The Nation Newspaper

Tag: President Muhammadu Buhari

  • Buhari seeks NGO’s support for IDPs

    Buhari seeks NGO’s support for IDPs

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday called on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and international aid agencies to complement the Federal Government’s efforts to increase humanitarian assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country.

    Speaking while receiving the Greek Medical Charity organisation, also known as ‘Heart Doctors’, at the State House, Abuja, President Buhari said that the Nigerian government was working hard to secure and rehabilitate communities ravaged by Boko Haram insurgents.

    Buhari in the statement by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said: “It is a pathetic situation we have.

    There are more than two million internally displaced persons, 70 percent of whom are women and children. Of these, 60 percent are orphaned children. “We are willing to work with organisations such as yours to quickly rehabilitate infrastructure, rebuild schools, medical clinics and destroyed homes,’’ the President said.

    He also told the visiting medical charity team that the task of rehabilitating IDPs in the region was enormous, but noted that with perseverance and commensurate resources such challenges are surmountable.

    The President thanked the Greek doctors for their humanitarian activities in the country and assured that his administration would welcome other spirited individuals and organisations with similar intentions.

    The leader of the Greek Medical Charity organization, Prof. Xenofan Yataganas, told the President that the organisation which commenced humanitarian work in Nigeria since 2002 has been involved in rebuilding schools and distributing medicines and food at IDP camps.

  • Photo: Ooni, Adeboye visit Buhari

    Photo: Ooni, Adeboye visit Buhari

    Pastor Adeboye 2
    President Muhammadu Buhari welcomes Pastor Eunuch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG)

     

    Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi exchanging pleasantries with President Muhammadu Buhari at Aso Rock Villa, Abuja
    Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi (Left) exchanging pleasantries with President Muhammadu Buhari at Aso Rock Villa, Abuja

     

    Pastor Adeboye 1
    L-R: Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President; President Muhammadu Buhari and Pastor Eunuch Adeboye

     

    President Buhari and Oba Ogunwusi at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Tuesday. Photo: Akinola Oladokun
    President Buhari and Oba Ogunwusi, Ooni of Ife, Osun State at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Photo: Akinola Oladokun
  • 2016 Budget was rushed – Senate Leader

    2016 Budget was rushed – Senate Leader

    The Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, on Monday said that the problems the 2016 budget is presently having is because it was rushed before submission to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, the problems associated with the document would however be sorted out to enable the budget to be signed into law.

    He said: “We are working on the budget daily. We are working on it collectively for the first time.

    “The Executive and the Legislature are looking at the budget collectively. This is the first time we will be doing it this way.

    “The matter is not about a date. If we can finish it today, we will hand it over for signature tomorrow.

    “In those days, we just pass budgets that are normally not implemented. This is the first time we are doing a budget that the President is looking forward to implement.

    “This budget was done in a rush and you know there are some issues that are cropping up. It is no longer going to be business as usual.

    “So, those unusual things, if detected, we will work on them. It is not as if we are holding on to the budget. We are working collectively,” he added.

    His consultation with the President, he said, was necessary because there were other bills pending before the National Assembly which requires such consultations.

    He said: “There are issues that are really on ground. One is the budget. We also have two bills before the Senate that we need to start working on when we resume tomorrow. The Money Laundering Bill and the Criminal Information Sharing Bill

    “There are issues other than those ones that are really on ground. This is how we are supposed to be doing it earlier. That is, coming into the Villa to consult and guide the proceedings in the Senate appropriately.

    “Other than that, I don’t want you to see it as an unusual visit. I will be doing this often because this is how it is supposed to be.

    “Again, I normally consult with the President on a personal basis long before he became the President, so it is not unusual. ” he stated

    He disagreed with the suggestions that he was at the Villa to intercede on behalf of Senate President, Bukola Saraki over his ongoing prosecution at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

    He said: “I am not the Senate President. The question should be directed to the Senate President.

    “You are asking me what I do not know. I consult and if I have to mediate on anything, there should be a problem. I do not know of any problem,” he said.

  • Buhari appoints new DG Budget, Special Adviser Planning

    Buhari appoints new DG Budget, Special Adviser Planning

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the appointment of Mr. Tijjani Mohammed Abdullahi  as the Director-General (Budget).

    Mr. Abdullahi, a fellow of the Certified National Accountants of Nigeria, and a banker of repute with experience in managing public finance, will replace the current Director-General (Budget), Mr. Yahaya Gusau.

    A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said that the new Director-General (Budget) is expected to work with the Minister of Budget and National Planning to efficiently deliver on the mandates of the Budget Office of the Federation.

    Buhari has also approved the appointment of Mr. Ben Ifeanyi Akabueze as the Special Adviser on Planning to the Minister of Budget and National Planning.

    Mr Akabueze who is the immediate past Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget in Lagos State, has worked in senior management positions in Citi Bank, Fidelity Bank, United Bank for Africa, NAL Merchant Bank, Sterling Bank and BIA Consulting Limited, among others.

    He is Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers; Fellow, Institute of Credit Administrators and Honorary Fellow, Chartered Institute of Bankers.

  • Nigeria lost momentum with Murtala’s demise, says Buhari

    Nigeria lost momentum with Murtala’s demise, says Buhari

    • I was slated for elimination with him – Danjuma

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday reflected on the death of former Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed, in a coup attempt 40 years ago, and said his demise in that incident made Nigeria lose momentum in its march to greatness.

    Muhammed was assassinated when the late Colonel Buka  Suka Dimka  and his gang ambushed him at Ikoyi, Lagos, and shot him dead in a traffic jam.

    Buhari, who had served under the late head of state as military governor of the old Borno State, said at the Murtala Muhammed 40th Memorial Lecture in Abuja, that the deceased was a loyal Nigerian.

    He challenged Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of loyalty, honesty and determination like Muhammed rather than mourn his death.

    Imbibing these virtues, he said it will make Nigeria better.

    He said that Nigerians mourned the death of Murtala because he was on his way to putting the country back on the path of order and discipline, after years of drift, corruption and near despair.

    According to him, Murtala’s motto was to get the job done as quickly as possible, stressing that no one could doubt his inspirational qualities or call into question his love and dedication in the service of Nigeria.

    He said: ” His love for Nigeria and Nigerians, from wherever they came; his intense professionalism; his impatience with incompetence and lack of patriotism; his loyalty to friends and colleagues; his life, short though it proved to be, was marked by an extraordinary passion, energy and determination to do better, and to make Nigeria better.

    “These are values that young and old alike should all remember and celebrate. On assuming the role of Head of State in 1975, Murtala set out with a single-minded determination seldom seen in Nigerian leadership. Decisions were on fast-track.”

    Buhari said Nigerians would continue to remember Muhammed’s legacies such as the naming of Abuja as Nigeria’s new capital and the creation of seven new states.

    On a personal note, he  said Muhammed developed a great liking and respect for him on account of his professional excellence, competence, straight forwardness and genuine interest and concern for up-and coming officers like him.

    But he said: “Of course, no one is without flaws. He was a man in a hurry, and sometimes this could make him appear abrupt or even moody.

    “What he could not tolerate was incompetence and idleness. By the time Murtala was given Command during the Civil War, the Federal side was on the defensive.

    “The rebels had over-run the then Mid-West, and reached as far as Ore, just 100 miles from Lagos.

    “By dint of sheer bravery, improvisation and resourcefulness, he mustered a rag-tag group of soldiers, integrated them into an entirely new division, knocked them into fighting shape, recovered Mid-West and ventured across the Niger.”

    The Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd.), expressed joy for being associated with the late Murtala Muhammed early in life.

    Danjuma served as Chief of Army Staff under Muhammed and told the audience yesterday that Dimka and his group had slated him for elimination during the coup.

    He said: “That I live today is by the special grace of God. From that moment, 40 years till date, have been moments of emotion for me. In fact, I have considered them as divine.

    He recalled that Dimka  originally  listed him (Danjuma) as number three on the list of those to be killed, and that when the list was shown to   the then Minister of Defence and one of the coupists, the late Major General  Ilya  Bissala, he brought his name forward to number two, and he (Danjuma) would have been killed after  Murtala.

    Danjuma commended the Foundation for its efforts and advised it to embark on aggressive media campaign for the purpose of educating members of the public on its activities and achievements so far.

    The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s representative and Head of the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWA), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, who represented former President of Namibia, Mr. Lucas  Pohamba, said that the death of Murtala Muhammed, left an indelible mark in African history.

    He extolled the virtues of the former Nigerian Head of State, describing him as a natural leader.

    The guest speaker at the event, Mr. David Richards, who spoke on the topic, ‘Regional Security and State Building: Portents and prospects’, said that inter-state and intra-states rivalries had continued to make the world unstable for mankind.

    Richards, who is a former Chief of Staff and professional head of the British Armed Forces, therefore challenged leaders to find lasting solutions to socio-political crises across the world.

    The Chief Executive officer of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, Mrs. Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, saluted President Buhari for embarking on the crusade against corruption in the country.

    Muhammed-Oyebode also commended the efforts of the Buhari-led administration towards the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in the North East.

    She was hopeful that the abducted Chibok schoolgirls would soon be rescued in view of the successes being recorded by the Nigeria Army and other security agencies in the country.

  • Buhari fires 13 varsity VCs

    Buhari fires 13 varsity VCs

    •Appoints replacements, re-constitutes governing councils

    •CSOs kick over sack

    The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and the 12 Federal Universities established by the Jonathan administration now have new vice chancellors following the unexpected removal of the incumbents by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The president also approved the reconstitution of the universities’ governing councils.

    No reason was given for the action which drew the instant ire of some civil society organisations (CSO’s).

    The CSO’s claimed that the Governing Council of NOUN of which Professor Vincent Tenebe was a member is the only body empowered to remove him.

    Replacing Tenebe is Professor Abdallah Uba Adamu, who until now was of the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano.

    Professor Auwal Yadudu, who served as Special Adviser on Legal Matters to the late military head of state, General Sani Abacha is the new Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Birnin Kebbi.

    He was until now of the Faculty of Law, Bayero University, Kano.

    A former head of the Department of International Relations at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Kayode Soremekun is the new Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, while Prof. Fatima Batoul Muktar of the Department of Biology, North West University, Kano is the VC of Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State.

    The rest are: Prof. Haruna Abdu Kaita, Federal University, Dutsin Ma, Katsina State; Prof. Andrew Haruna, Federal University, Gashua, Yobe State; Prof. Magaji Garba, Federal University, Gusau, Zamfara State; Prof. Alhassan Mohammed Gani, Federal University, Kashere , Gombe State; Prof. Muhammad Sanusi Liman, Federal University, Lafia; Prof. Angela Freeman Miri, Federal University, Lokoja; Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, Federal University, Ndifu-Alike, Ebonyi State; Prof. Seth Accra Jaja, Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State.

    Education Minister Adamu Adamu merely said in a statement yesterday that : “The President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces  and Visitor to all federal universities, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the appointment of new vice chancellors for the 12 under-listed Federal Universities and the National open University of Nigeria with effect from Friday, February 12, 2016.”

    The Ministry in a separate notice said the president had approved the reconstitution of the governing councils of the new 12 Federal Universities with immediate effect.

    The chairmen of the new councils are scheduled to meet with the minister tomorrow in Abuja.

    However, the Coalition of Civil Society Groups protested the VCs’ sack in a letter to President Buhari.

    The group said the action contravened the provisions of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act No.11 of 1993 (as amended) by decree No.25, 1996 and further amended in 2003 and 2012 respectively and other agreements as contained in the 2009 FGN staff union agreement.

    The petitioners claimed that four out of the 12 new VCs are from Bayero University, Kano alone, which in their view violates the federal character principle.

    They said: “while this does not come as a surprise owing to the influence of one of the Special Advisers to the Minister of Education in orchestrating the appointments of his friends and cronies without following due process, we are, however, concerned about the constitutional breach and the resultant litigation battle this action may cause, which in turn may generate unnecessary distractions to your focused administration.

    “While we are not unmindful of the fact that you would have acted on the recommendation of the Minister of Education in approving their removal, it is pertinent to know that in the pursuit of ambition driven by unguided passion and greed, impunity becomes inevitable as the end irrespective of the means is all that matters and in this case, the removal of these Vice Chancellors is the outcome of an unguided passion and greed by the Minister of Education and his Special Adviser.

    “The constitution is quite clear on the procedures to be followed in the appointment and disengagement of Vice Chancellors and none of these procedures were followed in the above case.

    “The appointment of Vice Chancellors is a tenured appointment, which presupposes that every appointee is expected to serve the prescribed number of years as stipulated by the Acts governing the institutions.”

    The coalition said none of the Vice Chancellors was allowed to complete his tenure and all were removed without following due process of the law.

    The CCSG argued that if a Vice Chancellor must  be removed from office before the expiration of his tenure, it is only  the Board of the Governing Council that is  empowered to recommend or effect such removal.

    The group said: “In the above case, the Minister already dissolved the Board of the Governing Council with the statutory powers to recommend or effect the removal of a Vice Chancellor from office thereby making the removal of these Vice Chancellors illegal, null and void.

    “In appointing new Vice Chancellors or any public officer for that matter, it is an offence and a breach of the Federal Character principle for one third of the total appointees to come from a particular state.

    “The action of the Minister is greeted with sadness as it is considered a breach of the provisions of the University Amendment Act or legislation and to a large extent a gross violation of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which guarantees universities autonomy in Nigeria.”

    The letter was signed by the coalition’s chairman, Etuk Bassey Williams and Secretary-General, Ibrahim Abubakar.

    However, Prof. Michael Faborode, the Secretary-General, Committee of Vice-Chancellors (CVC), has said the tenure of vice-chancellors of nine Federal Universities will expire on Feb. 15.

    He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja, that it would not be fair to say that the vice-chancellors were sacked.

    According to him, “The tenure of the vice-chancellors of nine of these universities expires on Feb. 15. It will be unfair to say that they were sacked; they have exhausted their tenure; when your tenure is not renewed; it does not mean you are sacked. I do not know the reasons why the vice-chancellors of the other three universities were affected.”

  • Buhari mourns Hajia Fati Koko

    Buhari mourns Hajia Fati Koko

    President Muhammadu Buhari has extolled the virtues of Hajiya Fati Koko, popularly called Maitalla Tara, who passed away at 95.

    Mourning Hajiya Koko, who had waited nine hours in Kebbi early last year to donate N1 million to him as the then Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Buhari described her as “a woman with a good heart, who stood by her convictions, and gave sacrificially.”

    Hajiya Koko had offered virtually her life’s savings to candidate Buhari then, saying she admired his honesty, discipline, and stand for truth.

    Receiving the news of her passage, President Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, commended Hayiya Koko’s conviction and sacrificial giving.

    The president urged Nigerians to learn vital lessons from her life.

    “She gave practically all she had towards our campaign. Though well advanced in age, she still believed a new Nigeria was possible, and followed her conviction with action. What generosity of spirit and what tenacious faith in her motherland. Nigerians, old and young, have a lot to learn from her,” the President said.

    He condoled with the family and relations of the departed, urging them to take solace in the fact that their matriarch lived to a ripe old age, “and she saw the beginning of the change she had long yearned for.”

    “The onus is now on all of us to ensure that the change gets entrenched and solidified for even generations yet unborn to benefit from,” he said

    The President also sympathized with the governor and people of Kebbi State, whom he said will all miss the sterling qualities of Hajiya Koko, but added that the life of the departed will serve as a standard to emulate “in the service of God, humanity and country.”

    “May Allah grant her soul repose in Al-jannah,” the President prayed.

  • Group favours Ondo indigene as NDDC boss

    A group under the aegis of the Oodua Nationalist Coalition, (ONAC) has impressed on President Muhammadu Buhari the need to consider appointing an indigene of Ondo State as the next Managing Director of the Niger-Delta Development Commission, (NDDC).

    According to the group, the choice becomes inevitable in order to break the NDDC from its ugly past, when armed groups had a strong stake in the commission through officials that placate them with the commission’s funds.

    “It will be in extreme bad faith if the position of the NDDC does not go to Ondo State. The oil producing Ilaje community stood by President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, (APC) during the last election. It will be quite unfair if the next NDDC Managing Director fails to come from oil producing communities in Ondo State,” ONAC said in a statement signed by its official, Mr Suleiman Sanusi.

    “Our support for an Ondo State indigene does not include politicians from the state jostling to take over the position for personal political ends. We think the new NDDC MD should be someone that will use the commission to develop the entire Niger-Delta region and bring a halt to violence, kidnapping and destruction of oil pipelines.”

  • Buhari greets Iloh at 86

    Buhari greets Iloh at 86

    President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with Reverend (Dr) Moses Iloh, General Overseer of Soul Winning Chapel, on the occasion of his 86th birthday celebration on February 13, 2016.

    President Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, joined Rev. Iloh’s family, friends, associates and other well-wishers in rejoicing with him as he marks another notable milestone in a fulfilled life of service to God and humanity.

    The President commended him for his numerous contributions to nation building and development exemplified through his pastoral teachings which have brought succor to the less-privileged members of the society.

    He also extolled Dr Iloh’s endearing humility and integrity and for being a great inspiration to many Nigerians as a philanthropist, labour leader, humanist, footballer and cleric.

    The President prayed Almighty God to grant the elder statesman more years of good health, strength and prosperity.

  • Buhari resumes work at Aso Villa

    Buhari resumes work at Aso Villa

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday resumed work at the State House, Abuja, after a six- day vacation.

    A statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said Buhari, in compliance with Section 145 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution, has sent a formal notice of his resumption to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.