view is best for Nigeria.

    “The advisory is not binding on Buhari, but they may be weighty enough to serve as guidance. They believe Buhari has the constitutional right to vie for second term in office.”

    Asked to be specific on these leaders, the source added: “The nation will soon hear from them.”

  • 10 MODULAR REFINERIES CLOSE TO TAKE-OFF – PRESIDENCY

    10 MODULAR REFINERIES CLOSE TO TAKE-OFF – PRESIDENCY

    • Says Ogoni clean-up recording progress

    The promotion and establishment of privately financed modular refineries in the country remain a priority of the federal government, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo  said yesterday.

    The objective is to increase local refining capacity, create jobs and ensure peace and stability in the Niger Delta region.

    The policy featured prominently at the last interactive session between federal government officials led by Osinbajo and a delegation of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

    Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the vice president, Mr., Laolu Akande, said the initiative would also reposition the petroleum industry and ensure self-sufficiency of petroleum products, while serving as a disincentive for illegal refineries and oil pollution.

    He quoted the VP as saying “the federal government, in line with its Niger Delta New Vision, is targeting measurable objectives in its efforts towards implementing development projects in the region.”

    The December 22 meeting, according to Akande, “received a report that 38 licensed privately financed green field and mini-modular refineries investors have so far indicated interests in the establishment of refineries in the region, and at least ten of the licensed refineries investors are at an advanced stage of development.

    “The advanced stage of development means that these projects have passed the Licence to Establish (LTE) stage, while some have the Authority to Construct (ATC) licence or close to having it because they have met some critical requirements in the licensed stage.

    “There are three stages in the process of refinery establishment; Licence to Establish (LTE), Authority to Construct (ATC) and Licence to Operate (LTO).

    “So far, 10 modular refineries are located in five out of the nine states in the Niger Delta region; namely Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Imo states.

    “Also, two out of these 10 – Amakpe Refinery meant to be located in Akwa Ibom, and OPAC Refinery to be based in Delta State – have their mini-refineries modules already fabricated, assembled and containerized overseas, ready for shipment to Nigeria for installation. The total proposed refining capacities of the 10 licensed refineries stands at 300,000 barrels.”

    Vice President Osinbajo directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to keep providing the necessary support and creating the enabling environment for positive investments in modular refineries by engaging key government agencies.

    Such agencies include the Niger Delta Development Commission ((NDDC), Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and financial institutions, including the International Finance Corporation, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, Bank of Industry, amongst others.

    The Vice President stressed the importance of ensuring that the oil communities have a stake in the modular refineries and directed that an appropriate model be developed to achieve that.

    Other issues addressed at the end of the year meeting include the Maritime University, Ogoni Clean-up, and other related issues such as increasing support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the region.

    On the Maritime University take-off, the Vice President noted that further support would be given by the federal government to ensure the training of staff to give the best to the incoming students of the institution.

    On the Ogoni clean-up, the Project Coordinator for the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, (HYPREP), Dr. Marvin Dekil briefed the meeting that progress has been made in several areas of the clean-up.

    He listed the evaluation of existing water facilities in the four local government areas in Ogoni land in the process of providing clean drinking water, demonstration of remediation technologies at sites in some of the impacted communities; hiring of and the technical training of Ogoni scientists. The Coordinator added that health impact assessment would be conducted in some communities in the coming weeks.

    At the meeting were the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Unguru Usani; Education Minister Adamu Adamu; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jubril.

    Others include the Director-General of Nigeria Maritime Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside; Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Corporation, Mr. Nsima Ekere; and the Special Adviser to the President on the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig-General Paul Boroh (rtd).

     

     

  • Presidency admits mistake in appointment of dead persons as board chairmen

    Presidency admits mistake in appointment of dead persons as board chairmen

    •Says it’s no scandal •Promises rectification

    The Presidency rose yesterday in its own defence over the inclusion of the names of some dead persons as chairmen or members of newly constituted boards and parastatals.

    It said it was all a mistake which would be rectified in due course.

    No fewer than three of the appointees -Chief Frank Okpozo, Mr. Donald Ugbaja and Christopher Utov – were already dead when the list of 209 chairmen and 1258 board members were released by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, on Friday night.

    Okpozo was named as Chairman of the Nigerian Press Council; Ugbaja, a retired deputy Inspector General of Police, was listed as a member of the Consumers Protection Council while Utov was included as a board member of the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER).

    The development sparked heavy criticism of government especially on social media.

    Speaking to reporters yesterday on the issue, the Senior Special Assistant to the on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said that the list was prepared before President Muhammadu Buhari took ill and was released by the SGF without any alteration.

    The President, he said, had requested 50 names from each of the state chapters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.

    The nominations were harmonized by the national secretariat of the party which then submitted the list   to the immediate past SGF, Babachir Lawal.

    Shehu said: “However, complaints arose from some governors who felt they were not carried along in the process.

    “To answer this, the president constituted a committee under the vice president to review and reflect the interest of the governors.”

    He said that the report submitted by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was delayed because of President Buhari’s illness and his subsequent medical vacation abroad.

    “The president’s trips for medical attention slowed down completion of the process,” he said.

    The president only decided to revisit the matter recently and therefore directed the new SGF to release the list, he said.

    “The current SGF was only directed to complete that process by releasing the list which he apparently did without altering it.

    “The new SGF did what he was asked to do. There is nothing scandalous or extraordinary about what has happened.”

    The SGF in a statement attached to the list of the appointees said the constitution of the boards was “very necessary, so as to provide a proper governance and oversight structure for government agencies and parastatals.”

    He added: “The constitution of the boards with the appointments is a demonstration of this government’s efforts aimed at building strong institutions of governance, and by extension, improving the quality of policy formulation and supervision.

    “While these appointments represent a substantial number of hitherto pending board appointments, some more appointments are still being processed and will be released in due course.

    “The appointments take immediate effect and Ministers are advised to inaugurate the boards after letters of appointment have been issued.”

    But some Nigerians were not amused by the inclusion of the names of some dead persons on the list.

    They took to Twitter and Facebook to register their disappointment and embarrassment.

    One @royaltyuso writing on his Twitter handle said government officials “will soon say the appointments were strategic and that’s because non-living people do not loot. Femi Adesina will term it posthumous appointment. And that it was rightly placed.”

    O’Seun Ogunseitan, writing on his Facebook wall said: “The error conclusively gives an idea of why very few good things are happening in the country, the way we want it.

    “The indications are that most of the Board appointees were never consulted, before the appointments and that the federal government did not even try to find out how the appointees plan to change the state of things in the country.”

     

  • Buhari’s 17 achievements in 2017 – Presidency

    Buhari’s 17 achievements in 2017 – Presidency

    The Presidency on Friday listed Nigeria’s exit from recession, bumper food harvests  and the emergence of the stock market as one of the best-performing in the world, as  some of the major achievements of the Buhari administration in the outgoing year.

    17 such achievements were listed in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Mr.Femi Adesina.

    The statement reads:

    • Nigeria exited its worst recession in decades. After five quarters of negative growth, the economy bounced back into positive territory. Agriculture was one of the stars of 2017, posting consistent growth levels even throughout the recession. Also, inflation fell for 10 consecutive months during 2017 (February to November).

     

    • The Naira stabilized against the dollar, after the Central Bank introduced a new forex window for Investors and Exporters. The stability has attracted billions of dollars in portfolio investments since April 2017.

     

    • On the back of a stable Naira and increased investment inflows, Nigeria’s stock market emerged as one of the best-performing in the world, delivering returns in excess of 40 percent.

     

    • Nigeria saw bumper food harvests, especially in rice, whose local production continues to rise significantly (States like Ebonyi, Kebbi, Kano leading the pack, with Ogun joining at the end of 2017). The price of a 50kg bag of rice – a staple in the country – has fallen by about 30 percent since the beginning of 2017, as local production has gone up.

     

    • The Federal Government launched a N701 billion Intervention Fund (“Payment Assurance Programme”) aimed at supporting power generation companies to meet their payment obligations to gas and equipment suppliers, banks and other partners. The impact is being felt, the amount of power being distributed is now currently steady at around 4,000MW – higher than previously recorded.

     

    • The Federal Government began paying pensions to police officers who were granted Presidential pardon in 2000 after serving in the former Biafran Police during the Nigerian Civil War. These officers, and their next of kin, have waited for their pensions for 17 years since the Presidential pardon.

     

    • Nigeria rose 24 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, and earned a place on the List of Top 10 Reformers in the world.

     

    • Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves grew by $12 billion, reaching the highest level since 2014. Nigeria also added, this year, an additional $250m to its Sovereign Wealth Fund. Also, Nigeria’s trade balance crossed over into surplus territory, from a deficit in 2016.

     

    • Nigeria successfully issued two Eurobonds (US$4.5bn), a Sukuk Bond (100 billion Naira), a Diaspora Bond (US$300m), and the first Sovereign Climate Bond in Africa, raising billions of dollars for infrastructure spending.

     

    • The Federal Government launched a Tax Amnesty scheme expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenues when it closes in March 2018.

     

    • The Federal Government successfully commenced implementation of a Whistleblowing Programme that has so far seen recoveries of tens of millions of dollars.

     

    • The Social Investment Programme – Nigeria’s most ambitious social welfare programme ever – rolled out across dozens of states. (Currently, 5.2 million primary school children in 28,249 schools in 19 states are being fed daily; 200,000 unemployed graduated enlisted into the Npower Job Scheme, and a quarter of a million loans already distributed to artisans, traders, and farmers).

     

    • The number of Nigerians facing food insecurity in the northeast dropped by half, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

     

    • The Nigeria Customs Service recorded its highest-ever revenue collection, crossing the One Trillion Naira (N1,000,000,000) mark. [The target for 2017 was 770 billion Naira (N770,573,730,490); 2016 Collection was just under 900 billion (N898,673,857,431.07)]

     

    • The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), under the new management appointed by President Buhari in 2016, remitted N7.8 billion to the coffers of the Federal Government. The total amount remitted by JAMB between 2010 and 2016 was N51 million

     

    • 2017 was also the Year of Nigeria’s Agriculture Revolution, embodied by the successes of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) and the Anchor Borrowers Programme. More than a dozen moribund fertilizer blending plants were revived under the PFI this year.

     

    • Finally, 2017 will be the Year that laid the foundation for a 2018 that will be Nigeria’s Year of Infrastructure. A number of important infrastructure projects, in power, rail and road, are scheduled to come on-stream or inch close to completion next year.
  • Buhari’s son being treated in Abuja, says Presidency

    Buhari’s son being treated in Abuja, says Presidency

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s son, Yusuf,  is still undergoing treatment in Abuja’s Cedarrest Hospital, the Presidency said yesterday.

    This is contrary to the report in some online media that he had been flown overseas.

    Yusuf had a head injury and broke a limb in a bike accident on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu, in a text message, said Yusuf was still being treated in Abuja.

    The Presidential Villa staff  yesterday prayed for Yusuf’s quick recovery.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the prayer, which was held immediately after the afternoon (Zuhr) prayer, was led by the Chief Imam of Aso Rock Mosque, Sheikh Abdulwahid Suleiman.

    Suleiman prayed God to continue to guide and protect the first family and all Nigerians.

    He also prayed for peace, tranquillity and progress to reign in the country.

    At the prayer were the President’s Aide-De-Camp (ADC), Col. Lawal Abubakar; Malam Shehu; the President’s Chief Personal Security Officer, DCP Abdulkarim Dauda, and other presidential aides and staff of the Villa.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki visited Yusuf at the hospital.

    Security personnel were guarding the hospital to keep unwanted persons away.

    Yusuf;s mother, the President’s wife Aisha, returned to Abuja on Wednesday and has been at the hospital, according to sources.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), in a statement, said it wished Yusuf “a speedy and full recovery”, adding that “the APC family is relieved that the accident was not fatal”.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also prayed for Yusuf’s speedy recovery.  ”The PDP as a family received with shock the sad news of the involvement of Yusuf Buhari in a power-bike accident.

    ‘The PDP as a family prays for Yusuf’s speedy recovery to enable him return to his normal life.

    ”We also commend the prompt intervention by medics even as we value the concern of all well-meaning Nigerians for their prayers for Yusuf and the first family.”

  • Yusuf Buhari not flown to Germany – Presidency

    Yusuf Buhari not flown to Germany – Presidency

    The Presidency has dismissed as `fake news’ an online story that the President’s son, Yusuf Buhari was flown out of the country early Thursday morning following his severe head injury in a bike accident.

    An online media outfit, TheCable, on Thursday reported that Buhari had been flown to Germany over head injury he sustained following a bike accident on Tuesday night.

    “As previously reported by TheCable, he is being flown to Germany for specialist care.

    “The family is said to have decided on Germany.

    “He was driven to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, in an ambulance with oxygen support.

    “An orthopedic consultant with specialisation in head injuries was also on the flight to monitor his progress,’’ TheCable reported

    However, Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity in a text message on Thursday in Abuja, said Buhari was still being treated at a private hospital in Abuja.

    Read also: Yusuf Buhari hospitalised after bike accident

    It would be recalled that Shehu had on Wednesday in a statement confirmed that the son of the President, Yusuf Buhari, who was involved in a bike accident, was in stable condition.

    He said that Yusuf had the accident on Tuesday night around Gwarimpa area in the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT ), Abuja.

    Shehu said Buhari junior broke a limb and also sustained an injury on the head as a result of the incident.

    “He has undergone surgery at a clinic in Abuja. He is in a stable condition.

    “The President and his wife, Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari are thankful to Nigerians for the good wishes and prayers for their son,” the presidential spokesman said.

    NAN

  • Updated: Buhari’s son in stable condition – Presidency

    Updated: Buhari’s son in stable condition – Presidency

    The Presidency said on Wednesday that the President’s son, Yusuf Buhari, who had a bike accident on Tuesday night around Gwarimpa area of Abuja, is in a stable condition.

    A statement by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Yusuf broke a limb and had an injury to the head as a result.

    “He has undergone surgery at a clinic in Abuja. He is in a stable condition.

    “The President and his wife, Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, are thankful to Nigerians for the good wishes and prayers for their son,” the statement said.

    Read Also; Buhari’s son hospitalised after bike accident

     

  • Presidency to religious organizations: Stop divisive utterances

    The Presidency yesterday told religious organizations in the country to exhibit more responsibility in commenting on national issues.

    Responding to accusation by the Supreme Council for Sharia that  President Muhammadu Buhari  let down Muslims by failing to  attend the emergency summit of OIC called by Turkey to discuss the US declaration of Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu said the statement was totally misleading and baseless.

    Speaking on the BBC Hausa Service, Malam Shehu  said that President Buhari had to go to France to attend the Climate Change Summit because he had earlier given a firm commitment to President Macron.

    He said that the President then delegated Education Minister Adamu Adamu to represent him at the Turkey meeting.

    “The Paris summit on climate change wasn’t a junket,” he said.

    “It was also about the problems of the Lake Chad region which affects Nigeria as well as the neighbouring countries. About 30 million lives are involved. Without the drying up of the lake, we would probably not have had the acute poverty that nurtured the environment for Boko Haram terrorism,”

    Shehu recalled that countries such Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which sponsored the UN General Assembly Resolution to condemn Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel, didn’t also attend the Turkey meeting for various compelling reasons.

    “As a respectable religious organization, an organization that we hold in high esteem, the Supreme Council for Shari’ah could have helped themselves and the nation by checking the facts before the outburst, which sadly, was repeatedly aired by the international radio. By the time the Erdogan summit was called, the Presidential advance team was already in Paris, ready to receive him.”

    At that point, he said, the best President Buhari could do was to send a representation.

    He added:”He (Buhari) called President Erdogan and explained the circumstances and the Turkish leader expressed his understanding and appreciation. We are signatory to the final resolutions.”

    He explained that at every available opportunity, including his addresses at the UN General Assembly sessions in the past, 2015, 2016 and 2017, President Buhari had always spoken passionately and forcefully about the Palestinian issue and the necessity and urgency of finding a just solution to their case.

    Against this background, Malam Garba Shehu said it is very uncharitable for any religious organization to accuse the President of abandoning Muslims as alleged.

    “As can be seen from the UN vote on Jerusalem, the issue of Palestine is for all men of conscience, Muslims, Christians, Jews and even nonbelievers.

    “Besides, the President has shown consistency in his support for the Palestinian cause.”

     

  • Presidency to show ‘The human side of President Buhari’

    A documentary on President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to go on air today.

    The 55-minute documentary entitled ‘The Human Side of President Buhari’ is produced by the Media and Publicity department of the State House.

    It portrays the President in a light that majority of Nigerians have not seen him.

    His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said that it is made up of interviews with close aides of the President and some others who have worked closely with him.

    It will be shown on the Network Service of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) at 8pm today and same time on Tuesday, December 26, 2017.

    Channels Television is also billed to air it tomorrow Monday at the same time.