The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PRESIDENCY

  • Buhari spending sleepless nights on how to make life better for Nigerians- Shehu

    Buhari spending sleepless nights on how to make life better for Nigerians- Shehu

    To check food price increases and exploitation of common people by traders, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered for the release of 10,000 tons of grains from the national strategic grains reserves for national distribution.

    This decision was contained in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

    Buhari has also directed the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh to ensure that all the able-bodied men and women in IDP camps be assisted to return to farming immediately.

    The directives were in reaction to calls for government measures to ease hardship associated with food inflation.

    The Presidency however asserted that the devastation of the economy was caused by the Boko Haram insurgency, corruption and the lack of planning by the past administrations and one that should not be blamed on the Change Agenda of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    The Presidency also rejected the insinuations that poverty and lack are products of the Change mantra.

    The statement reads: “This should be dismissed as an erroneous and misplaced opposition criticism. The President understands the pain and the cries of the citizens of this country and he is spending sleepless nights over how he can make life better for everyone.

    “Contrary to assertions by a faction of the opposition Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), the President’s energy and focus are on changing the life of Nigerians, with a view to making it better than he met it.

    “Change is a process. Change does not happen overnight. Change can be inconvenient. Change sometimes comes with pain. Over the past year, the government has been working night and day to deliver on its promise of change to Nigerians, and the painful process is still ongoing.

    “This is work in progress. As life gradually returns to normal in much of the country and the northeast in particular, agriculture will resume and traders from neighbouring African countries will once again feel safe to do business with us, yet another boost for our economy.”

    The Presidency maintained that it is only when Nigerians appreciate where they are coming from that they will grasp the full meaning and essence of what the ongoing journey entails.

  • We will reexamine the budget – Dogara

    We will reexamine the budget – Dogara

    The House of Representatives has resolved to review the controversial 2016 budget.

    This is contrary to the position of the Senate on Tuesday that foreclosed a revisit of the document.

    The decision was announced by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara after a two hour executive session where various opinions were said to have been raised.

    Dogara said the decision of the House was necessitated by the prevailing economic situation facing the country.

    “In view of the prevailing economic situation and in the interest of our people, we have resolved to reexamine the budget with a view of ironing out any differences with the executive.

    “This is for the overall interest of the country in order to have a workable budget that is implementable.”

     

  • Senate: Presidency can submit supplementary budget on Lagos/Calabar rail

    Senate: Presidency can submit supplementary budget on Lagos/Calabar rail

    It was all noisy yesterday at a closed session of the Senate, The Nation learnt .

    The upper chamber insisted that it would not go back on its position on the 2016 budget.

    The lawmakers also asked the Presidency to submit a supplementary budget to cover the controversial N60 billion Lagos – Calabar railway if it felt strongly about it.

    A source at the session told our correspondent that the heated argument ensued when some senators attempted to make an issue out of the explanation on the Lagos – Calabar railway.

    According to the insider, one of the Senators told his colleagues how he was being threatened over the explanation he gave on the controversial project.

    He noted that some senators felt that they were not carried along “before certain decisions were taken on the budget”.

    He added: “When frayed nerves calmed down, a particular committee chairman of northern extraction was mandated to go and apologise to the senator who reported being threatened.”

    However, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, dismissed the information of wrangling among the lawmakers over their position on the budget

    Abdullahi, noted that despite the row over the budget, “there is no controversy.”

    He said the Senate was guided by constitutional provisions in taking its position on the budget.

    Abdullahi said: “You will recall I issued a press statement yesterday on behalf of the Senate to make our position very clear with respect to the issue of the budget and let me make it very clear that we issued that statement simply to clarify the situation and not to confront any authority nor to threaten anybody.

    “We are a democratic institution and whatever we do we remain guided by the grand norm of the country, which is the constitution.

    “Today, we have resumed plenary, having come back from our recess and, of course, we went into executive session, which is the normal practice to welcome one another and discuss issues that we believe pertain to the burning issues on ground in this case the issue of the 2016 budget and the smooth workings of the senate and the National Assembly.

    “What we issued yesterday remains our position; today all we did was to confirm what exactly is the true picture of the situation and in my capacity as a spokesman of the Senate, I did not go to press with falsehood.

    “I have to verify my facts, I have to get my facts and to speak on these facts; and I think we have made that point very clear and we would definitely remain guided by the tenets of the Constitution.

    “One thing that is obvious is that yes we have passed the budget, Nigerians are asking what next for us; what is important now is for the budget to be signed.

    “The constitution has taken note of this kind of scenario where you may have omissions or shortfalls of allocations and Section 81 of the constitution is very clear on what you need to do, which is to sign the budget and then submit a supplementary appropriation.

    “I want to assure you that the Senate is not unmindful of the cries of Nigerians. That we said for example the Lagos-Calabar rail project was not in the budget does not in any way undermine the fact that it is a very, very important project for this nation to embark on and so the National Assembly, the Senate is open, if the executive brings a supplementary appropriations with respect to this and any other issue that they feel very strongly about, we are ready and willing to consider such, but the most important point to note is that we want to remain guided by the provisions of the constitution.

    “I think if we do that, all this raging controversies will be off our back and we can all concentrate and put our energies to begin the process of implementation of the 2016 budget so that those dividends of democracy, the youth unemployment issue, the empowerment of women, the social intervention programme, the infrastructural programmes, the agricultural programmes, and all the other projects that we know will kick start the Nigerian economy can begin to be implemented.”

  • Presidency, lawmakers meet to resolve impasse

    Presidency, lawmakers meet to resolve impasse

    To avert a fresh lockdown on the 2016 Budget, a government delegation led by Minister of National Planning, Sen.  Udoma Udo-Udoma yesterday began talks with Speaker of the House of Representatives,  Yakubu Dogara and top leaders of the National Assembly.

    Senate President  Bukola Saraki is expected to join the reconciliation team today (Monday) after cutting short his trip abroad.

    But a  former Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, yesterday asked the Presidency and the National Assembly to avoid a budget showdown.

    He said the budget impasse must not be allowed to proceed beyond now.

    He said the absence of a National Development and Implementation Plan  is largely responsible for this annual budget imbroglio.

    According to investigation, the two arms of government opened reconciliation talks to resolve the eight sticky points in the budget details forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari last Thursday.

    A top source said: “The Presidency and the National Assembly leaders on Sunday started talks on how to address the eight grey areas in the budget details sent to Buhari.

    “I may not be able to give you the full list of those at the session but I know that the government delegation was led by the Minister of National Planning and the National Assembly’s team headed by Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

    “The two arms of government are trying to resolve all issues raised by the Executive amicably before the President returns from China.

    “Certainly, the discussion so far on Sunday has been cordial. The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who travelled abroad has decided to cut short his trip in order to join the harmonisation talks.”

    Responding to a question, the source said: “One of the issues which generated debate at the session was the lawmakers’ anger about the expunging of the Calabar – Lagos rail  line from the budget details.

    “The lawmakers said the project was not part of the Appropriation Bill submitted by the President. They said they were shocked that the government could be scandalising  them in the press.

    “But the government delegation insisted that it was part of the amendments submitted to the National Assembly after the padding was detected.”

    The areas of talks last night are as follows:

    • Removal of the Coastal Railway project after N60b counterpart funding was provided
    • Expunging of the Calabar – Lagos rail  line
    • Reduction of votes for the completion Idu-Kaduna rail project by N8.7b
    • Drastic reduction of allocations for the completion of all major road projects,
    • NASS inclusion of new roads by which studies have not even been conducted.
    • Proposals made for the purchase of essential drugs for major health campaigns like Polio    and AIDs  removed
    • Allocations  for diversification projects under Agriculture and Water Resources to were either removed or reduced
    • Diversion of funds to rural health facilities and boreholes for which provisions have been made before.

    But a  former Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, yesterday asked the Presidency and the National Assembly to avoid the budget showdown which had been affecting  the country since 1999.

    Adetunmbi, who made his views known in a statement in Abuja, said: “Legislative oversight on budget and appropriation should neither be a battle of wits nor a contest of will power. This appears to be what has informed the fiasco between the National Assembly and the Executive Arm of government.

    “ It is rather confounding that the expected fraternal relationship that should exist between the Parliament and the Executive, controlled by the same party, has given way to a national en passé with negative consequences for the delivery of economic development which the change agenda promised the Nigerian people.

    “Without prejudice to the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers between the Executive and the Parliament, the timely passage of budget is a fundamental responsibility of state on which both arms must of necessity collaborate in the best interest of the nation, in furtherance of good governance and delivery of the dividends of democracy.

    “ Given the nature of Nigeria’s ethno-religious plurality, our democracy must strive to be participatory and inclusive to avoid petty political schisms, the type we are currently witnessing. This can be achieved without compromising the time valued doctrine of constitutional separation of powers.

    “The fighting for turf between parliamentarians and the Presidency on matters of national budget has been a harrowing recurring decimal and bone of contention since 1999.

    “ It is neither new nor peculiar to the 8th Assembly and the Buhari Presidency. It is an excruciating debacle and foreboding culture that is detrimental to the implementation of any budget which must not be allowed to proceed beyond now.”

  • Presidency to begin town hall meetings soon – Aide

    Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media, says Presidency will soon begin to hold town hall meetings with Nigerians to furnish them with information.

    Shehu made this known while answering reporters’ questions in Abuja on Sunday.

    According to him, government decided to embark on such meetings because it has realised the importance of information communication to the people at the grassroots.

    “I know that there is a plan that the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo would start town hall meetings in zones.

    “It would then be broken down to the states and so on.

    “Government realises that there is a need to take information to the people and there are steps that are being taken in order to ensure that is done,” he said.

    Shehu criticised the National Orientation Agency (NOA) for being indifferent to the Federal Government’s change mantra.

    “We have an agency like NOA with 773 offices nationwide.

    “Each has not less than 5 to 7 staffs and well-equipped, but you know also, sometimes democracy has its own dark side.

    “The President came and he wanted to really be fair to every Chief Executive. If he wanted to fire people on assumption (of office), he would have done it and he would not have violated any rule.

    “He decided to give everyone a chance to see whether they would imbibe the change mantra, to see whether they were prepared to go along (with him).

    “I will say with all sincerity that NOA was a source of worry for us in government; the people and the leadership never believed in what we are doing.

    “They never believed in change. They just folded their arms and watched us for the period of 8 to 9 months that they were there.

    “I believe the new leadership would begin to formulate things for agencies like that,” he said.

    The presidential aide praised Nigerians for steadfastly supporting the present administration especially during a period most people considered to be difficult.

    Shehu congratulated Nigerians on the achievements the President had recorded fighting insurgency and explained that the military have tagged their success against Boko Haram a “technical victory’’ because no city is presently under curfew.

    The SSA said that with the passage of the budget by the National Assembly, the next phase for the President would be to rebuild damaged facilities and infrastructure.

    He said that with the Central Bank of Nigeria realising more than N3 trillion through the introduction of the Treasury Single Account and the passage of the budget, a lot of activities would pick up.

    On the quest by Nigerians to know the amount of money the Federal Government had so far recovered from treasury looters, Shehu said the litigation hurdles associated with the looted funds would have to be scaled before Nigerians were availed of the figures. (NAN)

  • Presidency: why recovered cash can’t be made public yet

    Presidency: why recovered cash can’t be made public yet

    The cash recovered from former public officers under probe by anti-graft agencies will not be made public yet because it will be used as evidence against them in court, the Presidency said yesterday.

    Presidential spokesman Mallam Garba Shehu said much as President Muhammadu Buhari would have liked to let Nigerians know how much has been recovered, it will be impossible for now.

    He said the money recovered is in the vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), adding that “the issue of how much has been returned has been there. The money retrieved has to be used as evidence in court. The President said two things; we will recover and we will prosecute. So, as it is now, you don’t go and bring all these billions returned out.

    “I am aware that there is an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) where some of these funds are being kept and are evidence for a judge to see. It is not for public display. I think that is the challenge we have at the moment.”

    Shehu said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will soon hit the road travelling around the country to address town hall meetings, explaining government policies and actions. The town hall meetings, he said, will hold in the first instance at zonal levels before going down to state capitals.

    Shehu said: “ Government realises that there is a need to take information to the people and there are steps that are being taken in order to ensure that this is done.”

    Explaining the delay in the reconstituting government agencies, Shehu said President Buhari wanted to be fair to every chief executive of government agencies. “If he wanted to fire people on assumption of office, he would have done it and would not have violated any rule. But he decided to give everyone a chance to see whether they would imbibe the change mantra, and  be prepared to come along.”

    He said with offices in the 774 local governments and state offices, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) needed to do more to enlighten Nigerians on the government’s policies.

    “I will say with all sincerity that I know that the NOA has worried us in government. The people and the leadership never believed in what we are doing; they never believed in change and so, they just folded their arms and watched us in the last eight to nine months. When they are there, I believe the new leadership will begin to formulate things for agencies like that.”

    While admitting that the government needs to do more in public enlightenment, Shehu said “to be fair to Minister of Information Lai Mohammed, I have never seen somebody as hardworking as that gentleman even as minister.  You find out that he doesn’t miss the talk shows on radio, from one radio station to another and then he will move to a television station, to a newspaper and all of that.

    “I believe that more needs to be done. I agree with you. We have an agency like NOA with 774 offices nationwide; each has not less than five to seven officials and well-equipped. But you know also, sometimes democracy has its own dark side.”

    On the fight against insurgency, Shehu congratulated Nigerians on the achievements so far recorded by the Buhari administration, adding that at the moment, no city in the country is under curfew, while military road blocks have been dismantled.

    He said the biggest challenge facing the government in the fight against insurgency is rebuilding damaged facilities, adding that now that the budget has been passed into law, the much- expected implementation of the government’s campaign promises will begin to unfold.

    “So, in effect, money available will be spent from the moment the budget is signed. I believe that those who have fasted can now begin to enjoy, I mean money would be unleashed into the country and there would be a lot of activities that would go forth the moment the budget is signed”, he said.

    Speaking on alleged secret recruitment by some government agencies, Shehu said: “ I would stay out of this because I know that the parliament is investigating this and I believe we should wait for the outcome of the investigation  by the House of Representatives.

    “I have been approached by a number of people who say ‘can you give me a note to so or so agency?’ A lot is happening in this country and I keep saying that Buhari’s government is not a government of notes. I guess that whoever is found doing that would get himself in trouble. He is not a nepotist and I think you know that.

    “So, I think that the parliament should be allowed to look into it. I have personally called one of these agencies mentioned to ask whether it is true that they are recruiting and he said no, but the parliament can call for any documents and testimonies from anybody and they can determine whether it is true .”

  • Why recovered fund cannot be made public now – Presidency

    The Presidency says funds recovered from those who looted the nation’s treasury cannot be made public now until they are used as evidence against those the money was recovered from.
    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu told newsmen on Sunday that although the President has the intention of making the recovery public, it cannot be done now until they have been brought before a judge as evidence against the looters.
    He said the money recovered is currently being lodged in an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, adding that the challenge before the government right now is that the money has to first be presented to the court before being made public.
    He said: “the issue of how much has been returned has been there. The money retrieved has to be used as evidence in court. The President said two things; we will recover and we will prosecute. So as it now, you don’t go and bring all these millions returned out.
    “I am aware that there is an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) where some of these funds are been kept and are evidences for a judge to see. It is not for public display. I think that is the challenge we have at the moment”.
    Shehu revealed that the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo will soon begin a town hall meetings to explain government policies and actions to the people, adding that town hall meetings which will begin at zonal levels will later go down to state levels.
    He said: “I know that there is a plan for Professor Osinbajo, the Vice President to start Town Hall meetings in zones and then it would be broken down to the state and so on. Government realises that there is a need to take information to the people and there are steps that are been taken in order to ensure that is done”.

  • Presidency, ministry hail lawmakers

    Presidency, ministry hail lawmakers

    The Presidency and the ministry of budget and planning yesterday commended the National Assembly for passing the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

    Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) Sen. Ita Enang, told reporters that the expeditious consideration and passage of the bill is laudable.

    He commended the Senate and House committees on appropriation and the sub-committees for working hard in ensuring that the budget is passed.

    “I followed the entire process and I have seen the industry that has been exhibited by the senators.

    “I want to say that we appreciate particularly the fact that in the course of consideration, the committee chairmen, the committee members and the chairmen of appropriation committees were in constant touch,’’ he said.

    The special adviser further commended the legislature for approving the harmonised version of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework(MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper(FSP), adding that they were the parameter for passing the budget.

    Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo-Udoma in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Akpandem James, said:  “I wish to commend the National Assembly for passing the 2016 budget today.

    “I am particularly pleased that they have kept the budget within the amount the executive proposed and the fiscal deficit has not been increased.’’

  • Indian trip not cancelled, says Presidency

    Indian trip not cancelled, says Presidency

    The Presidency has said Nigeria will be represented at the Indian/African summit billed for India.

    It yesterday faulted an online report which claimed that Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has canceled the trip.

    The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande said the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment will lead Nigeria’s delegation to the summit.

    He said: “Nigeria has been invited to the Indian/African summit and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment will be leading a delegation to the event.

    “There is nothing like cancellation. Remember that the visit of the Vice President to any country is not treated in secrecy.

    “Whenever the Vice-President is to travel out of the country, we inform Nigerians.

    “So, this story in question is a bunch of speculation. There is no cancellation.”

  • N5,000 stipend for poor Nigerians still stands, says Presidency

    N5,000 stipend for poor Nigerians still stands, says Presidency

    The Presidency last  night insisted that the N5,000 stipend for poor stands.

    President Muhammadu Buhari was reported as saying that the promise —to hand the most vulnerable N5,000 cash— would not be kept while addressing the Nigerian community in Saudi Arabia last week.

    But the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, told State House correspondents that this year’s budget, which has been submitted to the National Assembly, allocated of half a trillion naira for such social investments.

    He also pointed out that President Muhammadu Buhari never promised to pay unemployed graduates N5,000.

    He said: “The budget for 2016, which has been submitted to the National Assembly, has made an allocation of half a trillion naira, the first time in the history of this country’s budget where you have that huge chunk of money allocated for social investment.

    “In that N500 billion, which is half a trillion naira, close to about 20 per cent of the entire budget, there are six social safety net programmes. And one of them is the conditional cash transfer where government is going to pay N5,000 monthly to the vulnerable and extremely poor Nigerians. That promise stands.

    “The President never promised to pay unemployed graduates N5,000; the President never made that promise and the government never made that claim that it will pay N5,000 to unemployed graduates.

    “The programme for unemployed graduates is the direct creation of half a million teaching jobs so that they will be trained; 50,0000 unemployed graduates will be trained to teach and they will be deployed to teach, while they are looking for their career paths or jobs. That still stands.

    “In addition to that, there is also a scheme to train 370, 000 non-graduate youths for skill acquisition and vocational training. During the time of that training, they will also be paid. So the President did not say that he would be giving unemployed graduates N5,000.”

    Akande added:: “The N5,000 monthly, which is already in the budget, is for the vulnerable Nigerians and the extremely poor, and this year, by the grace of God, once the budget is okay , one million extremely poor Nigerians will receive N5,000 monthly.”