Tag: State House
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Photos: Obasanjo, Buhari meet in State House
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday visited President Muhammadu Buhari in audience at the State House, Abuja. -
New face of State House
The wind of change is not only sweeping across the economy; even the Presidential Villa is changing too.
A lot of things that used to happen at the seat of power, especially under the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, have given way to change.
Only those with genuine business with the government have been visiting the Presidential Villa under Buhari.
All those hangers-on who normally visited the seat of power under Jonathan have all disappeared.
In the past two months of relocating to the Presidential Villa, more than 70% of guests and visitors to the President during the daytime have been government officials, especially Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).
They have been trooping in to update the President on their Ministries activities.
One of the changes, as pointed out by some visitors to the seat of power who normal visited the State House under Jonathan, was in the area of entertainment for guests and visitors.
Under Jonathan, guests and visitors were often entertained with tea or coffee, other light drinks, snacks, sweets and on special occasions, meals.
This appears to be fast changing as noted by some recent visitors to the State House, Abuja.
The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Eze Duru Iheoma, at the State House a fortnight ago noted the changes while answering questions from State House correspondents on anti-corruption stance of President Buhari.
He said: “Let me tell you, the truth is I don’t think any right-thinking person in this country is comfortable with the word ‘corruption’. So, that the President has declared war against corruption should please every good-thinking Nigerian. I think it is a very good effort. For taking up that challenge and meeting it head-on, we thank him because, in fact, my colleagues pointed out something I didn’t take note of: the atmosphere in the Villa is a far cry from what it used to be in the past.
“We were there at the reception and in the past you find tea and all that you know. But now you see a conscious effort to cut cost. And that is part of the fight. So, we commend Mr. President.” He stated
Another area where the changes were recently noticeable was during the commemoration of the 2015 International Youth Day at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.
It was obvious that mainly those that have business with the event attended the function unlike any function held at the venue under former President Jonathan’s administration.
Under Jonathan, such function would have attracted all dick and harry with up to seventy percent of guests not necessarily having any relevance to the function.
Other things were absent at the 2015 International Youth Day event, which was the second major function to be attended at the venue by President Buhari since his relocation to the Presidential Villa.
Then, long queues of vehicles of those trying to gain entrance to such function will line up from the old Banquet Hall gate to as far as the front of the Fire Service building outside the State House gate.
That was the hallmark of any function at the old Banquet Hall under Jonathan.
While there were unusual free flows of traffic to and from the venue, the Banquet Hall car parks were not half filled throughout the duration of the event.
This prompted a passerby who arrived the car park after the function have started to say loudly to his friend: “Are you sure the function has not ended and guests gone back?”
But entering the hall, more than 80% of those in the hall were members of the National Youth Service Corps and other youths.
While those who don’t have business with the seat of power may not have easy access, some staff who do not normally have access to the forecourt of the Presidential Villa close to the President’s official office now have easy access.
Most of them who belong to the Muslim faith now easily join the President at the State House mosque for prayers.
Huge production hours and costs are now saved by the staff who prior to the new administration normally go to the National Central Mosque, Abuja for their Friday Jumaat prayers.
The State House mosque was virtually under lock and key under Jonathan, who was Christian.
Crackdown
on racketeers
Racketeers have been in the system over the years extorting money one way or the other from job seekers who are mainly youths.
There have been several stories of those in charge of such recruitment exercise either directly or through their cronies and middlemen get up to N500,000 from each job applicant.
Many of the applicants have fell into fraudulent hands and never got the desired job after parting with such huge amount of money.
Some of them in the process of the recruitment exercise have also lost their lives.
A recent case in point was the failed Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment exercise, which was said to be hijacked from the recruitment board by the then Minister of Interior under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Similar stories were also said then about recruitment exercises in the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and many government agencies.
But the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday has sent a warning note to all government agencies that it will no longer be business as usual for staff recruitments.
A test case before the government now is the coming recruitment of 10,000 personnel into the Nigeria Police Force.
Only time will tell if those in charge will heed the new administration’s warnings or device new system to beat the directive.
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Photo: President meets with MAN officials
L-R President Muhammadu Buhari (centre) with Chairman Plastic Sector of Nigeria Dr. Bashir Abdullahi, Managing Director Jacobs Wines Ltd. Dr. Frank S. Udemba Jacobs, Vice President Lagos Zone, Rev.Isaac Agoye and other members of the MAN after the meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria with the President at the State House Abuja yesterday. -
Exit: Abati goes biblical
Special Adviser, Media to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr Reuben Abati commenced his final exit from State House, Aso Rock on Wednesday with a Bible quote on his tweeter handle @abati1990.
” #Unto Thee O Lord. Ecclesiastes 3:2: a time to be born and a time to die.
” Thank you, Nigeria. State House, May 27,” Abati wrote in the tweet accompanied with the picture of the President’s empty seat in the executive chambers.
The tweet has attracted varied responses from his followers.
” You have done your best Sir. May posterity judge you fairly. We wish you well in your future engagements” Stephen Hezron stated.
Bukhara Danyaya response was ” As you go remember the people massacred by Boko Haram”
Other responses are as follows:
” Good bye to Good luck, welcome to hard work GMB all the way- Usam
” Broda Abati I see your impact on GEJ throughout but on your home town in Abeokuta you disappoint all the youth though out you know – Olatayo
” No one is sympathizing with you. Bye bye – Al-Mustapha
” End of an era and posterity will judge whether good or bad- Rotexy
Abati and other presidential appointees’ last day on office is Thursday. -
Subversion in state house
•Governor Seriake Dickson undermines the constitution and corporate peace of the land by hosting militants who threatened war
It was criminal enough for the militants to threaten fire and brimstone. But how deep is the treason when fire and brimstone against the state comes from the lips of yesterday’s outlaws now canonised as part of the ruling party’s high fliers and role models? How outrageous is it when the words are delivered under the roofs of a state house with the first citizen of that state, constitutionally called a governor, standing as host of the gathering from which those words of subversion emanated?
Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State hosted a number of the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) top members who were also stakeholders in the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. Also in attendance was a special adviser to the president on Niger Delta Affairs, and Chairman of the Amnesty implementation Committee, Kingsley Kuku. These two senior political figures participated in the meeting on January 24 at the State House in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
They declared that if President Jonathan did not win the presidential elections scheduled for February 14, they would plunge the country in war. This is a serious thing for a group of outlaws to make in a democracy. Neither the elite of the PDP nor the presidency has condemned their threats. But does it not mean that Governor Dickson and President Jonathan are in cahoots with subversion in Nigeria?
The ex-militants at the meeting included Mujahid Asari Dokubo who is the leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force; Victor Ben Ebikabowei, a.k.a. Boyloaf and Government Ekpudomenowei, a.k.a. Tompolo. What these ex-militants saw as the intimidation of the president is the palpable unpopularity of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
“For every Goliath, God created a David. For every Pharaoh, there is a Moses. We are going to war. Everyone should go and fortify yourself,” threatened Asari Dokubo at the gathering, according to news reports. Boyloaf also added his incendiary rhetoric to the ominous evening. He said if the north won the election, they – the militants – would shut down the oil wells.
“Keep grudges and sentiments apart, we are ready to match them bumper to bumper,” said Boyloaf.
At the end, came official endorsement. Governor Dickson thanked the militants for their decisions to back the reelection of President Jonathan.
This sort of rhetoric is not new in this country, and some of the militants have been whipping up raw and divisive sentiments in the past year. This has defied the calls for restraint. The calls have not yielded any sort of civility in speech and spirit from the ex-militants. We condemn these words without reservation.
But for them to gather under the roofs of an elected officer and for the officer to endorse by way of gratitude what the gathering decided is a clear example not only of treason but a predilection for subversion. Governor Dickson has fallen short of his responsibility to the state, and he has undermined the sanctity of the constitution. The first task of a government is peace and security.
But Governor Dickson ran against the constitution by hosting a meeting that threatened the corporate peace and existence of the country he swore an oath to defend. Since the event was reported, the governor has not apologised, neither has he dissociated himself from the subversive rhetoric of his guests. Even if he did, he would have to explain in the context of the law why he thanked and supported the contents of the subversive words of the ex-militants who visited him.
The statements reechoed what the PDP governorship candidate for Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, said late last year when he spoke to party supporters in London. He had said, in the context of revving up support for President Jonathan’s reelection, that if Jonathan loses the upcoming polls, the militants have the capacity to shut down the economy.
What is painfully ironic is that the incident took place barely two weeks after the president signed a peace pact with the presidential flag bearer of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), retired General Muhammadu Buhari. The pact had no legal power but it was signature of the desire of those behind the deal to bring a moral strength to a political atmosphere overridden by a sense of savage intolerance, a fascination for blood and death and a mania to undermine law and order.
If the president saw what happened in Yenagoa in the State Hose of his home state and has not condemned them, it only means that the president did not see that paper as anything other than an impotent agreement and the whole ceremony that drew big wigs of international stature as a charade. The men were Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The PDP image makers have also charged that the Buhari side has not met its part of the bargain because of incidents of stoning in parts of the North against the campaign of President Jonathan. Clearly what happened to the Jonathan campaign was not acceptable. But only investigation can prove who encouraged it. Buhari has in his campaigns warned his followers against violence, and the incidents of missile-throwing came from unknown persons in crowds. It is possible they were inspired by fanatical impulses not encouraged by the higher notches of the Buhari campaign.
We cannot say this of the incident that took place in Yenagoa. Those involved are personal aides and cronies of the president. They are recognisable persons not only to the public but participants in the Jonathan administration. So, it is obvious the president condones the inciting language for his silence. It amounts to subversive silence, and therefore conspiracy.
Governor Dickson also is not unknown, being the most recognisable person of the state by law. What happened was crime in the State House in Yenagoa, and the absence of official consequences only shows why impunity has become an integral part of the Jonathan administration.
This portends evil for the upcoming polls. Those who have expressed optimisim over the coming elections must feel chastened by the incidents. Those, on the other hand, who doubted any peaceful election, only had their fears deepened.
The president must realise that his first job is to secure lives and preserve peace. If he fails in these and sacrifices harmony for election advantage, he fails woefully as the first citizen of the land.
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Jonathan’s photographer shot
Some unknown gunmen on Monday night shot a photojournalist with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Callistus Ewelike, in Abuja.
He was attacked in front of his house in Nyanya, Abuja, between 10pm and 11pm by two men who were said to have arrived the scene in a motorbike.
Ewelike, who is attached to the State House, is currently acting as President Goodluck Jonathan’s official photographer.
He was attacked in front of his residence after covering an assignment attended by the President in Durumi and Shape communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
As the victim was coming down from his vehicle, one of the assailants reportedly confronted him and shot him in the neck at close range.
The assailants reportedly sped off the scene when the gunshot attracted residents of the area.
No personal item was stolen from the victim.
Ewelike was rushed by his neighbours to a nearby hospital.
He was later transferred to the National Hospital, Abuja where medical doctors are currently preparing him for surgery.
He is said to be in a stable condition.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, FCT Command, DSP Altine Daniel, confirmed the incident.
She said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Femi Ogunbayide, has directed ”full scale investigation” into the shooting and has given a matching order for the manhunt and arrest of the assailants.
Some armed men had few months back visited Ewelike’s residence and robbed him of his working tools including camera,a laptop and few other personal effects.
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A night in the State House
There is a general impression out there that journalists covering the Presidential Villa normally cart home money in ‘Ghana-must-go’ bags as part of the largesse from the beat.
But, so far, I have not seen such since I started covering the Presidential Villa.
It is also believed that journalists on the beat get presidential treatment in everything they do at the Villa.
One of my editors at the head office was particularly shocked with what journalists went through while waiting for the end of the 13-hour meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) last Monday at the First Lady’s Conference Room in the State House.
As the meeting borders on national issue whose outcome would be of great interest to many Nigerians, he knew that it would be difficult for me or any of the journalists to leave the venue of the meeting until it ends and we get the news for Nigerians.
The editor, who called intermittently to get update from the starting of the meeting around 2.40 p.m. on Monday to the end of the meeting by 3.35 a.m. the following day, could not believe what journalists waiting to get the outcome of the meeting went through.
When he called around 1.30 a.m. on Tuesday to know if the meeting had ended, I told him that the meeting was still ongoing. Feeling concerned for me and other journalists, he then said that he was sure that we must have been served dinner, coffee or tea and other drinks during the long wait.
I told him exactly what we were going through. First and foremost, nobody offered us any drink or food while the meeting lasted.
I told him that many journalists who did not anticipate the meeting spilling over to the following day, did not see any food to buy and had to stay hungry throughout the duration of the meeting.
By the time they realised that the meeting could end in the wee hours of the following day, most shops and restaurants outside the Presidential Villa were already closed.
Still worried, he wanted to know if the journalists were at least staying in a comfortable room at the venue. I had to explain to him that journalists have access to two befitting press centres, one located at about one-minute’s trek from the President’s office and the other within the Banquet Hall of the State House.
But because the two press centres are far away from the First Lady’s Conference Room, venue of the meeting, journalists had to hang around the venue since they knew that the key actors at the meeting might not wait for journalists to re-assemble if they decide to stay in any of the press centres.
So, in order to get first-hand information on the outcome of the meeting, I told my editor that journalists made do with what was available at the meeting venue by sitting or lying down on the bare floor by the entrance to the building.
A great number of my colleagues had to sleep on the bare floor; and some of them were snoring away their tired souls not minding the harsh harmattan weather gradually taking over Abuja and its environs.
Some of my colleagues, who managed to keep awake in the night, kept themselves busy by taking pictures of other journalists sleeping on the bare floor and also used their midgets to record the croak-like noise from their snoring colleagues.
I also told my editor about the comparison some of my colleagues were making between some of the night vigils they kept during the past meetings to resolve the fuel subsidy protest at the same venue and what they went through last Monday night and Tuesday morning.
According to them, there was a great difference between the two sets of meetings. Unlike the fuel subsidy meetings that usually started around 9:00 p.m. and ended in the early hours of the following day, last Monday’s meeting started in the afternoon and did not end till 3.35 a.m. the following day.
By the time I finished telling him what we were going through, my editor kept wondering aloud when Nigerian journalists will truly be treated as members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm, as they are often referred to.
Even though they criticise the government on wrong policies, when they don’t actually have constitutional or statutory powers, they should, at least, be respected for the roles they played during the military era and the current democratic dispensation as they act as important pillars in sustaining our democracy after the legislative, the executive and the judiciary arms of government.
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Orderliness in the State House
The current day-to-day administrative runnings of the State House Abuja are believed to have improved in comparison with past dispensations.
Some members of staff were believed to be acting in care-free manner during office hours during past dispensations.
They usually parked their cars anywhere on the premises, it was said. Some parked on the road, footway and flower beds.
Loitering and door-to-door selling of snacks and other items in the Presidential Villa were said to be very rampant among some of the staff.
But the current dispensation is said to have enthroned a culture of discipline and orderliness among the staff and visitors to the State House.
The system has been sanitised to the extent that nobody in the high and low ranks in the Presidential Villa dares park his or her car carelessly in any unauthorised area in the State House.
Journalists covering the State House and visitors, governors and their drivers are not exempted from the new order.
Apart from more designated areas created as parking lots, there are ‘No Parking’ sign posts conspicuously positioned at different areas within the premises.
Those who pull by the road side to either drop or pick passengers on the road leading to the Pilot Gate will never go unpunished when caught in the act.
Also parking carelessly on other unauthorised areas may now attract impoundment of the vehicle for up to 24 hours or more.
Some members of staff found engaging in petty trading and loitering in the Villa have not been left out in the reforms as such persons now normally have their wares seized.
A staff, who spoke to Abuja Review in confidence said: “There is now great discipline among the staff and orderliness in the administration of the Villa.
“Before, there were not enough parking spaces; making people to park their cars indiscriminately. The system has been sanitised and more parking spaces have been created to accommodate cars of all staff and visitors.
“This has brought sanity in the way people park their cars at the Villa. There is no longer any excuse to park anyhow. When enforcing discipline, the new system doesn’t mind whose ox is gored. Any car wrongly parked is detained for at least 24 hours.”
Another staff who does not want his name in prints said: “The high level of loitering in the past has been brought to the lowest level. Indoor buying and selling has been stopped.
“We can’t say because we are in a democracy then we throw orderliness and discipline to the winds. There must be discipline and orderliness.”
While Nigerians working in and around the Presidential Villa have been made to follow the new order and decorum, some of them opine that same sanity in the State House should be replicated in the larger society.
In some areas in the Federal Capital Territory, parking of cars is now controlled within the working hours. But observers have maintained that more needs to be done in the provision of more parking spaces for the teeming population in the city before enforcement and compliance could be total.
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Scary nights in the State House
A first-time visitor to the Presidential Villa will scamper for safety on hearing those sounds late in the night.
A journalist, who was newly posted to cover the State House, did indeed take to his heels when he heard a strange noise while waiting around 9.30 p.m. for a closed-door meeting to end in the villa.
It took some time before his colleagues assured him that everything was in order and that the noise he heard came from the beautiful peacocks he had earlier admired in the daytime.
About three weeks passed before he became used to the scary noises in the night from the peacocks.
Some scary things have also happened around some car parks within the Villa popularly known among staff as ‘Maitama’, ‘Asokoro’, ‘AYA’ and Nyanya depending on the distance from the main entrance to the President and Vice Presidents offices wing.
Some animals, in the dark, normally jump over and pass through the iron fence mesh which separates the car parks from the thick forest in the villa.
A Muslim staff was shocked one night when he decided to observe the 7.00pm prayer in the mini-mosque by the fence close to the ‘Nyanya’ car park.
After winding down his car door glasses around 7.30 p.m., he decided to quickly observe the 7.00pm prayer. He left his car and did not think it necessary to wind up the glasses since the car was at a viewing distance from the mosque.
What he saw when he returned to the car few minutes later shocked him to the marrow. He met four monkeys in the car.
While one of the monkeys was standing on the driver’s seat and holding the steering, the other three monkeys were on the front passenger’s seat.
They all jumped out of the car from the other window as soon as the owner opened the driver’s door.
Frequent fumigations in the vicinity have helped to keep reptiles at bay but a few times snakes crawled out from the thick forest.
