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Tag: PRESIDENCY

  • Why Buhari cancelled Niger trip, by Presidency

    THE Presidency yesterday explained why President Muhammadu Buhari cancelled his planned trip to Niger Republic.

    Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President Femi Adesina had announced on Sunday that Buhari had been invited to join other world leaders for the celebration of the 59th year of the country’s independence.

    Giving reasons for the cancellation of the trip, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu said Niger Republic invited the leaders of neighbouring states, the Presidents of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Nigeria.

    Garba said Buhari felt satisfied that he had had useful discussions with his friend and brother, President Mahamadou Issoufou in the course of the weekend meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja,

    He said: “After a phone call last night between the leaders, President Buhari decided to send a delegation made up of the three governors of Katsina, Yobe and Borno states along with the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs to represent him.”

  • Presidency, National Assembly working to promote ease of doing business, says Osinbajo

    Presidency, National Assembly working to promote ease of doing business, says Osinbajo

    •Dogara: Nigerians deserve conducive environment  

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has assured that the executive and the legislature were collaborating to promote establishment new businesses in Nigeria.

    He spoke at an Impact Award event at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja organised by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).

    The event was meant to recognise individuals, ministries, departments and agencies that contributed in making Nigeria rise to the position of 145 in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking.

    He said: “We are working hard on the attitudes of bureaucrats and persons who have been charged with the responsibility of making things easy.

    “Whole business of processing pre-investment approvals and all of that should be with the view to making things easy not with a view to becoming an obstacle of sort.”

    The Vice President hailed the improved attitude of bureaucrats, adding that government was working to ensure that continuous progress was made in that regard.

    Hailing the award recipients, Osinbajo informed them that “the next few weeks will involve a lot of doing” and urged them to brace for more challenges in the next plan of action towards achieving greater ease of doing business environment.

    On Nigeria improved ranking by the World Bank, he said: “There is absolutely nothing we cannot achieve as a people if we set our mind to it.”

    He acknowledged the role the National Assembly played in deciding that it was time to create an enabling environment for businesses.

    House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, who spoke to State House correspondents after the event, said the National Assembly followed what he called the Delaware Principle in passing two bills aimed at facilitating ease of doing business in Nigeria.

    “It was contingent upon the National Assembly to do all we can within the shortest possible time we had to support government initiative in order to improve the ease of doing business in this country,” he said.

    The Speaker said the National Assembly owed it as a duty to ensure a conducive environment was improve to attract more businesses and more foreign direct investments into Nigeria.

    On the award given to the National Assembly at the event, he said it was not “absolutely necessary for the National Assembly to be given any award or to be recognised for doing the work they were elected to do”.

    However, he said it would motivate the members and the other award recipients to work harder.

    Other agencies that received the awards were the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS).

    Lagos State was given Impact Award based on Construction Permit and Kano State was given Impact Award based on Registering Business.

     

  • Recovered weapons in Ondo unsettles Presidency

    Recovered weapons in Ondo unsettles Presidency

    •Security meeting likely 

    The Presidency is worried about the harvest of weapons from militants in the creeks of Ondo State, it was learnt yesterday.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, a source said, has ordered an emergency meeting to review the security situation in Niger Delta.

    The meeting is expected to hold at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.

    Governors of the nine oil producing states, security chiefs and other stakeholders are billed to attend.

    It was learnt that the meeting was being coordinated by the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mallam Lawal Daura.

    It is a fallout of the massive arms surrendered by repentant militants through the mandate of Ondo State Amnesty Committee, in conjunction with security agencies.

    A top security officer in Ondo State said the proposed meeting became imperative because it was believed that only the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) had the capacity to have such massive arms as seen in Ondo State last week.

    The Amnesty Committee, supported by security chiefs in the riverine Ajapa community in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State, recovered assorted offensive weapons from the militants.

    They include a Browning machine gun, General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), Daewoo K3, Colt Automatic rifles, Breda 30, Fiat Revelli modelling, AK-47 rifles, rocket launcher, CETME Ameli, Heckler & Koch MG4, pump action rifles and automatic cartridges.

    Military uniforms, police bulletproof vests, dynamites, grenades, bombs and helmets were also recovered from kidnappers of the six pupils of Igbonla Model College at Epe in Lagos State.

    The security source said: “What we saw was like a movie: no one ever envisaged that those boys could amass such heavy weapons and keep them. It is highly embarrassing, to say the least.

    “Immediately the photographs were released with the story and it was confirmed that those arms were from that community alone, apart from several others that were recovered from other villages, the President ordered that an appraisal be done immediately.

    “That is why the governors of the Niger Delta and security chiefs will meet on Wednesday. It is because no one had any inkling that apart from the NDA, any other such group could muster this massive hold of weapons.”

    The source noted that a responsible government must be worried because some of the weapons the militants surrendered were not just arms even a country can easily procure.

    He said: “It takes a process. But the question is: How did these boys get arms of this magnitude?”

    The source added that the meeting will put the modalities to know whether or not there are still more of such groups to surrender their weapons with a view to replicating same in other coastal states.

  • Atiku’s claim on Buhari fictitious – Presidency

    Atiku’s claim on Buhari fictitious – Presidency

    The Presidency on Saturday described as “fictitious concoction” a claim credited to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that President Muhammadu Buhari was banned from entering United States over religious considerations.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said in a statement on Saturday it was mind-boggling that a person of Atiku’s calibre who should know the truth was spreading lies about the President.

    He said the claim made by the former vice president only existed in the realm of his imagination, as President Buhari was never stopped from entering America.

    The statement reads: “Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, claims in an interview published Saturday that ‘for about 15 years, Buhari could not enter America on account of religious considerations.’

    “This fictive concoction being passed off as truth is mind-boggling, coming from a former Number Two Man of Nigeria, who should know the truth.

    “At no time was President Buhari, as a private person, ever forbidden from entering any country in the world.

    “Rather, the rest of the world has always held Muhammadu Buhari as a man of sterling qualities, strong on integrity, transparency and accountability.

    “The same testimony is still borne of the Nigerian President by many world leaders today.

    “It is curious that former VP Abubakar had been asked why he had not visited America for over a decade, something that had been a stubborn fact dogging his footsteps. Instead of answering directly, he begged the question, saying Buhari also had been disallowed from entering the same country for 15 years before becoming President.

    “We hereby make it resoundingly clear that what the former vice president said only exists in the realm of his imagination.

    “If he has issues to settle with American authorities, he should do so, rather than clutch at a straw.”

     

     

  • Presidency: suicide bombing last act of a dying terror group

    Presidency: suicide bombing last act of a dying terror group

    President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that his administration is taking measures to end Boko Haram insurgency, saying the attacks are like the last kicks of a dying horse.

    President Buhari, who spoke yesterday at the launching of the Pulaaku Radio in Yola, Adamawa State, said Boko Haram had been massively degraded and its surviving members on the run.

    The President, represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the war against insurgency had moved to the next phase, which is intelligence-driven, with a view to ending bombings.

    His words: “Instead of being hunters, they are now the hunted. In their desperation to stay relevant, they have resorted to using innocent under-aged children to carry out attacks.

    “But what we are witnessing now are the last kicks of a dying horse. Yes, these kicks may be dangerous, but they don’t last long.

    Progressively, they become weaker and weaker until the horse finally dies.

    “I have approved the establishment of an intelligence fusion centre in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to gather and share intelligence among security agencies in the country. This will go a long way in ending this campaign of suicide bombing.

    “We are building on the nationwide campaign we launched last year, with the payoff line: ‘If you see something, say something’. It simply means that we need everyone to be involved in getting the necessary information to tackle the terrorists. They are not ghosts, and some of them live among us. We must all support our gallant troops, many of who have paid the supreme sacrifice in this war, by providing information that can rid our communities of terrorists.

    “It is important for the media, especially radio and television, to continue to play their part in this war, by offering their platforms to communicate useful information to the populace. As part of our sensitisation campaign, which is still running on national radio and television, we put out those little signs that give up the terrorists, and which the people must watch out for. Help us communicate this information to the people.”

    The President described as most auspicious, the timing of the launching of the radio station. It implored it and others to donate airtime for the national sensitisation campaign.

     

     

  • Presidency: another $321m stolen cash coming

    Presidency: another $321m stolen cash coming

    The Federal Government and Switzerland have agreed on the repatriation of $321 million looted from Nigeria by next month.

    The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Justice Reforms, Mrs Juliet Ibekaku broke the news at the Conversation on Anti-corruption Campaign organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) in Abuja.

    She said not having an agreement or Memoranda of Understanding with foreign countries for the return of looted money before now delayed the process of discussion and recovery of looted funds.

    “So far, we have recovered part of the Malabu fund held by the UK courts.

    “We are also working to finalise the process for the return of $321million and by December, we are going to sign the MoU for the return of the money held in Switzerland.

    “I am happy to also note here that some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in the area of asset recovery were involved in the negotiation of the MoU and will be involved in monitoring the assets.

    “This is to ensure that the returned funds are managed in a transparent manner as other recovery plans continue in countries like UK, Island of Jersey and France,’’ she said.

    Mrs Ibekaku added that the Federal Government had also opened up discussions with the U.S. government for the return of the money that left that country for two or three years from 2013.

    The presidential aide said an example of such money was Diepreye Alamieyeseigha’s money, adding that various fronts were being opened up for the recovery of the money.

    She said the money recovery mission was hinged on the Open Government Partnership Initiative which was committed to four thematic areas: Transparency, Anti-corruption, Access to information, Citizen engagement and Empowerment.

    She said the government had set up one asset recovery account which made it easy for anybody that wanted to track recovered money to know where the money was going to.

    According to her, this has put to rest Nigerians’ worry over the whereabouts of recovered money.

    Mrs Ibekaku said over the years, it was identified that there was a problem with the management of recovered money both domestically and internationally because there was no way to account for it.

    She said when this administration came to power, the President set up a Presidential Assets Recovery Committee to monitor recovered assets.

    Mrs. Ibekaku said the committee, in turn, set up the Assets Tracing subcommittee, adding that work was ongoing to determine where these moneys went as from 2012.

    She said that the administration also created a central account in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) called the Asset Recovery Account.

    The presidential aide said the President also directed all the law enforcement agencies to put all recovered money in the central account.

    Ibekaku said that the president also directed that asset recovery should now be ploughed into the budget to fund part of it, starting from 2017 “so that is what the money is being used for,” she stressed.

    She said all the money being recovered by anti-corruption agencies would go into o funding part of the budget.

    The Executive Director of CDD, Ms Idayat Hassan, said the event was organised with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa and the Department for International Development (DFID)

    Read Also: Abacha loot: Switzerland to return $321m – Malami

     

  • Nigeria truly on path to free, fair elections in 2019 – Presidency

    Nigeria truly on path to free, fair elections in 2019 – Presidency

    THE Presidency yesterday noted that the United Nations’ (UN) prediction that 2019 elections in Nigeria will be credible and violent-free is another indication of the world’s confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    Speaking to reporters in Abuja, a day after a United Nations representative made the prediction in a Channels TV interview, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu expressed pleasure at the world body’s accurate observation of the trends in Buhari’s government, which could only lead down to the path of free and fair elections come 2019.

    He said: “The Buhari government doesn’t believe in cheap propaganda. It’s not about responding to the attacks, false allegations and insinuations of the PDP or of the still very active media machinery of the previous government.

    “We believe in taking active steps to ensure that the future of Nigeria is better than it is today and we are glad to see that the United Nations has acknowledged this.”

    During the Channels TV interview, Head of UN Office for West Africa, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambers, had pointed out the credible and peaceful local elections that have so far taken place in different states across Nigeria, and used this as one of the indices to judge what to expect for the presidential elections in 2019.

    “Under the government of President Buhari, a number of credible elections have been conducted in states and local governments across Nigeria and, so far, there has been no cause for fear or worry.”

    He added that the 2015 elections, which saw the historic election of President Buhari – the first time in Nigeria and one of the rare occasions in Africa when an incumbent was soundly defeated in an election – were credible simply because of the presence and diligence of former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Attahiru Jega.

    “But, in 2019, the international community will have nothing to fear and I am happy that the UN can already sense that several months in advance,”  Garba said.

     

     

     

     

  • Presidency: 80% of Buhari appointees not from North

    Presidency: 80% of Buhari appointees not from North

    • Releases full list of president’s appointments till date

    The Presidency on yesterday denied media report claiming that 81% of President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointments have been going to the north.

    A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said that the article published by a business newspaper on October 29, 2017, is either an ignorant effort or a mischievous attempt by the publication to mislead the public and portray the Buhari administration in bad light.

    He said that what the newspaper did essentially was roughly putting together a string of misleading statements across two pages of a newspaper.

    “To push this biased reportage, which wrongly claimed that 81 of President Muhammadu Buhari’s 100 appointees are Northerners, the writer unilaterally selected 100 appointees to drive home the distraction presented as “facts”.

    “To claim, suggest or attempt to insinuate that the President’s appointments are tilted in favour of a section of the country is simply untrue and certainly uncharitable.

    “First of all, the publication could not even cross the t’s and dot the i’s properly. For instance, the author wrongly named the Director-General, NISER, as Haruna Yerima, whereas the DG, NISER is actually Folarin Gbadebo-Smith. Again, the author wrongly identified the CEO, NDLEA as Muhammad Abdallah. However, Mrs. Roli Bode-George is the CEO, NDLEA.

    “Why will a publication of the status … embark on such shoddiness, or are we to conclude this was calculated to create a particular perception?

    “The article also wrongly named Tunde Irukera as Executive Secretary of CPP,-whatever that is- instead of Consumer Protection Council (CPC). Rather conveniently, the publication ignored mentioning that Mr Emeka Nwankpa is chairman of CPC. Not only that, the writer claimed that the Director-General of the Budget Office is Aliyu Gusau, whereas Mr. Ben Akabueze is the DG, Budget Office.

    “Besides, the publication made not just one, but several errors on names and positions, in what could be seen as a deliberate attempt to mislead the reading public, along the lines of some intended distortions of the truth.”

    The statement faulted the article saying it failed to mention some other appointees of the president such as Sharon Ikeazor, Director-General, PTAD, who is from Anambra, South East; Folorunsho Coker, DG, NTDC; who is from Lagos, South West; Ituah Ighodalo, of the National Council of Privatisation, who is from the South South; Eze Duru Ihioma, Chairman, NPC, who is from Imo, South East, among many others.

    Adesina added, “There are at least 50 names of the President’s appointees that the article didn’t mention that are not from the North, while there are some others that were already in place before the administration came in but reconfirmed by the Buhari administration.

    “Aside from that, several names of board members/appointees from other parts of the country were deliberately left out. These include Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, NCC Chairman, Sunday Dare, NCC Executive Commissioner, Jide Zeitlin, NSIA Chairman, Anthony Ayine, Auditor General of the Federation, Anibor Kragha, COO NNPC, Chiedu Ugbo, MD NDPHC, Uche Orji, CEO NSIA, Osita Okechukwu, DG VON, Yemi Kale, DG NBS and Waziri Adio, Executive Secretary NEITI, among several others.” he said

    The Presidential spokesman also said that the publication’s inconsistencies and selective reportage are questionable, saying “this is divisive with its many misleading statements that should be taken with a pinch of salt. What Nigerians need now are unity and constructive dialogue that would help the nation march forward on the right path not divisive, misleading reportage.”

     

  • Presidency, NASS bicker over unfunded constituency projects

    Presidency, NASS bicker over unfunded constituency projects

    The unending frosty relationship between the Presidency and the National Assembly may deepen following renewed pressure on the former by the latter to as a matter of urgency release funding for federal lawmakers’ constituency projects as appropriated for in the 2017 budget.

    The Nation learnt that the alleged nonchalance of the presidency towards the request is already generating anger against it among the legislators.

    Since the inauguration of the current administration, the Executive and the Legislative arms have managed a not too cordial relationship with tempers rising on many occasions and leading to open hostilities between the two arms of government. But of late, the two institutions have managed to veil the no love lost relationship existing between them.

    Checks by The Nation revealed that, in the 2017 budget, N100 billion was set aside for constituency projects, also known as zonal intervention projects. The same amount was allocated for the controversial heading in the 2016 budget.

    In a similar scenario, the constituency projects provided for in the 2016 budget remained unfunded till late in the year, precisely in the month of October, when the Presidency which had earlier opposed the inclusion of the projects in the budget, caved in to pressure and made funds available for the controversial constituency projects.

    But this was not before several legislative approvals sought by president Muhammadu Buhari were either delayed or defeated by the then angry federal lawmakers. Good examples were the  $30 billion external borrowing plan, the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), and virement of N180 billion in the 2016 budget.

    The lawmakers it was learnt, have for months now, again been stepping up their demand on President Buhari to order the release of all funds allocated for constituency projects suggested by the federal lawmakers and put into the 2017 budget. Recalling the 2016 incident, the lawmakers are accusing the federal government of intentionally frustrating the execution of constituency projects.

    A member of the House of Representatives from Kwara State, while speaking on the issue, said members of the national assembly are currently unhappy with the presidency over the latter’s refusal to heed appeals that it should fund the zonal intervention projects immediately to avoid a repeat of what happened to the projects provided for in the 2016 budget.

    “As I speak, many of those projects are either nearing completion or half way done. Some are even yet to take off. This is as a result of the delay in funding the project last year. You will recall that they were not funded until very late in the year. And if you consider the fact that contractors have to be mobilised before they can move to site, you will understand the implication of such delays.

    “Now one organization called BudgIt recently claimed that less than 40% of the projects across the country were implemented. They failed to tell Nigerians that the presidency delayed the funding of the projects because it is the legislators who identified and suggested that the projects be carried out in their constituencies. They did not tell the world that the federal government is not interested in the projects.

    “But we are determined to get the project done irrespective of what the presidency and others feel. These projects are for our people who sent us here to represent them. We are not asking that monies be given to us. We are saying fund the budget so that these projects can be executed as outlines in the 2017 budget. It is wrong for anybody to delay such project since they have been appropriated for in the budget,” he said.

    Another federal lawmaker from Lagos State, while explaining the current situation, accused the presidency of playing games with the issue of constituency projects. He said it is obvious that the current administration is not keen about allowing the lawmakers to continue to suggest zonal intervention projects to be carried out in their constituencies.

    “We lawmakers don’t collect these funds. The money is not meant for us but for the projects we identified in the interest of our people. We select from a list of available options usually presented by the executives. It is the same executive that determines the contractors to execute the project. All we do is monitor the projects in our various constituencies.

    “This year’s budget has not been funded and no execution has taken place. Our grouse is that the federal government is not taking the zonal intervention project serious. You will recall that this government, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation sometime ago told us there is no provision for constituency project in their administration. But for our determination to ensure the independence of the legislature, they would have had their way,” he said.

  • Maritime varsity bill tears presidency, lawmakers apart

    Maritime varsity bill tears presidency, lawmakers apart

    The federal government’s plan to upgrade the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN, Oron, into a university may have hit a brick wall with the rejection of the Federal University of Maritime Studies, ( FUMS ) bill by the National Assembly.

    Findings by The Nation revealed that the proposal to upgrade MAN into a university has pitted several government agencies and lawmakers against each other with many of them working at cross-purposes such that admission into existing programmes for this year’s enrolment may be jeopardised.

    Investigation by our correspondent further revealed that the rejection of the bill by the lawmakers informed the setting up of an ad hoc technical committee with members drawn from the House of Representative Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, the Nigerian University Commission, NUC and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.

    Informed sources confided in our correspondent that at the public hearing in Abuja, NIMASA reportedly kicked over the upgrade of MAN into a university, arguing matter-of-factly that MAN should maintain its current status as there was already a newly accredited Maritime University at Okerenkoko in Warri South, Delta state.

    NIMASA’s objection, informed sources further said, may have been fueled by the paucity of funds, a argument it has canvassed to show lack of interest by the Presidency to commit funds to two maritime universities under the present administration, which considers the ongoing ‘strong reforms agenda’ at the Academy as the first step to repositioning the institution towards achieving a reconnect with its lost mandate.

    Speaking in a telephone interview with our correspondent, Preye Kinsley, an alumnus of the Academy seems to share the same sentiments with NIMASA, noting that the Academy should focus on its core mandate of providing seafarers for the maritime sub-sector.

    NIMASA’s reluctance notwithstanding, members of the House Committee and some stakeholders including the government of Akwa Ibom state and various Oro nation socio-cultural and political unions have expressed support for the upgrade.

    Expectedly, this year’s admission was put on hold by the restructuring Committee in addition to delay in the resumption of National Diploma and Higher National Diploma students, as directed by the six-man Committee on the Restructuring and Repositioning of the Academy.

    The Nation was reliably informed that there is a committee working on the restructuring and repositioning of MAN, with a mandate to identify a number of concerns, one of which is the poor and unacceptable hostel accommodation for cadets amongst others.

    Our source, who is very well informed on developments at the Academy also told us that of the over 700 personnel in the staff roll, junior staff is only 100 and the rest senior cadre, “how do you explain that?” he asked.

    Our source revealed that personnel of the Academy, particularly the senior management level are on the same page with the reforms agenda and are cooperating with the Committee. He assured that the committee is composed of professionals who are beyond witch hunt or petty, personal agenda.

    Findings further revealed that ship owners have for a while become reluctant in recruiting MAN Oron graduates of nautical science, based on curriculum reservations and perceived poor teaching quality and lack of basic training facilities/equipment at the Academy.

    However, one time rector of MAN, Chief Nseyen Ebong agreed that quality has become a major challenge in the certification of cadets of the Academy, he debunked claims that products of the institution were unmarketable and uncompetitive. The former rector noted that cadets of the Academy are on top in academics and practical endeavors in many maritime institutions across the world.

    “I have said it many times before that some of our cadets excel and are leading in both academic and practical training exercises in most maritime academies in Europe, Asia and America. But when those in power begin to play politics with funding of the Academy, there has arisen a gradual fall in standards and quality, you cannot take that away as a natural consequence. So what we have at MAN today is the crime of political recklessness and arrogance,” he said.