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Tag: President Muhammad Buhari

  • Ministers begin scrutiny of 2016 Budget

    Ministers begin scrutiny of 2016 Budget

    In order to look critically at the 2016 Appropriation bill recently passed by the National Assembly, Ministers and Permanent Secretaries on Friday began ministry by ministry scrutiny of the budget.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had last week insisted that the 2016 budget details will be scrutinized before he assents to it.

    The Presidency got the details of the budget on Thursday.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo chaired the meeting scrutinizing the details of the budget at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.

    Speaking with State House correspondents during short break of the meeting, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said: “We have received the details of the 2016 budget from the National Assembly and an extra-ordinary Federal Executive Council meeting was called this morning to avail every minister to look at the details of the budget and see how it affects each of the ministries.

    “And also at this point, it is still work in progress we have broken up to resume later in the afternoon.

    “We will come out with a statement later,” he added.

  • NLC backs Buhari on 2016 budget

    NLC backs Buhari on 2016 budget

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Wednesday threw its weight behind the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari not to sign the 2016 budget until details of the budget are transmitted to him.

    The congress also warned that frequent and constant scarcity of petroleum products will not be acceptable to Labour and other Nigerians because the human and economic costs are unimaginable.

    Speaking at the opening of the Central Working Committee meeting of the Congress in Abuja, President of the congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said the President should be given the opportunity of studying the budget passed by the National Assembly before assenting to it.

    He also said the fastest way to lose credibility before the ordinary citizenry is scarcity of petroleum products because the combined effects of scarcity of petroleum products and low power supply create misery for the people as well as have a damning impact  on travel, jobs, productivity and the economy as a whole.

    Comrade Wabba said while the National Assembly deserve commendation for painstakingly going through the budget and exposing the imperfections in it, the right of due diligence which the National Assembly exercised to the hilt and led  to the unearthing of discrepancies in the budget should similarly be extended to Mr. President.

    He said: “In spite of the initial controversy around the national budget, it has been passed by the National Assembly. The National Assembly is deserving of commendation for going through the budget with a tooth brush and for exposing the imperfections in it.

    “President Buhari is equally deserving of commendation not just for the courage in expressing outrage at the criminal padding of the budget by the budget cabal but for having the single-mindedness to deal with this situation.

    “The passage of the budget is expected to open or free up the economy. Our observations will not be complete without commenting on the decision of Mr. President to withhold his assent until the details on the budget are transmitted to him by the National Assembly.

    “First, it is within the province of Mr. President to so do as a matter of personal style or principle. Moreover, we have had a presidential precedent. But beyond all this, it is pertinent to note that, the right of due diligence which the National Assembly exercised to the hilt and led to the unearthing of discrepancies in the budget should similarly be extended to Mr. President. Accordingly, we identify with his position that the details of the budget be first transmitted to him, in spite of the challenges this might present.”

    While expressing concern over the lingering fuel crisis in the country, The NLC President said: “When the first incident of fuel scarcity occurred under this government, we put it to sabotage and urged the government to deal decisively with the saboteurs but with an eye to enhance local production as an enduring solution. When the second incident happened, we similarly reasoned the same way.

    “However, with the latest incident of prolonged scarcity and confession by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources that scarcity will persist till May as he is not a magician, regular scarcity might as well be a familiar feature, and we would do well to brace ourselves for long spells, except government does the needful.

    “We must however make the point that spells of scarcity will not be acceptable to Labour and other Nigerians because the human and economic costs are unimaginable.

    “While we appreciate government’s effort to make available on an uninterruptible basis, such effort  must be seen to be result-yielding and immediate. Because of the place of petroleum products in the lives of the citizenry, it’s scarcity even for a day generates ripple and crippling effects.

    “We dare say one of the fastest ways for government to lose its credibility before the ordinary citizenry is scarcity of petroleum products because the combined effects of scarcity of petroleum products and low power supply create misery for the people as well as have a damning impact on travel, jobs, productivity and the economy as a whole. We are concerned and we must similarly find a way forward.

    “It is gratifying to note that government has straightened its relationship with the critical stake holders (including IPMAN) which it says will henceforth guarantee regular supply at N86 at NNPC filling stations and N86:50 at non-NNPC filling stations.

    “Without prejudice to the on-going government’s initiative at finding a lasting solution, we believe subsisting fuel scarcity is caused by an interplay of corruption in the system; the existence of a cabal that defies the structural changes at NNPC; national and international politics around production, sale and consumption of oil;  sabotage in the management of the refineries; award of contracts for turnaround maintenance (TAM)  without regard to the companies that built these refineries and smuggling.

    “Also not helpful to the system is the regular friction or power play between lifters or distributors of products such as Major Marketers, Independent Marketers, Association of Tank Farm Owners and others in the chain.

    “It is worth mentioning that government institutions in the sector such DPR and PPPRA which are expected to function independently as well as regulate the system, have either been sidelined, weakened and brought under the control of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

    “Accordingly, we call on the government to do the needful by demonstrating the will and capacity to restore sanity, discipline and transparency to the downstream sector of the industry. The statutory roles of these agencies should be restored so they can function properly.

    “Government should also deal summarily with corruption in the sector. It should never allow itself to be blackmailed or cowed into taking decisions that in the long run will not be helpful to the ordinary Nigerian.

    “There are pending cases from subsidy scams inherited from the last administration. They came into limelight following our nation-wide protest against unjustifiable increase in prices of petroleum products of January 2012.  Nigerians are keen to know what has become of the reported criminalities by the high and the mighty”.

    The congress demand the diligent prosecution of all those found wanting in the distribution of fuel products, cold or fresh cases and the constitution of the boards of NNPC and PPPRA, adding that while the board of the PPPRA is supposed to be a 26-man board vested with powers of regulating prices of petroleum products, today, it is a one-man show.

    While commending President Muhammadu Buhari for taking bold measures or decisions aimed at rebuilding the economy, the congress said some of these decisions include re-newing or strengthening relations with nations of worth, signing of bilateral or trilateral agreements, creating a safe haven for investment, fighting corruption, restoring internal security,  tracking and recovering looted funds, resisting pressures to further devalue the Naira and other measures.

    It lamented that in spite of the efforts, the Naira has continued to fall against major currencies, inflation continues to rise, commodity prices mount, while the productive sector has continued to shrink with more loss of jobs and very few employers being able to pay salaries as and when due.

    Emphasizing the seriousness of the current economic situation in the country, Comrade Wabba said Government must consult more widely and come up with an enduring solution to the problem.

    He also lamented the absence of a credible economic team with a coherent policy capable of responding to the present economic challenges. Adding that Labour is serious enough a component of this polity to be considered to be part of this team when government constitutes one.

    He warned government and other employers of labour against nonpayment if salaries pointing out that some state government have refused to pay salaries of workers even after collecting the bail out fund from the federal government.

    He said: “It has been observed that many employers including the public sector, have reneged on their contractual obligation to their workers by virtue of refusing to pay salaries as when due. This has exposed workers and their families to all manner of difficulties and embarrassment. Some states, even after collecting bail-out funds have refused to pay, citing all manner of excuses.

    “Our holy books tell us that a labourer deserves his wages! Violation of this well-known dictum is not only abhorrent and reprehensible; it is criminal and not acceptable to us.

    “Accordingly, we have instructed our unions and councils to furnish us with the details of debtor-employers for the purpose of a sustainable engagement on the streets. We by this statement put our state governments and other MDAs on notice. Except they pay up now, they shall keep a date with us”

    Wabba warned the Kaduna state government against going ahead with its audit of union members and forbidding workers from belonging to unions, adding that the decision of the State Government to unilaterally conduct a membership audit of union members constitutes a gross interference in the internal affairs of the unions and is an illegality.

    He said further that “this government’s latest policy or directive is not only an affront but a direct violation of the fundamental and constitutional rights of workers as enshrined in Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended); Conventions 87 and 98 of ILO ( ratified by Nigeria); and the Trade Unions (Amendment) Act  which guarantee the right and protection of workers to freely associate, unionise and operate independently of government.

    “We have since gone back to Kaduna to mobilize resistance to this policy via sensitizing more workers and using strategic contacts in government circles. We have done a strong letter to the Governor but which we are yet to release.

    “We also reached out to Femi Falana, SAN, who has given us a draft letter to the governor. Please, note that a legal option avails us an opportunity of instituting multiple suits against the Government of Kaduna State since each union is a legal entity of its own”.

     

  • Buhari vows to scrutinize 2016 Budget before assent

    Buhari vows to scrutinize 2016 Budget before assent

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday vowed to scrutinize the 2016 Appropriation bill before assenting the bill.

    The National Assembly that passed the bill last week only forwarded the bill without its details.

    When the President insisted that he will not sign the bill into law until he receives the details, some National Assembly members pointed out that it will not be out of place to sign the bill into law without the details.

    They cited instances under former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

    But Buhari on Thursday in Washington DC replied them that he will thoroughly scrutinize the passed bill before assenting to it.

    He spoke during a meeting with the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry.

    According to him, in view of the controversial alteration and padding of the budget proposals, he needed to review the appropriation bill to be certain that its contents tallied with the authentic budget proposal presented to the National Assembly.

    “Some bureaucrats removed what we put in the proposal and replaced it with what they wanted. I have to look at the bill that has been passed by the National Assembly, ministry by ministry, to be sure that what has been brought back for me to sign is in line with our original submission,” the President said.

    Declaring that his administration will continue to vigorously prosecute its war against corruption, President Buhari sought and received an assurance from Mr. Kerry that the United States Government will facilitate the repatriation of all stolen Nigerian funds found within the American banking system.

    “It will greatly help our country if you assist us to recover all our stolen funds which we can establish to be within your financial system,” the President told Mr. Kerry.

    Acknowledging that the United States has been of great help to his administration in the retraining and re-equipping of the Nigerian Armed Forces that has resulted in the significant success already achieved against Boko Haram, President Buhari said that the Federal Government was now working very hard to restore full normalcy in the North Eastern states.

    “Boko Haram no longer holds any local government area. We are reconstructing damaged facilities and preparing the police to take over and reassert civilian control over areas affected by the insurgency,” the President told Mr. Kerry.

    Responding, the Secretary of State said that he has been told that the stolen Nigerian funds were in “billions of dollars”.

    “It’s not easy to hide that amount of money and we are pretty good in tracing them,” Mr Kerry assured President Buhari.

    He said that relevant United States Government Officials will meet with the Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to discuss further cooperation in that regard.

    Mr. Kerry applauded the Buhari Administration’s success in rolling back the Boko Haram insurgency, saying that the United States will continue to give Nigeria all possible support to ensure that the terrorist sect is finally eliminated as a threat to national and regional security.

    The Secretary of State also praised President Buhari’s clear order that Nigeria’s Armed Forces must show greater regard for the human rights of persons in the theatre of operations against Boko Haram.

  • Buhari support group condemns Rivers violence

    Buhari support group condemns Rivers violence

    The Buhari Media Support Group on Monday condemned the violence that characterised the legislative re-run elections in Rivers on Saturday.

    A statement signed by Muhammed Labbo and Cassidy Madueke, the group’s Chairman and Secretary, respectively, in Abuja, called on politicians to learn to conduct themselves within the ambit of the law.

    According to the statement, the Federal Government should act swiftly to arrest the unfortunate situation to forestall total breakdown of law and order in the state.

    The statement said: “Security agencies should rise up to the task and fish out those behind the recent killings in Rivers.

    “They should prosecute them to serve as deterrent to those who are bent on throwing the state into anarchy.

    “We appeal to all political parties and politicians in Rivers to conduct themselves and their activities within the ambit of the law.

    “We also condemn the recent provocative statements by Gov. Nyesom Wike and advise him to desist from making further reckless statements,’’ the statement said.

    It further said that the statements were capable of emboldening his party members and supporters to unleash violence on opposition supporters and innocent citizens of the state.

  • Group hails FG over anti-graft campaign

    The Christian Conscience group on Wednesday commended the President Buhari-led federal government for demonstrating the political will to fight the monster called corruption in Nigeria.
    The group, at the end of its monthly Central Working Committee meeting held in Lagos, noted that corruption has been a cog in the wheel of progress in all facets of our lives.

    According to a statement jointly signed by its National Chairman, Chief Enock Ajiboso and the national publicity secretary Tunji Oguntuase, the group noted with great joy the progress so far made by the government in its fight against corruption and further pledged to support the government in its fight against the menace with all powers within its reach most especially with prayers.

    The statement reads in part: “With the latest revelations coming out everyday, Nigerians have come to realize that huge sums of money meant to fight insurgents in the northern part of the country and also meant to upgrade infrastructures across the country were diverted and shared among political leaders in the last administration all in their determined efforts to continue to rule at all cost, forgetting that it is only God that chooses whom He wants.

    “The looting and diversion of these large sums of money would have been covered up or swept under the carpet if not for God Almighty that enthroned the Buhari-led government.

    “The release further enjoined all Nigerians to be patient with the painstaking methodology that is being used by the government and it’s agencies to finger the looters and their accomplices, block further loopholes as well as to correct mistakes of the past.

    “We are trusting God to give our present leaders wisdom from above to use the proceeds from the recovered looted funds for the betterment of the citizens. So many areas of our daily needs are calling for attention and with the downturn in world economy, the recovered monies will become handy for use to fix the needful and above all in funding 2016 budget.”

    The group further commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for carrying out its duties without fear or favour, but warned that it should realize that the Commission is dealing with powerful men and women in the society who will stop at nothing to curry favors or thwart its efforts, because of enormous resources at their disposals.

    The group also called on the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to ensure that whoever is fingered in the ongoing probes are taken to court and let the full length of the law take its  full course rather than the anti-graft agencies taking laws into their hands.

  • ACF backs Buhari on stolen funds recovery

    ACF backs Buhari on stolen funds recovery

    President Muhammadu Buhari has again received support from Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF), on the steps taken so far by his administration to recover stolen public funds.

    The ACF described the President’s steps as appropriate and timely to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of stolen public funds, saying the method would “sanitize the system and revive prudence and discipline in the conduct of public officers”.

    The northern socio-cultural group also applauded the United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, France and other western nations for helping Nigeria to track down, recover and repatriate stolen funds.

    The ACF Board of Trustees headed by elder Statesman, Mallam Adamu Fika made the observations on Thursday in Kaduna at the end of its meeting with members from the 19 northern states of the country.

    According to Mallam  Fika, who is also the Wazirin Fika in a statement: “The meeting therefore applauded the international cooperation and support the Federal Government is receiving in the effort to recover and repatriate all stolen funds”.

    The ACF said it noted with ‘dismay recent embarrassing and divisive statements from some elder statesmen which are capable of causing disaffection among the various components of Nigeria and called on such elements to employ civility and caution in their utterances for peace and harmony to prevail in our fledgeling democracy’.

    “It (ACF) was particularly unhappy with the activities of MASSOB and other ethnic agitators who are fond of calling for disintegration of the country after 55 years of independence”, the ACF lamented.

    The statement reads: “ACF reaffirmed its belief in one Nigeria and the need for all hands to be on deck to move the nation forward.

    “That the effort of the Federal Government in tackling the Boko Haram insurgency through the joint multinational military task force of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, global counter terrorism support by the international community and the gallantry of our military and other security agencies is most highly commended.

    “It particularly salute the Military for repelling the recent attack on our troops at Goniri in Yobe state on Tuesday 6th October, 2015 where many terrorists were killed and dangerous  weapons recovered.

    “It noted that the success being recorded by the military and other security agencies in combating insurgency in the northeast must have been as a result of the support and encouragement from the Federal Government and the determination of the field commanders to end the insurgency within the time frame given by Mr. President.

    “The meeting also condemned the rampant kidnapping and ritual killings of innocent people and urged the security agencies to not only track down perpetrators of such crime but ensure that they are brought to book.

    “That the steps taken by the Federal Government to investigate, prosecute, perpetrators and repatriate stolen public are not only appropriate and timely but will also sanitize the system and revive prudence and discipline in the conduct of public officers.

    “The meeting therefore applauded the international cooperation and support the Federal Government is receiving in the effort to recover and repatriate all stolen funds.

    “That to boost economic activities and generate employment opportunities, the meeting appealed to the state governments to directly channel Federal allocations to the Local Government Councils to enable them execute projects that have direct bearing on the welfare and development of the people rather than the use of joint accounts that have in most cases been a conduit pipe for misapplication and abuse of state funds.

    “It urged State governments to respect the constitutional autonomy of the local government councils for grassroots development.

    “The meeting also called upon all tiers of government to address the issue of payment of back log of domestic debts especially local contractors bills, workers and pensioners emoluments which will equally revive the economic activities and make it to thrive.”

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  • Anti-corruption war: APC Scandinavia supports Buhari

    Anti-corruption war: APC Scandinavia supports Buhari

    Lawal in a press release opined that it is inappropriate for anyone to say that the President’s efforts to address corruption in the Nigerian society, especially among government officials, is a waste of time.
    According to him, “In their perspective, the anti-corruption crusade is a waste of time and probing of the past administration is not a substitute for good governance.
    “If the so-called waste of time will bring sanity, discipline and recover our looted wealth and the perpetrators brought to book, the said time wasting will be one of the greatest dividends of democracy for Nigerians.”
    “Why no decry when the wicked and shameless crooks were bastardising our economy and turning Nigeria to a failed state.
    [news_box style=”2″ display=”tag” link_target=”_blank” category=”6″ tag=”Scandinavia” count=”6″ show_more=”on” show_more_type=”link” header_background=”#000000″ header_text_color=”#000000″]
  • Restructuring the presidency and the nation

    Restructuring the presidency and the nation

    THERE is every good reason to believe that President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) means business and is serious about restructuring government agencies for better outcome. The latest evidence is his declaration in far away Washington, DC, the capital of the industrial world last week. To the disappointment of political jobbers but to the pleasure of genuine change enthusiasts, Buhari announced that he will not appoint ministers until he has put in place good structures to prevent the kind of rot that he is trying very hard to clear. Who can quarrel with that?

    As President-elect, Buhari had set up the Ahmed Joda Transition Committee to work with former President Jonathan’s team. The Joda Committee received the 18,000 page report of the Anyim Federal Government Committee on May 25th.  It worked hard to make sense of the report and make its recommendations which it submitted in an 800-page report to President Buhari shortly after the inauguration of the new administration.

    It is significant to note that when he submitted his committee’s report, Joda had urged the nation to be patient with the president as he mulled over the report to determine what was best for his administration and for the country. He noted unambiguously that the transition from one political party to another was not an ordinary one and that the President needed time to digest the report and do the best.

    As a deliberative leader, who understood the historical significance of his election and who took his mandate seriously, Buhari decided to take his time to study the report before moving on with any appointments. This is reasonable especially in view of the disclosure by Chairman Joda that due to time constraint, his committee wasn’t able to interview and seek clarifications from former ministers and government operatives on their hand-over notes which were received only four days to the May 29 inauguration.

    In the circumstance, Buhari and his team had to carefully sort issues out on their own. In view of that situation, is it reasonable for the president to start with ministerial appointments? It makes perfect sense to see clearly where the nation is, align its present condition with the destination PMB wants to lead it; and on the basis of these appoint individuals who will be round pegs in round holes.

    In a media interview that he granted after the submission of his committee’s report, Malam Joda observed that Buhari cannot afford to make the kind of mistakes that previous administrations made. He made particular reference to the military era when security reports on prospective appointees were not considered before appointments were announced only for such appointments to be rescinded shortly after they were announced.

    Joda noted further that since Buhari had made up his mind that he was going to have perfect people work with him, every prospective nominee had to be scrutinised well to avoid past mistakes. This explains the need for time and the presidential declaration in Washington, DC. Patience is counseled.

    Beside appointments, the other major issue in Joda’s report is the recommendation for the restructuring of the executive branch. From media reports, it appears that the committee had recommended a maximum of 36 ministers to satisfy constitutional requirement and cover the restructured ministries. If the President accepts the recommendation, he will have started on a good and promising note. From the leaks concerning the ministries and agencies recommended for merger, the committee has rendered a good account of its stewardship. The ball is in the court of the president.

    By the same token, however, with the courageous restructuring of the executive branch, other extant structures cannot be kept in place to avoid pouring new wine into an old bottle.

    First, there is a crying need for the restructuring of the legislative branch and its budget. This has been a sore finger in the body politic and the growing pain can be allowed to linger only at the expense of our national comfort.   Some defenders of the indefensible have argued that among other necessities, each NASS member must have at least 5 aides. But they have not provided any reasonable justification for such wastage.  Sure some private professionals do need aides to care for the house, cook their meals, and carry their portfolios and handbags. But do they charge these to company accounts?

    Second, state governments certainly need restructuring in the face of the obviously unsustainable cost of governance. It is unfortunate that states now depend on federal bail out to pay staff. I am sure that the situation is not totally due to gubernatorial incompetence or profligacy. Most of them inherit huge bureaucracies that put a drag on capital development. The question is whether a few must determine the pace of government investment in infrastructure? Sure every governor needs a rethink of large cabinet for far too many ministries. If PMB takes the lead, states must follow.

    Finally, the nation as a constituency has the most need as far as restructuring is concerned. Unfortunately, this is also the space where the most challenge is. Are members of the president’s party on the same page? Is he able to summon the political courage to challenge his party to take the high road?

    For far too long, at least since 1966, the federal government has grabbed too many functions, with far little success, and a monumental failure in the matter of satisfying the yearnings of the people, which is the sine qua non of governance. We have been getting the same failing results for almost fifty years and we still keep doing the same thing. That is insanity and we need to come back to our national sense.

    In the case of those functions such as citizenship and immigration matters, including the issuance of international passports, which are rightly assigned to the federal government, we err grievously in the over- centralisation of such functions. A passport holder had her name incorrectly written on her passport by Immigration agents. But she was told that the correction cannot be made in Lagos where the mistake occurred. She had to go to Abuja to have the mistake corrected. This makes no sense.

    In every aspect of our national life, we embrace our ethnic nationalities. We protect and promote our diverse cultures, and we respect and seek to conserve our various traditions. What is even embarrassing is that ethnics protect their own kin no matter the depth of corrupt practices they are identified with.

    To succeed, however, genuine and justifiable ethno-national interests need a governance structure that is truly federal. With such a structure, each ethnic nationality can do the most for itself in terms of promoting its cultural traditions and giving the best education to its residents. This is done effectively only by making states and zones the loci of some of the most important functions of government.

    It is true that many states lack the viability needed for success and zonal collaboration becomes essential to generate adequate internal revenue so the dependency on the center is eliminated. Fortunately, it now appears that we have moved away from treating geo-political zones as no-go areas which was where we were during the National Conference. Some had argued then that zones have no place in the constitution and therefore none in governance.

    Speaker Dogara has perhaps inadvertently legitimised zones with his recommendation for the sharing of House principal offices among the six zones as a requirement of Federal Character. We should now expect zones to feature more effectively in our discourse on restructuring. This is an unintended consequence of the embarrassing NASS leadership crisis.

  • APC diaspora commends Buhari on bailout package

    APC diaspora commends Buhari on bailout package

    The All Progressive Congress, APC Scandinavia on Thursday commended President Muhammad Buhari for the approval of the inclusive relief packages as a bailout for the states of the federation.

    Speaking through the National Coordinator, Ayoola Lawal in a statement, APC Scandinavia described the package as one that will enable the three tiers of government to clear all salaries owed in arrears to hardworking Nigerian workers across the nation.

    Lawal further stressed that the bailout, if properly managed, will enable the states and the local councils meet their payroll responsibilities further.

    “The packages will not only go a long way in ameliorating the financial sufferings of Nigerian workers across the nation, who have without monthly payment of their salaries for several months but also alleviate the psychological pain associated with working without the ability to meet basic needs.

    “The packages include sharing of dividend paid to the Federation Account by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG), a debt relief program designed by the Debt Management Office which will help states restructure their commercial loans which is currently put at over N660 Billion, and extend the lifespan of such loans while reducing their debt-servicing expenditures.

    The National Coordinator further suggested a Central Bank-packaged special intervention fund that will offer financing to the states, ranging from N250 Billion to N300 Billion. “The CBN package be a soft loan available to states for the purposes of paying the backlog of salaries.

    “Any individual or opposition party that thinks Nigerians are gullible to beg them to come to power in 2019 after several years of looting the collective wealth of the nation and psychological torture of the Nigeria people is a jerk.

    “We in APC Scandinavia are very proud and delighted that President Buhari is showing Nigerians and the International Communities that he is a man of his words and a clear pointer that Nigerians made the right choice of voting the right party to govern them.

    “The promises made by APC and the President during the election campaigns are not the usual mantra of the past political elites of PDP. The promises are genuinely crafted out of justifiable demands and needs of an average Nigerian and a nation in dare need of real and authentic leadership,” he said.

    he therefore called for apositive change in all areas of governance, sustainable growth and development in the entire country which is devoid of political affiliations.

    “Civil servants will again see dignity in their labour and contributions to the national growth after several months of unpaid salaries and eroding pride as a civil servant.

    “We implore the governors to manage properly the packages and maximize the opportunities to deliver better governance to their constituencies,” he urged reiterating the need for Nigerians home and abroad to continue their supports, constructive criticism and prayer for the President Buhari led administration, the NASS, the governors and the APC leadership.

    This is maintained will help the ruling party to further deliver on their promises for a better Nigeria. “Welcome, all to a New Nigeria of our dream,” he summed.

  • Avoid hasty removal of subsidy, Buhari urged

    Avoid hasty removal of subsidy, Buhari urged

    President Muhammad Buhari should not ground the economy by immediately removing oil subsidy, oil workers have warned.

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) yesterday warned that any attempt by the Federal Government, to abruptly remove subsidy on petroleum products will bring more hardship on Nigerians.

    In a statement signed by its spokesman, Emmanuel Ojugbana, the body warned that the advice in some quarters that  the government should  stop paying subsidies to oil marketers was wrong and ill-timed.

    It said removing subsidy, while the country depends on importation of refined products will make prices of fuel out of the reach of masses and further cause inflation.

    It said if local refining is not increased to meet local demand for petroleum products, especially petrol, removing subsidy would worsen the conditions of Nigerians.

    According to the union, the government should ensure that the deregulation policy is based on local production, and not importation.

    “Importation of refined petroleum products is also putting the naira under undue pressure and creating social problems for the economy. This is unacceptable to PENGASSAN.

    “Abrupt removal of fuel subsidy will create chaos that may ground the economy. PENGASSAN calls for well-coordinated measures with timeline to achieve self-sufficiency in local refining as a means of proffering acceptable steps to end fuel subsidy.