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Tag: President Buhari

  • Nothing must happen to Buhari, Arewa Community warns

    Nothing must happen to Buhari, Arewa Community warns

    The Arewa Community United Foundation has warned those threatening national violence against the state that nothing unwholesome must happen to President Muhammadu Buhari in the discharge of his duties as the President of the country.

    It said although it is normal for the opposition party in the country to demand for unrealizable targets and express their opinions; the President should not be impeded from performing his duties and functions.

    The State Secretary, Alhaji Musa Saleh, made this known in Lagos, Friday at the yearly national prayer and 50th year remembrance of the Late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, killed in the first military coup d’état witnessed in the country on January 15,1966.

    Saleh said although they were gathered to pray and remember the legacies left behind by their leaders before they were cut-off, “we have to say now that we don’t want such event to happen to our leaders anymore. Today we have President Muhammadu Buhari on seat, for those who are threatening national violence against the state, we warn them that nothing must happen to Buhari, he’s there, he has been elected by popular majority vote and he’s carrying out the administration of this country in the way to rebuild the country for greater posterity. So we are warning that nothing should happen to him but we all should support him to achieve the desired goal for the country.”

    He said for Nigeria to develop, national unity should be encouraged and segregation discouraged, noting it as the fastest path to greatness.

    The South West leader of the Arewa Community, Architect Ahmed Kabiru Abdullahi, said the death of the late Sardauna was not only the worst thing to happen to Northern Nigeria but also the worst thing to happen to the country as a whole.

    Abdullahi said late Sir Ahmadu Bello’s demise with others, marked the beginning of problems of under-development of the country and he believes that the administration of President Buhari is toeing the same line of development started by the late Sardauna, and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, by holding unto Nigeria as one without letting go of his constituency, the Northern region.

    On how successive Northern leaders have not been able to emulate the success of the late Ahmadu Bello in developing the North, he said “Every leader has tried, but it is possible at a time not to have people who can build up on your legacy as those who came after late Ahmadu Bello, yet they made their own impacts, but they have not been able to match up to the big shoes and it is our hope that President Buhari should be able to match up. It is our hope and we are confident that Buhari will match up.”

    Speaking on the agitation for break-up of Nigeria by the East, he asked “did they put it together, can you break what you did not put together, that’s injustice. They are working against themselves. They should change and let Nigeria be because I know Nigeria will be with or without them. Nigeria has come to stay. The Giant of Africa has come to stay.”

  • Buhari should consider plea bargain for looters – Akinlaja

    Buhari should consider plea bargain for looters – Akinlaja

    A legal practitioner, Mr. Dayo Akinlaja SAN at the weekend advised President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to consider plea-bargain being contemplated by treasury looter and their cronies.

    The lawyer said considering plea-bargain would not only save the government from wasting resources on the prosecution of suspects but would also be of a great benefit to the members of the public.

    Akinlaja, who was a former Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice of Ekiti State, spoke with reporters in Akure, the Ondo State Capital.

    Akinlaja explained that the reality of Nigerian judicial system was that it suffers from re-ordinate delay, stressing that the government should strategise on quick ways of recovering money from looters rather than spending more times in court.

    His words, “On the issue of plea bargain, my position is that, it is useful in the area of recovery of looted funds. The reality of our judicial system is that it suffers from reordinate delay. With this, it is takes a long time for matters to be concluded.

    “Even in the final analysis it is possible to recover money through criminal proceeding because of the length of time, I think it will be a welcome development.

    “To my mind, the reason for plea bargain is for money to be recovered quickly.

    “For instance, somebody is accused of stolen huge amount, the law says the person should be sentence to seven years imprisonment. We can say, if you are prepare to return this money that you are alleged to have stolen, we may say, return money and serve six months so that at least that will serve as measure of deterrent.

    “What am saying is that where the gravity of the situation demands that the person should be jailed, such a person should be jailed, even it means reducing the length of time he or she will be spending in the jail.

    ” So, the person think that criminal proceeding will be handing on his neck for years and in the final analysis he may still be found guilty even when he is not even find guilty, the time that he would have wasted in going in and out of court and when these things are taking into consideration even the person accused may say let me make the refund.

    “In that case the society would have recovered money in a good time; lesser resources will be committed to the criminals’ proceedings.

    “Whatever we like it or not, the lawyers who are prosecuting and others involved are bound to be financially service.

    “So in a way the plea bargain may be beneficial to the country and even to reduction of resources. I don’t think sending people to jail is the solution after all, after they are sent to jail, they will still be using the resources of the nation to feed them there.

    “To my mind what is of greater importance is the recovering of the money. If plea bargain system would allow for money to be recovered I will support it.”

  • Letter to President Buhari

    Letter to President Buhari

    A guide to PMB’s New Year Resolutions

    Dear PMB,

    This time last year when we witnessed the last Sunday of the year 2014, things were still somewhat fluid about who would lead our dear country, Nigeria. To the discerning few though, it was clear the then President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, would not return because of his abysmal failure to lead the country aright, as well as his government’s unholy romance with corruption. Some of us said so directly; some others did indirectly. Some others were too blind to see the handwriting on the wall. One thing was clear though; many of those who felt the former president would find his way back did not credit him with much by way of performance. Rather, they hinged their optimism mainly on what they termed the ‘power of incumbency’. Some of us felt well, if incumbency was that powerful such that we would not be able to remove a non-performing leader, then there was no point holding elections. We jolly well would have told the former president to carry on.

    Then came the 2015 elections in which you roundly defeated your predecessor and he had to concede defeat in March. But President Jonathan did not lose the election the day he conceded defeat; he lost it the day you were successfully chosen as the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) presidential candidate on December 23, last year. Some of us told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) then to begin to pack its bag and baggage in readiness to vacate Aso Rock while the then president should join the unemployment queue. Former President Jonathan has since returned to his home town, Otuoke, in Bayelsa State, while your humble self has since May 29 taken his former position.

    Since then, there have been a few things you did which Nigerians felt you should have done otherwise, or you should not have done at all. Mr President, some of your comments have not particularly gone down well with many Nigerians. One was your statement to the effect that even without you doing anything, there has been noticeable changes in the country. In other words, your ‘body language’ has been working wonders. This was true to a large extent, at least initially. But, whether in terms of power supply which dramatically improved on your assumption of office, or fuel supply which similarly witnessed relative stability after the initial hiccups then, things have nosedived in both sectors as I write. Electricity supply has returned to its epileptic past even as fuel queues have not only returned but have done so with an uncommon obstinacy.  What these tell us is that ‘body language’ cannot last forever. It seems to have lost its potency  and it can only continually get eroded as more and more people notice this weakness.

    Although you have apologised to Nigerians for the fuel scarcity and they have accepted your apology (I guess I am speaking the minds of many of them), but beyond the apology is what happens next. How do we get out of the fuel scarcity conundrum? That is the main issue now as we prepare to usher in a new year.

    Aside the temporal efficacy of your ‘body language’, the import of your statement, Mr. President, is that the country is on auto-pilot and this did not go down well with many people. Even if it was true that a few things knocked themselves into shape when you assumed office, one would have expected such statement to come from the people themselves. I am not even sure it is something to celebrate by your top aides. I may be wrong here, though. But certainly the statement ought not to have come from you directly.

    Mr. President, we are beginning to see what your policy thrusts are. Your maiden budget of N6trillion appears ambitious, given the downturn in oil prices. Your government’s intention to downplay oil in the government’s revenue profile is good, at least on paper. Whether it is realistic is a different matter entirely; but it is worth giving a trial because that is where we should be going. There are some salient aspects of the budget which appear good on the surface; again, whether they are attainable is the issue. For instance, the proposed creation of about 500,000 jobs for teachers is good, just as the social safety net of N5,000 monthly proposed for the indigent elderly. One can only hope that these have been well thought-out so they do not end the way of the Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP) of the PDP which was alleviating poverty in reverse by pumping hefty sums of money into the pockets of the party’s wealthy chieftains.

    Many Nigerians are also not happy that your government’s major policies are announced abroad. It was in Iran that you first announced that some past public officials who stole public funds have started returning part of the loot.  You were also outside of the country when you said that Nigeria was broke and also that the Federal Government was considering negotiating with Boko Haram insurgents. The same thing applied to your announcement that you would appoint your ministers in September, 2015.

    With regard to the anti-corruption war though, we are beginning to see some action, especially with the arraignment of some of the big suspects involved. It has been fascinating as it is revealing so far; but when we realise that the shared arms fund that has given us so much shock was only a fraction of what was stolen in the oil sector where Diezani Alison-Madueke held sway, then we can only see how callous some of our so-called leaders can be, given the millions that go hungry daily and the countless others that were dying and being displaced because some people had stolen the money that was supposed to be used to buy arms.

    We are also hearing a lot of speculations about plea bargain. I guess with time, some people would start talking of state pardon, even as the case proper is yet to begin. For me, though, what is most important is the recovery of our common patrimony that was stolen. But that should not be a reason to start giving the impression that things have to be done differently only because those involved are big thieves. Will a poor man who stole a goat or cow have the opportunity of plea bargain if he returns that goat or cow? Although plea bargain is used in some parts of the world as a way to resolve disputes and save valuable time and money on litigation, it is not done the way we do it in Nigeria. So, the president has to be wary of the kind of plea bargain he would allow for the unconscionable looters. Justice must not only be done; it must be seen to have been done.

    Dear Mr. President, it is not that you are not aware of some, if not all of these issues; but it is important to put them together in a way that they would attract your attention and enable you decide which of them you may want to rethink in the coming year. You may also be compiling a list of your New Year resolutions. This may as well serve as a guide.

    Happy New Year in advance, sir.

  • Buhari felicitates with Muslims at Eid-el-Maulud

    Buhari felicitates with Muslims at Eid-el-Maulud

    President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with the Islamic community in Nigeria as they celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad.

    In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President called on all Muslims to use the opportunity of his birthday to reflect on the teachings of the Prophet, who lived a life of piety, prayer and service to God and humanity.

    As they join the rest of the Islamic world in commemorating the prophet’s birthday, Buhari urged the adherents of the Islamic faith to rededicate themselves to upholding the injunctions of the Holy Quran in their personal life and in their relationship with others.

    He wished all Nigerians Happy Eid-el-Maulud celebrations.

  • 2016 budget is not late – Sen. Adamu

    2016 budget is not late – Sen. Adamu

    Sen. Abdulahi Adamu (APC Nasarawa West) says the presentation of the 2016 Budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday as proposed is not late.

    Adamu made the observation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

    He said that the date of presentation would still be within the time allowed by the constitution.

    Adamu was reacting to media reports that the budget and indeed the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) upon which the budget would be predicated was late.

    The Senator said that President constitutionally had until Dec. 31 to present the budget to the National Assembly.

    “In terms of the budget calendar, one may be right in saying that the presentation at this time of the year is late.

    “But it is not late because most of the time, budgets are presented between the months of November and December and the constitutional provisions are very clear.

    “Section 80(1) stipulated that Mr. President is at liberty to present his budget proposal to National Assembly and the latest date allowed him is Dec. 31 of the preceding financial year.

    “So the executive is still within the time frame provided by the constitution,” he said.

    Adamu cautioned Nigerians not to be quick in passing judgement, but should consider all issues.
    He explained that the perceived delay was due to some factors beyond the control of the President.

    The Senator said that he partly blamed the last administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for not having a comprehensive handover note ready for the incoming administration.

    “The out gone government, for reasons best known to the operators then, did not prepare the handover notes and did not give the necessary information needed for transition.

    “When you do not have a well articulated hand over note to give you the status of the government that is going out, it is difficult for the new government to plan.

    “There is also the issue of the dwindling fortunes of the economy; it is all about what we are expecting and what we are going to do with the money that we are expecting.

    “Somehow, the projection for revenue accruable to government has been very unstable to say the least.

    “The price of oil, which is the main stay of the economy, has dipped to the lowest in the last 15 to 20 years; it will not be easy to make a projection and still budget.

    “Subsequent upon this, it wasn’t easy for the incoming administration to say this is the draft budget for the National Assembly to work on,” he said.

    The Senator commended the current administration for wanting to propose a budget of over N6 trillion with emphasis on capital projects in spite of the economic situation.

    He declined comments on the possible sources of funding the budget, stressing that President Buhari, being a man of integrity, would harness all accruable revenue to fund the budget.

    “I do not want to preempt the government on how to source the budget, but am sure that he will do it.

    “So, the budget is coming within the constitutionally admissible time and I can see clearly that the President is going to make Nigerians proud in spite of the low revenue.

    “The President is going to come up with a budget that emphasises capital projects, not just recurrent; it is a very positive innovation in our budgeting exercises,” he said.

    Adamu said that the time for the diversification of the economy was now as the demand and price for oil had gone very low.

  • Update: Nigeria will overcome challenges – Mbaka

    Update: Nigeria will overcome challenges – Mbaka

    Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka of the Adoration Ministries based in Enugu on Friday declared that Nigeria will definitely succeed.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he assured that Nigeria will overcome the challenges presently facing it.

    He said: “We have come to commit the nation into the hands of God and pray for peace and God should establish His blessings in our country.

    “We wish to pray for the revamping of the economy. We are committing Aso Rock into the hands of God. We are also here to commit Nigeria to Jesus, that this 2015 ‎Christmas, Nigerians will say God is great.

    “Pray for blessing for our people, I want to assure Nigerians that in the midst of what is happening, we shall succeed, the time of promotion is coming,” he added.

    On the agitation for Biafra, he said that he did not discuss it with the President, saying: “I am silent on everything about Biafra.”

    On the claim that he is controversial, he said: “People can say what they want to say, I am a happy man.”

    During the last administration, the clergy had predicted the exit of former President Goodluck Jonathan from power in the period leading to the March 2015 Presidential election.

    True to his prediction, Jonathan lost the election to President Muhammadu Buhari.

  • President Buhari’s foreign trips

    President Buhari’s foreign trips

    •After all that globe-trotting, it’s time to settle down to work at home

    Since taking office six months ago, President Muhammadu Buhari has embarked on 10 foreign trips. This itinerary translates into roughly two foreign trips per month. Contemplating the enormous challenges facing the Administration at home, not the least of which is to make its campaign promise of Change real in the lives of  Nigerians, many commentators who cannot be called frivolous have criticised the President’s travel schedule and urged him to stay home and attend to pressing domestic problems.

    Their concern is understandable.

    December is already with us, but Boko Haram’s campaign of murder and mayhem shows no sign of abating. Power supply is as epileptic as ever. Free lunch for primary school pupils and monthly stipends for the unemployed are scheduled to start next year, but there are few signs that the preparatory work for these innovative projects is underway.

    Unemployment continues to pose a clear and present danger to the body politic. And there is the running scandal of a major oil-producing country importing refined petroleum products in a process riddled with crippling discontinuities and monumental corruption.

    In our system where political officials count more than institutions, the public expects to see the President personally grappling, hands-on, with pressing issues. It does not help that, several weeks after the President named his cabinet, he is yet to convene a meeting of the Federal Executive Council. He is yet to set priorities and lay out a framework for action.

    It would be easy in this context to dismiss the President’s foreign trips as a distraction from the urgent business of setting the country on the path to growth and development.

    But it would be wrong to do so. The President’s plane is virtually an extension of his office at  Aso Rock Villa, thanks to information technology. He can confer with his ministers, issue instructions, exercise leadership and generally monitor the state of affairs from anywhere in the world. So, his physical absence from the scene does not mean disengagement. If, that is, he works the modern way and uses high-tech in the fashion of a global village.

    Besides, as a newly elected President, Buhari had to establish rapport quickly with other leaders on the global, regional and sub-regional level. Modern diplomacy rests more on such meetings than on formal treaties. A country in dire need of partners to help end Boko Haram’s murderous menace, trace and recover the billions stolen by officials and deposited in secret accounts in foreign banks and bring in investors can have no better spokesperson than its President in face-to-face meetings with other presidents.

    Buhari’s foreign trips to the United States, the UN General Assembly, South Africa, Niger, Tchad, Cameroun, France, India, Iran, and Malta – for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting – fall into this pattern. None of them can be dismissed as superfluous.

    And as the President’s Senior Special Assistant, Garba Shehu, has stated, the trips have been undertaken with the maximum of economy, unlike in the recent past.

    But now that the President has fairly established himself on the foreign scene, he should cut down on his travels, if only to stem the growing perception that he is distracted. He should attend only those meetings that absolutely require his presence. For other meetings and conferences, he should delegate the Vice President and senior ministers to represent Nigeria.

     

  • Dasukigate and other affairs

    For a little while longer, Nigerians will be entertained by stories of President Buhari’s anti-corruption war. There is little else, regrettably. Whatever news will come from the economic front will in the near term be about factory closures, layoffs, unavailable foreign exchange, huge inventory, and generally sad and depressing news. Perhaps when the ministers finally settle down, some of them deployed in ministries they despise, they will give Nigerians sweet bones to chew. So far, however, the diet is a simple, single one: anti-corruption, which is supposedly all-important and all-embracing.

    At the centre of that news is Col Sambo Dasuki (retd.), the cancer-stricken former National Security Adviser (NSA). He had previously been interrogated for arms possession and money laundering, and then charged in court. But he was granted bail to attend to his health in a foreign country. Almost immediately, he was blocked from traveling in what some PDP faithful described as persecution, and then later rearrested and again interrogated. This second round of investigation and interrogation has allegedly produced startling facts about how the treasury was looted via an arms deal totalling over $2bn. More disclosures are on the way.

    As a recent ill-motivated Washington Times article written by Bruce Fein on November 18 shows, the Buhari presidency must nonetheless be wary of fighting the anti-corruption war in such a way as to lose both the domestic and international publics. It is undisputable that the scale of the thievery undertaken by some former government officials is staggering, with for instance some N2.1bn paid to a television mogul for publicity. There is therefore need for full investigations and where necessary prosecution. But it is also time for the government to mind the way the war is being waged as well as begin urgently to focus on the other affairs of the country. The country’s ailing economy and society cannot be put on hold because corruption is being fought.

  • Spanish envoy backs Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign

    Spanish envoy backs Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign

    The Spanish Government on Friday said President Muhammadu Buhari’s policies, especially the anti-corruption campaign, were vital to attracting investment to Nigeria.

    The Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Alfonso Barnuevo, made the remark at a ceremony to mark the National Day of Spain in Abuja.

    Barnuevo explained that Nigeria-Spain relation was ‘’excellent’’, having strategic components from the security, economic and commercial points.

    “President Buhari and His Majesty, the King of Spain, held a meeting in New York on Sept. I, 2014, and I can only qualify the meeting as excellent for our relations.

    “His (King Felipe’s) message to us is that we want to work closely with the new administration and Spain will always be a friend of your country.

    “A solid and prosperous Nigeria is important to Spain; the political stability obtained after election will contribute to enhance the sustainable development and growth of Nigeria.

    “The government of Spain has picked confidence in the economic reforms of President Buhari and his anti-corruption campaign; solid policies are important to attract investors,” he said.

    The envoy explained that trade relations between Nigeria and Spain had continued to grow, pointing out that Spain was Nigeria’s ‘’second best customer’’.

    He said Spain’s interest in Nigeria included the oil and gas, agriculture and construction, adding that his country was fortunate to have economic and trade relations with Nigeria.

    “We bought, in 2014, 6.5 billion Euros of oil and gas; we can straight-forward say that Spain and Nigeria maintain strategic relation in this area,” he said.

    He, therefore described trade relation between both countries as “two-way mutually-satisfactory”.
    Barnuevo condemned Boko Haram attacks in the country, saying that Spain was ready to collaborate with Nigeria in the fight against the insurgents.

    “We are happy at the great stride Nigeria is making in the field of peace and stability and in the fight against Boko Haram.

    “This is a matter in which Nigeria can always count on the support of Spain. We in Spain have also suffered human terrorism for many years,” he said.

    He acknowledged Nigeria-Spain collaboration at the UN Security Council, saying the relationship was important in fighting terrorism and human trafficking.

    In his remarks, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb Bukus Lolo, commended the Spanish Government and King Felipe for extension of hand of friendship to Buhari.
    He assured Spain and the international community that Buhari’s administration was determined to bring changes that would impact on the lives of Nigerians.

    “The promise that came with the campaigns and now that President Buhari is leading the government is one of bringing welfare to the people.

    “The promise is one of changing the lives of the people for good and also enabling Nigeria to assume and play her role not only in West Africa, Africa but the world,” he said.

  • If I were President Buhari

    If I were President Buhari

    SIR: Since the emergence of General Mohammadu Buhari as the President, the country has witnessed a fresh approach to development, while his fight against corruption has brought a new lease of life to public service.

    He has also taken time to choose his ministers, trying to ensure that those that would make the cut are men and women of proven integrity. Despite the fact that some of his previous appointments have received criticism from some quarters, the President cannot be faulted for taking such decision as he must have weighed the consequences of such appointments before arriving at those decisions.

    However, if I were the President, I would, as a matter of urgency, begin to look at ways on improving the fortunes of Nigerians by embarking on programmes that would impact positively on the entire country. The first initiative I will embark on is to set up the National Land Development Authority. Under the scheme, each local government would provide land for farming and it will produce what it grows best.  This will encourage massive farming in the country and in turn provide jobs for the teeming youths, who complain of unemployment.

    The produce from the farms would be sold at different locations in the country, while others would be exported. Apart from getting paid for the jobs they do, the farmers would also have some portions of the farms to themselves which they can also use to better the lot of their families.

    The farm settlements would also give rise to the employment of other professionals, who would be needed to work on the farms. Professionals like engineers (civil and mechanical), health workers and other artisans would be required to work on or around the farm. The scheme would also help in giving employment to graduates in their local government area after their national service instead of their fruitless search for jobs.

    It would also reduce migration to urban centres as the communities would be automatically urbanized due to the provision of amenities in the local government area.

    The farm settlement, which would be regulated by the Federal Government, would also encourage the development of housing estates in those areas. The apartments would house the farmers and their families, while those who also work around the farms would not have to travel far distances as they would also get the opportunities to live in the housing estates.

    Also, I will set up a Nigerian Communities Development Corporation and scrap the ministries of health, works, housing and agriculture and I will have director general in the commission manning their respective department.

     This corporation will also be responsible for all federal roads and general infrastructure nationwide as the National Land Development Authority will be under its umbrella.

    • Rev Omeaku Cole Chiori

    Lagos