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Tag: PRESIDENCY

  • Osinbajo not under pressure to resign – Presidency

    Osinbajo not under pressure to resign – Presidency

    The Presidency on Wednesday denied insinuation that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo was being pressured to resign.

    A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Femi Ojudu, said it was not true that Osinbajo was being held hostage by some governors who were said to have demanded his resignation from office.

    In the statement titled: “State of the Nation,” Ojudu said Osinbajo was on his desk in his office and performing his routine functions having earlier presided over a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    The presidential aide described the claim as ridiculous and urged the people to desist from carrying fake news.

    He said: “I have read many ridiculous stories saying the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, is being held hostage by some governors who are trying to compel him to resign.

    “I have equally received several calls regarding this. The story is simply not true. It is a fabrication. Don’t be a purveyor of fake news.

    “The Vice President is behind his desk carrying out his task. The Federal Executive Council presided over by him has just ended and he has been busy receiving visitors and holding meetings.”

     

     

  • Senate’s report on SGF lacks principle of fair hearing – Presidency

    Senate’s report on SGF lacks principle of fair hearing – Presidency

    The Presidency on Tuesday said the report of the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East “lacks the principle of fair hearing.”

    The Senate report indicted the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal.

    The Presidency remark came in a letter read by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at plenary on Tuesday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the call for Lawal’s resignation followed alleged contravention of the provisions of Public Procurement Act and the Federal Government Financial Rules and Regulations on the award of contracts.

    The letter reads: “I am of the view that by other considerations that may arise as a result of subsequent investigation of Babachir by the interim Ad Hoc Committee, the current report does not meet the principles of fair hearing.

    “You are invited to note that none application of principles of fair hearing by the Senate Ad Hoc Committee is a clear contravention of Section 36 Sub-section (1) of the 1999 Constitution.

    “It is also against all principles of rule of law as enunciated in the Nigerian Legal System as well as the rules of the National Assembly Committees on handling of public petitions.

    “In the light of the foregoing, I am not able to approve the recommendation to remove and prosecute Babachir on the basis of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee Report dated 15th December 2016.’’

    The letter explained that on receipt of the letter from the Senate, the Presidency set up a review team to consider the recommendations of the Senate committee.

     

  • SGF: Presidency lied in Buhari’s letter to Senate- Sani

    SGF: Presidency lied in Buhari’s letter to Senate- Sani

    Senator Shehu Sani, Chairman of the Senate ad-hoc committee on “Mounting humanitarian crisis in the North-East”,  has faulted the letter written to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari on the resolution for sack of the Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachair David Lawal.
    Responding to the letter in which President Buhari turned down the call for Lawal’s resignation,  Sani  said that he was shocked that President Buhari could be misled to write such a letters and described it as “the funeral service for anti-corruption fight” in the country.
    Senator Sani  while defending the report of his committee said “it is shocking to me that such a letter can come from the Presidency with such misinformation and outright distortions.
     
    “They lied by saying that the committee didn’t invite the SGF. The committee invited the SGF and the letter was acknowledged by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the SGF
     
    “To make sure that we buttress our point, we made a paid advert in three or four national dailies:
     
    ” This one was published on Dec. 2, 2016 and the SGF is clearly mentioned as one of those that is expected to come and appear before the National Assembly.
     
    “If they have the intention of simply reaching a pre-determined conclusion by covering up on the issues raised by the committee that is one thing.
     
    “Secondly, issues were raised that only three members of the committee signed that interim report, that was also a second lie coming from the Presidency.
     
    “I have a copy of the interim report which was initially signed by seven members of the nine members of that committee and I am going to submit it to the clerk of the Senate.
     
    “Even if it is nine and then three people signed, we still have a quorum, but here I have seven people.
     
    “I will say also that I listened to the list of the names that were read and they omitted the chairman which is myself.
     
    “I know I am not very big in frame but I believe my name shouldn’t have been omitted.
     
    “This shows clearly how the SGF and his minions in the Presidency misinformed the President to sign this letter.
     
    “Secondly I will say this clearly, this letter is a funeral service for the anti-corruption fight.
     
    “Mr Senate President when it comes to fighting corruption in the National Assembly and the Judiciary and in the larger Nigeria sector, the President uses insecticide and when it comes to fighting corruption within the presidency, they use deodorants.
     
    “I stand by the report of that committee and it is very clear to us: if we can allow this committee’s report to be shredded into pieces then I think it would be in order for us to open all the 138 prisons in this country for all the convicts and awaiting trial inmates to go Scot free.
     
    “As far as I am concerned, on behalf of myself and the committee, what we did was a thorough job, we invited all the companies concerned, we invited the SGF and he sent us the Secretary of the Presidential Initiative on the North East.
    “The secretary testified under oath that he is competent enough, he came with tons and tons of documents which we went through and then we came out with our report.
     
    “It is unfortunate that we have a political atmosphere where you have a saintly and angelic presidency and a devilish and evil society.
     
    “We must in every respect fight corruption within the kitchen as we do in the veranda; if we don’t do that then we are being hypocritical.
     
    “This letter does not in any way reflect the spirit with which we espoused as a people fighting to cleanse and fumigate this country of corruption.”
     
    Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi told reporters after the plenary that the “Senate stands on its resolution on Lawal.”
     
    Abdullahi said that President Buahri’s letter absolving the SGF did not in any way change the position of the Senate.
     

  • Presidency to prosecute SIP forms racketeers

    The Presidency yesterday said that non of the forms under the Social Investment Programmes (SIP) is for sale.

    The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, in a statement, said that the Federal Government will prosecute anybody caught selling any of the SIP forms.

    He also urged Nigerians to refuse to pay  for the SIP forms.

    He said: “We have been receiving reports about instances where Nigerians are being asked to pay application fees for  SIP forms. We want to make it clear that such action is illegal and could warrant criminal prosecution.

    “Let us make this very clear: in order to benefit from N-Power, you don’t have to pay any application fees at all. The way to apply is to go online to the N-Power portal. But it is not open right now as we are still working on the 200,000 unemployed graduates already engaged,” he said

    He also said that there is no application forms or fees to be paid for the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT).

    Akande said:  “We are using a Community-Based Targeting template of the World Bank and as we have explained, this is the mode of identifying the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable.”

    He said that there were instances during the N-Power online application process when some leaders uploaded information of their people onto the N-Power Internet portal to meet the online application requirement.

    “We don’t frown at such an effort as long as the information of the N-Power applicants is properly in-putted online. But we frown at anyone selling forms to Nigerians for this programmes,” he said.

    On claims that some party agents were involved in such illegal form sales, Akande said “the rule affects everyone. No one should sell forms for N-Power or any of the President’s Social Investment Programmes. That is exploitation and it is fraudulent.”

    Stressing that the CCT payments had begun in the pilot states, he said that not everyone in those states had been paid due to logistics and banking challenges.

    Three banks including Stanbic, Access and Guranty Trust Bank, he said, had  been very helpful in the process, including supporting the implementation of aspects of the CCT pro bono.

    Akande said that the Homegrown School Feeding Programme would also proceed this week with the addition of five states.

    He said the states would receive  federal government funding to ensure that primary school pupils in those states start enjoying one hot meal a day.

    Those states are Ogun, Oyo, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Osun. When added to Anambra where the school feeding programme kicked off last year, there would now be six states implementing the scheme.

    According to him, at least 5.5 million Nigerian primary school pupils would be fed for 200 school days under the free Homegrown School Feeding Programme, according to the 2016 Budget, which has an allocation of N93.1B appropriated for the feeding scheme.

  • Nigeria didn’t cut ties with Taiwan – Presidency

    The Presidency on Thursday dismissed as incorrect media reports claiming that Nigeria has cut ties with Taiwan.

    The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

    The statement said: “The correct position is that the official relationship between Nigeria and Taiwan has been at the level of trade representation and this has not changed from what it used to be.

    “Taiwan trade office is the only Taiwanese representation in Nigeria and Nigeria’s trade office in Taipei is our only representation in Taiwan.

    “Nigeria recognises and will sustain the ‘One China’ policy and nothing has happened so far to change that level of relationship.”

     

  • Presidency: Chief of Staff didn’t use High Commission’s funds for medical treatment

    Presidency: Chief of Staff didn’t use High Commission’s funds for medical treatment

    The Presidency yesterday explained that the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, did not use the funds of the Nigeria High Commission in London to pay his medical bills.
    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said: “The Nigeria High Commission in London did not at any time ever settle the medical bills or any other bills for that matter as Abba Kyari personally took responsibility for paying his own bills. This is by the Chief of Staff’s choice.
    “He pays for his medicals, his taxi and accommodation in the U.K in spite of the high office he occupies, even when there is no rule that says he cannot be catered for by government.
    “For the records, Kyari was rushed out of Nigeria for an emergency medical treatment on the fateful December 1st, 2016. To receive him on arrival, the Wellington Hospital needed to have cash deposited, or in the absence of this, a letter of guarantee.
    “In order to meet this condition, the Nigeria High Commission in London wrote the Letter of Guarantee to the hospital for treatment to commence. The role of the High Commission didn’t involve financial commitments on behalf of Kyari.
    “The Letter of Guarantee from the High Commission was meant to meet the routine requirements of the Wellington Hospital since the patient in question (Kyari) didn’t possess the UK National Health Insurance.” he said
    Apart from senior government officials, he said that other reputable Nigerians are issued with such guarantee letters to hospitals.
    “A guarantor is not liable unless there is a default, but this wasn’t the case with Abba Kyari who paid all his medical bills by himself as he had done on previous occasions.
    “Hospital records are available for verification to show that the Nigeria High Commission in London didn’t spend a penny on Kyari, as its involvement didn’t go beyond the issuance of the letter of guarantee to the Wellington Hospital.”

  • Kyari didn’t use High Commission’s funds for UK treatment – Presidency

    Kyari didn’t use High Commission’s funds for UK treatment – Presidency

    The Presidency on Monday explained that the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, did not use the funds of the Nigeria High Commission in the United Kingdom to pay his medical bills in the European nation.

    A statement issued by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said the allegations contained in a report published by an online news medium, are totally incorrect, misleading and total fabrication.

    He said: “The Nigeria High Commission in London did not at any time ever settle the medical bills or any other bills for that matter as Abba Kyari personally took responsibility for paying his own bills. This is by the Chief of Staff’s choice.

    “He pays for his medicals, his taxi and accommodation in the UK despite the high office he occupies, even when there is no rule that says he cannot be catered for by government.

    “For the records, Kyari was rushed out of Nigeria for an emergency medical treatment on the fateful day of December 1, 2016. To receive him on arrival, the Wellington Hospital needed to have cash deposited, or in the absence of this, a letter of guarantee.

    “In order to meet this condition, the Nigeria High Commission in London wrote the Letter of Guarantee to the hospital for treatment to commence. The role of the High Commission didn’t involve financial commitments on behalf of Kyari.

    “The Letter of Guarantee from the High Commission was meant to meet the routine requirements of the Wellington Hospital since the patient in question (Kyari) didn’t possess the UK National Health Insurance.”

    Apart from senior government officials, he said other reputable Nigerians are issued with such guarantee letters to hospitals.

    “A guarantor is not liable unless there is a default, but this wasn’t the case with Abba Kyari who paid all his medical bills by himself as he had done on previous occasions.

    “Hospital records are available for verification to show that the Nigeria High Commission in London didn’t spend a penny on Kyari, as its involvement didn’t go beyond the issuance of the letter of guarantee to the Wellington Hospital,” Shehu added.

  • Presidency explains accidental discharge at Villa

    Presidency explains accidental discharge at Villa

    The Presidency yesterday explained that the security official responsible for an accidental discharge in the Presidential Villa Abuja on Wednesday was not attached to the State House.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the official was a visitor in the Presidential Villa.

    The statement reads: “The Presidency has issued a statement on an incident involving an accidental discharge. According to the reports received so far, the security official involved in this incident is not attached to the State House.

    “Rather, he came on invitation as a witness in an ongoing investigation and was required, as is the rule, to surrender his weapon at the gates before entry.

    “Investigation revealed that the operative conducted the normal safety precaution as professionally required when the pistol accidentally fired.

    “The lady by his side, a caterer, was hit by a pellet of the bullet. Both of them were attended to at the clinic and discharged.” It stated

    It also reassured Nigerians and foreigners of safety of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

  • Presidency faults Fayose on N5000 stipend

    Presidency faults Fayose on N5000 stipend

    The Presidency yesterday faulted  claims by Governor Ayo Fayose on the disbursement of N5,000 stipend to the poor.

    The governor, whose state was listed as part of the nine states where payments were reported to have begun, said it had not started.

    Fayose said the report was untrue and diversionary.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the administration was built on integrity and accountability and would not lie.

    He said: “It was announced specifically from the office of the Vice President that the scheme had started in nine states. And then a certain governor said it is not true.

    “It is just a matter of who you believe. This is a government that is built on integrity and accountability. This government will not lie to Nigerians, does not lie to Nigerians; in fact, anything you hear from this government you can take it to the bank, believe it.

    “So if anybody comes and says it is politics, it is not true. Choose who to believe I can tell you that you should believe this government because this government will not lie to you.”

  • Magu not sacked as EFCC chairman – Presidency

    Magu not sacked as EFCC chairman – Presidency

    The Presidency on Saturday dismissed report that Mr. Ibrahim Magu has been sacked as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in series of tweets on his Twitter handle, (@GarShehu, said no report has been made available to the Presidency by the Attorney General of the Federation on the matter.”

    He twitted:

    “We are reading reports that the @officialEFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu has been sacked.”

    “No report has been made available to the Presidency by the Attorney General of the federation over the matter.”

    The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, also dismissed the report as untrue.

    “No truth in the story making the rounds that Magu has been removed as EFCC boss. The AGF is yet to submit his probe report to the President,” he said on his Twitter handle.

    The Senate had earlier this month rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of Magu as EFCC, chairman, saying security reports made him ineligible for the office.