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Tag: The Presidency

  • 17 states benefit from Buhari ‘s Sch Feeding Programme – Presidency 

    17 states benefit from Buhari ‘s Sch Feeding Programme – Presidency 

    …monthly Conditional Cash Transfer now funded in 16 states for 115,000 Nigerians
    The Presidency on Monday said that three more states have been added to the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, with an additional one million children now benefiting from it.

    The three new states, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Laolu Akande, are Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Niger states.

    He said “This brings to 17 the number of states currently participating in the School Feeding Programme, a crucial part of President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s Social Investment Programmes, SIP, aimed at tackling poverty and hunger, as well as creating jobs for Nigerians.

    “The other 14 states already on the programme are Anambra, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Delta, Abia, Benue, Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba and Kaduna.

    “So far, in Cross River state, 117,750 children in 973 schools are being fed under the programme, while in Akwa Ibom, there are 171,732 children in 1,101 schools being fed. Niger State has a total of 710,880 being fed in 2,411 schools in the state.

    “In total, 4,773,064 schoolchildren in 25,771 schools in 17 states are currently benefitting from the school feeding programme.

    “This is a notable increase from the previous total of 2,918,842 schoolchildren from 19,881 schools in 14 states that had benefitted from the programme.

    “About 34,869 direct jobs have since been created from the School Feeding Programme across the participating states. In Cross River state, for example, 1,384 cooks have been engaged, while 1,309 cooks are currently engaged in Akwa Ibom State, and 5,924 cooks are engaged under the programme in Niger State.

    “Meanwhile, few days after the United Nations designated 17th October as the International Day for Eradication of Poverty, thousands of Nigerians identified poorest and most vulnerable have received the monthly Conditional Cash Transfer in Plateau and Cross River states.

    “About 115,000 beneficiaries are now being funded with the monthly N5,000 stipend in 16 states; including Borno, Cross River, Niger, Kwara, Ekiti, Kogi, Oyo, Osun, Plateau, Bauchi, Anambra, Jigawa, Taraba and Adamawa.” he said

    He said that the reported disbursement hitches in Benue and Anambra states, are being addressed.

    “This mainly has to do with non-opening of bank accounts and enrolling beneficiaries. It is expected that by the end of next month the hitches would have been completely resolved and the beneficiaries in position to receive the cash transfers in those states.

    “The CCT scheme directly supports those within the lowest poverty bracket by improving nutrition, increasing household consumption and supporting the development of human capital through cash benefits to various categories of the poorest and most vulnerable.

    “The School Feeding Programme and Conditional Cash Transfer schemes are two of the Buhari administration’s N500 billion Social Investment Programmes, SIPs, aimed at improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians nationwide through welfare and empowerment programmes,” he stated.

    Read Also: Buhari frowns at states’ inability to pay workers

     

     

  • Presidency cautions opinion leaders on public utterances

    Presidency cautions opinion leaders on public utterances

    The Presidency on Wednesday advised Nigerian opinion leaders to exercise restraint in their choice of words to avoid heating up the polity and causing acrimony across the country.

    While defending the President’s speech on Monday on his return from a medical vacation, the Presidency said it is a matter of great satisfaction that a majority of the citizens welcomed the broadcast.

    To critique the president for not responding to restructuring on the country, the Presidency said is completely off the mark.

    According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President Malam Garba Shehu, the President has no power to impose restructuring on the country by military diktat, adding that the National Assembly members are the elected representatives of the people who can handle agitations for restructuring and other constitutional changes.

    He explained that the President is constitutionally bound to work with the National Assembly to deal with such complex issues, reminding critics that the President would not exercise arbitrary powers or bypass the legislature in taking such fundamental decisions.

    He said “Changes don’t happen on a whim in a democracy. The ‘immediate effect’ military mentality cannot work under a democratic order. Since the President has sworn to defend the constitution, he would remain faithful to that oath by working with the legislature in taking major decisions on the future of Nigeria’s federal system.

    Malam Garba Shehu however, noted that, while Nigerians are free to express themselves, they should exercise such liberty with restraint and a sense of responsibility.

    He said calling President Buhari an enemy of Nigeria is in extreme bad taste, adding that nothing in Buhari’s service record would justify such scurrilous language.

    “The country’s parliament is ready and willing to discuss all issues but the pundits are more interested in TV and newspaper headlines. Threats don’t work in a democracy. Democracy requires planning and proper process. Issues are resolved through established processes, not by abuses, insults or irresponsible statements,” he stated.

  • Jonathan left crumbled economy – Presidency

    Jonathan left crumbled economy – Presidency

    The Presidency on Monday replied former President Goodluck Jonathan over the state of the Nigerian economy at the end of his administration in May 2015.

    Jonathan had claimed at the weekend that he handed over a healthy economy to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    But the Presidency said that the economy President Buhari inherited was already crumbled.

    In a statement titled ‘Your Excellency Dr Jonathan, this is the economy you left behind, in case you have forgotten’,  the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said “With due respects to the former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, these are the facts about the economy you left behind, in case you have forgotten.

    “I hope this will help to erase the wrong statement credited to you at your party, the PDP Convention at the Eagle Square last weekend that you handed to President Buhari a robustly healthy economy.

    “To the same extent, this should also help to erase yet another false statement by Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, the Caretaker Chairman of the party, to the effect that under the previous administration there was money but now things are very hard.

    “Let me start by reasserting an obvious statement, which is that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was handed an economy ravaged by years of mismanagement and corruption.

    “It is understandable that Dr Jonathon kept his comments short, because a cursory look at any sector clearly indicated that he and his government presided over the most monumental and tragic economic mismanagement recorded in our national history.

    “The oil sector boomed under his tenure, with oil prices as high as US$ 120 and peace in the Nigeria Delta. Nigeria earned unprecedented dollar revenues. Sadly, that is where the story turns sour. There is nothing to show for the revenues earned, no major capital project was completed, neither power generation, road development, rail or agriculture benefited from the windfall earnings. Rather the administration presided over  the diversion of oil revenues on a  such a massive scale, that even without the protection now accorded to Whistle blowers, the   then Central Bank Governor blew not only a whistle but a trumpet.

    “He was hurriedly shown the door. Meanwhile, the acquisition by public officers and their cohorts of private jets, luxury yachts and the accumulation of expensive property portfolios world-wide continued unabated. Indeed the President once celebrated having the largest number of private jets, whilst our youth languished without jobs, our fields stood idle and our factories began the lay-off of workers.

    “Government simply reticulated oil revenue through personal spending by corrupt leaders,   wasteful expenses and salaries. This was done rather than investing in what would grow the economy. Economies grow due to capital investment in assets like seaports, airports, power plants, railways, roads and housing. Nigeria cannot record a single major infrastructural project in the last 10 years. In short the money was mismanaged.

    “Such was the looting that even the goose that was laying the golden egg was being systematically starved. The direct contractual costs of oil produced, in the form of cash calls, remained unpaid.  The incoming, President Buhari’s welcome from the oil majors included demand for US$6Bn owed by Nigeria for oil that had already been sold or stolen.” he said

    He pointed out that at the inception of the current administration, 21 States were unable to meet their salary bills and the spectre of workers arrears had commenced.

    “The PDP solution was the raid of the Ecological Fund and selectively grants N2bn each to the PDP States.  It was only aggressive borrowing by the Ministry of Finance under Dr  Okonjo- Iweala that prevented Federal Government from also owing salaries. The economic wisdom of borrowing to pay recurrent bills is a questionable one, particularly as those paid would have included over 45,000 that have subsequently been removed by the Buhari led administration as ghost workers.

    “It also included the lavish costs of chartering private jets, first class travel   and other wasteful acts that have been eliminated under this administration.

    “To compound the problem the government was borrowing heavily and owed contractors, and international oil companies. When this government took over we had accumulated debt back to the level it was before the Paris Club Debt Forgiveness.

    “All these factors were building up to Nigeria heading for a major crisis if the price of oil fell. Nigeria did not have fiscal buffers to withstand an oil shock.

    “The oil shock should and could have been foreseen.  When Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS crisis started, it was clear that the United States of America wanted to cut off funds to terror groups by crashing the price of oil. When America granted permission for exploration of oil on land ( Shale) the warning signs were evident, but these were ignored by Nigeria’s economic managers.” he said

    The spokesman added “In summary Nigeria earned a lot of money when oil prices were high but there is nothing to show for it. Now oil prices have fallen we are suffering.

    “What could they have done differently? They could have begun doing the very things that the Muhammadu Buhari administration is doing so painfully now:

    “Fight corruption, Sanitise the huge salary bill  by eliminating payroll fraud, Reduce wasteful expenses like First Class Travel and Private jets, Encourage State Governments to reform their spending and build savings or investments, Increase spending on capital projects especially on infrastructure needed to make Nigerian businesses competitive and create jobs, Block the leakages that allowed government revenues to be siphoned into private hands, Focus on key sectors  ( apart from oil) that can create jobs and or  generate revenue such as Agriculture, Solid Minerals and Manufacturing.”

    “If these things had been done when the oil price was as high as US$120 per barrel, Nigeria would not be in the current predicament.

    “We would not be suffering now if we had no cash reserves but we had power, or a rail system, or good roads, or good housing. But we don’t have money and we don’t have the projects either.

    “Now that the oil has fallen below those levels, it is very difficult to do what is needed but they must be done to save Nigeria. There is no other way if we want to be honest.

    “If PDP were still in power they would have continued deceiving people, by borrowing to fund stealing and wastage and the problem would have simply been postponed for future generations to face.

    “One of former President Jonathon’s specific boasts is that dollar under him was N180 compared to today.  With such a line of argument it is clear why we are where we are. With oil prices as high as $120 the average inflow of dollars each month was high, making it easy to support cheap dollars. However with oil price plummeting as low as $28, the fundamental laws of supply and demand dictated that the currency would need to adjust, since oil was the sole export.  It is instructive to note that virtually every major oil exporter has witnessed currency adjustments with the fall in oil price.

    “The Buhari administration has taken a long term strategic view of supporting a stable naira on both the supply and demand sides. President Buhari has driven Import substitution to reduce demand for dollars to buy things we can produce thereby creating thousands of rural jobs in rice and other staples. In addition, there is a credible plan to diversity our revenue sources away from oil, with focus on export crops as well as solid minerals, with the release of US$100M fund to develop solid mineral extraction.

    “President Muhammdu Buhari has a positive and prosperous vision for Nigeria. A nation in which the natural talent and hard work of the people is  being supported by an enabling environment of  infrastructural development  and policy reforms that will develop a firm future for our nation.  Nigerians are looking forward and the PDP’s lurking in the economic rear view mirror only underscores the resolve of Nigerians, that as far as the economy is concerned it is ‘’never again,” he said.

     

  • Presidency tackles Dasuki over North East

    Presidency tackles Dasuki over North East

    …Says Dasuki’s false claims should be ignored

     
    The Presidency on Monday denied the claims by former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, which maintained that the Goodluck Jonathan administration cleared the Northeast of Boko Haram terrorists to make elections possible in 2015.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said that the remark was untrue and should be dismissed.

    According to him, the claim was another attempt to rewrite the history of Nigeria.

    He said “The superlative claims by the former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki that the Goodluck Jonathan administration cleared the Northeast of Boko Haram terrorists to make elections possible in 2015 is untrue and should be dismissed as an attempt to deceive Nigerians with blatant lies.

    “The claim as contained in a new book by a journalist is just another unfortunate attempt by inglorious Nigerians to rewrite the history of our country in such a way as to cover the sins of the past.

    “We will have to read the entire text to offer a full and adequate response.

    “As a public relations goon for the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, the author did not surprise anyone by dismissing the acclaimed successes of the Muhammadu Buhari administration in the fight against Boko Haram, claiming that this government simply took the glory for the achievements of the previous government in the war against terrorism.

    “For those interested in the facts, as at the time elections were held in March 2015, a number of local government areas in northeast Nigeria were completely under the control of Boko Haram–to the extent that elections in those areas had to be moved to safe areas. The residents of areas such as Gwoza, Banki, Kukawa, Monguno, Bulumba, Baga, Gamboru Ngala, Dikwa, Mafa, etc., were able to vote, not in their hometowns but in refugee camps in other parts of Borno State, under special arrangements made by INEC.” he

    He explained that many residents of the North East have returned to their homes as Boko Haram was eradicated from their areas since the Buhari administration came into power.

    According to him, institutions such as schools, police stations, markets and courts have been reestablished or in the process of being reestablished in many of the areas.

    He said that despite Mr. Dasuki’s attempt to rewrite history; Nigerians could not have forgotten the embarrassing stories of failed weapons that plagued Nigeria’s military during the previous administration.

    He also pointed out that under the previous administration, there were cases of unserviceable weapons, expired ammunition and fake armored vehicles, which caused untold grief to valiant armed forces on the battlefield, with arms exploding Willy nilly and guns failing to fire.

    “It is for trespasses like these that the Buhari administration is determined to get to the bottom of the 2.1 billion Dollars arms procurement scandal and ensure that no single one of the culprits goes scot free.

    “The truth, as a matter of fact is that the monster of terrorism got bigger and more daring due to the incompetence and misgovernance of the last administration and no amount lies and fiction can change that,” he stated.

  • Executive, Senate rift will be resolved, says Presidency

    Executive, Senate rift will be resolved, says Presidency

    The Presidency on Wednesday said that the rift between the executive and Legislative arms of government would soon be resolved.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu made the remark in an interview with journalists at the State House, Abuja.

    He said “Our understanding is that some remarks made by the Acting President some months ago when he was the Vice President, because the President was around at that time, an opinion he gave is being misconstrued.

    “A senior Lawyer in the country offered an opinion, in which he said some categories of public officers traditionally cleared by the National Assembly need not to go through that process, that those ones can be appointed by the Presidential fiat; they don’t have to go through screening. But several months ago, in his position as Vice President, Professor Osinbajo gave a personal opinion saying what this Lawyer said makes sense,” he said

    According to him, the government or its cabinet has not taken any decision on such an issue.

    “There is no official position by the government of Nigeria and the Federal Executive Council never sat down to take a decision to say that some categories of officials will not be sent to the National Assembly any longer or that the authority of the Senate under the constitution to screen and pass nominees has never been questioned by the government or the Federal Executive Council,” he said.

    He noted that in compliance with the provisions of the law, the executive arm has been sending the names of its nominees to the National Assembly for screening and it will continue to do so.

    All parties involved in the matter, he said, will soon meet to thrash the matter.

    “From the time the Vice President gave that opinion to now, more than twenty nominations have been forwarded to the Senate and quite a number of them have been screened, sworn-in and are now occupying positions so therefore, this is not a big issue as some people want to make it.

    “The party, government and the National Assembly will sit on a round table and this matter will be discussed and resolved. I assure you,” he stated.

  • Presidency/NASS urged to approach court over Magu

    Presidency/NASS urged to approach court over Magu

    The Presidency and the National Assembly have been urged to put the interest of the nation above any other interests to reach an amicable resolution over the fate of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu.

    Should dialogue failed to resolve the impasse over the EFCC boss, the National Assembly has been urged to approach the court to seek interpretation of the contentious issue instead of heating up the polity.

    Making the call at a news conference in Abuja, the Chairman of the Patriotic Movement of Nigeria, Malam Bello Abdulkadir said this has become necessary given the fact that Nigeria is currently facing challenges of development, national cohesion, security, poverty and unemployment.

    Malam Bello also urged the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to take practical steps towards addressing the issues that have kept Nigeria fragmented in the past few months along its geo-political and ethno-cultural fault lines.

    Malam Bello was flanked at the briefing by other members of the group such as a former NADECO Chieftain, Dr Udenta O Udenta, former PDP Gubernatorial aspirant in Adamawa state, Dr Umar Ado, Former Commissioner for Information in Kano state, Dr Farouk B. Farouk, Pastor Godwin Akpobi, Special Adviser to Gombe state governor, Hajiya Aisha Hashidu and a former political Adviser to Ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, Alh Hussaini Jallo.

    He told journalists that the intervention of the group at this critical period was to save the country from imminent crisis and initiate a national conversation that would preserve the unity of Nigeria as a collective inheritance of all Nigerians.

    Malam Bello said: “the events of the past few months-defined by mutual recriminations, angst,and acrimonious diatribe -across our ethnic-cultural and geo-political frontiers is a source of deep worry to all genuine patriots.

    “We are truly alarmed at this turn of events. To keep silent as abusive language and insults are freely hurled in all directions is not an option. Now is the time to redirect our energy towards productive citizens’ dialogue under-girded by commonsense, civility, humility, logic and rational thought even as we canvass positions dear to our heart.

    Now is the time to silence the drums of war and sings the hymns of peace. Now is the time to return our swords to their scabbard and raise instead the spectre of love”, asserted as he promised to use the platform of his group to bring all the warring ethnic groups together for the good of the country.

    We also pledge to develop a strategic plan of action centered around public advocacy and strategic communication that will seek a buy-in by different ethnic, social and cultural groups aimed at de-escalating and ultimately arresting and overcoming the rising tide of separatist agitations and sectarian and ethno-cultural tensions, Malam Bello stated.

  • State House Permanent Secretary not suspended

    The Presidency on Friday denied media reports claiming that the Permanent Secretary, State House, Mr Jalal Arabi, has been suspended.

    A statement by the Deputy Director (Information), Abiodun Oladunjoye said that Mr Arabi was at his desk on Friday dutifully attending to important state matters.

    The statement also noted that Arabi is not under any probe, and neither is he a subject of any enquiry.

    “Also, there is absolutely no truth in the spurious allegations levelled against the Permanent Secretary and his office in the fictitious report published by an on-line medium.

    “I remain committed and dedicated to the professional discharge of my duties and I refuse to be distracted by adversarial forces,” Mr Arabi was quoted in the statement

    The Permanent Secretary also attended Juma’at prayer at the State House mosque with other Muslim faithful with President Muhammadu Buhari in attendance.

  • Buhari slowing down on doctors advise – Presidency 

    Buhari slowing down on doctors advise – Presidency 

    The Presidency on Thursday assured Nigerians that there was no need for apprehension over the health of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, was reacting to insinuations of a number of media organisations in the country.

    He said that Buhari’s absence at the Federal Executive Council meeting of Wednesday, April 26, was a last minute decision; otherwise, the cabinet and the public might have been alerted in advance.

    He said “As eager as he is to be up and about, the President’s doctors have advised on his taking things slowly, as he fully recovers from the long period of treatment in the United Kingdom some weeks ago.

    “President Buhari himself, on his return to the country, made Nigerians aware of the state of his health while he was in London. Full recovery is sometimes a slow process, requiring periods of rest and relaxation, as the Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed, intimated in his press briefing after the FEC meeting on Wednesday.

    The spokesman said that despite his lack of visibility, Nigerians should be rest assured that President Buhari has not abdicated his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Nigeria Armed Forces.

    According to him, Buhari receives daily briefings on the activities of government, and confers regularly with his Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

    He said that Buhari’s private residence, where he has been spending the majority of his time recently, has a fully equipped office.

    He said “God is the giver of life and health. We are grateful that He has seen our President through the worst period of his convalescence in London. We are thankful that the President has passed a number of benchmarks already. We pray that God continues to see him through this period of recuperation.”

     

  • No Osinbajo without Buhari, says Presidency

    No Osinbajo without Buhari, says Presidency

    …Says Osinbajo still consults Buhari

    …Says enemies plotting to cause division

     

    The Presidency on Monday faulted the ongoing comparison between President Muhammadu Buhari and Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

    Since Osinbajo became Acting President on the 19th of last month and the subsequent improvement of the naira against the dollar, and the new peace in the Niger Delta region among other achievements, many reports have claimed that Osinbajo was doing better as Acting President than Buhari.

    But speaking with State House correspondents, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Femi Ojudu, said that it is one government and that what Nigerians are seeing now are results of the policies introduced by the government.

    Noting that Osinbajo still consults with President Buhari even while on vacation, he said that they have a joint ticket and all achievement should go to the government.

    According to him, without Buhari, Osinbajo would not have been Acting President at this time.

    He said that enemies are at work plotting to cause division in the Presidency with the stories giving Osinbajo credit for the recent achievements, rather than the Federal Government.

    He said: “I think it is thoughtless. I also see it as a ploy by the opposition to cause an unnecessary ‎division. It is joint ticket, the president and the vice president were elected based on the manifesto of the party and since they were sworn-in they have been committed to implementing that manifesto.

    “The same people who said we never had economic team, no policy, nothing are the ones saying this. It is now that the policies we are implementing are maturing and they are seeing the result. It is not a question of one person being better than the other person.

    “I will give you an example; there is nothing that has been done since the vice president started acting that is not something that started far back in the past. A good example is the Niger Delta initiative. The President called the Vice President and said I am giving you the mandate, go into the Niger Delta meet with everyone who is a stakeholder, all the communities, talk to the militants and make sure you solve this problem for the benefits of Nigerians.

    “We are losing 1.2 million barrels of oil per day; all the gas pipelines powering the turbines are being blown up. And the President has said unless and until we resolve this problem we will not get out of recession. The Vice President took up the mandate and went to the Niger Delta, it is the initiative of Mr. President not that of Vice President.

    “This is mischief makers, those who do not wish this country well, who are always promoting crisis, who will not allow the people to benefit from this democracy, are the ones promoting this kind‎ of divisive tendencies.” he added

    Stressing that the Acting President has been consulting the President in London, he said: “Almost on a daily basis, yes.‎ Well, there are things he still needs to consult the President, I mean it’s not a regular thing but major decisions he still has to consult Mr. President. The president is still the president.”

    He insisted that Buhari is still in charge even on medical vacation.

    “‎He is in charge but like I said earlier on, this is a joint ticket the president of Nigeria remains the president of Nigeria. He is acting because it is one government and the same. He is more experienced, he has been in the game longer than the vice president and if there are major issues that he needs to take decision on, he could call on him and say Sir, what do you think about this we are about to take decision on it, do you have opinion? That does not mean he is not in charge.” he said

    He went on: “‎Again, one other thing you have to see is that if you give someone a responsibility, he must be able to show to Mr. President that despite that he is not around, it is not going to create any vacuum. He can then decide not to sleep at all, all through the time the president is away just to show him that he is capable of ensuring that Nigeria goes on well while he is away.

    “And the President could also have given the mandate let nothing go wrong; I believe in you, I appointed you as my Vice President you must make sure that you do this. If you have a boss who gives you an assignment you will want to impress him and Nigerians as well and that for me is what has happened. ‎It is not that one person is better than the other, certainly not.”

    According to him, those reports were aimed at causing division in the Presidency.

    He stressed that the Presidency will not allow those behind the reports to succeed.

    “I’m telling you that I have seen some things sent out intentionally to cause some kind of division within the presidency. Some people who have been condemning everybody in the past, I see them on twitter and on Facebook and generally on social media. Some people are trying to promote division and we are not going to allow that.

    “This president and vice president worked together in tandem and I know they both have confidence in this nation,” he said.

    He also called on the media to be vigilant and watch what it picks as news from the social media.

    Reacting to some clerics in Katsina State claiming that the president was poisoned, he said: “The way I will react to that is that those of you in the media should be careful what you pick from the social media now, it is becoming factory for fake news in the Nigeria.

    “A lot of things you see on social media can never be true. I saw that, I read it and I assessed it using the prison of these factors, those indicies we use to analysis stories in the media and found out that, that it cannot be true. For example they said somebody kept N77 trillion somewhere, imagine that. What is the total value of Nigeria’s economy that because of somebody keeping N77 trillion therefore some people want to poison him so that they can inherit the money.

    “I mean we have a president that nobody in this country can question his integrity. As a young officer, a middle officer, a senior officer and as a head of state till now, nobody has been able to tarnish his image or come up with anything.

    “For me it is not even worth responding to, as soon as I read it I dismissed it, it is so ridiculous. Again it is the handiwork of our enemies, the problem is fakeness has almost become global and universal, other countries are experiencing it. Those who want to distabilise the country they come up with all kinds of stupid stories, some kind of unimaginable stories so we should just discountenance those things,” he stated.

     

  • Bribery allegation against Buhari malicious – Presidency

    Bribery allegation against Buhari malicious – Presidency

    The Presidency on Wednesday described the bribery allegation against President Muhammadu Buhari as malicious, utterly ridiculous, and revolting.

    A statement by the Special Adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Kola Awodein, has reacted to news making the rounds that he gave Justice Niyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, currently standing trial for alleged corruption, the sum of N500, 000.00 at the behest of President Muhammadu Buhari, during the contrived certificate issue affecting the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He said “Mr Awodein (SAN) describes the allegation as ‘malicious, utterly ridiculous, and revolting,’ in a statement released Wednesday.

    He recalled that President Buhari challenged the elections of 2003, 2007, and 2011, up to the Supreme Court, and not once was he named as trying to compromise any Judge, even though some of them were his schoolmates, or contemporary, at one time or the other.

    In keeping with the President’s time-tested reputation as a man of truth and integrity, he said that any attempt to sully that reputation is bound to fail, inexorably.

    According to him, the President was in no way linked with Justice Ademola.

    Awodein’s statement reads: “I am constrained to make in absolute good faith , in good conscience and in the interest of justice and fair play the following very short statement on account of the distorted news story currently being peddled as  affecting the person of Mr. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and  my good and very noble self.

    “The very simple and plain facts are as follows:

    “I have known as a friend and for well over 35 years Mr. Justice Niyi Ademola, a notorious fact known to majority of lawyers who have practiced especially in Lagos for over that same period more or less and also to so many other professionals of other disciplines and other prominent and not so prominent Nigerians.

    “It is a fact that the sum of money mentioned was personally paid by me as a friend to Mr. Justice Ademola as a personal gift, as our custom well recognizes and demands, on the occasion of his daughter’s High Society wedding solemnized at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos, on the 9th of May 2015, which I attended in person.

    “I was fully convinced then, as I remain today, that I could do no less as a friend of longstanding to fairly reasonably support him on that memorable occasion of his daughter’s wedding.

    “Anyone and everyone who knows me would readily and unquestionably testify that I am and have always been a man of impeccable integrity on and off the Courts and that such a record speaks always loudly for itself.

    “I would conclude by stating categorically and without any equivocation that  ANY link whatsoever with Mr. President, or any court case or cases, of my personal gift from my personal resources delivered to Justice  Niyi Ademola by myself on that occasion or any suggestion whatsoever that it was anything but such a gift or that it ever came from Mr. President or at his instance or that I was acting, under any circumstances, on his behalf is most malicious, utterly ridiculous and in very poor and revolting taste and most undeserving of any further comments,” he stated.