President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday hosted members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Service Chiefs and Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) to Ramadan Iftar at the State House.
Many of the cabinet members assembled inside the New Banquet Hall of the State House to break fast with the President
The Nation reported on Thursday, March 14 that the President hosted Governors for iftar.
Details shortly…
A lawmaker representing Ibarapa East/Ido federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Aderemi Oseni, said despite economic harship being experience by people, President Bola Tinubu is committed towards alliviating suffering of Nigerians.
He urged Nigerians to join hands with Tinubu’s administration in moving the nation’s to her desire destination, saying pains of Nigerians has become major concern of the president.
Speaking in Ibadan at the inauguration of earthmoving equipment for rehabilitation of community roads in his constituency/palliative rice for the less privileged, Oseni urged Nigerians to be patient with Tinubu.
According to him, those benefiting from intervention project of the president should properly implemented them at their various locations so that pains of Nigerians can become things of the past.
Oseni said reason for the purchase of the equipment was to make all roads in the constituency functional and motorable, lamenting that some roads in the constituency are bad that grading it alone can not solve the solution.
According to him, “hiring equipment is no more a good ideal due to the cost, and to make it more cheaper and reach required areas in the constituency, acquiring our own equipment is much more important, today, you have your equipment to conviniently grade all our community and rural roads within the constituency.
“Alot of money has been deployed to road infrastructure, as the Chairman, House Committe on FEMA, we are working together in ensuring road challenges in this country is put to an end, federal government is committed in seeing that all our roads are more motorable.
“We are focus on our developemental agenda for Ido/Ibarapa, as part of our strategies in moving this constituency forward, we inaugurated and registered Ido/Ibarapaeast Developement Association with objectives of driving our developemental activities.
“An account will be open on behalf of the association where N50m from my personal effort will be there as take off fund for the foundation to drive this constituency.
“We also appointed 60 SA who will act as executive member of the cabinet for the association and the constituency at large, they will work with the SLA and the Advisory Council, we have put together for the constituency so as to implement all our infrastructural plan, the SA will be giving specific portfolio so as to work on specific assignment.
“My intention is to provide borehole at each polling boot in this federal constituency, and to achieve this, I proposed to acquire a rid for it because giving it to contractor may be costly.
“Within the next few months, we shall complete the first phase of 50 boreholes within this constituency, three are fully completed, issue of water will be treated with every sense of sincerity, no community will be left out.
“On education, all our agenda on education will be achieved in line with federal and state government directive, one of the major things we have been doing is payment of WAEC and JAMB fee for students in the constituency.”
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, March 19, asked the National Assembly to consider and pass a new bill seeking to provide new salaries and allowances for judicial officers in the country.
In a letter read at plenary in Tuesday by the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, the President said the bill seeks to prescribe salaries and allowances as well as other fringe benefit for judicial officers.
There has been agitation for an improvement to the salaries, allowances and other welfare package of judicial officers in the country, while the President has also promised an improvement to the welfare payments of judicial officers.
The Executive bill forwarded by the President is titled “A Bill for an Act to prescribe the Salaries, Allowances and Fringe Benefits of Judicial Office Holders in Nigeria and for Related Matters”.
Details shortly…
Staff and students of the Federal University of Health and Allied Sciences, Enugu have expressed their gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for upgrading the status of the institution from College of Dental Technology and Therapy to a university.
The staff and students who bared their minds at an occasion to celebrate the new status of the institution, also hailed the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa for the success of the upgrade, saying it was his passion for quality healthcare delivery that enabled the upgrade of the institution.
The rector of the new university, Prof. John Emaimo, while commending the contributions of the staff of the institution through their dedication, said that the present status of the university did not come as a surprise.
He said: “We already knew that this kind of good news would come one day because we have had this proposal on the table of the previous president but it was not signed. That’s why we insisted that every staff must get prepared to fit into the new status.
“There’s a dire need for what we’re doing here as an institution. We’re not new and we’re already a degree-awarding institution. We have the structure and manpower to carry on a quick transition.
“We know the terrain very well and we’re not new. People felt it was a joke when we were preparing. That’s why we told you to get yourself fitted into the new structure. I’m glad that a lot of our colleagues have already prepared to fit into this new status.”
Other staff and students, who also spoke, commended the rector for his commitment and doggedness in ensuring that the upgrade came to fruition.
Commending the upgrade policy, a student, Ufot Akpan, said the university was now better positioned, adding that the products of the institution would now have additional societal status conferral on them on graduation.
The Delta state governor, Sheriff Oborevwori has just briefed President Bola Tinubu on the incident that led to the killing of 16 soldiers in Okuoma community, Ughelli South council area of the state last week.
Governor Oborevwori, who briefed journalists at the State House, after the meeting with President Tinubu, however, said the situation had been brought under control, assuring that perpetrators of the brutal murder of the officers and men of the Nigerian Army in the incident would be tracked and brought to justice.
The governor, who also assured that there would be no more of such attacks in the area, further assured that the government would ensure that the innocent do not suffer for the offence committed by criminal elements.
The governor declined casualty figures, saying that being a security issue there are certain things he cannot say in the public.
He said that he met with the security heads in Bomadi on Monday but has been unable to meet with the community involved because the place of the incident is completely deserted.
Details shortly…
A body of independent policy analysts under the aegis of the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) said there are verifiable data to show that Nigeria has a robust investment climate under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The media group also faulted claims that the country’s economy is being shorn of investors’ confidence.
IMPI chairman, Niyi Akinsiju in a statement on Tuesday, March 19, said a comparative analysis carried out by the policy analysts group between Nigeria and some other jurisdictions including India and the UK showed the resilience and attractiveness of the country’s economy.
Akinsiju said: “Compared to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s announcement of 767 companies shut down in 2023, an apparent public revelation to serve as a depression trigger for the country, people and government, the Small Business advocacy group in the United Kingdom frames the 345,000 business closures in that country as: “More businesses closing down than starting up for the first time in 12 years.
“This, by our consideration, is an objective rendition of data. The 767 companies shut down in Nigeria do not in any way come close to the 345,000 closures recorded in the United Kingdom in that same period.
“Neither can the number be compared to the 460,000 companies that shut down every quarter, that is every three months, in China or the 10,655 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) shut down in 2022-2023 in India.
“As routinely rendered, we are further informed by the Indian data that there were over 11,000 new firms started for every one of the 175 shutdowns in 2022.
“Against this background, we require, for instance, that while so much dust was raised over the exit of giant drug makers like GSK Plc and Sanofi, among others, the data should have also included statistics circulated by the National Agency for Food & Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) which indicated that 105 applications for the construction of drug manufacturing facilities have been approved across the country and that 35 percent of the approved applications have completed construction.
“This is inclusive of the fact that over 20 newly registered local drug manufacturers have cumulatively invested over $2 billion in the erection and completion of WHO-compliant facilities that manufacture quality pharmaceuticals and essential medicines for Nigerians.”
The policy think-tank group decried advocacy groups that are always quick to dig up negative narratives, noting that they prefer to ignore the many positives in the economy despite global headwinds.
The group added: “We also note the condescending pretension by the usual suspects, the advocacy groups and politicians, over the news of the relocation of Unilever tea brand production to Nigeria. Ordinarily, this relocation news should not have elicited much excitement because it would have been a strictly business process decision but as it were, such decisions are now politicized and sensationalized to serve the mundane sentiments of opposition elements and corporate advocacy groups.
“Another jurisdictional contrast will suffice to prove this. While profits at China’s industrial firms fell 2.3 percent in 2023, their second straight yearly decline, Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics data shows that Company Income Tax (CIT) rose by 73 percent year-on-year from N2.82 trillion in the 2022 financial year to N4.89 trillion in the 2023 financial year.
“This huge profit difference is recorded despite headwinds that had continued to buffet the economic space. The indication deriving from this is that whatever may be the challenges inherent in the Nigerian economic space, the country avails investors of the best possible opportunities for returns on investment. This is the kind of economic accomplishment that corporate advocacy groups and politicians should celebrate.
“The impressive CIT accruals into the federation account are validated by the standing of Nigerian-based companies on the Financial Times ranking of Africa’s 100 fastest growing companies in 2023.
“Nigeria’s incredible showing on that ranking manifests in companies based in the country occupying 27 places with two of them – Afex Commodities Exchange Ltd and Moniepoint Inc – leading the continental pack of 100 companies. This avails Nigeria 27 reasons to be jubilant despite the challenges the country has had to contend with.
“On the aggregate, this speaks to the resilience of Nigeria’s economy especially when situated in the trajectory of things to happen in the year 2024 coming in the build-up that can be ascribed to the policy deployment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Outlining recent investments, the group posited that individuals and groups pushing a negative economic outlook are working from the wrong premise.
It stated: “May & Baker Nigeria is a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, reportedly focused on expanding its production lines to seven new products from a bouquet of 20 products that will be launched in 2024.
“Also, indigenous to Nigeria is Seplat ANOH Gas. The company is expected to reduce Nigeria’s carbon intensity and increase energy supply to the domestic market. Its technology-driven plant will deliver dry gas and condensates.
“The APM Terminals in Apapa is the biggest logistics terminal in Nigeria. It is part of AP Moller-Maersk and operates one of the world’s most comprehensive port networks. APM Terminals took on the concession of the Apapa container terminals in Nigeria about 17 years ago and has invested over $438 million in facility upgrades in the country’s port system. In June 2023, APMT received the largest container ship to ever call at the Lagos Port complex, Apapa, the Singapore-flagged Kota Contik, a 6,606 TEU container ship.
“In the same business universe is the private sector investors’ funded $1.5 billion Lekki Deep Seaport. The multi-purpose deep port in the Lagos Free Zone is the only currently operating deep seaport in the country the largest seaport in Nigeria and one of the biggest in West Africa. It is to be expanded to have a capacity of handling around 6 million TEUs of containers and a significant volume of liquid and dry bulk containerized cargoes. The port is to be equipped with ships able to transport over 14,500 containers.
“Another private sector Made-in-Nigeria icon is Air Peace. Currently, the largest airline in West and Central Africa, it is already changing the narrative around the appropriate cost of passengers’ tickets on the very busy and lucrative Lagos-London route.
“A growing entity in the financial service sector is the Norrenberger Financial Group. It provides individuals and institutions with a wide range of financial products, including asset management, private equity, development finance, investment banking, pensions, security trading, insurance, and digital banking, among others.
“AA Rano is a well-heeled Nigerian oil and gas brand, reputed for retail distribution of PMS, DPK, AGO, LPG, and lubricants. The company has over 600 trucks servicing its over 115 retail outlets across the country and has acquired a vessel, constructed a 56-million-litre tank farm facility, and is also constructing a 20,000-metric-ton LPG plant in Lagos. AA Rano has a broad plan to build its own 45,000 BPD crude oil refinery in the New Lekki Free Trade Zone area of Lagos State. The company has diversified into the aviation sector with its Rano Air, which has since acquired five (5) EMB145 aircraft.
“Just some days ago, the country attracted N23.8 billion in investments from food processors, GB Foods, which opened a N20 billion state-of-the-art tomato processing plant in Kebbi State to reduce the importation of tomato paste in the country. The GB Foods tomato plant can process 226,300 metric tonnes (MT) of tomatoes each year.
“There are still more, the commencement of operation at the 650,000 barrels a day, $ 19 billion Dangote Refinery is on course. The refinery has received its full complement of six million barrels of a mix of Nigerian and American crude preparatory to streaming. The crude oil in storage will facilitate the initial run of the refinery, as well as kick-start the production of diesel, aviation fuel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) before subsequently progressing to the production of a premium motor spirit (PMS). It is Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility.”
The policy group contended that there are many positive stories from the Nigerian economy to show that the country is on track and urged the opposition to resist the temptation to demarket the country.
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) on Tuesday, March 19, lambasted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his spate of unwarranted press statements against President Bola Tinubu in recent times.
The group said Atiku’s statements were a reflection of his deep frustration with Tinubu for achieving at one attempt, what he (Atiku) spent 32 unsuccessful years struggling for.
A statement by the chairman of the pro-Tinubu media group, Jesutega Onokpasa in Abuja, said it was not surprising that the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is dabbling into all sorts of national issues to be politically relevant for yet another bid for the presidency.
The statement read: “While it is his fundamental right to offer his views in a bid to trade tackle and test President Bola Tinubu-led government in the marketplace of ideas, he betrays reason and stands logic on its head with hollow, irrational, and poorly-researched so-called solutions.
“And as informed Nigerians still rate him for who he is- a political hustler with ill-digested, hare-brained ideas- he has added another by mooning around the National Assembly, specifically at the Senate where one of their own erred.
“A scrutiny of the vice president’s recent rapid press releases revealed his inner frustrations and perspiration in the face of silent successes as a result of major interventions by the Federal Government confirmed recently by leading local investors and global financial institutions such as Moody and Goldman Sachs
“These feats are the fallout of the President’s single-minded pursuit and unwavering commitment to alleviating current economic hardship of the Nigerian people through rigorous thinking out of the box, an attribute which is second nature to the former Lagos State governor as a bold and courageous problem solver.
“It is not the President’s fault that the recent foiled coup in the Senate did not only nail its ring leader, Senator Abdul Ningi but blew in their faces in broad daylight.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the fate that befell Abdul Ningi and his co-travellers was foretold and avoidable. As a ranking parliamentarian who is believed to know budget process matters well, he knew what he was up against hence he has no one to blame for hitting the canvass.
“And now that former vice president Atiku Abubakar has taken another job to peddle the lies of padding on the hollow pretext of interrogating the parliament on the allegation of the N3.7 trillion padding, we wish him well.
It further stated: “What becomes obvious about the convoluted posturing of the former vice president in recent weeks is his almost-feverish craze to graze on matters he has a scant idea so he gets lost in the maze, hence his resort to such grand opacity that often interrogates his trajectory and collateral damage to the dignity and integrity of the exalted office he once occupied.
“For former vice president Atiku Abubakar, it is redemption time. The rush to remain relevant ahead of 2027 has consumed so much that he now dabbles on issues that don’t even concern him. To make matters worse for his handlers and his fast-depleted followers, his rationality has taken flight. Logic has lost its lure. His statesmanship, in the marketplace, is fast losing value.”
The group then advised Atiku that it was time for him to cast aside what it described as his obsession with deceitful politics and adopt a more statesmanlike role like past occupants of his former position in government.
President Bola Tinubu yesterday promised to support the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, during the election.
The poll holds on September 21.
The pres presented the party’s flag to the candidate and his running mate, Dennis Idahosa, at the State House in Abuja.
A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said President Tinubu looked forward towards the triumph of the Okpebholo/Idahosa ticket at the poll.
Addressing a gathering of party stalwarts, led by the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the President said the party would stand with the candidates ‘’like the wall of Gibraltar.”
He said: ‘’If you are happy; we are happy. If you are determined; we are determined. We are going to work with you. We are going to stand with you like the wall of Gibraltar. That is all I can assure you. The party is supreme, but victory is superior and very important.’’
President Tinubu commended the leadership of the party in Edo for its efforts towards the success of the candidates and the party.
He lauded the former governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, for his exemplary leadership.
President Tinubu: ‘’Distinguished senator and our flagbearer, we are putting you forward to hold the party in trust for us and achieve victory for us. You and your running mate have been described as giant killers, and you have worked tirelessly with the party leadership.”
The President, while inviting Edo State Woman leader, Lady Betty Okoebor, to speak on the party’s readiness for the election, reiterated that with the strong support of women, victory is assured.
He said: ‘’If the women say we are going to win, then we are good to go because they constitute the largest number of voters and the most dedicated,’’ President Tinubu affirmed.
Ganduje emphasized the unity of purpose within the party towards achieving victory in the election.
He said: ‘’Our candidate is soft-spoken, focused, and an achiever. He is a product that is highly marketable, and I am confident that with him as our flagbearer, we will bring Edo back to our party.”
However, Okpebholo’s kinsmen in Uromi, Esan Northeast Local Government Area of Edo, have pledged support for the standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Asue Ighodalo.
Their decision to support Ighodalo was solidified during their visit to a senior family member, Bishop Matthew Okpebholo.
Another prominent family member, Patrick Okpebholo, who communicated the family’s decision to reporters in Benin, said Ighodalo was the preferred candidate.
Patrick pointed out that the visit to the home of the influential bishop was a strategic move in consolidating the chances of the PDP.
He said the Bishop of the Church of God Mission International was a force to reckon with in determining who would get what in Esan land.
A former APC governorship aspirant, Ambassador Odion Okpebholo, said he recognised the potential for progress under Ighodalo’s leadership, adding that the state will witness prosperity, if he becomes governor.
President Bola Tinubu has appointed a new leadership team for the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education with Brigadier-General Lawal Ja’afar Isa (Rtd) as the new Chairman.
In the new leadership team, Tinubu appointed Dr. Idris Muhammad Sani to serve as the new Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) .
Brig. Gen. Ja’afar Isa (Rtd) had earlier been appointed as Executive Secretary/CEO of the the Commission but was elevated to Chairman in the new appointment.
In a statement on Monday evening by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu charged the new appointees to deploy their skills and vast experiences in their new roles.
“President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of a new leadership for the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education.
“Brigadier-General Lawal Ja’afar Isa (Rtd) is now to serve as the Chairman of the Board of the Commission, while Dr. Idris Muhammad Sani is to serve as the Executive Secretary/CEO.
“General Ja’afar Isa is a respected leader and previously served as the Military Administrator of Kaduna State from 1993 to 1996.
“Dr. Muhammad Sani holds master’s and doctorate degrees in Islamic Studies. He was the Director-General, Al-Iman School Lafia; Commissioner, Basic/Secondary Education, Yobe State; Chairman, Nigerian Arabic Language Village, Borno State; Member, Nasarawa State Government Committee on Enlightenment Campaign, and Secretary-General, Association of Private Schools in Nasarawa State.
“The President expects that the new appointees will bring their vast experience into the management of this critical Commission, which impacts the very core of society, by ensuring that his administration’s drive to guarantee Nigeria’s out-of-school children the most comprehensive education is realized in the superseding interest of the nation’s future,” the statement reads.
President Bola Tinubu has assured the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo state, Senator Monday Okpebholo, that the party will stand by him in his quest to become governor.
President Tinubu gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja during the presentation of the party’s flag to Okpebholo and his running mate, Honourable Dennis Idahosa, at the State House in Abuja.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the President also noted that the APC is on the path to victory in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State.
Addressing a gathering of party stalwarts led by the National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, at the State House, the President pledged that the party would stand with the candidates ”like the wall of Gibraltar.
”If you are happy; we are happy. If you are determined; we are determined. We are going to work with you. We are going to stand with you like the wall of Gibraltar. That is all I can assure you. The party is supreme, but victory is superior and very important,” the President said.
President Tinubu commended the leadership of the party in Edo for their efforts towards the success of the candidates and the party.
He particularly lauded Senator Adams Oshiomhole, former governor of the state, for his exemplary leadership.
”Distinguished Senator and our flagbearer, we are putting you forward in order to hold the party in trust for us and achieve victory for us. You and your running mate have been described as giant killers, and you have worked tirelessly with the party leadership,” he said.
The President, while inviting Edo State woman leader, Lady Betty Okoebor, to speak on the party’s readiness for the election, reiterated that with the strong support of women, victory is assured.
”If the women say we are going to win, then we are good to go because they constitute the largest number of voters and the most dedicated,” President Tinubu affirmed.
In his remarks, the national chairman of the APC emphasized the unity of purpose within the party towards achieving victory in the election.
Ganduje said: ”Our candidate is soft-spoken, focused, and an achiever. He is a product that is highly marketable, and I am confident that with him as our flagbearer, we will bring Edo back to our party.”