The Nation Newspaper

Tag: President Muhammadu Buhari

  • FG hails World Bank’s business ranking report

    FG hails World Bank’s business ranking report

    The Federal Government on Wednesday said that it is excited by Tuesday’s Ease of Doing Business Report of the World Bank which ranked Nigeria 169 out of 189 countries of the world.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the ranking was a confirmation that policies and programmers being implemented by the administration were yielding positive results.

    In a statement by his media office, Osinbajo said “the Buhari administration is gratified that the various reform initiatives put in place towards instituting a positive business environment is slowly but gradually yielding some dividends as Nigeria’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business remains static, halting a falling trend in the past several years.

    “The latest World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 ranking report released on Tuesday, October 25th which ranked Nigeria 169 out of 189 countries in the overall Ease of Doing Business rank is a positive indication that the focus and tenacity of President Muhammadu Buhari to reposition the nation’s business and economic environment is working and on course.

    He said “while Nigeria country’s position remain the same as last year on the index ranking, it is encouraging that Nigeria has recorded some positive outlooks in 4 critical areas of the ranking-namely:

    “The areas captured in the rating include Starting a Business,
    Dealing with Construction Permits, Registering Property and. Access to Credit.

    “The objectivity and reliability of this report coming from an international development institution lends weight to the milestone recorded in particular on the distance to frontier (DTF) metric, where the country’s score improved slightly from 44.02 in Doing Business 2016 to 44.63 in Doing Business 2017.” He added

    He said that the World Bank report’s improvements mean Nigeria’s last year business regulatory environment as captured by the Doing Business indicators improved slightly in absolute terms and the country is decreasing the gap with the global regulatory frontier.

    This, he said, is a morale booster for stakeholders involved in the efforts aimed at removing existing bottlenecks in the business environment.

    “This observation by the World Bank is indeed a recognition of the bold initiatives and untiring work of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, particularly through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC, chaired by the Vice President.

    “The President in August had set-up PEBEC, which has an active collaboration with the private sector, including a Secretariat led by Mr. Seyi Bickersteth of KPMG, “to remove the bottlenecks that stifle businesses and create the right enabling environment and investment climate.” He added

    PEBEC comprises 9 ministers, the Head of the Service and the CBN Governor as members and is mandated to give progress reports to the Federal Executive Council on a monthly basis. The Council’s secretariat with a team comprising staff from both public and private sector, is supported by knowledge experts, and collaborates across ministries, departments & agencies as well as with other private sector stakeholders to achieve reform objectives.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari is absolutely committed to scaling up its reform activities so as to continue to arrest the past decline where the country fell from No 94 in 2006 to 169 in 2016, and positively project the business climate to an enviable position in the international business community.

    “With the reform efforts being put in place now, indications are that in subsequent years Nigeria will scale up significantly in the ranking,” the statement stated.

  • N/Delta youths commend Buhari for ‘redeeming Nigeria’s lost image’

    N/Delta youths commend Buhari for ‘redeeming Nigeria’s lost image’

    The Niger Delta Youth Movement (NDYM), Ondo State chapter, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for “rebuilding the country’s lost image.’’

    Chairman of NDYM, Agbejoye Adetoye, via a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, expressed the movement’s appreciation to the president for his efforts at making integrity and discipline the watchwords of Nigerians.

    According to him, these values have eluded many of the country’s leaders and citizens over the years.

    “It is on record that integrity, discipline and honesty are gradually returning to our public life unlike in the past when impunity was the order of the day.

    “The president’s popular slogan, ‘If Nigeria refuses to kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria’ is fast gaining a strong footing in public consciousness.

    “The anti-corruption campaign of the present administration has prevented the country from total collapse.

    “We are grateful to the president for securing the recent release of  21 Chibok girls. We pray that his dream for a new Nigeria will not be cut short,’’ he said.

    Adetoye stated that the movement was satisfied with the recall of erroneous nomination of Adetokunbo Ajasin as the Ondo State representative in the Niger Delta Development Commission  (NDDC) board.

    This, he said, was  because Ajasin’s nomination was against the NDDC Act 2000 and 2001 as amended.

    He appealed to the president to let the voice of Niger Delta youths count in the nomination of another Ondo State representative in the board.

  • 2016 Budget: FG achieves fifty percent capital expenditure implementation

    2016 Budget: FG achieves fifty percent capital expenditure implementation

    …FG releases N25 billion for social intervention investment

    The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed on Wednesday placed the implementation of capital expenditure in the Federal Government’s 2016 Budget at fifty percent.

    She briefed State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    She was with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

    The Minister of State also said that the Ministry presented a memo to council for notation and implementation on the progress of national roll out of the social investment Programme.

    The programmes, she said, are in four parts.

    She said: “First is the homegrown school feeding Programme which is targeting 5.5 million primary school people in all the states of the federation from primary 1-3.

    As at today, 11 states are fully ready to start and first phase will feed 3.5 million school children.

    “The second Programme is a job creation Programme which is aimed at preparing 500,000 university graduates; they will be equipped with devices contained information to train them as teachers, agricultural workers and also as health support workers. They will be deployed to work in their local community. They will be receiving a monthly stipend of N30, 000 monthly for a period of two years.

    “The third is the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), where one million care givers will be given N5000 monthly for a period of two years. Focus has been given to the extremely poor and vulnerable in our society and special emphasis is being place to providing as many as possible the northern eastern part of the country where a lot of internally displaced persons.

    “The fourth is the Enterprise promotion Programme which is essentially the loan scheme which will be handled by the Bank of Industry. 1.6 million People made up of market women, traders, artisans, small businesses, youths will be given loan from N10, 000 to N100, 000 with a repayment period of three to six months and administration cost of five per cent.

    “N500 billion was budgeted for the social investment Programme in the 2016 budget. We are rolling out with this first four programmes and it will continue till 2017.” She added

    According to her, there is approval from the steering committee in sum of N150 billion, but so far only N25 billion has been released into the account while another N40 billion is in the process of being released into the account.

    She also pointed out that implementation will be done in stages as the states ready for each of the Programme will be added into each of the schemes.

    The school feeding Programme, she said, has started in some states like Kaduna and Osun while the federal government is only adding its resources to it.

    “The federal government will handle from primary 1-3 while the states will handle from 4-6.

    “The cooks have been selected, banks are in place. The only thing that needs to be done including training the persons as well as taking data of the school children have been done in those nine states.

    “There is no spending yet on the national social investment Programme, we are just kicking off, the funds will be released to the Bank of Industry this week for the EIP Programme and for the school feeding Programme is only after the cooks have performed that they will get their first payment.”

    For the job creation Programme, she said that money will only be released when the graduates have resumed and have worked for the first month.

    The 2017 budget preparation, she said, is at an advanced stage.

    According to her, the Economic Management Team has reviewed it extensively, while it will soon be presented to the federal executive council for approval, before going to the National Assembly.

    On the borrowing plan, she said that Mr. President has sent to the National Assembly the borrowing plan for the amount required for both local and foreign borrowing to fund the 2016 budget deficit.

    “The budget implementation itself is on course, the 2016 budget is fully performed to date in terms of personnel, that is to say we do not owe,” She stated.

    Fashola said that the Council approved two memos including 215 megawatt Kaduna power plant and construction of sub-station to evacuate 40 megawatt of power from the Gurara hydro electric power plant phase one.

    On the first project, he said: “The memo sought procurement and implementation defects and lack of budget support for the project which was started 2009 and should have been completed in 2012.

    “But we are now in the position that we can complete this project by next year to add 215 megawatt of power to the national grid. And in particular dedicate some of the power to Kudana dam in Kaduna to support industrial complex there.”

    On the second project, he said, it will enable interconnectivity to Mamdo transmission substation and strengthening the transmission grid.

    He said: “What these two approvals will do is to complete ongoing projects which is a commitment of this administration, create work because contractors will return to site and also increase our power by 215 megawatt, from Kaduna and we will get 40 megawatt extra into the grid from Gurara phase 1 and we are also expanding the transmission across the country.”

  • Boko Haram’s worst impact already behind us, says Buhari

    Boko Haram’s worst impact already behind us, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday declared that the worst impact of the insurgents, Boko Haram, in Nigeria is already over.

    He made the remark during inauguration of the Presidential Committee on the North-East Initiative (PCNI), chaired by Gen. Thiophilus Danjuma (Rtd.) at the State House, Abuja.

    According to him, the successes recorded against Boko Haram were mainly achieved through the patriotic efforts of the Nigeria’s armed forces.

    He said: “Fortunately, the worst of the insurgency is behind us.  This we owe principally to the valiant efforts of our military whose gallant efforts have significantly degraded the insurgency.

    “With these successes, many displaced persons are willing and ready to return home to pick up their lives and move forward.” He said

    He pointed out that many of the displaced persons sadly do not have anything to return to.

    “They have lost everything to the insurgency.  In addition, social and public services are also absent due to the massive destruction of public and private infrastructure.”

    According to him, the Government is committed to providing effective coordination and guidance towards addressing the humanitarian crisis, the resettlement and reconstruction of the North East region.

    To achieve these, he said that his government established the Presidential committee on the North East Initiative under the Chairmanship of General T.Y.
    Danjuma (Rtd), GCON, whom he noted is a man of proven integrity, outstanding patriotism and dedication.

    He said: “He will lead this Committee comprising members who have been carefully chosen from a wide spectrum of stakeholders.  The Committee will be the apex coordinating body for all interventions in the region including those by the public, private, national and international development partners.

    “The Committee is domiciled in the Presidency and is charged with responsibility for developing the strategy and implementation framework for rebuilding the North East region.

    “The PCNI would not exist in perpetuity or isolation.  Rather, it will exist for a period of 3 years, where after it is envisaged that a long-term regional development framework or entity may be established.”

    He said that the PCNI will for now be funded through Federal, State and Local Government appropriation, and funds from the private sector and international development partners.

    While expressing great trust and confidence in the General TY Danjuma’s team, he urged them to approach their task with dedication, commitment, accountability and transparency.

    He charged the Committee to take a quick look at the conditions of the IDPs and
    take urgent remedial measures to alleviate these conditions.

    “I also call on all stakeholders to give the PCNI their maximum support to enable it to deliver on its mandate.” He added

    He noted that the devastation to human lives and livelihoods by the insurgency in the North East was severe and resulted in more than an estimated 20,000 persons killed, an estimated 2.4 million persons displaced and billions of naira worth of personal and public assets destroyed.

    Gen. Danjuma, while thanking the private sector for their support, disclosed that all the N50 billion pledged for the intervention in the North East have not been redeemed.

    According to him, only N23 billion have been redeemed as he urged those still owing to pay up stressing that the committee is not ready to embarrass anybody even though it has the names of those that pledged.

    He said: “Most of the north east is today in a precarious  situation and is in dire need of the humanitarian support, reconstruction and peace building interventions. The resilience shown by the people of the north east gives hope that the task of rebuilding the region is one in which everyone has a role to play, starting from the people, the government and other critical actors, and indeed, the whole nation

    “In line with terms of reference of the PCNI, we have developed the Buhari Plan, an implementation framework. The interventions contained in the Buhari plan have been designed for targeted, integrated interventions by the federal and state governments with support from international development partners, local charities, the Nigerian and international business communities as well as other donors.

    “This key character of the plan ensures leveraging of all existing capacities and making maximum use of limited resources. Most importantly, implementation, oversight and accountability for this plan will be provided directly from the presidency through the Presidential Committee for the North East Initiative, PCNI.

    “We acknowledge the contributions from various sources, particularly during the fund raising for the victims support funds for the north east. However, from this fund raising only half of the pledges that were made have been redeemed. I therefore call on everyone to key into the strategic coordination framework of the PCNI: the Buhari plan and make contributions to its implementation because every key is a stakeholder.

    “It is therefore expected that all interventions, especially the federal ministries, departments and agencies, the state government, NGOs, international partners, the private sector and individuals will align their contributions to the aspirations to the aspiration of the Buhari Plan.

    “Mr. President, your assessment of the dire situation in the north east justifies your prescription of the remedy in establishing the PCNI. Rebuilding the north east will be resource intensive and cannot be done overnight but it is a task that must be done in the overall interest of our nation.” He added

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal noted that the committee’s inauguration is the first step towards the development of the North- East.

  • Nigeria investment market big for investors – Shittu

    Nigeria investment market big for investors – Shittu

    The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, has restated that the Nigerian investment market is big and boisterous enough for prospecting investors.

    Mr Victor Oluwadamilare, Special Assistant, Media, to the minister, said in a statement that Shittu expressed the view in Abuja on Wednesday when he received the management team of YAS RIH Group in his office.

    The group came to present the company’s intention to partner with the Nigeria in the area of digital transformation solutions and telecommunications operations.

    Shittu said that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would provide a favourable environment for investment.

    He said the administration had resolved to make Nigeria’s business environment safe and conducive to  investors in its determination to diversify the economy.

    The minister said the country’s regulatory processes were open, effective and transparent.

    He urged the ICT firm to fully comply with all regulatory guidelines set for intending ICT operators by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

    Shittu urged YAS RIH Group to forward a proposal through  NCC and assured it that the government would not hesitate in approving a licence for the firm to operate in the country.

    Earlier, the leader of delegation, Ayman Al Rlfai, who is the Personal Assistant to His Royal Highness, Prince Fahad Bin Magrin Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, delivered a goodwill message of Saudi Arabia’s King.

    Presenting the company’s profile, the Chief ICT Officer, Mr Francois Hannouche, said the group was ready to bring expertise and experience in digital transformation solution and telecom infrastructure operations to impact positively on Nigeria’s economy.

    He said that if given the opportunity to operate in Nigeria, the company would bring both direct and indirect impact on Nigeria’s GDP.

    Hannouche said data was the new oil in the global market.

    He lauded operators in the Nigerian telecom sector, such as MTN, Glo, Airtel and Etisalat, for their international ratings.

    Hannouche said YAS RIH Group supported digital transformation projects.

    The delegation included Abdulmanaf Muhammad, Vice-Chairman of YAS RIH International, Wad Tawil, CEO, YAS RIH International, Dave Cain, Abdullahi Garba, Managing Director, Forsysthia, and Muhammad Saed.

  • Ijaw youths to militants:  Give Buhari a chance

    Ijaw youths to militants:  Give Buhari a chance

    …Youths hail President for seeking more funds for amnesty office
    Ijaw youths, Wednesday, urged militants operating in the Niger Delta region to sheathe their swords and allow President Muhammadu Buhari to implement his developmental projects in the region.

    The youths under the aegis of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, said they were excited at the recent letter the President sent to the National Assembly seeking more funding for the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

    Speaking in Yenagoa, the state capital, the President of IYC, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, said the request for more funds for the Amnesty Office portrayed Buhari a listening President.

    Eradiri said though the action of the President came later than expected, it would go a long way to calm the frayed nerves in the region adding that it was in conformity with the position of IYC.

    He advised the President to show similar commitment in improving the lots of other institutions created to develop the region such as the Niger Delta Ministry and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    He said: “The President just sent a letter to the National Assembly requesting for more funds especially to support the amnesty programme. The breakdown of law and order in the Niger Delta is largely attributed to shortage of funding to the office.

    “We want to commend Mr. President and thank him because once we have this kind of commitment, Niger Delta question will be resolved. We look forward to doing everything possible on our part to ensure that there is peace.

    “We are appealing to the President to in the same spirits look into the Niger Delta Ministry as well as funds that are owed NDDC”.

    Eradiri further asked the President to activate his anti-corruption drive in the monitoring and tracking funds allocated to Niger Delta interventionist agencies.

    Apart from ensuring discipline in the usage of allocated funds, he said Buhari should ensure that the funds were managed by people who understood the issues and problems in the region.

    He said: “We want to also state that while approving funds to institutions like this, the anti-corruption drive must be activated to ensure that the institutions live up to expectation to ensure that funds are not diverted.

    “Those in the position to manage the amnesty office and other institutions addressing the issues of the region must be people who have knowledge of the issues. If he doesn’t have the right people to address the issues, even the funding will be misplaced”.

    While asking militants to give the president a chance, he said: “Yes, the militants should give the government a chance. But the government needs to be proactive and not falling into this stereotype attitude.

    “The President may be doing the right thing but when there is delay, his body language may be misinterpreted. Like if this current step of the President had come earlier and other steps we expect like pronouncing the resumption of the maritime university, l don’t see any sane agitator going against him.

    “The President has taken an action. But did we have to lose all these lives, economy and all the constraints and emotional crisis before such a letter should be transmitted.

    “Sometimes when you do something late, it has repercussions. If the actions Mr. President is taking now had been taken earlier, we wouldn’t have gotten to this point where the economy will be lying prostrate. We need more proaactive steps from the President”.

    To ensure general peace in the country, Eradiri further advised the President to extend Olive branches to other parts of the country and ethnic nationalities causing distractions for him.

    He suggested that Buhari should look into the issues of the detained Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Shia Muslim cleric, Ibrahim Zakzaky to ensure total reconciliation and peace in the country.

    “We want to commend Mr.President for the bold steps; he should extend it to other parts of the country. He should make decision that will bring everybody to the roundtable.

    “The issue of El Zakzaky, the IPOB leader and other issues that are creating more divisions and distractions for the President should be looked into in the spirits of reconciliation.

    “He had negotiated with Book Haram. He is negotiating with the Niger Delta. He should extend the Olive branch to other facets of the polity creating distractions for him. We desire him to succeed because if he does, Nigeria will succeed. If he fails, all of us will fail”, he said.

  • Amosun urges FG to accord Lagos, Ogun special status treatment

    Amosun urges FG to accord Lagos, Ogun special status treatment

    The Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun on Wednesday said Lagos and Ogun States should be accorded special treatment by the Federal Government because of their strategic economic significance to the nation.Amosun who threw his weight behind

    Amosun who threw his weight behind the call from Lagos State that the Centre of Excellence required special status in terms of funds allocation to it, said Ogun was next to Lagos in terms of non-oil revenue of the federal government.

    The Governor made this known at the on-going 8th National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

    According to him,  more companies have their operational base in Ogun state as the it has officially become an industrial capital of the country.

    He noted that about 423 companies with a minimum of over 2 billion investment capital are currently operating from Ogun State.

    He said: “to this end, our Administration has continued to maintain and expand on existing infrastructures while new ones are being constructed. The results of these infrastructural developments are seen in the increase in investment inflow into Ogun State.

    “We have continued to reap the benefits of our prudent financial management and re-engineered our Internal Revenue Generation drive. We have increased our IGR from the modest sum of N700 million monthly which we inherited at the beginning of our Administration in 2011, to over N6Billion per month in 2014, though, currently reduced to an average of N4.8 billion monthly due to the current economic recession in the country.

    “As of now, our State is second only to Lagos State in the ratio of the monthly Internally Generated Revenue to the monthly FAAC allocation. This has allowed us to sustain payment of workers’ salaries, while also continuing with other development projects in all other sectors of our economy.

    “According to the 2014 Ease of Doing Business Subnational rankings, our State recorded the most improvement of all the 36 states in Nigeria. This was compared to the States very poor ranking of 34th at the inception of our administration in 2011.

    “We also introduced the concept of a “One Stop Shop” to assist Investors in their interactions with the government, particularly during their early stage. I am happy to report that about 423 major companies/industries are presently operating in the State, while over 100 new significant companies have opened shop since the advent of our Administration.

    “Even in our current harsh economic climate, another 14 are currently in the process of commissioning their industries/ factories. Indeed, we hope that Mr President, President Muhammadu Buhari will help to commission some of these industries before the end of the year. Ogun State is now officially the Industrial hub of the Nation.”

  • Buhari vows to return Nigeria to past years of accountability

    Buhari vows to return Nigeria to past years of accountability

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday restated the determination of his administration to restore the country to the “good old days of accountability”.

    Speaking at a meeting with the Director, Global Upstream of Shell Oil Company at the State House, Abuja, Buhari said he will leave a legacy of improved infrastructure, particularly in the power sector, and also ensure better security in the Niger Delta.

    The President, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said: “It is only by doing this that investor morale and confidence will return, and the economy will be positioned on the path of growth,”

    Commending Shell for their faith in the economy and staying power, he gave assurances on some issues of concern raised by the company.

    On the protracted issue of cash calls, the President assured that the Federal Executive Council will soon consider a proposal for the easing of unpaid arrears owed by the government.

    He said that the security of oil infrastructure will continue to be prioritized side-by-side with dialogue with the stakeholder-communities in the Niger Delta.

    The President, however, urged oil companies to take more responsibility in the protection of oil installations to complement the efforts of Nigerian Navy in the region.

    In his remarks, the Shell Director, Mr. Andrew Brown, informed the President of the resumption of oil exportation through the Forcados terminal following its restoration.

    He called for continued protection by the Nigerian Navy in view of repeated threats of attack by militants.

    Brown commended the anti-corruption posture of the Buhari administration and the efforts to streamline and stabilize the economy for long term projects.

    He said that all the efforts will go a long way to reinforce Shell investment plans in Nigeria.

  • Ex-Militants to Amnesty Coordinator: Stop bribing NASS members

    Ex-Militants to Amnesty Coordinator: Stop bribing NASS members

    Some ex-agitators in the Niger Delta region currently enrolled in the Presidential Amnesty Programme on Tuesday raised the alarm on a coordinated scheme by the leadership of the Programme to use huge sums of money from the Amnesty Office accounts to settle  members of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta.

    The Senate Committee is currently conducting investigative hearing on the Programme.

    The ex-militants decided to raise the alarm as leaders and critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta led by a former Federal Commissioner of Information, Chief Edwin Ckark, are billed to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, October 31,

    Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the Amnesty Programme’s beneficiaries, who spoke under the aegis of the forum of Truly Transformed former Niger Delta Agitators (TTNDA), swore to drag the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) if he persists in the plot to use favoured contractors to move large sums of money out of the account of the Amnesty Office towards sharing the money to members of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta.

    The National President of the forum, Preye Bosco Amasoma said: “Out of respect for President Muhammadu Buhari, who we believe means well for Nigerians, including Niger Deltans, we have been tolerating the shortcomings of the current Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme, Brig-Gen Paul Boroh (rtd); we have been tolerating his incompetence but we will not accept this extremely corrupt scheme that he is hatching using the name of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta,”

    “Very reliable and courageous staff of the Amnesty Office have informed us and have even shown us series of documents, including vouchers of urgent and sudden payments to some contractors being used for this scheme.

    “These contractors are in turn placed under immense pressure to pull out the money to help Boroh settle members of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta led by Senator Peter Nwoboshi,” the National President of TTNDA alleged.

    The group also said that they were compelled to speak out given the reluctance or inability of the Buhari administration to discipline the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in spite of the plethora of administrative and financial maleficence that have been linked to him.

    He said: “For a man who has not paid us our monthly stipend for four months and has not paid delegates in training centres across the country for several months, to be using contractors to pile up money for himself and some so-called Senators, is a shame and the EFCC and President Buhari himself will hear this matter. This is the era of total war against corruption and there must be no sacred cow.

    “Any time we ask for our money, all they tell us is that the Amnesty Office is under immense pressure from the Senate Committee on Niger Delta and that all the available money is going into settling the members of this committee. Is this fair, especially this season that President Buhari has launched a full-blown war against corruption?

    “If the President does not put a stop to the thieving currently going on at the Amnesty Office under his aide, Paul Boroh, we will consider taking to the streets of Abuja in protest,” Bosco Amasoma, who was flanked by several members of his group, said at the Press Conference in Gwarimpa, Abuja.

    The Senate Committee on Niger Delta, which is currently conducting investigative hearing on the Amnesty Programme, held a public hearing two weeks ago where several persons claimed they were ex-agitators from the Niger Delta who were unjustly excluded from the programme.

    The aggrieved groups included youths from the Ndokwa ethnic nationality in Delta State.

    The Chairman of the Senate Committee, Senator Peter Nwoboshi, had at the public hearing frowned at the purported exclusions and directed the Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme, Paul Boroh, to write to the President to secure requisite approvals to include the youths in the Amnesty Programme.

    However, at the public hearing Senator Peter Nwoboshi announced that the committee had decided to schedule a later date to meet with contractors handling training or capital projects for the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

    The Niger Delta ex-agitators protesting “reckless spending” at the Amnesty Office at the press conference in Abuja alleged that Senator Nwoboshi was acting out a script he co-wrote with the Amnesty Programme’s Coordinator, Paul Boroh.

    “Since when did Senate Committees began staggering public hearings on one issue. The delay by the Senate Committee in discussing issues related to contracts awarded by the Amnesty Office is just to buy time for Boroh to intimidate his account staff and contractors to structure out more money for the Senate Committee on Niger Delta.

    “The truth however is that the bulk of the money raised from contractors usually goes to Boroh and some amount possibly go to members of the Senate Committee,” the forum’s President alleged.

    He added: “Well, we stand to be proved wrong by members of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta. All we are saying is that the Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme is using the name of the committee to award phony and urgent contracts and money is being extorted  from the beneficiaries of the contracts.

    “So, we are challenging the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta to come out boldly to declare to Nigerians that they are not involved in this dangerous scheme at a time President Buhari is ruthlessly fighting corruption,” the President of TTNDA added

    To buttress their claim, the leadership of the forum of Truly Transformed Niger Delta ex-agitators, showed Journalists who attended the press conference, a letter purportedly written to the Amnesty Office by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Senator Peter Nwoboshi wherein he introduced to Paul Boroh the firm of Candour Capital Limited as the duly appointed consultant of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta charged by the committee to “conduct the inspection and investigation of the books and accounts of the Presidential Amnesty Programme from inception to date.”

    In the letter, Senator Nwoboshi further informed the Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme that the firm of Candour Capital Limited “will report (at the Amnesty Office) for the assignment on Tuesday 25th October 2016” and urged the Amnesty Coordinator “to grant the consultants maximum cooperation and support to enable them perform and deliver urgently the required report for the Committee to finalise its mandate”

    The ex-agitators however queried the propriety of subjecting what they say are very sensitive national security documents to the firm of Candour Capital Limited.

    “The whole thing is a scam. What level of security clearance has this private company received to qualify it to have full and unfettered access to a national security programme like the Presidential Amnesty Programme? I pity this country,” the leader of the transformed Niger Delta ex-agitators stated.

  • Governors fault Buhari’s ambassadorial list

    Governors fault Buhari’s ambassadorial list

    …Put your complains in writing, Buhari tells governors

    Progressives Governors Forum on Monday faulted the ambassadorial list forwarded to the Senate for screening and approval by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    They had complained that it was lop-sided in favour of some senatorial zones in the states at the detriment of other zones.

    Plateau State Governor, Solomon Lalong, who spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting with the President, shed light on Pauline Tallen’s rejection of the ambassadorial appointment.

    He said: “Pauline is an astute politician from my state, and part of the issue we also raised was on some of the appointments that were made. So all the states that had complain are going to put it in writing and the president promised he is going to look into it.

    “Well, it is not only about her husband I think it is the dimension of plateau politics because I had already made complains to Mr. President that appointments should not be concentrated in one zone. And so all these appointments came again from one zone, in that particular zone.

    “So the complains that are coming from our state is not about her own personal interest, it is the fact that two ambassadorial appointments are coming from the same zone that we had complained. That is my zone.

    “We had complained that the next appointment should go to the other zone the central and the northern zone. And so when that appointment came the kind of uproar that followed that appointment also necessitated an intervention.

    “And I think as a matured politician she stepped down and sacrifice that for the people of plateau,” he added.

    He said that the state is still working on Tallen’s replacement.

    According to him, a little consultation before the appointments were announced would have resolved the problems.

    “It is not a big issue but at times a little consultation would have solved that problem because these are issues in the interest of the state. So you can’t have two appointments, very key appointments like that coming from a particular zone that is already overloaded with appointments. All the federal appointments is from the southern zone, so it would not be fair.

    “So it is the issue of fairness now we are approaching Mr. President to consider fairness and appoint people from those areas that do not have representation.” he stated.