The Nation Newspaper

Tag: President Muhammadu Buhari

  • Diversion of arms funds, heartless – Aregbesola

    Diversion of arms funds, heartless – Aregbesola

    • Commends President Buhari for unraveling the arms scandal

    The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has on Friday described the diversion of money meant for procuring arms for Nigeria soldiers to fight insurgency as a monumental scandal.

    The Governor stated this at the 2016 Armed Forces Remembrance Day and laying of wreath in honour of fallen Soldiers held at the State House of Assembly in Osogbo.

    He commended  the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari in unravelling the crime.

    He insisted all the guilty must be brought to justice to forestall future occurrence.

    This year’s Armed Forces Remembrance is the first to be held at the State House of Assembly after the cenotaph was constructed next to the parliament.

    The Governor stressed that the symbolism of holding the ceremony at the military cemetery is impeccable but bringing it to the parliament is of even greater significance.

    Aregbesola added that the Parliament is the symbol of authority of the people and so the fallen soldiers “being celebrated today in the midst of the people for their gallantry and supreme sense of patriotism.”

    He noted every well-meaning Nigerian is of the hope that all those involved in the mismanagement of the arms fund will receive full retribution.

    Aregbesola lamented the situation where some of the soldiers caught and indicted have been pardoned and some losing their commission while others face uncertain future, said it is pertinent that a fresh inquiry be set up so that justice ‎will be done.

    According to him, “It is even a monumental scandal of unimaginable proportion that funds meant for procuring arms for soldiers are shared among members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) without the least compunction.

    “I commend the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari in unravelling this heinous crime and I sincerely hope that all those involved will receive full retribution. Some of the soldiers caught in the maelstrom and indicted have been pardoned but some have lost their commission while others face uncertain future.

    “Considering the circumstances of this unusual event, it is pertinent that a fresh inquiry be set up so that justice will be given to all those involved and our gallant soldiers will not be punished unjustly.”

    On the roles of soldiers in the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections in 2014 which the committee set up by Military has submitted it’s report, Aregbesola said that the deployment of soldiers was avoidable.

    “‎The military high command also set up an inquiry into the roles soldiers played in the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections of 2014. The committee has submitted its report and made recommendations.

    “As a victim of the reckless deployment of soldiers in those elections, I will say it was an avoidable deployment of soldiers for a civilian duty and for which there was no threat beyond the capability of the police and other security agencies”. The Governor stated.

    Aregbesola, not oblivious of the fact that soldiers are trained to obey a command from a superior, described as a dilemma a situation where a soldier fails to carry out instruction.

    He added that, for a military command to manipulate an election in favour of a particular candidate and harass opposition candidates and members is unconstitutional and abuse of the military.

    ‎The Governor said that military high command should address the abuse of soldiers  by insulating them from carrying out unlawful commands so that the military itself will not be subject to abuse by any government in power who might be drunk with the idea that the military is the armed wing of its political party.

  • Buhari orders probe of Chibok girls’ abduction

    Buhari orders probe of Chibok girls’ abduction

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday approved an investigation into the theft of the 219 girls from Government Secondary in Chibok, Borno State.

    The panel to investigate the incident which happened in April 2014, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, will soon be named by the National Security Adviser (NSA) General Babagana Munguno.

    The probe will seek to, among other things, unravel the remote and immediate circumstances leading the kidnap of the girls by Boko Haram terrorists and the other  events, actions and inactions that followed the incident.

    The President gave the directive in Abuja as he assured parents of the Chibok girls that he has been doing his best and will continue to do everything possible to rescue them and re-unite them with their families.

    He spoke during a meeting attended by some parents of the abducted girls, representatives of the Chibok community and members of the Bring Back Our Girls movement at the Conference Hall of the State House.

    President Buhari said that he remained fully committed to his pledge to do all within his powers to save the girls.

    He said: “I assure you that I go to bed and wake up every day with the Chibok girls on my mind.

    “The unfortunate incident happened before this government came into being.

    “What have we done since we assumed office? We re-organized the military, removed all the service chiefs and ordered the succeeding service chiefs to deal decisively with the Boko Haram insurgency.

    “In spite of the terrible economic condition we found ourselves in, we tried to get some resources to give to the military to reorganize and equip, retrain, deploy more troops and move more forcefully against Boko Haram.

    “And you all know the progress we have made. When we came in Boko Haram was in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno. Boko Haram has now been reduced to areas around Lake Chad.

    “Securing the Chibok girls is my responsibility. The service chiefs and heads of our security agencies will tell you that in spite of the dire financial straits that we found the country in, I continue to do my best to support their efforts in that regard.

    “This is a Nigeria where we were exporting average of two million barrels per day at over 140 dollars per barrel. Now it is down to about 27 to 30 dollars.

    “You have been reading in the press how they took public funds, our funds, your funds and shared it, instead of buying weapons. That was the kind of leadership I succeeded. That was the kind of economy I inherited.

    “God knows I have done my best and I will continue to do my best,” President Buhari said.

    The President was accompanied by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Mohammed Dan Ali, Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Aisha Alhassan, Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Gabriel Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai and the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd).

    In his remarks, the Chief of Defence staff told the meeting that in the last three months the military has liberated more than 3000 people kidnapped by Boko Haram in the North eastern part of the country.

    He said that the military had the ability to rescue the Chibok girls, but added that “intelligence is delicate and we don’t want to do ​ anything to jeopardize the lives of the girls.”

  • CAN, Bible Society back Buhari’s fight against corruption 

    CAN, Bible Society back Buhari’s fight against corruption 

    Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) in Kaduna have thrown their weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari on his anti-corruption war, saying Buhari is the messiah that Nigeria needs to succeed as a nation.

    The two Christian umbrella bodies stated this at the closing of their annual one week of prayers for unity of the church and the country, entitled, “Universal Week of Prayers”.

    Speaking to newsmen in an interview at the event held at Our Lady Catholic Church, Independence Way, Kaduna, Chairman of the Planning Committee of the annual prayers, Pastor Adeyemi Isaac said, the level of national resources carted away by few individuals was unacceptable, when majority of Nigerians are languishing in poverty.

    According to him, “We like the anti-corruption war the government is bringing forth, because it is from there a lot of things are being revealed, which we know nothing about. The amount of money we hear from the media that people have gone away with. It is really embarrassing, when poverty has eaten so deep into the country that, it remains only for us to be eating from the dustbin, like the late Umaru Dikko  said. But, you can see that many are getting close to the dustbin. We are only praying to God that this will not happen to us, in Jesus name.

    “Buhari is the Messiah for this country. God really sent him. You can even see the way he won the election. It is a miracle. That is why we will continue to pray for him to succeed. We believe whenever he will be leaving, whether one term or two terms, depending on God, whenever he will be leaving, we believe this country will not remain the same again. And whoever will take over from him will either carry on with his programmes or God will not let him be there.

    “Thank God, we are witnessing change in the country, the church too must  follow suit with this positive change. What are we talking about? The church must change from the past way of doing things to new way that is being united, no matter our denomination. We must pray together for the country and Kaduna State in particular.

    “Part of why we are here is for this prayer to lay a good foundation for this year. Throughout the year, we don’t want to experience any bad thing. And any bad thing that is coming, we pray to Almighty God to suppress it.

    “The issue of Boko Haram, we are praying to God to help us, not only to suppress it, but terminate them and remove them from the surface of the earth entirely. Because we have lost so many souls. So many souls have been lost for nothing, children, women, men, so many of them are displaced. Look at where they are. No matter what you give to them, they cannot be comforted like in their homes. Their homes have been destroyed, their farmlands destroyed,” he said.

    He blamed the security challenges like insurgency, pipelines vandalism, kidnapping and militancy in the country on poverty created by unemployment.

    He however expressed optimism that President Muhammadu Buhari will succeed in his plan to resuscitate comatose industries and create jobs for millions of Nigeria youths.

    Asked whether Buhari can still lead Nigeria at 78 by 2019. Pastor Isaac said “Even if Buhari contests for second term at 78, Buhari is just an entity, he has advisers and ministers around him, he will still perform, because he can delegate people who will stand by him in truth.”

  • Senate confirms 2016 budget missing

    Senate confirms 2016 budget missing

    The controversy over whether or not the hard copy of the 2016 budget proposal is missing has been cleared.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Wednesday confirmed that the upper chamber has empanelled a high powered Senate search team to fish out the missing fiscal document.

    The cat of the missing document was let out of the bag by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, (Abia South) who came under Senate Standing Order 42.

    Order 42 deals with Matter of urgent national importance which the Senate is bound to consider if the Senate President allows it.

    Abaribe told the Senate that the grievous issue of the “missing and disappearance of the 2016 budget proposal” was widely reported in the media Tuesday.

    He added that most of them had been inundated with questions by their constituents about the whereabouts of the budget proposal.

    Abaribe said that their constituents who genuinely believed and saw the budget as the life wire of the country wanted to know how and why the budget got missing.

    He said that the Senate should not sweep the matter under the carpet in the interest of not only their constituents but the country in general.

    He recalled that the matter of the missing document also came up during their closed session on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 without satisfactory explanation on the whereabouts of the document.

    Abaribe who prayed the Senate to debate the matter so as to tell Nigerians the truth about the disappearance of the fiscal document said that it was also not in the interest of the Senate not to look into the matter.

    He insisted that “the matter is definite and urgent” and should therefore be considered.

    Abaribe said, “The matter that I refer to is what is in every newspaper today, everywhere in all the talk-shows in the radio of a missing budget and therefore Mr President, I want to bring to your attention and the attention of all my colleagues that yesterday in our closed session, this matter also came up.

    “Some of us who are worried, who have been inundated by messages from our constituents who are really worried about what their fate in the 2016, and are asking us, where is our budget.

    “That is why Mr President I think it is definite and it is urgent that we look into this matter.”

    Saraki agreed and said that a team of Senator had already been constituted to look into the matter.

    The Senate President added that Senators should be patient and await the findings of the search team after which the Senate would go into a closed session to discuss the matter.

    He also confirmed that the issue came up during the Senate closed session on Tuesday.

    He said that though Abaribe did not discuss the subject of his Point of Order with him as required by the Senate Rule, he would allow an exception in order to look into the issue.

    Saraki said, “Because of the importance of this (disappearance of the budget) I will allow an exception.

    “You know we are all part of the decision at the close session yesterday and as part of that decision we are still waiting for those we have referred to carry out the assignment to come back to us.

    “I think they will come back to us by tomorrow (today) and we will go into a close session and finish up the report and we will be able to debate it properly.”

    There was an attempt to cover up the issue when Senate President earlier announced that the Senate would commence debate of the general principles of the 2016 budget proposal on Tuesday, January  19  through 21st.

    Saraki also said copies of the budget proposal would be made available to lawmakers on today (Thursday) to enable them go through before the debate.

    He asked lawmakers who intended to make contribution to the debate to indicate interest before the consideration of the debate would commence.

    There was no mention the reported disappearance of the budget proposal until Abaribe blew the lid open to confirm what some Senators had dismissed as speculation on Tuesday.

    Some Senators spoken to spoke wondered “whether anybody can circulate or distribute what you don’t have.”

    A source noted that “As at today, nobody has given or told us in clear terms the sectoral allocations contained in the budget proposal.”

    The Senator said that “it was wrong for the Senate, the highest law making body of the federation to behave as if all is well when it is obvious that something is amiss.”

    He noted that “if the budget was withdrawn, it could have been appropriate and reasonable for those involved in the whole affair to say so.”

    He added, “To smuggle out a budget that was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly under suspicious circumstances is unacceptable to most of us.”

    On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari and Saraki met briefly in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    It was not clear what they discussed in the closed door meeting.

    Saraki was reported to have declined comment when confronted with questions on the missing budget.

  • Soyinka confident in FG’s anti-corruption fight

    Soyinka confident in FG’s anti-corruption fight

    Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Saturday expressed confidence that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration would fight corruption conclusively.

    Soyinka said this when the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, visited him at his home in Lagos.

    He said that the level of exposure concerning corruption under the Buhari administration showed that government was really tackling the vice.

    According to him, the country had never had corruption exposed at this scale before.

    “We have not had a case where it had been alleged and increasingly proven that money supposed to be spent on defending ourselves, our nation, our neighbourhood, has been shared among individuals.

    “We never had experience where we were in a state of critical emergency where children are being kidnapped under our noses.

    “Never had there been in a situation where we are helpless and our soldiers are sent to the front to defend our very existence and we are not backing them up with conduct that shows integrity and commitment.

    “Because of these reasons, corruption is really desperate and has chosen to fight back, but I am confident that corruption will be resolved,’’ Soyinka said.

    He advised the Federal Government not to relent in its effort at bringing all those who looted the nation’s treasury to justice, adding that it should not be cowed by deliberate attempts to frustrate the anti-corruption crusade.

    He described as “insulting’’, news accusing him of engaging in corrupt practices, and said that he was ready to face appropriate legal authority if properly invited.

    Soyinka decried the deplorable condition of the National Arts Theatre in Lagos, and said that a Private-Public-Partnership may be the solution for the resuscitation of the national monument.

    On his part, the minister expressed the government’s resolve to develop the arts industry.

    He said that the ministry was currently strategising on how to tap into the opportunities and potentials in the culture and arts industry to create jobs for Nigerian youths.

  • Buhari pledges support for science and technology

    Buhari pledges support for science and technology

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday expressed the commitment of his administration to invest in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in order to enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness at the continental and global levels.

    He made the remark during an inaugural meeting with the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, the objectives of securing Nigeria, growing the economy, creating jobs and fighting crime can best be achieved through science and technology.

    He said: “I am aware that Nigeria must accord high priority to science and technology if it must take its rightful place among the leading economies in the modern world.

    “Nigeria’s vision of becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by the year 2020 is only attainable when science, technology and innovation are fully integrated into our national socio-economic development process. That process will now be fast tracked with the coming on board of this Council.

    “I wish to assure this Council of my determination and commitment to ensure that as a nation, we will invest appropriately in science, technology and innovation in order to guarantee our competitiveness both continentally and globally. Our goal to secure our nation, grow our economy, create jobs and fight crime can best be achieved if we embrace science and technology.”

  • Ojudu’s appointment: Buhari enriches democratic credentials – Boroffice

    Ojudu’s appointment: Buhari enriches democratic credentials – Boroffice

    Senator Ajayi Boroffice representing Ondo North Senatorial District has described the appointment of Senator Babafemi Ojudu as Special Adviser on Political Matters to the Presidency by President Muhammadu Buhari, as a consolidation of democracy.

    In a statement on Thursday, the Ondo North Senator described Senator Ojudu is a true democrat, informed strategist and loyal party leader.

    His words: “President Muhammadu Buhari has again enriched his democratic credentials by appointing a true democrat as political adviser to the Presidency.

    “As my colleague in the 7th National Assembly, Senator Ojudu fought hard against anti-democratic ideas and actions.

    “With his vast political finesse, experience and connections, I am confident his appointment will herald tranquility and maintain the political stability of the country.”

    Prof. Boroffice further stated that it will certainly ease the political challenges associated with governance and likewise enable the Federal Government to smoothly deliver the dividends of change agenda to Nigerians.

    “I wish the newly-appointed Special Adviser on Political Matters to the Presidency a smooth and successful tenure in office,” he summed.

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  • Buhari swears in Oyo-Ita as HoS

    Buhari swears in Oyo-Ita as HoS

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    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday administered oath of office on the new Head of Service (HoS) of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita.

    She was inaugurated before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by the President.

    The inauguration has made her the substantive Head of Service.

    She stepped into the new position in acting capacity in October 2015 when the former HoS, Mr. Danladi Kifasi proceeded on terminal leave.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, read her citation after which she took her oath of office and oath of allegiance before the President and proceeded to sign the oath register.

    The President then counter-signed the register and shook hand with Oyo-Ita.

    Among those who also shook hands with her included Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the inauguration, Oyo-Ita promised that she will fight corruption in the system.

    She also promised to boost capacity building for the civil servants.

  • Extend anti-graft probe to LG joint account – NULGE

    Extend anti-graft probe to LG joint account – NULGE

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    The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the anti-graft probe to the management of local government joint accounts in the 36 states of the federation.

    The call is contained in a statement issued by the President of the union, Mr. Ibrahim Khaleel in Kano on Tuesday.

    The statement quoted Khaleel as saying “the anti-corruption war cannot be complete without a searchlight on the management of the local government joint account system in the country.

    “In the area of corruption, a lot of breakthrough is being recorded as some culprits are being brought to book.

    “I, therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the fight on anti-graft to the management of states and local government joint accounts across the 36 states of the federation.’’

    The Union boss also commended the Federal Government “for the concerted efforts to tame insurgency in the country.’’

     

  • We’ll look inward to tackle economic challenges – Buhari

    We’ll look inward to tackle economic challenges – Buhari

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    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said his administration will look inwards, enforce regulations to stop financial leakages and adopt global best practices in generating more revenue to mitigate the effect of dwindling oil prices on the Nigerian economy.

    He made the remark while receiving the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms Christine Lagarde, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Buhari, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said his administration will also enforce greater discipline, probity and accountability in all revenue generating agencies of the Federal Government.

    He said: “We have just come out of budget discussions after many weeks of taking into consideration the many needs of the country, and the down turn of the economy with falling oil prices and the negative economic forecasts.

    “We are working very hard and with the budget as our way forward, we will do our best to ensure that our country survives the current economic downturn.

    “We have also told all heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government that on our watch, they will fully account for all funds that get into their coffers.”

    The President said the Federal Government was reviewing its operational costs and had directed all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to cut down on their overhead costs.

    He said the Federal Government will welcome the technical support and expertise of the IMF for its plans to diversify the Nigerian economy and further unleash its growth potentials.

    In her remarks, Ms Lagarde said the IMF will be willing to assist the federal government in plugging revenue leakages, tracing stolen funds and restructuring its tax system.