The Nation Newspaper

Tag: President

  • Buhari directs Police to restore Obiano’s security aides

    Buhari directs Police to restore Obiano’s security aides

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday directed the reinstatement of the security aides of Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State.

    While welcoming the President on arrival Wednesday in Awka for the Grand Finale of the All Progressives Congress Governorship Rally, the governor had complained about the withdrawal of his security aides.

    A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, said that President before departing Awka, directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations), Joshak Habila to ensure the return of the governor’s security personnel.

     

  • Ilupeju Lions club elects president

    Ilupeju Lions Club (District 404B2) has held its investiture, where a new president was inaugurated. Razaq Ajibola was installed as the club’s 36th president at an elaborate event held at Insurance Brokers House in Yaba, Lagos.

    The investiture was well-attended by members of the clubs led by the District Governor, Asiwaju Samuel Ayobola.

    The immediate past president, Mr Olalekan Akande, received his successor amid ovation by members.

    While introducing the new president, chairman of the Presentation Committee, Lateef Sanusi, described the club as humanitarian organisation established with the aim to help people in need and to save lives.

    He urged members to support the leadership and donate resources to enable the club achieve its core objectives of initiating projects that would bring smiles to the faces of the people.

    Asiwaju Ayobola said there were five key areas where the club was expected to make lasting impact in line with the goals of the international leadership of the club. He said the club was required to double its efforts in combating diabetes, impaired vision, hunger, paediatric cancer and environmental protection.

    He said: “For the past 100 years, Lions have dedicated themselves to the service of their communities, giving hope to the hopeless and helping the poor to live a meaningful life. In building on these legacies, members are enjoined to double efforts in making lasting impacts in the five key areas of priority.”

    The District Governor enjoined members of the club and leadership team to work in cooperation and promote excellence and team spirit. He urged them to expand membership of club for better service delivery.

    Giving his stewardship, Akande said the club achieved milestones in its core priority areas during his tenure. He said his leadership restored peace and reconciled members.

    Ajibola, in his acceptance speech, promised to offer focused, caring, resourceful and selfless leadership. He said welfare of the people and progress of the society would be his watchword, urging members to join hand with him in taking the club to new heights.

    He listed projects to be implemented during his tenure, saying the club would equip five public schools within Ilupeju with internet-enabled computers.

    He said: “We plan to donate writing materials, food and toiletries to physically-challenged children. We also plan to donate food, drugs and clothes to old people’s home and orphanage. There will be free eye glasses to the people in need and free eye screening exercise. We will also invest in diabetes screening and awareness control.”

     

  • OAU students’ union President impeached

    OAU students’ union President impeached

    The Parliament of the Obafemi Awolowo University Students’ Union has impeached the President of the Union, Oyekan Ibukun Edwards.
    This resolution was reached by the parliament at a sitting which held in Awolowo Café of the University’s Awolowo Hall of residence on  Saturday November 4.
    The Parliament impeached the President on the grounds of alleged gross misconduct which included his alleged involvement in the attack on students last Wednesday.
    The Secretary-General and Public Relations Officer of the Union, Boluwajaiye Adeoluwa and Okediji Simon were also suspended respectively for not attending the parliamentary sitting.
    They were said to be  viewing a television programme in the Awolowo Hall Common room not too far away from the venue of the parliamentary sitting.
    Their suspension is meant to last for two weeks. The Parliament also prohibited absent parliamentarians from attending two subsequent sittings.
    The sitting had in attendance 52 parliamentarians at which 37 voted for the impeachment of the Union’s President,  while the remaining parliamentarians abstained from voting.
    In an interview with our correspondent, a member of the OAU Students’ Union Parliament, Odetoyinbo Fiyin commended the resolutions of the Parliament.
    He said the  resolutions of the Parliament to impeach the President and the suspension of absent parliamentarians, and other two Union executives amounted to victory for the students.
    “I strongly believe that the impeachment of the President has been lingering for a long time. He has committed so many misconducts, he is also known for absconding congresses I can go on and on,” Fiyin stated.
    Another parliamentarian identified as Honourable Saheed said “The President was suspended by the Parliament because of his involvement in a cultist attack which happened recently. The President did call a sitting on Wednesday and at a point during the course of the sitting, cultists came to attack students and the Union bus conveyed the alleged cultists in and out of the university’s premises.
    “The President is the custodian of the Union bus which is a non-commercial bus, so he definitely knows about the attack because the keys of the Union bus are kept in his custody,” Saheed stated.
    The Clerk of the Union, Hon. Tosdam, while speaking with our correspondent said that the President had to be impeached because he has committed several offences and that his involvement in the cultist attack of November 1, 2017, is prime among such deeds.
     “The President was alleged to have invited cultists to come to attack students in a parliamentary sitting that he did call, which held Wednesday, November 1. The cultists who came to attack our students were conveyed to and fro the university campus with the Union bus and he masterminded the attack. This is an archetype that cultism is likely to return and history should not be allowed to repeat itself. The resolution of the parliament as regards the impeachment of the union President is valid and there is no going back,” Tosdam said.
    Falayi Temitope, the speaker of the Union told our correspondent that the impeachment of the Union President was well-deserved.
      “The President of OAU students’ union has been impeached. He was impeached on the grounds of gross misconducts which included his involvement in an attack on students.”
    ” Mr. Oyekan Ibukun Edwards was impeached as OAU students’ union President because he cannot be trusted on matters as regards students’ security; he allowed students to be beaten blue black by cultists who were conveyed to and fro the university premises in a bus which was meant to be in the custody of the president. He did invite the cultists that came to attack students at the university students’ union building on November 1st, 2017, ” he stated.
    Falayi also claimed that the parliament suspended the Union’s Secretary-General and the Public Relations Officer for failing to attend the parliamentary sitting. He added that parliamentarians who were absent at the sitting have bagged suspensions for two parliamentary sittings.
    However, the embattled President  in a statement rejected his impeachment and the suspension of two union executives, claiming it was a “kangaroo impeachment.”
     The statement reads in part, “My attention has been drawn to news flying around social media that the president has been impeached, the Secretary General and Public Relations Officer of the union have been suspended for two weeks. May I use this medium to inform you all that it is not true and not in tandem with the sacrosanct Constitution of our Union”.
     With the resolution of the Parliament, the Union’s Speaker, Falayi Temitope, automatically assumes the position of the Presidency due to the vacancy of the office of the Union’s Vice-President.
    The erstwhile vice-president had been suspended by the management of the University.
  • Buhari unveils shape of things to come

    Buhari unveils shape of things to come

    President Muhmmadu Buhari, in a remark at the APC secretariat in Abuja yesterday, unveiled the shape of things to come.

    Let me on a personal note thank you all for your prayers and good wishes, which the Almighty Allah answered in the restoration of my health.

    I wish to thank you all Party leaders for helping to keep the government running smoothly during my prolonged absence.

    I would like to start by commending our Party Leadership chaired by His Excellency, Chief John Oyegun. The Chairman and I worked harmoniously during 1984-85 in a previous government. Happily, circumstances have brought us again to positions of leadership in the country.

    I want to thank Chief Oyegun and his staff for steering the party in the last two and a half years. Sometimes it is easier to manage failure than to manage success – and a big success such as that we have achieved.

    I must also commend the leadership of the National Assembly led by Senate President His Excellency, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Rt. Hon. Speaker Mr. Yakubu Dogara. I must place on record the cooperation and understanding of the National Assembly including some non-APC members who rose above petty party interests and acted in the national interest.

    My deep thanks also go to our State Governors who faced stiff challenges, especially their determination to maintain unity and tolerance among our communities. This is in the face of unnecessary politically motivated strife and violence. Credit should go to APC Governors for extending their hand of fellowship to their colleagues from other parties.

    In my remarks to the Caucus meeting yesterday, I enumerated the progress that our government has made in the implementation of the programs of government and the Party Manifesto.

    We can be proud of our achievements in the last two years, Boko Haram, Niger Delta, Regular Fuel, Improved Power, TSA, Agriculture and Fertilizer, above all, the knowledge that corruption will not be tolerated in this Government. We all know there is CHANGE.

    Nigeria’s prestige has gone up, Nigeria is now credit –worthy, a clear testimony of which was the over-subscription of the Euro-Bond by four times.

    Nevertheless, we are not resting on our achievements. I am quite aware of the challenges before us.

    Last year I said we would re-constitute the Boards of Parastatals. I must regret the fact that we have not done so, for many reasons.

    Some of us in this meeting may know I had given instructions since October 2015 for this exercise to start. But there have been inordinate delays through several Committees in an attempt to get the balance right and to make sure all parts of the country are equitably represented.

    On the other hand I am keenly aware that our supporters are very eager for these appointments to be announced. By the Grace of God these appointments will be announced soon. Especially now that the economy is improving, we will have the resources to cater for the appointees.

    By the same token the compressed Federal Executive Council will be expanded to bring in more supporters at Federal Level, with fresh ideas to be injected into the government.

    Let me thank you all again for the commitment and dedicated service to our Party and to remind you that much more will be required of you in the coming months. I hope we can continue to depend on you.

    If we keep united and rise above petty or personal quarrels we will surely achieve the desired CHANGE in the country.

  • Dangote for president?

    Sir: People aspire for the office of president of a country for many reasons. I hear Aliko Dangote is being pressured by admirers to run for office of president. If I were him, I wouldn’t run, because he has a stature greater than that of a president. What does a Bill Gate need the presidency for? His platform extends far and above one provided by the US political scene. So also is Dangote. They both don’t need political offices to make money, for they are already rich. Power right?

    There are many reasons that make people seek political office. One of which is to serve humanity and solve pressing challenges, secondly to make history and have a good time and finally to steal.

    Ken Saro-Wiwa in one of his books categorized President Shehu Shagari’s government of the second republic amongst the worst in modern history. I wonder the performance metrics that he used to arrive at that and what he might have said, were he alive in this fourth republic. And so maybe Shagari wasn’t prepared for office but went to make history and have a good time. I have heard people say that there aren’t legacy projects that Nigerians can remember that government for.

    President Olusegun Obasanjo came to unify the country and to serve. He succeeded up to a point before he veered off, painfully. Today, some of the pangs of disunity that the nation suffers were planted by his actions and further entrenched by President Jonathan. But the quirks of Obasanjo notwithstanding, he never favoured any region above another and was not loyal to persons above national interests.

    President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua didn’t aspire to be president but his antecedent showed that he came to serve. I wish he lived longer. His death was a big disservice to this nation because his successor didn’t follow his agenda the way President Lyndon Johnson astutely followed the agenda of President J. F. Kennedy. There is today no justification for why we should be in a recession that was predicted in November 2014. Check the OPEC figures of Nigeria’s earnings in oil and gas during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan without adding earnings in taxes and you would know that President Jonathan like President Shehu Shagari went to the presidency to make history and to have a good time. And he really had a good time.

    I voted for President Muhammadu Buhari because I saw him as a better alternative. A retired soldier who has history before him and could reform the system not change it. I never fell for the blarney of his party’s change mantra. It’s difficult to change a country without a clear-cut national philosophy. The president in my view came to serve. Regrettably, he hasn’t served well in my estimation but can do better. I hope he isn’t waiting to serve well in his second term, a return which is not guaranteed. He had better seek President Jonathan’s counsel on how not to wait for a second term to serve well. I refuse to judge him on the economy. Experts know that the straits we are in weren’t caused by him but he seems to be telling his lieutenants how to lead instead of showing them.

    Aliko Dangote has what it takes to give PMB a run for his money in the next general elections, should he decide to run. The drawback is that, the business tycoon doesn’t have the popular appeal with the masses in the north like PMB and may not be supported by the establishment.

    Dangote should be another John D. Rockefeller who was quoted to have said: “I believe the power to make money is a gift of God to be developed and used to the best of our ability for the good of mankind. Having been endowed with the gift I possess. I believe it is my duty to make money and still more money and to use the money I make for the good of my fellow man according to the dictates of my conscience.”

     

    • Simon Abah,

    Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

  • 2019: Sule Lamido declares bid for President

    2019: Sule Lamido declares bid for President

    FORMER Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has indicated interest to run for president in 2019 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    In a letter to PDP members, Lamido said the party needed to reposition to take over power in 2019 and bring it back to its path of recovery.

    His words: “Today, 57 years after the independence of our dear country, can we in all sincerity claim to have achieved the dream of our founding fathers? Where did we fail and from where did we begin to fail? Nigeria with its natural endowment and human capacity cannot be forgiven for being otherwise. We cannot even demonstrate our ability and capacity to meet domestic, regional and global challenges, which currently seem to overwhelm us.

    “The PDP will and must lead the nation back into a bright, progressive and innovative future.”

    According to him, the PDP must rekindle in Nigeria a new hope, a nation of united people with a common and assured destiny.

    “To the world, Nigeria must demonstrate our confidence, tenacity in our ability and capability to address our domestic regional and global challenges that confront us.

    It is against this background that I offer myself to vie for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2019, if my party finds me worthy to fly its flag.”

    Lamido added: “I am no means claiming to be the only capable material, any PDP member given the trust and support can fly our flag, and I expect many more aspirants will express the desire to run. My hope and prayer is that at the end of all the process which I hope will be open, fair transparent and credible is to give Nigeria in 2019 candidate who will lead the party and Nigeria. This is because there is no alternative to PDP in 2019; it will be a defining moment in the Nigerian political evolution.”

     

  • Where is our President?

    SIR: Recent happenings in our nation have led to the question, where is President Buhari? The answer remains a deafening silence. A lot of drama has been unfolding and revealing itself since the inception of this administration. Hardly would a day pass by that we won’t be inundated with corruption cases from public officials and institutions. And Nigerians have begun asking the change they voted for?

    The emergence of President Buhari was welcomed as a great departure from the ugly past and many thought his coming would cleanse our polity of the hydra headed monster called corruption but with the drama unfolding from the top, many Nigerians are asking, where is the change they promised us?

    On September 13, Governor Nyesom Wike held a press conference alleging that the head of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Rivers State was behind series of armed robbery incidents and kidnapping in the state with evidence of a picture of a SARS member allegedly gunned down in an operation by the squad of IG of police.  The governor alleged that the SARS commander was planted in the state to sabotage the security architecture and create an atmosphere of fear and called on the Inspector General of Police and the federal government to stop playing politics with crime and save Rivers State from insecurity.  The Inspector General of police waved the allegations aside while describing the allegation as nonsense. Since Governor Wike made the implicating allegation against the Nigerian police, people have been asking – where is President Buhari?

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) has been in the news for the wrong reasons. The relationship between the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu and the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) Dr. Maikanti Bello has gone sour after a letter written to the President by Kachukwu was leaked to the press alleging unprofessional conduct against the Group Managing Director, NNPC which includes the award of contract worth billions of dollars without following due process, and other acts of insubordination.

    At the presidency, there are several allegations the seat of the president has been hijacked by a powerful cabal who decide who or what they want the president to see or give approval. People are still asking about the outcome of the probe of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal over the involvement of his companies in controversial contracts involving Internally Displaced Persons, IDP in the North-east.

    The issue of insecurity and the killer Fulani herdsmen and the wanton killing of people are still national issues yet to be curbed and the APC-led federal government.

    As the drama continues to unravel, Nigerians are watching in disbelief, the body language of President Buhari. One question has continued to reverberate across the country is – where is President Buhari?

     

    • Joe Onwukeme, unjoeratedjoe@gmail.com
  • NCRIB President: Insurance penalties, fines killing

    NCRIB President: Insurance penalties, fines killing

    •Bows out next week

    The flurry of penalties and fines being levied on brokers two years ago was killing and disincentive to our business, outgoing President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Kayode Okunoren, has said.

    Okunoren made this known during his Valedictory Press briefing at the NCRIB House, Yaba, Lagos.

    He said the Council, under his tenure, was able to seek concession for members with the regulatory authorities, especially NAICOM and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) through constructive dialogue.

    He said they have surmounted almost all the obstacles and further positioned the Council on a pedestal of greater respect and reckoning in the comity of other professionals in Nigeria.

    He said: “Although it was not a bed of roses, yet the Council recorded some modest feats in the last two years. We were able to also add value to members. It is a pride for any member to belong to the NCRIB, because of the added value members are getting from the Council. Through this value addition we have been able to douse the negative views and a flurry of ill feelings that were the lot of many members about two years ago. We have given value in terms of training and information sharing, leading to facilitation of business through public bids.

    “We have further the frontiers of relationships with international insurance bodies, especially BIBA and the African Insurance Forum (AIF) with the consequential benefits in form of better training and exposure for members. We have realized that for the industry to continue to be relevant, its members must continually learn and unlearn and have the required exposure to deliver value to their clients.

    “Our image has also been boosted  with our corporate visibility project during the period. We realized the need to inch up the image of brokers and pull down several noxious beliefs about their practice. Today, the corporate visibility project has been warmly received by all members and through it the corporate reputation of the Council and its members have been improved significantly”, he added.

  • Senate endorses swearing-in president, vice at NASS

    Senate endorses swearing-in president, vice at NASS

    The Senate Thursday passed a Bill for an Act to provide for the inauguration of the President and the Vice-President at the National Assembly Complex.

    The passage of the Bill followed the adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Special Duties which scrutinized the legislation.

    The Bill was sponsored by Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

    Chairman of the Committee, Senator Abdulaziz Nyako who presented the report noted that the Senate had on Thursday, December 8, 2016, deliberated on the general principles of the Bill.

    “The Bill seeks to provide for the inauguration or swearing in of the President and the Vice-President to be carried out within the confines of the Parliament as it is done in the United States and other democracies of the world.

    “This is in recognition of the fact the legislature is the assemblage of the representatives of the entire country and as such, it will not be out of place for such important national event to take place in the National assembly.”

    Ekweremadu who presided said that inauguration of the President and his vice at the National Assembly Complex is a standard practice in most presidential systems.

    “That is the standard. Because the National Assembly is the symbol of democracy and here is the temple of democracy. It makes every sense that presidents will take oath office within the confines of the highest legislative body in the land under the supervision of the peoples’ representatives.”

  • Stench from President’s kitchen

    SIR: The series of scandals that have engulfed this administration recently are beginning to cast a shadow over the integrity of President Buhari and the government he heads. What is more, the deafening silence on some of these weighty allegations is making matters worse.

    President Buhari was roundly supported by Nigerians because of his vow to tackle corruption before it kills us among other things and recent events plus his body language have not quite lived up to expectations. This is not why we kicked out arguably the most corrupt administration this country ever had.

    The slow motion with which this government has handled sensitive issues -from delays in appointments to policymaking, despite complaints from all quarters, has proven to be a real threat to our development in that it has affected businesses and investments. It is imperative that this government understands that inordinate delays in making vital decisions make for a poor image of a government and the country it leads.

    Recently a letter to the President from the Minister of State for Petroleum where some very damning issues were raised was leaked. Forty-eight hours after the news broke, no scratch that, two months after the letter was sent to the Presidency, there has been no action whatsoever from President Buhari. In the said letter Minister Kachikwu accused Maikanti Baru, the GMD of NNPC of insubordination and award of contracts to the tune of US$24 billion, without due process among other allegations. That no move has been made to investigate these allegations and proper actions taken, two months after the letter, beggars belief. With the President’s body language in the light of this, one is wont to believe the fight against corruption is a farce as peddled in some quarters – a witch hunt.

    I didn’t believe a day will come when I’ll have some doubts and questions about President Buhari’s war against corruption and his Presidency in general.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo submitted his committee’s report on corruption allegations against Messrs. Babachir Lawal and Ayo Okeupon the President’s arrival from London and a month after, there’s been no word on that. Something does not feel right.

    Is there a form of nepotism going on here? Why has Ibe Kachikwu been denied access to the President since his return from medical leave? Why has there been silence on his allegations against Baru? Did the President see this letter? Was it intercepted by someone? If it was, who is that someone and what is/was his motive? This is the time to clear the air and act.

    The true test of President Buhari’s Presidency has just been presented and the way he handles this will determine a lot as his legacy is on the line here.

    Is the legacy he’s built over the years based on his modesty and integrity worth losing over some jejune decision and obsequiousness to some good for nothing cabal? The President can’t continue to make bets in a burning house. This won’t-talk attitude will not even cut it this time around. It’s already one too many and this is too heavy to ensconce.

    The President must make a very firm decision on this. He should as a matter of urgency launch a thorough investigation into these allegations and make sure justice is served. In the same vein, the President cannot continue to hold the country to ransom with respect to Babachir Lawal and Oke – make your damn decision and let justice reign!

     

    Chiechefulam Ikebuiro,

    chiechefulamikebuiro@gmail.com