The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: Buhari

  • 2019 Election: Documents show Atiku allegedly paid $16.5 million to secure U.S. visa, destroy Buhari’s campaign

    2019 Election: Documents show Atiku allegedly paid $16.5 million to secure U.S. visa, destroy Buhari’s campaign

    Nigerian opposition leader Atiku Abubakar paid $16.5 million (N8.7 billion in today’s parallel conversions) to an American firm to help him destroy his opponent’s campaign message and procure a visa to Washington in the run-up to the 2019 presidential vote, according to disclosure filings seen by Peoples Gazette, bolstering a long-held presumption that Nigerian electioneering was becoming more expensive to run even before illicit payments to electoral officers and voters are factored in.

    Mr Abubakar, 74, used the money to enlist the services of K.M. Family Investment, LLC, a Texas-based public affairs consultancy run by Sada Cumber, a Pakistani-American diplomat and former U.S. Special Envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) under President George W. Bush. The deal was facilitated by Legacy Logistics, an Abuja-based integrated services venture linked to Mr Abubakar’s associates Samuel Cornelius and Joseph Nzepuome.

    Amongst other campaign ideas, Mr Cumber and his team accepted the $16.5 million deal to help the former Nigerian vice president lobby American politicians and bureaucrats for a visitor’s visa, coordinate advanced communications of his campaign and help build a structure tasked with the “destruction” of opposition messaging, according to the contract seen by The Gazette as part of compliance with the provisions of U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act.

    The deal was signed on October 26, 2018, three weeks after Mr Abubakar clinched the presidential nomination of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 2019 elections.

    But the filings said Mr Cumber had contacted top Washington lobbyists Holland & Knight no earlier than September 20, 2018, seeking their services in helping Mr Abubakar procure a visa to the U.S.

    Holland & Knight charged Mr Cumber $75,000 for the contract and promptly dispatched its personnel to liaise with Republican members of the U.S. Congress, as well as representatives of White House National Security Council and the State Department.

    The deal with Holland & Knight was first reported by Reuters in February 2019, weeks after Mr Abubakar returned from the two-day trip to Washington.

    Sada Cumber

    Mr Cumber, an influential Republican and ally of former President Donald Trump, started preparing his team for a trip to Abuja to meet Mr Abubakar’s campaign shortly after the deal was signed and the visa was all but guaranteed, The Gazette learnt.

    It was unclear how much Mr Cumber charged Mr Atiku for the visa alone as part of the $16.5 million campaign strategy deal. A spokesman for his firm did not immediately return a request seeking comments from The Gazette on Tuesday night.

    The contract said the agreed sum was exclusive of Mr Abubakar’s flight and accommodation to the U.S. and security and logistics for Mr Cumber’s team on their trip to Nigeria — indicating that the Nigerian politician paid out of his pocket when his entourage stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington during the trip.

    In the contract agreement, Mr Cumber asked Mr Abubakar’s campaign to pay $16.5 million into an escrow account. The money would be depleted in three tranches at every milestone of the three phases of the project.

    “The Escrow Agent shall disburse the Escrow Fund as follows:

    “a) Five Million, Five-Hundred Thousand and NO/100 Dollars ($5,500,000.00) shall be disbursed by Escrow Agent from Escrow Fund to Firm immediately upon confirmation that the travel VISA for Mr. Atiku Abubakar has been issued by the United States government;

    “b) Eight Million, Five-Hundred Thousand and NO/100 Dollars ($8,500,000.00) shall be disbursed by Escrow Agent from Escrow Fund to Firm immediately upon shipment of the book by Firm and release of the Op-Eds by Firm.

    “c) Remaining Two Million, Five-Hundred Thousand and NO/10G Dollars ($2,500,000.00) shall be disbursed by Escrow Agent from Escrow Fund to Firm thirty (30) days before the currently announced Election Day in Nigeria of February 16, 2019. This date shall not change even if Election Day is postponed.

    “Funds may also be disbursed in accordance with the joint written instructions signed by both Firm and Client. On disbursement of all of the Escrow Fund, this Escrow Agreement shall terminate,” the contract said.

    The contract was scheduled to last between October 2018 and January 2019, when the last $2.5 million was slated to be released from the escrow account. It also included a clause that said any postponements of the election will not affect the disbursement of the $16.5 million as scheduled in the agreement. The election was indeed shifted from February 16, 2019, to February 23, 2019.

    The deal underscored how expensive Nigerian presidential elections have become over the past decade, and how politicians continue to contract foreign strategists to help direct their campaigns. In 2015, Mr Buhari’s APC awarded a similar contract to AKPD Message & Media, a strategic communications outfit headed by David Axelrod, who directed President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008 and 2012.

    The amount appeared to have been drawn from Mr Abubakar’s formidable campaign war chest and did not include other electoral expenses locally, including ad buys across traditional and digital media.

    Nigerian politicians are also known to pay heavily to secure their parties’ tickets at the primaries, advance illicit payments to electoral officers and induce voters at the ballot box.

    Mr Abubakar has carried a burden of corruption perception since he was accused of laundering about $40 million by the U.S. Senate in a 2010 probe. The probe uncovered how Mr Abubakar used his wives to launder the funds, including about $1.7 million in cash bribes from German technology giant Siemens. Siemens pleaded guilty to the charges in 2008 and paid about $1.6 billion in fines.

    The main opposition chieftain was also named as an accomplice in a multinational bribery scandal of a broadband contract that sent his Democratic ally Jefferson to prison in 2005. Mr Abubakar denied all allegations of corruption and has not been formally convicted of graft, but the U.S. nonetheless found him unworthy of its visa and blocked him from getting one for years.

    Mr Abubakar said in interviews that he applied for a U.S. visa repeatedly but was denied on administrative grounds, which consular officers did not elaborate.

    But as his opponents were preparing to use his inability to enter the U.S. owing to unclear corruption claims, Mr Abubakar pinned his hopes on Mr Cumber’s steep ties across Washington, which paid off when he arrived in Washington on January 17, 2019, for the first time in over a decade, thereby crossing a major political hurdle that has haunted him for years.

    Mr Cumber agreed to, as part of the deal, help Mr Abubakar write a book outlining his vision for Nigeria, hold talks with key players at the World Economic Forum in Davos, conduct opposition research and SWOT analysis of his ambition.

    A campaign insider told The Gazette that Mr Cumber and his team helped put together the structure of his campaign, as well as the strategy document he launched in the run-up to the election. Still, it remained unclear whether the agreement was implemented in its entirety, especially as Mr Abubakar did not appear to have launched any book before the election.

    A spokesman for the former vice president did not return requests seeking comments about the contract.

    Mr Buhari was declared the winner of the election amidst condemnation from election observers and protests from Mr Abubakar. The opposition leader argued the election was rigged after ruling party agents broke into the electoral commission’s database and changed votes, but lost at the tribunal and the Supreme Court.

    (Peoples Gazette)

    Download the document: Atiku-Campaign

     

     

  • The President that says He won’t leave office a failure but couldn’t tackle Insecurity in his Nation

     

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday warned security chiefs that he is not prepared to exit office as a failure and was prepared to make fresh changes if necessary to turn things around in the fight against insecurity.

    He made this declaration at the presidential villa, Abuja during the National Council on Security meeting, which he presided over at the First Lady Conference Room.

     

     

     

    The meeting with heads of security agencies was to allow him receive updates on security operations around the country.

     

    Briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting, National Security Adviser (NSA), Major Gen. Babagana Monguno (Retd), said the President also expressed his readiness to make more changes in the security architecture of the country if necessary.

     

    He revealed that all the issues brought before the President centred mainly on the successes recorded in military operations in the North East.

     

     

     

    According to him, large numbers of Boko Haram are surrendering in the North East, noting, “never had such large numbers leave the terrorist camp owing to the relentless activity of security agencies.”

     

    The NSA who stated that there is good cooperation, synergy and intelligence-sharing among the armed forces, said President Buhari was happy with the briefs he received.

     

    Said Monguno: “It is evident that a lot of successes have been recorded. Large numbers of people are surrendering in the north-east as a consequence of the relentless efforts of the armed forces, intelligence and security agencies.

     

    “This is very, very evident. We’ve never had such large numbers of people defecting from the other side, back to the Nigerian side, mainly, as a result of many issues within the theatre, issues of infighting among the various factions of the terrorist groups.

     

    “But the new drive of the armed forces, the police, the intelligence agencies, there’s been greatest cooperation, greater synergy intelligence sharing, as well as our partners in the regional intelligence fusion unit. So the President was briefed, the president is quite happy that there’s been tremendous success, especially with the advent of the new service chiefs and inspector-general of police.

     

    “And he’s also made it very, very clear that he’s not ready to exit government as a failure. He is not going to tolerate that ;he’s made changes and is ready to make further changes if he is not satisfied. He is completely determined to ensure that that a lot has to be done.”

     

    The NSA said the issue of hunger in the country, which he described as an “emergency situation”, was also discussed at the meeting.

     

    He said the president has given directives to address the recent killings in Plateau state.

     

    On the plans for Boko Haram insurgents who are surrendering, he said: “I don’t want to immediately divulge what has been decided on those plans till the president takes a firm decision.”

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.sunnewsonline.com

  • Halting Insecurity -Ohuabunwa

    Former chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group and president, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Dr Sam Ohuabunwa is interested in succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.In this interview, he spoke about his New Nigeria Group Agenda/ movement, the current situation in the country among other topical issues. What is your take on the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria?No normal human being is happy. Personally, I’m distraught because I value human life. Whenever I hear that people are kidnapped, killed or brutalised, I have this feeling, suppose it’s me or any member of my family. I feel pains because humanity is one. Nigeria is supposed to be one, so whatever happens to one is supposed to affect the other. Honestly, I never thought that Nigeria would get to this horrible situation. Thus, much more is needed to be done to change the ugly tide.How do you feel particularly about the activities of killer herdersmen? The truth is that political leaders have not manned up to stop this monster from a neutral angle; that is from non -partisan point. That’s why the problem remains. You can imagine the minister of justice /Attorney general comparing cow movement with dealers of automobile spare parts; that is the height of partisanship. That frame of mind cannot bring solution to the problems in Nigeria. The government has shown clearly that they care about a particular group of people at the expense of others. As a person, you have the right to hold opinions and personal biases but once you become a governor or president, you must bury your personal bias and embrace all and sundry. This is what Nigeria political leaders don’t know.Did you expect less from the AGF? Is he not following the footsteps of his master?I was utterly embarrassed. I didn’t expect that from a “supposed “ learned person. For God’s sake, he is not Attorney general of one man; he should speak and act in a way and manner that shows independence of thought and neutrality of mind. Yes, he could be following the steps of his master. The AGF ought to communicate in a more healing, reconciliatory manner. He should advise the president aright and not otherwise at least for the toga he puts on; the world is watching. His utterances should be inclusive, he should not be defending one group against another. There is no relationship between banning animals which destroy crops, and human beings who do legitimate businesses.Do you think Nigeria’s situation is irredeemable or are we heading towards Somalia?If Nigeria problem is irredeemable, I wouldn’t be talking with you, thus I believe it’s redeemable. But it requires change of course, change of orientation; we need a new Nigeria where equity, justice, fairness, and all the tenets of democracy would rein supreme. A country with economic prosperity, not a strangulated economy as we see it today; the country bleeds economically and otherwise. A country that would move from third (3rd) world to first world; from there we shall progress to productivity enhancement which would require investment and ultimately create jobs which create wealth and wealth deals with poverty. We see a country where potential are utilized, where destinies are supported, where purposes in life are fulfilled, a country where every child would be treated equally and enjoys equal opportunities. That is the country we expect. Luckily, I met that kind of country in the past. I met it way back in the 60s and 70s when we grew up. The Nigeria I knew then is what I envisage again but I desire to take it a bit higher but at worst, we should take it to the same level and condition it was in the 60s and 70s.There are discordant voices as to where the next president should come from, coupled with the Electronic transmission of election results brouhaha, do you think elections would hold in 2023?Yes, I believe it will under any condition. But we need very credible elections; that’s why we support the electoral Amendment bill especially the electronic transmission of results. Because for a long time, our elections have been fraught with so many loopholes and conflicts. Remember, Late president Yar’Adua admitted it. And that was why we opposed Jonathan when he wanted to run under a faulty electoral system; so we advise that he fixes the skewed electoral system first else you won’t win. So 2023, elections would hold but we are afraid; the NASS should stop telling us cock and bull story and all that hogwash about network problem and electricity in their very constituencies they represent. Yes, they carry out electronic transactions through their phones without complain. You can see how NCC contradicts itself on network coverage report. You and I know that every nook and crannies of this country have network coverage at least with no smart phone, our people can get network, even in Arochukwutypical village where I come from. So, they are telling half truth which is outright lies. They are striving to preserve their perpetuity in office. But when it’s God’s time for a better change, it will happen no matter how people try to resist it, it will happen. Their plan is to throw the country into confusion but God will frustrate them, howbeit, every right thinking person will support electronic transmission of results.Is restructuring the way forward?Yes, very well. It’s few persons who are bent on suppressing others that enjoy the skewed status quo. You know we are supposed to operate a federal system of government where the federating units are free to manage their resources and be in charge of its welfare at the same time; the central controls a critical sector with a minimal power; in this case, it has the shape of a pyramid, but the situation in Nigeria today is reverse. The federal system of government we claim to practise is concocted; what we have is an inverted pyramid, that is why the country is unstable because the structure is disorganized. So, the call for restructuring is a call for a change back to the right form, shape and design it ought to be. Call it reform, call it re- Engineering or reconfiguration, call it rigid, it all means retracing our steps and putting the foundation in the right position, form and manner.This is a country where the intellectuals elect mentally -poor persons; why do people with ideas, leadership capacities choose to stand aloof?The truth is if you are a self- respecting person, one driven by moral and ethical codes, if you are driven by morals, you won’t want to dabble into a space where your values are put in the line or challenged. Many of us have tried to go close to politics, but the way it been practice gives it a very debilitating name . secondly, the kind of characters that swim in politics have made it look as if it’s their enclave and when they see good people coming in, they consciously set obstacles for you and you run away. Third, they have monetize Nigeria politics, that if you are a civil servant or a private business man or woman, they intimidate you with too much money, so you are unable to compete because with thelevelof poverty in the country many people listen to the stomach infrastructure you spoke about, thus, the monetization and demonisation in Nigeria politics is becoming unbecoming. And besides, Nigeria political equation is not balanced because there are no constants, here anything goes, everything varies. In Nigeria, so many people have what it takes to lead excellently, yet they lose out in elections because someone else is announced the winner, so their is no logic. There is no predictability, so no sane person want to near such system. Predictability starts from the wards. If you can win from your ward you can predict the ultimate outcome. Now there are so many methods, some are good, some bad -but which ever; at least you know the outcome, that is one problem solved. The next challenge is winning the outer electorate, which strategies to deploy, is it by giving them money, gift items, by your ideologies or what, hopefully we shall get it better because for now we are not getting it any better, it has been one step forward, five steps backward. These are things that makes men of ideas stand aloof. I have been in the background writing series of articles but theydidn’t help, until God told me to stop writing and pontificating, I should go there and offer myself for the work. So God convince me , then I over grew these inhibitions, now I’m ready to go into the field and face it squarely and by His grace we shall make it and enforce a change. We have waited enough for some people to effect desired changes but all to no avail, and some people have told me not to waste my little resources on politics, instead I should use it and get myself pleasure outside this country. These people have resigned to fate and run away from Nigeria because they believe Nigeria is irredeemable. But they are wrong. So they laugh at my move and we are serious. We want to make Nigeria the hope of Africa. My conviction is divinely motivated.How prepared are you in the presidential race for 2023?First- our vision is to build a first world country that would work for all. We need a country that would exude the virtues of industry, freedom, equity, integrity, justice, love for one another, true patriotism, sense of responsibility, belongingness, morality and Godliness. For now, the New Nigeria Group has reached out and set up structures in at least 30 States and still moving; we are a movement, not a political party yet; we want to garner much support especially from young people; in the cause of this move, we are building structures; with the structures, we shall either align with a proper established political party or a political grouping. We are recruiting young people across divide. This movement is for young people. Our mission is to make Nigeria better or if anything better is not feasible, then let’s take it back to where it was in 60s and 70s. We have seen better days before. Why would we deteriorate? Are we not supposed to get better and improve as days go by. If we can’t get any better, then we must return to our better days when Nigeria has value in the comity of Nations. Nigeria must move from a fourth world country to first world Nation. We must move from a country that kills talents and destinies to a country that supports destinies and talent.

    Source: www.sunnewsonline.com

  • FG owes CBN N15.51tn, borrows N14.86tn under Buhari’s Regime

    The Federal Government’s total borrowing from the Central Bank of Nigeria through Ways and Means Advances has ballooned to N15.51tn, rising by 2,286 per cent in six years, data collated from the CBN have shown.The N15.51tn owed by the Federal Government to the central bank is not part of the country’s total public debt stock, which stood at N33.11tn as of March 2021, according to the Debt Management Office.The public debt stock comprises the debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory. Ways and Means Advances is a loan facility used by the central bank to finance the government in periods of temporary budget shortfalls subject to limits imposed by law. According to Section 38 of the CBN Act, 2007, the bank may grant temporary advances to the Federal Government in respect of temporary deficiency of budget revenue at such rate of interest as the bank may determine.The Act says, “The total amount of such advances outstanding shall not at any time exceed five per cent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the Federal Government.“All advances shall be repaid as soon as possible and shall, in any event, be repayable by the end of the Federal Government financial year in which they are granted and if such advances remain unpaid at the end of the year, the power of the bank to grant such further advances in any subsequent year shall not be exercisable, unless the outstanding advances have been repaid.” In the first six months of this year, the Federal Government borrowed N2.4tn from the CBN, more than half of what it got in the whole of last year.The N2.4tn is also much higher than five per cent of the Federal Government’s retained revenue of N3.9tn in the previous year.As of June 2015, a month after the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) came into power, the total government borrowing from the apex bank stood at N648.26bn.It jumped from N856.33bn in December 2015 to N2.23tn in December 2016, the CBN data show.The total borrowing from the bank grew by N1.08tn in 2017 to N3.31tn. It rose further by N2.1tn in 2018 to N5.41tn.The Federal Government’s borrowing from the CBN surged by 61.18 per cent (N3.31tn) to N8.72tn at the end of 2019.Last year, the government turned to the apex bank for a record N4.9tn to plug its fiscal financing gap, bringing its total borrowing to N13.11tn as of December 2020.A global credit ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, had in January raised concerns over the Federal Government’s repeated recourse to its ways and means facility with the central bank.According to the agency, the use of central bank financing in Nigeria, which predates the COVID-19 pandemic shock, could raise risks to macro-stability in the context of weak institutional safeguards that preserve the credibility of policymaking and the ability of the central bank to control inflation.“The CBN’s guidelines limit the amount available to the government under its WMF to five per cent of the previous year’s fiscal revenues. However, the FGN’s new borrowing from the CBN has repeatedly exceeded that limit in recent years, and reached around 80 per cent of the FGN’s 2019 revenues in 2020,” it said.In February, the International Monetary Fund said Nigeria’s monetary policy operational framework should be reformed in the medium term, adding that the central bank financing of budget deficit should be phased out in order to reduce inflation.“The increasing reliance on CBN overdrafts has come with negative consequences. The financing is costly for the Federal Government at interest rates of MPR plus 300 basis points, and for the CBN, with sterilisation done through issuance of OMO bills,” it said.The IMF added that a complete removal of central bank financing of fiscal deficits would require higher domestic revenue mobilisation.The Washington-based fund had on April 28, 2020 approved Nigeria’s request for emergency financial assistance of $3.4bn to support the country’s efforts in addressing the severe economic impact of the COVID-19 shock and the sharp fall in oil prices. In a letter of intent to the IMF, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, and the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the recourse to central bank financing would be eliminated by 2025.They added that the existing stock of overdrafts held at the CBN would also be securitised.Central bank borrowing quite large – RewaneThe Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr Bismarck Rewane, described N15.51tn as ‘quite large’, stressing the need for the government to securitise it.Read AlsoOur debts will keep rising, revenues declining – FGNigeria among highest IDA borrowers, says World BankWorld Bank lists Nigeria, nine others as countries with high debt risk exposureHe said, “N15tn is about 45 per cent of total money supply. So, if, for example, those ways and means advances were securitised today, people will have to invest in government securities and it will reduce money supply by 45-50 per cent.“What we need to do is to actually securitised this formally. But I think that right now, the Federal Ministry of Finance or DMO is paying interest on the ways and means advances. So, the effect is that there is a cost to the borrowing, and the central bank is receiving the interest on it.”According to Rewane, the central bank can easily sell the instruments under the open market operations.He said, “The quantum is quite large but to the extent that interest is being charged on it, it may not be as destabilising as the number may make it appear.“Two, the amount that has been taken out of liquidity with CRR (cash reserve ratio) compensates mainly for the extra liquidity that is created by these ways and means advances.”Minimise CBN loan facility, ex-MPC member tells FGA former member of the CBN Monetary Policy Committee, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, said the government should minimise its usage of central bank financing, adding, “I hope they are borrowing to finance capital projects, not for recurrent expenditure.”“The ideal thing is to avoid the ways and means facility, and most countries avoid that,” he said.According to the former Director-General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, government’s dependence on the WMF creates inflation, crowds out private investment and limits the way the CBN can carry out monetary policy.He said, “Assuming that they are printing money to do this, then it will be too much money chasing few goods, which will be inflationary. That is why it is good to minimise it; the jump is quite much.“There is a need for transparency. If they are doing all of this, and they are also borrowing externally, they need to be transparent – telling us what the monies are being used for.“They are also borrowing a lot from IDA (World Bank), ADB, etc; they are issuing Eurobonds and Sukuk bonds. When it is becoming too many, there is a problem. I hope it is well managed, otherwise it is not good for the economy.” The Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, had said in April that the Federal Government printed N60bn to augment what the three tiers of government shared in March. The claim was faulted by the CBN governor and the finance minister.The MD/CEO, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr Johnson Chukwu, said the central bank borrowing was putting pressure on the exchange rate and the inflation rate, with ‘liquidity that has no productivity attached to it coming into the system’.He said, “What that means is that the central bank has been struggling with mopping up excess liquidity as a result of injection of liquidity not coming from productive activities but rather from Federal Government’s W&M borrowing.

    “In the first five months of this year, total Federal Government revenue was N1.8tn, while expenditure was N4.8tn, leaving a gap of about N3tn, which is the reason why you saw that over N2tn borrowed from the central bank. ”According to Chukwu, the securitisation of the ways and means advances will further increase the interest obligations of the Federal Government.“It might be difficult for the Federal Government to securitise those borrowings. The key thing for me is that we need to restructure the fiscal framework of the country so that we take out this dependence by the Federal Government on CBN funding,” he told our correspondent.Bloomberg reported on February 16, 2021 that the Federal Government had set the terms for the conversion of its stock of central bank overdrafts into long-term notes in a bid to create transparency around its dependence on that source of funding.The DMO Director-General, Mrs Patience Oniha, was quoted as saying that the N10tn debt would be exchanged for 30-year notes issued to the central bank, adding that the agreement on timing for the conversion needed to be finalised to get the required approval from the cabinet, at the earliest in the second quarter.In June, London-based Capital Economics, in a report titled ‘The perils of deficit monetisation in Nigeria’, noted that over the past six years, on average around 55 per cent of annual budget shortfalls had been financed by the CBN.“Many of the problems plaguing Nigeria’s economy – from high inflation to a persistently overvalued currency – are tied to the government’s sustained reliance on the central bank to cover fiscal financing gaps,” it said.

    Source: www.punchng.com

  • Covid 19: Buhari and his aides go on Isolation after trip to UK

     

    Mr Buhari and members of his entourage returned to Nigeria last Friday after about two weeks in London, UK.

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari will go on isolation in line with COVID-19 protocols after spending about two weeks in London, United Kingdom, the presidency has said.

     

    Also billed to go on isolation are officials of the government who accompanied the president on the trip.

    They include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba; National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno (rtd) and Director General of National Intelligence Agency, Amb. Ahmed Abubakar.

     

    Mr Buhari and members of the delegation, who travelled to London on July 26, returned to Nigeria on Friday after about two weeks.

     

    They were received at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja by his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Bello, security chiefs as well as some presidential aides.

     

    Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said the officials would go on isolation in line with the guideline for international travels.

     

    “Mr President and all of those on his delegation will be isolated in line with NCDC guidelines for international travel. They all tested yesterday (Friday) and will follow up with another test in due course,” Mr Shehu told the Guardian newspaper on Sunday.

     

    While in London, Mr Buhari joined other world leaders to attend the Global Education Summit.

     

    The summit, co-hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, successfully generated about four billion dollars out of the targeted five billion dollars for the transformation of the education sector in low income countries, including Nigeria.

     

    Mr Buhari appeared on a panel of discussants with a live audience alongside his counterparts from other African countries, including Mr Kenyatta, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, President Faure Eyadema of Togo and President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi.

     

    The summit focused on topical issues including Education’s Reset – Learning from COVID; Transforming the Child’s Learning Journey; Gender Equality in and Through Education; Ripple Effect – Education’s Impact on Sustainability, and Financing for Impact – Volume, Equity, Efficiency.

    At the summit, Mr Buhari pledged to increase the budget for the education sector in Nigeria by as much as 50 per cent over the next two years.

    Messrs Buhari and Johnson, also held bilateral talks, during which the two leaders appraised the war against different forms of terrorism in Nigeria, and agreed that the judicial process be allowed to run its course.

     

    The Nigerian leader also used the opportunity of the trip to undergo a medical check-up.

     

    Mr Buhari and members of his family routinely travel to the UK for medical treatment.

     

    While he was away, members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) began a strike over repeated failure of his administration to implement agreements signed with them.

     

    Before departing London, Mr Buhari visited former Lagos State governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, who is believed to be on a medical trip to London.

     

    Meanwhile, some persons whom the president interacted with in London have tested positive for COVID-19.

    Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK, Sarafa Isola, and other staff of the embassy had received the president upon his arrival at the airport in London.

    The High Commission in Central London was shut down on Thursday for 10 days.

    On March 6, Mr Buhari together with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, received the first doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

    Former Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, died of the pandemic in April 2020.

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.premiumtimesng.com

  • Adamawa APC chieftain suspended for wondering why COVID-19 hasn’t killed Buhari

    Adamawa APC chieftain suspended for wondering why COVID-19 hasn’t killed Buhari

    The All Progressives Congress in Adamawa State has suspended the APC Caretaker Chairman, Yola South Local Government, Suleiman Adamu for allegedly making unsavoury remarks about President Buhari.

    The publicity Secretary of the party, Mohammed Abdullahi, in a statement, said the suspension was in reaction to words spoken in a viral audio clip, which touched on the President, as “most unfortunate and required further investigation”.

    The party said the viral audio allegedly emanated from a meeting called at the instance of a former governor of the state, Jibrilla Bindow.

    In the audio clip, Suleiman Adamu, who is also a member of the State Executive Committee, could be heard cursing and wishing the president ‘death by coronavirus’ in the audio clip, alleging Buhari’s colossal leadership failure.

    Adamu had said, “I don’t know why coronavirus did not kill Buhari. If the President is placed side by side with Osinbajo, I will pick Osinbajo and leave Buhari.”

    Also, another voice in the viral video linked to one Abubakar Sirimbai, said, “It is better for the accursed President to die so that his vice can take over the leadership.

    “We sold our properties to help the president win the election. We bought underwears, braziers, and cosmetic, which we used to give him a make up.

    If I’m averse to Osinbajo becoming the president, may God not give me the privilege of living till evening.

    “Buhari has achieved nothing in Adamawa in the last six years. APC in Adamawa thrives on the legacies of Bindow. We heard that Buhari used to be extremely happy whenever he learnt someone has gone bankrupt. We can’t be worshipping him like others.” Suleiman said in the audio.

    (newswirengr.com)

  • Ortom: FG spares fulani herdsmen and goes after Kanu and Igboho

     

    Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has again berated the Federal Government for lack of commitment in tackling the security challenges in Nigeria.

     

    According to the governor, security forces in the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) have demonstrated capacity with the arrest of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu; and Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho.

    Ortom, who spoke on Channels Television’s ‘NewsNight’ programme on Monday, therefore, challenged the Buhari regime to go after bandits and Fulani militiamen killing, raping and kidnapping people all over the country with the same gusto it has used to pursue separatists.

     

    The PUNCH reports that in the last few months, secessionist agitation has been loud in the Southern part of the country, championed mainly by Kanu and Igboho. The agitators cited perceived injustice in the allocation of resources and appointment into critical offices, insecurity, under-development, amongst reasons for wanting to leave the country.

     

    Kanu, who was based in the United Kingdom, was recently hastily extradited from a foreign country. He has been detained in the custody of the Department of State Services and is facing terrorism-related charges before Justice Binta Nyako at a Federal High Court in Abuja.

     

    On the other hand, the secret police raided Igboho’s Ibadan residence in July, killed two of his associates and arrested 12 of them. The DSS declared Igboho wanted after he narrowly escaped the raid. He was, however, intercepted at an airport in Benin Republic while he tried to catch a flight to Germany. The agitator has spent about three weeks in a Beninese custodial facility while the Nigerian Government has been pushing for his extradition.

     

    Many Nigerians have constantly lampooned the Buhari regime for allegedly sparing bandits and terrorists on the rampage in the northern part of the country while security forces clamp down on Igboho, Kanu and other separatists.

     

    Speaking on Monday night as a guest on the television programme monitored by The PUNCH, Ortom alleged that Fulani militiamen have consistently targeted his state because he banned open grazing.

     

     

    The governor said, “I see a lot of lack of commitment on the part of the Federal Government in ensuring that we have security in this country. I will give an example: recently, the Federal Government has demonstrated the capacity by going after Nnamdi Kanu, who was leading IPOB. I am told he was even arrested in a foreign land with the cooperation of Interpol and so on.

     

    “I heard that Sunday Igboho has been arrested. With that kind of commitment, it shows that the Federal Government has the capacity.

     

    “Today, bandits, Fulani militia are terrorising the entire country, the country is in disarray and these Fulani militias have come out with video clips…and they have identified where they are. It was amazing that a top government official comes out to say that the Fulani militias are invisible. How? Are they spirits? Why is the government not going after these Fulani militias and bandits that are terrorising the entire country and terrorising my state?

     

    “Just two days ago, two humanitarian workers were gunned down in my own village by these Fulani militias and their phones taken away. And the Fulani militias took the phones and when one of their (victims’) brothers called, they confirmed that they had killed them and they are in possession of their phones and that they should tell me to repeal the prohibition of open grazing otherwise they have the right to continue to kill since I said there would be no open grazing in Benue State.

     

    “These people who are here, who are calling themselves bandits and are kidnapping our children from school, who are calling themselves Fulani militia and are killing people, driving them from their lands and taking over, why is the Federal Government not going after them like they went after Sunday Igboho and went after Nnamdi Kanu?”

     

    Ortom said over 1.5 million persons have been displaced in Benue State due to the attacks by marauders, adding that the All Progressives Congress administration has failed in all aspects of governance.

     

     

    “APC has failed this country. Is it security, is it economically, politically and socially? Where are we today? We can’t go to our villages. How many Nigerians can move from Lagos to Kano, Abuja to their villages? It is a problem. APC has completely failed, so, why should I go there to join them? To do what?” he queried.

     

    The PUNCH had earlier reported that presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, said separatists were not the only ones feeling the maddening heat of the government but bandits and terrorists were also being treated in the language they understand.

     

     

     

     

     

    Sources: www.punchng.com

  • Corruption: I’m a saint compared to Buhari, Obasanjo, others, says Babangida

    Corruption: I’m a saint compared to Buhari, Obasanjo, others, says Babangida

     

    Former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida says his regime is more saintly when compared to democratic governments of President Muhammadu Buhari and his successors.

    Mr Babangida, whose regime is blamed for internalising the culture of corruption (settlement) in Nigerian polity, made this statement in an interview published by Arise TV on Friday.

    Asked why his is perceived as corrupt, Mr Babangida said he is a saint when compared to democratically elected presidents like Mr Buhari and others who have led the country since 1999 when Nigeria returned to democratic rule.

    “You cannot compare it with the fact on ground now,” Mr Babangida said. “From what I read, from analysis, I think we are saints when compared to what is happening under a democratic dispensation.”

    Mr Babangida, who led a junta that ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993 and annulled Nigeria’s most credible June 12, 1993 election, said he sacked a governor for misappropriation of less than N313,000 but today people steal billions are are walking freely in the country.

    “I sacked a governor for stealing less than N313,000. Today those who have stolen billions are in the court and parading themselves on the streets. So who else is in fighting corruption,” Mr Babangida said.

    In a related development, the senior pastor of Citadel Global Community Church, Tunde Bakare, had said corruption has become more deadly under the watch of Mr Buhari.

    “If because of insecurity and corruption, we voted Jonathan out and now insecurity is worse, corruption is much more deadly now, what do you think should happen?,” Mr Bakare, a former ally of Mr Buhari, asked in his sermon last Sunday.

    Though Mr Buhari claims to be leading an anti-corruption war, his regime has been rocked by several corruption scandals, ranging from certificate forgery among his aides to theft and diversion of public funds.

    In 2017, Secretary to government of the federation Babachir David Lawal, was fingered in diversion of N544million fund meant to cater for Internally Displaced Persons in terrorism ravaged North-East. Mr Lawal was suspended after much pressure from then-Senate. He subsequent trial by the EFCC has effectively been inert.

    Peoples Gazette in December 2020 exclusively exposed how top operative in Mr Buhari’s kitchen cabinet, Isa Funtua, got a N840 million windfall from the Federal Inland Revenue Service without any justifiable reason. The government has kept mum of the matter till date.

    In April 2017, $43 millon slush fund belonging to the NIA was found in a residential apartment at Okoyi, Lagos by EFCC officials. The then NIA boss, Ayo Oke, was sacked with President Buhari vowing that those involved in the IkoyiGate scandal will not go unpunished. Nothing has been heard of the matter till date.

    Former Nigerian Finance minister Kemi Adeosun was in July 2018 exposed by Premium Times to have skipped NYSC and forged a certificate to secure her appointment in Mr Buhari’s government. She later resigned from office but was not prosecuted for forgery.

    Anti-graft agency boss Abdulrasheed Bawa was exposed by Peoples Gazette to have diverted recovered assets in September 2020 when serving as a zonal head of EFCC in Port Harcourt. Less than five months after the exposé, Mr Buhari appointed him to lead the anti-corruption agency. (Peoples Gazette)

  • Buhari bans Journalists and broadcast stations from reporting details of terrorist attacks

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently instruct Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to withdraw the directive banning journalists and broadcast stations from reporting details of terrorist attacks and victims across the country.

     

    NBC had in a letter dated July 7 issued a directive asking journalists, television and radio stations in Nigeria to stop glamourising and giving too many details on the nefarious activities of terrorists and kidnappers during their daily newspaper reviews.

    SERAP, in a letter to President Buhari, expressed grave concern that contents of the NBC directive would restrict the rights to freedom of expression, information, and victims’ right to justice and effective remedies that are central to public debate and accountability in a democratic society.

     

    In a letter dated 17 July and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said: “The contents of the directive by the NBC to journalists and broadcast stations are entirely inconsistent and incompatible with Nigeria’s obligations under Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We would be grateful if the repressive directive is withdrawn within 24 hours of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, the SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions in the public interest.

     

    “Reporting on the growing violence and killings in many parts of the country is a matter of public interest. The NBC directive to journalists and broadcast stations to stop reporting these cases, coupled with the possibility of fines and other punishment, would have a disproportionate chilling effect on the work of those seeking to hold the government accountable to the public.

     

    “The broad definitions of what may constitute ‘too many details’, ‘glamourising’, ‘divisive rhetoric’, and ‘security issues’ heighten concerns of overreach, confer far-reaching discretion on the government, and suggest that the NBC directive is more intrusive than necessary. These words and phrases do not indicate precisely what kind of individual conduct would fall within their ambit.

     

    “The vague and overbroad definitions of ‘too many details’, ‘glamourising’, ‘divisive rhetoric’, and ‘security issues’ also raise concern that the NBC directive unduly interferes with the rights to freedom of expression and information, and is disproportionate to any purported legitimate governmental aim. Ill-defined and/or overly broad directives are open to arbitrary application and abuse. The use of these words and phrases by the NBC, given their opaque and ambiguous meaning, leaves open the possibility for application beyond unequivocal incitement to hatred, hostility or violence. Such words and phrases may function to interpret legitimate reporting by broadcast stations, journalists, and other Nigerians as unlawful.”

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.sunnewsonline.com

  • A financially sinking nation: Senate approves Buharis $8.3bn loan Amidst other foreign debts

    Senate, yesterday, approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for ongoing external loans to the tune of $8,325,526,537 and €490,000,000 under the 2018-2020 External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan.

    The approval followed the consideration of a report on the 2018 to 2020 External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan by the Committee on Local and Foreign Debt.

     

     

     

    Chairman of the Committee, Clifford Ordia, in his presentation, said the panel noted with utmost importance, the genuine and very serious concerns of Nigerians about the level and sustainability/serviceability of the country’s borrowings in the last decade.

     

    According to the lawmaker, “our (Nigeria’s) debt service figures constitute a huge drain on our revenue to the extent that it account for over 30 percent of our expenditure in the annual budget.”

     

    He said due to the shortfall in the country’s annual revenues in relation to the need for rapid infrastructure and human capital development, “we have had to pass deficit budget every year, requiring us to borrow to finance the deficit in our budget.”

     

     

     

    Ordia said out of the total borrowing request of $36,837,281,256 contained in the re-forwarded request of Mr. President, $26,154,536,533 is for funds proposed to be borrowed from various financial institutions from the Peoples Republic of China.

     

    He said the proposed projects in the ministries of Transportation, FCT, Aviation, Works and Housing, Agriculture and Water Resources and some commissions, such as National Universities Commission, North East Development Commission and the National Identity Management Commission, are mostly ongoing projects and programmes in respect of which external borrowed funds have been spent in the past, including loans.

     

    “These projects have a great multiplier effect on stimulating economic growth through infrastructure development, job creation and poverty alleviation, stimulation of commercial and engineering activities and the consequent tax revenues payable to government as a result of these productive activi ties,” Ordia said.

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.sunnewsonline.com

  • INSECURITY: Nigeria’s Single most difficult challenge

     

     

     

    The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), says insecurity, manifesting as insurgencies, banditry, kidnapping and urban crime of all sorts, is the single most difficult challenge facing the nation

    He said that his administration is ready to use everything within its powers to end insecurity in the country and bring perpetrators of criminal activities to book.

     

    The president stated this at a dinner with the 469 members of the National Assembly, held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday.

     

    He expressed concerns that insecurity had inhibited government’s ability to build infrastructure, provide the much needed social services to the people, and to attract investments that drive innovation, create industries, and provide jobs and create wealth.

     

    ‘‘Some of the people who perpetuate these various manifestations of insecurity do so for profit, others, in the name of discredited ideologies.

     

    ‘‘Whatever their motivations may be, their actions are an existential threat to our country.

     

    ‘‘In the circumstances, we must do everything within our power, without consideration of distractions, to put an end to their activities and bring them to book.

     

     

     

    ‘‘We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from this objective, or waver in our commitment, and I am confident that together, we will triumph in our present efforts,’’ he said.

     

    Buhari also used the occasion to hail the ninth National Assembly for discharging their legislative duties with maturity and competence, describing the legislature as ‘‘full partners in national development’’.

     

    He particularly commended the minority parties in the legislature for their cooperation and support for government programmes.

     

    ‘‘Our ability to govern in the best interests of the Nigerian people depends to a great deal on effective collaboration and partnership between the Legislature and the Executive.

     

    ‘‘The obligation to check and balance each other is not an invitation to conflict, and it should not be characterised by quarrelsome disagreement when consultation, engagements and compromise have proven time and again to be a more effective approach.

     

    ‘‘In the ninth Assembly, you have distinguished yourselves by your conduct in office, by the scale and quality of your legislative interventions, and by your capacity for engaging with the difficult questions facing the country with maturity and competence,’’ he noted.

     

    The president listed some legislative accomplishments of the ninth Assembly ranging from returning of the budget cycle to January to December; the amendment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA); the Nigeria Police Act; the Finance Act; and the Deep Offshore Production Sharing Contract Act, among others.

     

     

    He, therefore, commended the leadership of the National Assembly under Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila for their dedication through challenging times.

     

     

    ‘‘You have also succeeded in overcoming the political and other obstacles that have for two decades, inhibited the much-needed reforms of our Oil and Gas industry, resulting now in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

     

    ‘‘I congratulate you all, and thank you for your contributions to the difficult, yet necessary task of nation building,’’ the president told the legislators.

     

    He noted that the executive and legislature came into office at a time of significant challenges for the country.

     

    ‘‘Overcoming these challenges require that we finally confront long ignored questions of economics, politics, law and history that are often at the root of our national problems.

     

    ‘‘This moment in history requires us to make hard choices, take difficult decisions and act with diligence and patriotism to ensure that our country can survive and thrive long after we have all left.

     

    ‘‘What this means in effect is that our jobs will not get any easier. However, the objectives we seek, and will work together to achieve, deserve our best efforts regardless the sacrifice,’’ he said.

     

     

     

    The president further noted that it was appropriate to jointly review shared commitments, to identify what had been achieved, and what is still left undone.

     

    ‘‘This way, we can prioritise activities and allocate the resources necessary to ensure that in the lifetime of this Assembly, and of the administration, we can complete the work we have started, and leave behind a record of achievement that will stand all of us in good stead in the assessment of history,’’ he said.

     

    The president said he looked forward to continued collaboration and partnership between the Executive and Legislative arms of government.

     

    He said they must work together to achieve a shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous country.

     

    Earlier in their separate messages, the Senate President Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila thanked the president for promoting the principle of partnership between the National Assembly and the Executive for the general good of the society.

     

    They also expressed the readiness of the national assembly to ensure speedy passage of 2022 Appropriation Bill when submitted by the president in September.

     

    The President of the Senate particularly advocated for more allocation of reso urces to the security sector to tackle the nation’s security challenges.

  • Buhari applauds Security agents on operations against separationists, Kanu and Igboho

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari has applauded the collaboration between security agencies on the operations against separationists, Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho.

    Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement, said the operations was done with great synchronisation leading to the arrests of individuals who had inflicted pain and hardships on fellow citizens. He said Kanu and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leaders were known for murderous actions and virulent messaging.

     

    “There have been at last count 50 separate violent attacks, heavily concentrated in the South-East, which heaped further hardship on our honest and hardworking citizens, preventing them from earning their livelihood and going about their normal lives.”

     

     

     

    Shehu confirmed that the government had been monitoring the activities of IPOB and had strong cause to believe that their funding sources include proceeds of suspected illicit criminal activities.

     

    The statement hailed the raid of the residence of Igboho, “who has also been conducting acts of terror and disturbing the peace under the guise of protecting fellow kinsmen.” Shehu claimed that his seditious utterances and antics, publicly expressed, have grown into hateful and vile laden speeches.

     

    “The government respects fundamental rights of citizens to express their views and recognises this as a democratic tenet. However, any attempt to build an armoury coupled with plans either subtle or expressed to undermine our unity as a nation will not be condoned. Mr. President’s directives to Security Services regarding anyone seen to be carrying arms, particularly AK-47 are clear and require no further illumination.Assault weapons are not tools of peace loving people and as such, regardless of who they are and where they are from, the Security Agencies should treat them all the same.”

     

    Shehu said the successes of the nation’s security agencies must be commended as they have demonstrated significant deftness, guile and secrecy in carrying out  these missions.

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.sunnewsonline.com