The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PRESIDENCY

  • 3m pupils enjoying free meal, says Presidency

    3m pupils enjoying free meal, says Presidency

    The Presidency on Sunday said that the Buhari administration is now close to its target of feeding three million primary school children under the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme, which is one of the four on-going Social Investment Programmes (SIP).

    According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Laolu Akande, a total of N6,204,912,889 has been paid out to 14 states during the school year ending August 2017.

    He listed the 14 states covered under the School Feeding programme as Anambra, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Delta, Abia, Benue, Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba and Kaduna.

    He said “So far, a total of 2,827,501 school children are currently benefiting from the School Feeding Programme, which is well on course to achieve the Federal Government’s projection to feed over three million pupils this year.

    “In total, 33,895 cooks have been engaged in the communities where the schools are located across the 14 states.

    “Anambra state received a total of N693,013,300, while a total of 103,742 children have been fed thus far, with 1,009 cooks paid.

    “Enugu state got a total of N 571,877,400 and 108,898 children have been fed so far, with 1,276 cooks paid.

    “In Oyo state, a total of N490,296,800  was released by the FG for the feeding of 107,983 children, with 1.372 cooks engaged.

    “Osun state received a total of N1,000,394,888 for the feeding of 151,438 children. A total of 2,863 cooks were engaged in the state.

    “Similarly, Ogun state received a total of and N1,042,217,400 for the feeding of 231,660 schoolchildren, while a total of 2,205 cooks were paid.

    “For Ebonyi state, a total of N344,633,100 has been released for the feeding of 163,137 pupils so far, with a total of 1,453 cooks paid.

    “In the same vein, Zamfara state received a total of N402,295,600 for the feeding of 107,347 schoolchildren, while 1,127 cooks were engaged.

    “Delta state received a total of N225,896,300 for the feeding of 141,663 pupils. A total of 1,364 cooks were engaged in the state.

    “Abia and Benue states received a total of N128,763,600 and N337,157,800 respectively to feed a total of 61,316 and 240,827 pupils respectively. In Abia state, a total of 750 cooks were engaged, while 3,344 cooks were paid in Benue state.

    “Similarly, Plateau and Bauchi states received a total of N133,187,600 and N214,909,101 for the feeding of a total of 95,134 and 307,013 pupils respectively in the states. Also, 1,418 cooks have so far been engaged in Plateau state, with 3,261 in Bauchi state.

    “For Taraba state, a total of N120,284,500 was paid and 171,835 pupils have thus far been fed, with a total of 2,596 cooks paid.

    “Kaduna state received a total of N499,985,500 while 835,508 pupils have been fed so far. Also, a total of 9,857 cooks were paid under the programme in the state.” he said

    According to him, more states and primary school pupils across the country are expected to benefit from the feeding programme by the time schools reopen next month for a new session.

  • Pilot schemes for 2019 presidency

    Pilot schemes for 2019 presidency

    Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports on the preliminary calculations and behind-the-scene moves for the 2019 Presidential ticket in the leading political parties

    ALTHOUGH 2010 Presidential Election is still about a year and three months away, aspirants for the plum job have commenced preliminary moves to secure their party tickets.

    In the leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is desperate to take power back from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the preliminary contest has already pitched the party’s governors and former ministers. Even the claim by some insiders that the ticket may have been zoned to the North is a source of disagreement as the stakeholders in the region are still struggling over which of the three geo-political zones should produce the candidate.

    Aside the North, some aspirants from the South are also determined to vie for the ticket. Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, for example, has continuously made it clear that he is in the 2019 presidential race. Just this week, the governor served notice that he will formally declare his presidential ambition on 1st October.

    The ruling party, APC, is not insulated from the early maneuvering for the plum seat in Abuja. Sources said the interest of some APC members for the position in 2019 may have been informed by the claim in certain quarters that President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been away to London for a prolonged medical treatment, may not seek re-election after the completion of his current term. Given such possibility, analysts have interpreted some moves in APC as calculated schemes to position some top politicians for the position of President or Vice-President if Buhari finally declines or is unable to seek re-election.

    Actions and body languages of the other political parties also show that they are working towards either fielding candidates or entering into alliances with stronger parties in order to ensure the enthronement of a president they would want in 2019.    Will PDP go east or west?

    While most PDP leaders seem to favour the idea of  zoning the 2019 presidential ticket to the North, a strategy which they said will effectively compete with Buhari’s candidacy,  what is not yet generally accepted by the advocates seems to be whether it should be given to the North-East or North-West where Buhari comes from. Somehow, most of the advocates seem to agree, for now, that North-Central is out of the contest. It remains to be seen if this position will remain so until the conclusion of the party primary election.

     The Nation’s investigation shows that the primary reason for the argument to zone the plum office to the North is that it would be politically wise to allow the North to complete eight years uninterrupted tenure before any move to return it to the South. But even within the advocates of this political strategy, there is clear division within the PDP. While some contend that PDP would be more effective in the race if it picks its candidate from the North-West where Buhari comes from, a strategy that will help share the votes from the geo-political zone, others said a smarter move by the leading opposition party would be to pick its candidate from North-East, a northern zone they said has not been given the opportunity to produce Nigerian President. According to this school of thought, this choice will give PDP an edge over APC and other political parties because voters from North-East and indeed all over the country will see equity in the strategy. As Dr. Musa Ismaiya, an academic and political activist from the zone, puts it, “some of us who are rooting for PDP 2019 presidential candidate from the North-East are of the view that it will afford the North double opportunity: opportunity to conclude the second tenure before going back to the South and opportunity to allow North-East to also produce Nigerian president like the other zones in the North.”    The members advocating for North-West however disagree but insist that only a candidate from the North-West will effectively clip the influence of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the geo-political zone today. Ishiaku Muhamad, a youth leader, who spoke to The Nation in Lagos, explained what he described as the ‘only strategy that will bring about the desired change.’ According to him, “PDP’s best bet is to elect its presidential candidate from the same geo-political zone as the ruling APC. If President Buhari flies the flag of APC in 2019, PDP’s reasonable strategy would be to elect a candidate from the same zone and share the votes. For me, if Buhari recontests in 2019, the only zone he would hope to get a sympathy block vote may be his North-West. It is the only zone that may still vote on sympathy basis because so much has happened since 2015, when the mere song of change moved the electorates. Today, every other zone will cast their votes based on the acceptability of the candidate and the party. So, PDP would be wise to move in and share North-West zone’s vote.”

    Insiders told The Nation that they expect this matter would be resolved this year’s November at the party’s National Convention. Muhamad confirmed this, adding, “Stakeholders are anxious and waiting for the resolution at the convention. As soon as the matter is resolved, some aspirants, who have not come out to declare interest will come out and the game will become much more focused and interesting.” But even before the convention, powerful forces within the party are already arm-twisting each other in a bid to pave way for some preferred aspirants. The Nation had earlier reported the power game between some PDP governors and former ministers on the platform of the party. The governors had asked the party leadership to disband the activities of the former Ministers Forum, describing it as “illegal and extraneous to PDP Constitution.” We reported that the Former Ministers Forum is not intimidated by the governors as the members have sworn to ‘battle’ the governors, some of who they accused of eying Vice-Presidential tickets to their preferred aspirants in the North.

    They reminded the governors that it was the ex-ministers that “sustained the party in its darkest and challenging moment.”

    To confirm the depth of the rift and the danger it poses on PDP, a source in the forum had told The Nation in the earlier report that: “We know that some of these governors who want Vice Presidential ticket in 2019 are trying to influence Makarfi’s Caretaker Committee to ignore or disband the Forum.

    “We are aware that one of the governors from the South-South has already initiated talks with a serving APC governor to serve as a running mate during the 2019 poll.

    “The party can ignore our Forum at its own peril. Like gamblers, some of these governors were shuttling between Makarfi and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff when our party was in crisis. But this Forum was consistent and it did its best to give strong support to Makarfi. Now, the ambitious governors do not see anything good in the Forum. We are ready for a long drawn battle with them.”

    The APC’ tricky scenario In the APC, the scenario is much more complex as many of the insiders who confided to The Nation said a lot will depend on President Muhammadu Buhari’s disposition to the offer in 2019. Since it became known that the president has some health challenges, there has been wild speculation that he may not be able to recontest for the office in 2019. This conjecture has given rise to the allegation that some APC chieftains may have revived their political machinery so as not to be caught unaware if at the last minute Mr. President declines the offer of re-contesting for the office. As a result almost all the leading APC leaders, including leaders from the South, have been named in media reports as likely presidential aspirants in 2019. But there seems to be nothing on the ground to prove that some of the chieftains, especially the chieftains from the South-West, South-East and South-South, named are actually preparing for such positions. The Nation investigation during the week however show that most of the APC leaders in the South are determined to allow the North to serve out its second term before the office would be zoned to the South. According to a source, it seems that even if the president decides not to contest, he may back a candidate from the North. That may leave already named aspirants from the North, like Senate President Bukola Saraki; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Nasir El’Rufai, amongst others.

    Factors that will likely play up

    Given the high expectations at the inception of the current All Progressives Congress’ government of change and the unfortunate economic down-turn that left many citizens miserable in the last two years, campaign for the 2019 Presidential Election is set to be largely issue driven. Most commentators have said electorates will only be interested in the candidate that will bring food on the table and stop the endless agitations and insecurity in the country instead of the traditional sentiments, like ethnicity, that have informed the voting pattern over the years. So, it seems some of the aspirants have realised the need to flag-off their campaigns by talking about issues that will interest today’s Nigerians. For example, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, whose presidential ambition has become common knowledge over the years, has taken up the campaign for restructuring as his take-off point. Considering the passion Nigerians have shown over this issue, especially after the Senate threw out a proposal on it, observers said it may turn out to be one of the major issues that will come to play in the campaign for the office of president in 2019.

    It would be recalled that after the former Vice-President joined the campaign for restructuring of the country, describing it as the only way of resolving some of the major socio-political and economic difficulties of Nigeria, he was initially flayed by many.

    Responding to his critics at Nsukka, Enugu State, at a public lecture organised by the Senior Staff Club of the University of Nigeria (UNN), he said he will continue to support the restructuring of the country because the report of the 1995/96 Constitution Drafting Committee was not what was eventually released and foisted on the people of the country in 1999. He explained further that Nigerians accepted the constitution because “they were desirous of returning the country to democracy, stressing that time has come to review the exercise because Nigeria is not working.”

    He also said a restructured polity will check the tension and agitations in the country.

    Closely linked to the issue of restructuring is issue of national conference or adoption of the last Confab conducted by the PDP government of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. An insider said its adoption is likely to be one of the campaign promises of some PDP aspirants.

    Besides such issues that presently agitate average citizens, another factor that will help define the tone of 2019 presidential campaign will be the candidacy of President Muhammadu Buhari. The point, as Muhamad puts it, is, “will Buhari contest or will he not? If he contests, it will not only determine the aspirants that will file out but also the texture of the campaigns itself both in APC and in the other political parties. Everyone knows that it is only the uncertainty over his candidacy that is withholding many likely aspirants, especially in APC. He is a major factor that will determine the other likely aspirants and the message that will trend during the campaigns,” he said.

    Likely aspirants that may be thrown up

    As the various political parties perfect their plans for the 2019 presidential race, some top politicians have been identified as likely to throw in their caps. However, while some of them have repeatedly confirmed that they are in the race, others have not, even though they command so much influence that analysts and observers link them to the race. They include but not limited to:

    President Muhammadu Buhari

    Notwithstanding his current health challenge, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is yet to complete his first term in office, is considered a likely candidate of APC for 2019 race.

    While some Nigerians have said the President may not contest for the office on account of ill-health, his loyalists and political associates have continued to say he will soon return home, return to his desk and contest in 2019.

    Just this Monday, August 7, 2019, there was a report that some of his supporters inaugurated what they described as the South-West office of Buhari Campaign Organisation in Ibadan.

    At the reported inauguration new coordinators for the organisation in the South-West region were named. That same Monday, some Nigerians demonstrated against the president’s prolonged absence in a simultaneous exercise that held in Abuja and London, accusing him of leaving the country in a state of uncertainty and demanding his. “Resume or resign,” they screamed

    Of course, the presidency responded promptly, calling on Nigerians to ignore calls for the president’s resignation. Others who supported the presidency recalled recent reports that the president has recovered tremendously.

    So, if the president eventually returns and declares interest to contest the 2019 election, he will be the candidate to beat as his government has, through its anti-corruption crusade retained a large number of supporters who believe he will eventually solve the economic problem that is threatening the popularity of his government. It remains to be seen if he will contest.

    Alhaji Atiku Abubakar

    The former Vice-President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is one of the few Nigerians almost everybody expects to contest for the presidential ticket in 2019. Although he is still in APC, some insiders allege that he may contest for this seat on another platform if the need arises.

    He is not a pushover in Nigerian politics not only because of his experience and the acknowledged deep pocket but also because he is believed to be one of the few politicians that have managed, over the years to cultivate friends and supporters from across the country. Coming from the North-East, a zone that is contesting to be allowed to produce Nigerian President, observers said he is also likely to have ample support from the zone.

    His major challenge may be the platform he will likely use if he fails to get either APC or PDP platforms. A founding member of PDP, who dumped the party for APC, he is known in the two leading parties but observers said his undoing would be if he is contests on a platform that is not well known and accepted.

    Bukola Saraki

    The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, is in APC. Unlike most of the other APC leaders who said their ambition will be determined by the President’s interest in the ticket, some observers of the political developments in the ruling party said Saraki is one of the politicians that may insist on contesting for the presidential ticket in 2019 on the ticket of APC.

    A two-time governor of Kwara State, Saraki enjoys the support and loyalty of many senators, especially PDP senators and other federal lawmakers and has the resources to prosecute the project. It however remains to be seen how far he may go in fulfilling this ambition. His major setback is the running battle he has with the leadership of his party (APC) since he assumed office as the Senate President in circumstances that did not please his party’s leadership.

    Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso

    Former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who is now a serving APC senator, representing Kano Central Senatorial District, is not a new person in presidential race in Nigeria. He was a presidential aspirant in the last general election.

    Even before his current overt moves, observers have noted that he had continued, over the years, to oil his political network anchored on his popular political slogan, Kwankwasiyya.

    Just this week, a bakery in Kano launched Kwankwasiyya bread, a move a medium described as “an early gesture of goodwill to his presidential aspirations.”

    It reported that the parent company identified as “TAOFEEQ” unveiled the new brand of bread through its ambassadors, Hassana & Hussaina Musa, who are both Kannywood stars.

    According to the report, “the bread, which is already in the market, has a red cap photo and kwankwasiyya written on its bag.”  Sources said he still has appreciable followership in Kano, Kaduna and some other states in the North. But being an APC stalwart, it seems his ambition for 2019 is tied to whether or not Buhari will contest.

    Sule Lamido

    Even while the Peoples Democratic Party’s leadership crisis lasted, Sule Lamido, a PDP founding member, was one of the party’s leaders who remained firm that he would contest 2019 on the party’s ticket. He somehow made the declaration for his presidential ambition since last year when he said if offered a ticket come 2019, he would be glad to offer himself. By May, while the leadership crisis was yet to be resolved; the former Foreign Affairs Minister and former Governor of Jigawa State hosted state chairmen of the party, where he reportedly told them of his resolve to offer himself for the office of president on the party’s ticket.

    Now that the Supreme Court has resolved the PDP’s leadership crisis, an insider said his interest for the plum office is still intact.

    Ahmed Makarfi

    As the man who won the prolonged PDP leadership crisis, observers said the rumoured presidential ambition of Senator Ahmed Makarfi may be more easily realised now than before.  A former governor of Kaduna State from 1999 to 2007, who was appointed Chairman of PDP Caretaker Committee at a convention which held in Port-Harcourt, he had an epic leadership battle with former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff.

    After Makarfi’s victory at the Supreme Court, analysts said he can position loyalists who would ensure his emergence as the presidential candidate of the party. Coming from the North, the prospect seems favourable, but it remains to be seen how far he would succeed in getting the support of the other stakeholders, especially those who supported Sheriff.  Nasir El-Rufai

    The governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has always been mentioned as one of those likely to run for the presidency in 2019 on the ticket of APC. But insiders in the APC confided that he is one of the hopefuls who may not show any interest if President Muhammadu Buhari is contesting.

    But if it happens that Buhari will not contest, insiders said el-Rufai would be one of the most likely APC members that will contest in 2019. Although an influential politician in the North, it will take a major election to determine his popularity in the South.

    Ayo Fayose

    Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Ayodele Fayose, is one southern PDP member that seems to defy the claim that the party has zoned its 2019 Presidential ticket to the North. As far back as February 21, 2017 the governor from the South-West zone made his presidential ambition in 2019 known to all.

    At the peak of the PDP leadership crisis, Fayose openly rejected Sheriff and gave his support to Makarfi, threatening to dump his PDP ticket if Sheriff wins. Now that Makarfi won, Fayose did not hide the fact that he belonged to the winning side. But if it is true that Makarfi has interest in the ticket, the two may soon be on the ring because this week, Fayose said he will officially declare his presidential ambition in October.

    Fielding questions from journalists at an all-inclusive meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party with other political parties which held at Ibadan Civic Centre, Agodi Gate, Ibadan, Fayose said, “Most surely. I am in the race. I am declaring on October 1. It is my right to be president of Nigeria as a citizen of this country. I am educated and I have experience in politics. I am vast in public administration.

    “The people want me. I will vie for the presidency under whatever circumstances.

  • Moves to derail anti-graft battle’ll fail, says Presidency 

    Moves to derail anti-graft battle’ll fail, says Presidency 

    Attempts to derail the war against corruption using subterfuge and bluff will not succeed, the Presidency said yesterday.

    The Presidency also praised Nigerians for rising against the chaotic rout of protesters assembled at the Unity Fountain demanding the return of President Buhari. It dismissed such demands as unlawful.

    Addressing members of the Center for Civil Society and Justice (CCSJ), a civil society coalition, who staged a rally in support of President Muhammadu Buhari at the precincts of the Aso Rock Villa, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, dismissed the “return or resign” agitation as an illegal assembly stealthily organized to deliver a body blow to the war against corruption.

    In a statement, he said “It might be taken for granted that the beneficiaries of the old order are fighting back. We have been warned that corruption will fight back. In a country where just one woman for having the opportunity to serve as minister has N47.2 billion and 487.5 million dollars of public resources in cash and property traced to her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, you don’t expect the beneficiaries of that order to allow the Buhari administration some peace.

    “They want to distract us. But what the Acting President wants to assure patriotic citizens is that the government will not bend.

    “ As far as the President is concerned, he has done the needful by handing the reins of authority to the Vice President. Since the law of the country does not give a time limit for the President’s return, it cannot be imposed by a saber-rattling group or individual.”

    The presidential spokesman also praised the CCSJ for being orderly in their demonstration and urged them to shun provocation by opponents of government.

    He said: “By divine intervention,  Muhammadu Buhari unexpectedly got elected with the ostensible mandate of reversing national decline and securing its future. He got into the Villa through democratic victory at election.

    “Anybody desiring to replace him, whether you are a wrestler, a hairdresser or a musician, you should go through that process. In a democracy, threats don’t work.”

    Speaking on behalf of the demonstrators, the convener, Comrade Prince Goodluck Obi, said his group had “absolute faith and trust in President Buhari’s administration, not machinations of corruption and destabilisation.

    “ We are saying from today, 10th August 2017, we will be holding a rally/protest march here at Unity Fountain for the next one month and beyond in order to send clear and unambiguous message to agents of chaos and unity, that Nigerians are solidly behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration based on our democratic mandate entrusted to him on 28th March 2015,” Obi added.

  • Moves to derail anti-graft war will fail – Presidency

    Moves to derail anti-graft war will fail – Presidency

    The Presidency on Thursday assured that attempts to derail the war against corruption using subterfuge and bluff would not succeed.

    The Presidency also praised Nigerians for rising against protesters demanding the return of President Buhari, dismissing such demands as unlawful.

    Addressing members of the Center for Civil Society and Justice, CCSJ, a civil society coalition who staged a rally in support of President Muhammadu Buhari at the precincts of the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu dismissed the “return or resign” agitation as an illegal assembly stealthily organized to deliver a body blow to the war against corruption.

    In a statement, he said: “It might be taken for granted that the beneficiaries of the old order are fighting back. We have been warned that corruption will fight back. In a country where just one woman for having the opportunity to serve as minister has N47.2 billion and $487.5 million of public resources in cash and property traced to her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), you don’t expect the beneficiaries of that order to allow the Buhari administration some peace.

    “They want to distract us. But what the Acting President wants to assure patriotic citizens is that the government will not bend.

    “As far as the President is concerned, he has done the needful by handing the reins of authority to the Vice President. Since the law of the country does not give a time limit for the President’s return, it cannot be imposed by a saber-rattling group or individual.”

    The presidential spokesman also commended the CCSJ for being orderly in their demonstration and urged them to shun all provocations by opponents of government.

    He added: “By divine intervention, Muhammadu Buhari unexpectedly got elected with the ostensible mandate of reversing national decline and securing its future. He got into the Villa through democratic victory at election.

    “Anybody desiring to replace him, whether you are wrestler, a hairdresser or a musician, you should go through that process. In a democracy, threats don’t work.”

    Speaking on behalf of the demonstrators, the convener, Comrade Prince Goodluck Obi said his group has “absolute faith and trust in President Buhari’s administration and not machinations of corruption and destabilization.

    “We are saying from today, 10th August 2017, we will be holding a rally/protest march here at Unity Fountain for the next one month and beyond in order to send clear and unambiguous message to agents of chaos and unity, that Nigerians are solidly behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration based on our democratic mandate entrusted to him on 28th March 2015.”

     

  • Buhari won’t resign, says Presidency

    Buhari won’t resign, says Presidency

    President Muhammadu Buhari will not resign from office, The Presidency said yesterday.

    It was in response to a call by some civil society organisations that the President should resign or return to work.

    President Buhari has been in the United Kingdom since May 7 for a follow-up appointment with his doctors.

    Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu told reporters at the State House that the President had not breached any law.

    He said: “They are exercising their rights in line with the constitution of this country. Of what use or value is a democracy in which citizens cannot embark on peaceful protests? So we respect their right to convene or undertake peaceful protest.

    “On the second issue, whether the President should resign or disclose or whatever, I think they are stepping outside the laws of this country.

    “Anyone conversant with the constitution of this country will have noticed or seen that Mr President has complied 100 per cent with the requirements of the constitution..

    “He has handed over power to the Vice President, relying on the constitution and the Vice President is carrying on with the affairs of this country; he is undertaking activities of government in line with the constitution in a way that the President himself has given words of commendation.

    “So the President has not breached any law. What he has done is perfectly in line with the constitution of this country and people are looking for things to say. I think they should do their research very well.”

    In a statement later, Shehu added: “I wish to respond to media enquiries following demonstration by a few citizens this morning in Abuja. The demonstration is in the exercise of their freedom under the constitution, which guarantees their right to embark on peaceful protests.

    “There is nothing like a power vacuum in the country, given the competence and general harmony with which the whole government is running.

    “Any such calls as being made by this or any other group represents an irrational assault on the constitution and should be ignored by well-meaning members of the public.

    “The need of the hour for this country is to rid it of corruption, reform and reinvigorate the economy and to fight crime and insurgency.

    “The government is busy with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure all over the country.  It is creating jobs for the unemployed.  It has set its sight on the larger picture of the country’s development; investing in rail and power projects and redeeming the country’s image from the  mountains of corruption scandals that have marred it. We will not, therefore, be distracted by this or any other groups.”

    It was learnt yesterday that the President’s wife, Hajia Aisha Buhari, left Nigeria for the United Kingdom on Sunday.

    Mrs Buhari, who returned from the UK last week, had on several occasions, insisted that her husband was recovering fast and would soon return to the country.

    Although there was no official statement on Mrs Buhari’s trip, some officials in the Presidency confirmed it.

    In Abuja, the coalition of civil society groups demanded the return of President Buhari from his medical leave  or resign.

    It also urged the National Assembly to invoke Section 144 sub Section 4 of the Constitution and set up a medical panel to determine the President’s health status.

    Convener of the protest Deji Adeyanju, expressed regret on whay he called “the failure of the National Assembly to launch an investigation or set up a panel to look into the true status of the President Buhari’s health”.

    Adeyanju said: “The leadership of the National Assembly must choose between the Nigerian people and the cabal. 90 days is too long for a president to be away from his country without any explanation to the people that voted him into office.

    “If Buhari had become incapacitated, he should do the honourable thing and resign because he cannot continue to hold the country to ransom; his absence in the country is being exploited by a cabal to loot the treasury.”

    He added: “We hereby demand that the National Assembly invoke Section 144 sub Section 4 of the Nigerian Constitution and direct the setting up of a medical panel in conjunction with the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo to ascertain whether the President is incapacitated.”

    A leader of the group and member, Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, said the Federal Executive Council should disclose to Nigerians the nature of Buhari’s illness.

    Protesters led by artiste Charles Oputa (Charlie Boy), defied the early morning showers and walked from the Unity Fountain, Maitama, Abuja to the Presidential Villa junction to demand the return of the President.

    The protest was spearheaded by the National Coordinator, Foundation For True Freedom and Good Leadership, Deji Adeyanju; Publicity Secretary, #OurMumuDonDo Movement, Adebayo Raphael; Convener, Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution, Ariyo-Dare Atoye; and Secretary of Concerned Nigerians, John Danfulani.

    The movement said it would continue with daily protests in Abuja and London to press for the return of the President.

     

  • Updated: Government won’t be distracted – Presidency

    Updated: Government won’t be distracted – Presidency

    The Presidency on Monday said it would remain focused and not be distracted by calls for President Muhammadu Buhari to either return to Nigeria on resign from office.

    The President has been in the United Kingdom since May 7 for follow up consultations with his doctors.

    The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, said the people (protesters) asking the President to resign have overstepped their boundaries.

    In a statement issued in Abuja, Shehu said: “I wish to respond to media enquiries following demonstration by few citizens this morning in Abuja. The demonstration is in the exercise of their freedom under the constitution, which guarantees their right to embark on peaceful protests.

    “So long as they remain peaceful, we have no problem with them.  What is democracy if citizens can’t peacefully demonstrate?

    “On the second issue, demanding the President’s return, or resignation or certain explanations, I would say that they have over-stepped their bounds.

    “The President has complied 100 percent with the constitution by handing over power to the vice president before proceeding on his vacation.  He has not breached any law or the constitution by staying away from office to take care of his health.

    “Equally, there is nothing like a power vacuum in the country given the competence and general harmony with which the whole government is running.

    “Any such calls as being made by this or any other group represent an irrational assault on the constitution and should be ignored by well-meaning members of the public.

    “The need of the hour for this country is to rid it of corruption, reform and reinvigorate the economy and to fight crime and insurgency.

    “The government is busy with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure all over the country.  It is creating jobs for the unemployed.  It has set its sights on the larger picture of the country’s development, investing in rail and power projects and redeeming the country’s image from the mountains of corruption scandals that have marred it. We will not, therefore, be distracted by this or any other groups.”

     

  • Age and presidency: Barking up the wrong tree

    Age and presidency: Barking up the wrong tree

    BY the time the constitutional amendment process moves to the 36 states, many of the alterations already passed by both chambers of the National Assembly could still come to grief. Thirty-three alterations were proposed; so far, the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed 27 and 21 proposals respectively. When the alterations get to the Houses of Assembly, they will probably suffer a few more blows, particularly because of the questionable quality of state lawmakers and their well-known opacity, not to talk of their timidity and low appetite for intellectual and visionary rigour. What is clear is that most of the alterations passed by both chambers simply do not address the factors that have predisposed the country to fractiousness and fissures. The reason is simple: what the country needs is a holistic change designed to make the country work in a dynamic and probably rhythmic way. The amendments passed so far seem ad hoc and disconnected, without a binding and driving core, and without a smooth, engaging and aerodynamic periphery to make it soar grandly.

    Of all the alterations that have raised eyebrows, the country seems to be in a lather over the failure of the devolution red herring. That alteration failed in both chambers of the National Assembly, with many lawmakers and commentators blaming the unitary-minded lawmakers of the North. Astonished by widespread negative reactions, legislative leaders have promised that that alteration could still be revisited, but without a promise as to the certainty of its passage both in the parliament and state assemblies. There is, however, nothing to show that what the constitution needs is not a total re-engineering anchored on credible and visionary philosophies. There is nothing to indicate that the current effort is not merely palliative, a tinkering that seems guaranteed to sew a patch of unshrunk  cloth on a new garment, a new wine in an old wineskin, with predictable and disastrous consequences. In the end, after what is certain to be acrimonious debates in the states, Nigerians will discover that the effort at rewriting the constitution will satisfy very few and exhibit none of the genuineness, rigour and vision that have hallmarked enduring constitutions in the great nations of the world. What is at play in Nigeria, in short, is either leadership cowardice or leadership short-sightedness.

    The 1999 constitution lied to everyone, including itself. It is a unitary document camouflaged as a federal constitution. It ought to have been subjected to a referendum after it was written, but it was simply promulgated. It was a product of the cracked vision of a few people, many of them bereft of the rich histories of great constitutions and the factors that promote national ambitions and greatness. Neither its authors nor its promoters demonstrated the depth of understanding and iconoclasm that inspired the postwar constitution-making of Japan under Gen. Douglas MacArthur and France’s Fifth Republic under Gen. Charles de Gaulle. In 1999, Nigerian leaders and those who inherited a constitution they neither saw nor knew how to operate did the country a great disservice. Nothing has been done anywhere to remedy that awful document that is at war with itself and the nation. And rather than acknowledge the deep fissures endangering the stability of the country, and perhaps out of both ignorance and lack of patriotism, Nigerian leaders and lawmakers at all levels think and speak only of keeping the country united above everything else.

    It is in the midst of all this that the proposal to lower age qualification to the presidency from 40 to 35 has received wide applause. On the surface, it is a sensible proposal, a needed alteration to widen the base of leadership recruitment. After all, three months ago in France, a 39-year-old just assumed office in the nuclear-armed country. Indeed, as many agitators say, if you are qualified to vote, you should be qualified to be voted for. Judging from the approbation the age qualification amendment has received, it will almost certainly pass muster with state legislators. Its authors as well as its proponents seem to think that by widening the base of leadership recruitment, which a lowering of the age qualification presupposes, the possibility of producing the right leader for Nigeria would improve. Those who nurse this hope are barking up the wrong tree. If for about 57 years the country was unable to produce even one inspiring president, there is nothing to suggest that lowering or raising the age bar would produce the magic bullet.

    Lowering age qualification may animate youths and make them giddy with excitement, it however does nothing to affect the critical problems confronting the Nigerian leadership. Absolutely nothing. Age has nothing to do with the problem. Age is not the problem confronting President Muhammadu Buhari despite his plaintive remonstrance during a visit to South Africa in June 2015. His complaint, examined critically, was in fact a subtle admission of his lack of philosophical depth and grasp of modern and complex management principles. He complained of not possessing the strength and vigour of youth to tackle Nigeria’s problems, and wished that he won the presidency when he was much younger. In 1985, he was a much younger soldier; but there was no idea he propounded on the economy, politics and society capable of renewing, let alone revolutionising, the society he governed with totalitarian and unmethodical fiat. His ideas then were contradictory, presumptuous and impracticable. They still remain the same today. More importantly, what Nigeria’s troubles need is not vigour or strength, but ideas. For all the country cares, President Buhari can sleep for 20 out of 24 hours of the day. What is important is for him to generate the transcendental ideas the society urgently needs to remake itself.

    The election of the 39-year-old French leader, Emmanuel Macron, may have given added fillip to the quest for much younger and daring leaders, but there is nothing to indicate that he possesses the breadth of vision, boldness and intellectual depth of some of his predecessors like Napoleon Bonaparte who took power at 35 and the 19-year-old intrepid and unprepossessing Maid of Orleans, St Joan of Arc, who promoted French arms outside the confines of office. There is nothing to celebrate in the age qualification alteration to the Nigerian presidency, and Nigerians must moderate their expectations. When Gen Yakubu Gowon, then a Lt.-Col., took office in 1966 as a 32-year-old military officer, it had nothing to do with his competence, nor even his age. His emergence was mainly an ethnic thing and a product of the internal politics of an army traumatised by cultural differences and power struggle. He may have led the union army to defeat rebellion, but a closer examination puts the victory down to many other factors. Moreover, his five years rule after the war did little to set the country on a visionary and irreversible path of growth and stability, not to talk of addressing and solving the factors that led the country to war.

    As the table accompanying this piece shows, the average age of a few randomly selected Nigerian and African leaders when they assumed office was 42.8 years. As students of history know, for these leaders, success or failure was not age-specific. With the exception of Obafemi Awolowo who assumed leadership at 33, most of the rest took office in their late 30s or 40s, including Kwame Nkrumah (43), Kenneth Kaunda (40), Ahmadu Bello (44), Tafawa Balewa (45), and Jomo Kenyatta (72). But if it makes Nigerians happy, particularly the youths, the constitutional amendment on age qualification for the presidency should receive favourable hearing. However, if the older leaders failed for reasons unconnected with age, it is unlikely that the younger ones will succeed when the political, economic and constitutional environments in which they operate remain retrogressive and stifling.

    In view of the role being played by youths today, especially the heedless ultimatum given to the Igbo in the North by the Arewa Youth coalition, the unstructured promotion of Igbo self-determination by superficial and impressionable youths like Nnamdi Kanu, and the copycat simulation of independence movements by many young radicals from other parts of the country, the prognosis for Nigeria appears bleak. Rather than produce leaders who can project Nigeria into the future, the country has managed to produce leaders — lawmakers, traditional rulers, politicians, businessmen etc. — who view constitution-making and constitutional amendments as an avenue for projecting either ethnic supremacy and exceptionalism at best, or partisan and private (such as immunity clause and expansion of the council of state membership) objectives at worst. The road to a great future is simply not being charted, let alone trudged.

  • Dangote’s route to the presidency?

    SIR: Donald Trump’s presidency over there in the US is a veritable trail-blazer for every billionaire-businessperson anywhere in the world who aspires to be one. A smooth passage to any such presidency comes when the electorate becomes fed up with an unwieldy establishment and thence looks out for a departure from the norm.

    Aliko Dangote could begin by launching a retail chain modelled after Wal-Mart, with stores in the major urban centres of Nigeria that caters to that distinctive Nigerian market; in addition to this, Dangote could venture into “super-landlord” investment by building leasable residential estates of all categories in all the 36 state capitals for a start whilst emphasising central sewage processing and overall cleanliness by the tenants; each of these estates would be serviced by at least an outlet of a Dangote-Mart, say. By this means, Dangote would bring himself to an even fuller positive public reckoning as well as directly helping plug the inefficiencies of our governments in the areas of providing decent accommodation even at a good leasehood.

    Let us just imagine a mega-Dangote housing estate that caters to the very low-income earners who would be required to pay, say, N3000 monthly for a one-room self-contained apartment every month through an appointed estate agent in favour of the Dangote Inc.

    Would Aliko need to campaign much for the presidency under such circumstance?

     

    • Sunday Adole Jonah

    Federal University of Technology, Minna

  • Presidency hails CAN

    Presidency hails CAN

    The Presidency has described as touching and thoughtful, a message received over the weekend from the Christian Association of Nigeria expressing joy at the news of President Muhammadu Buhari’s recovery from illness.

    In a statement in Abuja, Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Buhari, confirmed that the President received the goodwill message from Rev Dr Samson Supo Ayokunle, the CAN President.

    “The CAN President referred to the news of President Buhari’s recovery from sickness as a ‘rejuvenation of hope’, and congratulated Nigerians on the joy of having their President back soon,” Malam Shehu said.

    He added that such messages of goodwill from respected religious bodies like CAN meant so much at a time when people with ill intentions were struggling to divide the country along religious lines.

    He also thanked the CAN for its continued prayers for the President’s health.

    “The Presidency looks forward to further collaborations with CAN to ensure that Nigerians of all ethnic and religious groups benefit from the policies of the President Buhari administration which are aimed at improving the welfare of every single citizen of our great country,” Malam Shehu said.

  • Senate’s unending cold war with presidency

    SIR: At the inception of eight Senate in June 2015, it was clear to all discerning minds that the executive and the legislative arms many not have a smooth relationship. This fear was predicated on the event that culminated in the emergence of the leadership of the upper legislative house.

    Some optimists were however quick to dismiss this, as they believed the matter will be resolved as a family affair – a phrase which gained so much currency during the PDP-16 years rule. Two years on, the squabble still lingers.

    Clear signs that suggested that all was still not well began to emerge on November 1, 2016 when the Senate rejected the president’s $30 billion dollars loan request and their refusal to confirm Ibrahim Magu for the second time as the substantive EFCC boss on March 15.

    Don’t also forget the Code of Conduct trial of the Senate President, the forgery cases and all that.

    This protracted Executive-Legislative feud took centre stage again when the issue of confirmation of the Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila was recently discussed on the floor of the Senate.  It was another occasion to express their misgivings with the executive on the continued retention of Magu. They were also equally piqued with the acting President over a comment credited to him that executive appointment does not require legislative approval. With this, the battle line was again drawn as all nominations for confirmations were purportedly suspended until their powers are respected.

    The acting President himself, an astute, erudite law professor and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria anchored his position on sub-section 2, section 171 of the 1999 constitution as amended which empowers the President to appoint and remove his appointees without any recourse to the Senate. Some law experts have however faulted the acting President’s stance, arguing that the quoted section has a specific application and only affects appointments into offices such as – Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Head of Service, Ambassadors and High Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Extra Ministerial Departments (EMDs) and personal staff to the President. They are of the view that the chairman of EFCC is not included in this category of appointees.

    The crux of this argument is whether Economic and Financial Crime Commission can be described as an extra-ministerial department. To help us here, it is pertinent to note that EMDs are appendages of ministries and are created for administrative purposes while commissions like EFCC are statutory (that is created by law). Ministers are in-charge of EMDs while Commissions, Agencies and Corporations created by law are fully or somewhat independent. Experts argue that, the Minister of Justice that supervises EFCC only exercises prosecutorial powers and does not have direct procedural and operational control over it.

    In view of the disagreement, which this section of the constitution has generated recently, a further judicial interpretation from the apex court is the way to go.

    The resurfacing of this Senate-Presidency altercation at the time the nation is experiencing a depressed economy, agitations, Boko-Haram/ herdsmen terrorism, the ill-health of our President is to say the list, not auspicious.

    Our distinguished denizens of the Three Arms Zone should realize that Nigerians look up to them to make laws for their socioeconomic well-beings and not to further create tensions in the country. Therefore, the on-going war of attrition must stop. This egregious display of callousness among our leaders should not be our style of governance.

     

    • Itaobong Offiong Etim

    Calabar.