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This Recession Will Not Last, Buhari Reassures Nigerians

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This Recession Will Not Last, Buhari Reassures Nigerians

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President Muhammadu Buhari today reassured Nigerians that the current economic recession being experienced in the country, which has led to hardship and suffering by the populace, will not last.

The President encouraged citizens not to allow “Temporary problems” to “blind or divert us from the corrective course this government has charted for our nation.”

“We have identified the country’s salient problems and we are working hard at lasting solutions,” he said.

“I ran for office because I know that good government is the only way to ensure prosperity and abundance for all. I remain resolutely committed to this objective.

“I believe that this recession will not last,” Buhari declared, in a spee ch to mark the country’s 56th independence anniversary.

The president added that the destruction of oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta has drastically reduced Nigeria’s crude oil output “to below One million barrels per day against the normal two point two million barrels per day.”

“Consequently, the naira is at its weakest, but the situation will stabilize,” he vowed.

Buhari said his administration is working hard to reduce Nigeria’s huge spendings on food importation as well as the importation of refined petroleum products.

He said: “We are going to repair our four refineries so that Nigeria can produce most of our petrol requirements locally, pending the coming on stream of new refineries. That way we will save ten billion USD yearly in importing fuel.

“At the same time, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Bank have been mobilized to encourage local production of rice, maize, sorghum, millet and soya beans. Our target is to achieve domestic self-sufficiency in these staples by 2018.”

On the issue of power supply, president Buhari said his administration was able to raise power generation to 5000 megawatts “for the first time in our history”.

He regretted, however that “renewed militancy and destruction of gas pipelines caused acute shortage of gas and constant drop in electricity output available on the grid.”

He said that government is “engaging with responsible leadership in the (Niger Delta) region to find lasting solutions to genuine grievances of the area”, warning that “we will not allow a tiny minority of thugs to cripple the country’s economy.”

Buhari added that efforts were on “with projects utilizing alternate technologies such as hydro, wind, and solar to contribute to our energy mix.”

“In this respect, the Mambilla Hydro project, after many years of delay is taking off this year. Contract negotiations are nearing completion with Chinese firms for technical and financial commitments.”

With regards to road construction, President Buhari disclosed that a total of N720.5 billion has so far been released this year to cater for capital projects

He added that “the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has received one hundred and ninety seven point five billion naira. Work on several highways has now resumed.”

He said a lot of underground work is ongoing to rehabilitate the Nation’s railway system.

Buhari noted that Nigeria is partnering with China in that regard and very soon, many rail lines across the country, including “the Lagos-Calabar railway will also be on stream.”

The President said: “We have initiated the National Housing Programme. Our first budget this year is devoting thirty five point six billion naira.

“Much of the house building will be private – sector led but Government is initiating a pilot housing scheme of two thousand eight hundred and thirty eight units uniformly spread across the 36 states and FCT.”

Buhari said Nigeria’s international image has tremendously improved as “Wherever I go, I have been received with un-accustomed hospitality. Investors from all over the world are falling over themselves to come and do business in Nigeria.”

He promised that the “programmes I have outlined will revive the economy, restore the value of the naira and drive hunger from our land.”

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There’s Work Ahead For Better Future, US Tells Nigeria At 56

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There’s Work Ahead For Better Future, US Tells Nigeria At 56

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The United States’ Secretary of State, John Kerry, has said that though Nigeria had made commendable progress since its independence, there is still much to be done.

He said this in a congratulatory message to the Nation on its 56th Independence Day celebration.

“On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I congratulate the citizens of Nigeria as you celebrate your Independence Day on October 1,” Kerry wrote.

He said that after his recent trip to Nigeria, he was more optimistic that the government and people of the country were resolved “to build a better future.”

Secretary Kerry, however, added that “There is still much work to be done to provide economic opportunities for all, end corruption, win the fight against Boko Haram, ensure broad respect for human rights and provide humanitarian relief for millions of displaced people.

“But we know that Nigerians are hard at work to address these challenges,” he said.

Kerry assured that the United States looks forward “to deepening our partnership and friendship with Nigerians from all walks of life, so that we may work together for the betterment of Nigeria and all of Africa.”

NJC Recommends Retirement, Sack For Erring Judges

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NJC Recommends Retirement, Sack For Erring Judges
Mahmud Mohammed, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the NJC
Mahmud Mohammed, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the NJC

The National Judicial Council, NJC, has recommended compulsory retirement for two justices and dismissal for a third one. Both are to take immediate effect.

They are Justice Mohammed Tsamiya, Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division and Justice I. A. Umezulike, Chief Judge, Enugu State.

Justice Kabiru Auta of the Kano State High Court was recommended for dismissal and to be handed over to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 1, Kano, for prosecution.

This decision was reached at the 78th Meeting of the NJC, chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, in Abuja.

A press statement released by the council, which also serves as the disciplinary body for justices in Nigeria, revealed that Justice Tsamiya was recommended for compulsory retirement based on a petition written against him by Nnamdi Iro Oji with regards to his handling of the an election appeal in the Owerri division of the court of appeal

In the Petition, Tsamiya was accused of: Corruption, malice and vindictiveness; and giving perverse and conflicting decisions on the same issue in similar matters.

In the case of the Enugu state chief judge, Justice Umezulike, he was found guilty of delivering judgement in a certain case “about 126 days after addresses were adopted, contrary to constitutional provisions that judgement should be delivered within a period of 90 days.”

Umezulike was also found guilty of accepting a donation of N10 million made by one “Prince Arthur Eze during the pendency of the two cases in His Lordship’s Court, both of which Prince Arthur Eze has vested interest,” as well as “many instances of abuse of Judicial powers, by the Chief Judge.”

Justice Auta of the Kano High Court was recommended for dismissal and prosecution “following the findings of the Council on the allegations levelled against him by Kabiru Yakassai which bothered on impersonation and obtaining huge sums of money by false pretence.

The NJC stated that it has suspended the affected Justices from Office with immediate effect, “pending the approval of the recommendations of the Council for their compulsory retirement and dismissal respectively” from President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, respectively.

Supreme Court Gives Reason For Upholding Kogi Election

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Supreme Court Gives Reason For Upholding Kogi Election

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The Supreme Court has given reasons why it upheld the election of Yahaya Bello as the duly elected Governor of Kogi State, and why it rejected the prayers of James Faleke.

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Edun, who read out the reasons, stated that Faleke, who was the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2015 governorship election, cannot be declared winner of the poll since he did not participate in the primary elections.

The apex court held that Faleke cannot benefit from the vote or take the place of the initial governorship candidate of the APC, late Abubakar Audu, because he did not meet the condition precedent.

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Justice Kekere-Ekun explained that Faleke did not obtain nomination form nor did he participate in the primary election and as such, cannot under any circumstances, be made the governorship candidate to replace Audu.

She added that before Audu’s sudden death after the November 21 governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had already declared the election inconclusive and that since the election, had not been completed and the final result issued by the electoral body, Faleke, as a running mate, cannot claim ‎victory in the election.

The apex court upheld the substitution of Yahaya Bello to replace Audu because in the face of the law, Bello obtained nomination form, took part in the primary election and came second, unlike Faleke who did not meet that condition.

Recall that Falake was the running mate to the late Audu who was already coasting to victory in the governorship election before his sudden death.

Bello was then presented by the APC as replacement for Audu, but Faleke argued that he was the right person to take Audu’s place since the governorship ticket was a joint one.

Faleke, not satisfied with the judgments of the election tribunal and the Appeal Court which upheld Bello’s victory, approached the Supreme Court.

But the Supreme Court also affirmed Bello as the duly elected Governor of Kogi State.

Court To Hear Jibrin’s Case On Oct. 21

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Court To Hear Jibrin’s Case On Oct. 21
Abdulmumin Jibrin
Abdulmumin Jibrin

Justice Okon Abang, of the Federal High Court Abuja, has fixed October 21 for the hearing of a suit filed by Abdulmumin Jibrin, former Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriation, challenging his suspension from the House.

Jibrin, a lawmaker from Kano State, was on Wednesday suspended by the House of Representatives for 180 legislative days.

Before his suspension, Jibrin had on August 9, filed a lawsuit seeking to stop any plan by the lower legislative chamber to suspend him; a case which was still pending before the court.

The case was reassigned to Justice John Tsoho when the court resumed from ‎vacation and the matter was fixed for Friday for mention.

However, on resumption, Jibrin’s lawyer, Mohammed Abdulhamid, informed the judge that the House of Representatives had gone ahead to suspend his client irrespective of the fact that the case was already in court.

Justice Tsoho said since the day’s business was for the mention of the case, he would prefer to adjourn it till October 21 for the hearing of all pending motions.

Apart from Jibrin’s motion, also pending before the court is a notice of preliminary objection filed by the House of Representatives ‎and other defendants challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case.

Jibrin’s suspension on Wednesday was a fallout of his campaign since July for the removal of the House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, and other principal officers of the House over allegation that they padded the 2016 budget with about N40bn.

Immigration Fraud: Another Witness Testifies Against Abba Moro

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Immigration Fraud: Another Witness Testifies Against Abba Moro
Former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro
Former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro

Tabugn Sylvanus, A Retired Director And Secretary Of The Board Of The National Immigration Service, NIS, Has Testified Against Former Interior Minister, Abba Moro, In His Ongoing Trial for his alleged role in a recruitment scheme in 2014 that led to the death of some applicants.

Sylvanus, the second prosecution witness to testify against Moro, told the Federal High Court, Abuja, that only N45 million was released for the conduct of the tragic recruitment examination, out of about N1 billion generated from sale of forms at N1000 each.

He also revealed that the initial number of expected participants at the Abuja exam venue was 6,800, but a last minute decision pushed the number to over 66,000.

The witness told the court: “We wrote the chairman (Abba Moro), indicating the cost of the exercise. We came up with N201 million and forwarded to the honourable chairman for approval. The chairman gave his approval and conveyed same to Drexel.

“The company fired back that they were not supposed to be responsible to fund the exercise. But as a benevolent gesture; they attached a cheque of N45 million as their contribution to the exercise.

“Immediately we informed the chairman who ordered that we trim the budget to meet the available sum of money.”

Sylvanus explained that the Federal Government incurred no cost during the preparations for the recruitment exercise.

On what led to the stampede on the day of the screening exercise, the former immigration official explained that the initial plan was for candidates to sit for the exams at the various states, but that the chairman objected to it.

“It was this change in plans that led to the disaster,” Sylvanus explained.

“Because of the change in the announcements that candidates should sit at their choice venues, FCT that had about 6,800 now got up to 66,000 candidates.

The witness further said that some immigration officers who had gone early in the morning to survey the venue of the screening exercise reported that some applicants slept at the stadium, awaiting the exercise.

“I took that as a warning sign that the security architect that was duly placed may not hold,” he said.

Syvanus then narrated what actually caused the stampede that resulted in the death of about 18 persons.

He said: “What happened was that there were people from inside the gate that were trying to get out and some from outside who were trying to get in.

“The number of those trying to get in was more than those from inside trying to get out.

“So while they were trying to get in, the ones outside fell the gate on those inside and they were trampled upon.”

Having spent about five hours listening to the testimony, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba adjourned the case to October 14 for continuation of hearing.

Edo Election: IGP Commends Security Agents

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Edo Election: IGP Commends Security Agents
Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris
Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris

Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Idris, has commended the efforts of the police personnel and other security agencies during the just concluded Edo State governorship election.

Don Awunah, Force Public Relations Officer, in a statement on Friday, said that after an appraisal of security operations during the Edo state election, the IGP and the Police management team were satisfied with the performance of security officers.

Awunah stated that the election was transparent and “in accordance to principles of democratic policing.”

The statement said that preliminary reports from observers show that there was no loss of lives and property during the election.

“This exceptional performance of the Nigeria Police Force in the election, exemplified the determination of the Inspector General of Police in ensuring that Election Security in the Country is implemented based on international standards and policing with integrity,” the statement said.

“The Edo governorship election has proved from the policing perspective that the Nigeria Police Force has the capacity, knowledge, ability and personnel to process and safeguard our nascent democracy.”

The Inspector General of Police also commended the people of the state for cooperating with the security agencies, assuring that the police was ready to keep up the good work in subsequent elections.

Code Of Conduct Bureau Commences Assets Verification

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Code Of Conduct Bureau Commences Assets Verification
Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Sam Saba
Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Sam Saba

The Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, has commenced its 2016 4th Quarter cycle of conference and field verification of assets of top public officers, and has sent out invitation letters to public officers concerned.

A statement signed by Chairman of the CCB, Sam Saba, read: “Pursuant to paragraph 11 of Part 1 of the 5th Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended), every public officer is required to submit to the CCB a written declaration of all his properties, assets and liabilities and those of his/her spouse (if not a public officer) and his unmarried children under the age of eighteen years.

“Any statement in such declaration that is found to be false by any authority or person authorized in that behalf to verify it shall be deemed to be a breach of this Code.

“Accordingly, letters of invitation have been dispatched to Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Service Chiefs and other top Public Officers.

The bureau has commended Nigeria’s Chief Of Army Staff, COAS, Tukur Buratai for his asset declaration, which has been certified to be accurate.

The CCB also praised several other public servants for declaring their assets accurately and within the time frame.

They include: Ibim Semenitari – Acting MD/CEO NDDC; Ibrahim Idris – Inspector General of Police; Boboye Oyeyemi – Corps Marshall FRSC; Amina Mohammed – Minister of Enviroment and Hope Ikrirko – Federal Commissioner, Civil Service Commission.

Others are; Anyim Pius Anyim – former SGF; Abdulrahman Dambazau – Minister of Interior; Zainab Ahmed Shamsuna – Minister of State, Budget & National Planning; Aisha Abubakar – Minister of State. Trade, Investment and Industry; Yakubu Mahmood – INEC Chairman: Julius Okojie – Former Executive Secretary NUC; and Adamu Adamu – Minister of Education.

Saba commended those public officers, who honoured the bureau’s invitations “promptly and submitted themselves for the exercise!”

He added that the assets verification exercise “is ongoing and is being carried out concurrently at the Federal, State and Local Government levels.

“At a satisfactory completion of the exercise, Public Officers are issued with certificate of Assets Conference Verification/Field Verification as the case maybe,” he stated.

The CCB boss warned that any public officer that ignored the invitation or whose declaration was found to contain false information would be liable for prosecution before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT.

 

National Festival Of Arts/Culture Holds In Akwa Ibom

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National Festival Of Arts/Culture Holds In Akwa Ibom

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The annual National Festival of Arts and Culture, NAFEST, has been scheduled to hold in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital between October 2 and 9, 2016, with the theme, “Exploring the Goldmine Inherent in the Nigerian Creative Industry.”

At a press conference held in Abuja ahead of the kick-off of the festival, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said that “NAFEST, which was introduced in 1970 as a vehicle to foster unity among the various sections of the country after the 30-month civil war, would now be explored to contribute meaningfully to the nation’s economy.”

The minister said the new direction of the festival is reflected in the theme of this year’s festival, which is geared towards using our various cultural products and expressions to develop a creative economy and, at the same time, promote the patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products.

“Indeed, festivals around the world are moving from just being a forum to showcase arts and culture to becoming a tool for economic growth,” Mohammed said.

“Creative industries are becoming creative economies. More and more people are moving from manufacturing concerns to creative concerns, and no country wants to be left behind.

“This is why this Administration has included the creative industries, as well as tourism, among the core areas for the diversification of the economy away from oil.”

The minister acknowledged that NAFEST has played a tremendous role in cementing the bond of unity among Nigerians.

He said: “Today, some 46 years after the civil war, the festival is more relevant than ever.

“There is an urgent need to bring us closer together as a people, amid widening divisions along ethnic, religious and social lines.

“The fact that contingents from different parts of the country come together annually, irrespective of their ethnicity or religion, to showcase their arts and culture and leverage on their comparative advantage is very healthy for our country,” he noted.

Mohammed commended the organizers of the festival for outlining various activities into the event to further enhance its quality and uniqueness.

Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, NCAC, Dayo Keshi, noted that NAFEST has a peculiar characteristic of focusing on indigenous cultures and heritages, with a view to creating a multiplier effect on income generated at the grass roots.

She added that there be a colloquium during this year’s event to brainstorm on how to make the festival a contributor to the nation’s GDP.

 Bloody Day For Militants In Bakassi

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 Bloody Day For Militants In Bakassi

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An attempt by Niger Delta militants to attack Nigerian Troops on Friday at Efut Esighi, in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State, turned bloody when seven of the attackers were killed.

Troops from the 13 Brigade Nigerian Army, Calabar, repelled the attack on its soldiers by killing seven of the armed militants.

Kayode Owolabi, a Captain and Army Public Relations Officer, who disclosed this to newsmen on Friday in Calabar, said that the militants attacked the Army post in Efut Esighi.

Owolabi linked the militants to be `boys’ of the most wanted militant leader, Benjamin Ene a.k.a `G1’ who has been on the wanted list of security agencies in the state.

He said: “The very determined troops from the 13 Brigade and Operation Delta Safe repelled an attack from armed militants at Efut Esighi in Bakassi local government area this morning.

“The militants tried to attack the Army post in Efut Esighi. Some of them were wearing Nigerian military camouflage.

“We recovered 250 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, rocket propelled gun luncher, GPMG belt links and various charms on their bodies. Other militants escaped with very serious gun shots injuries.

“There was no casualty on the side of the military. Our men were in full combatant during the attack.

“We have also destroyed their camps and shrines in the creeks,’’ he said.

The spokesman said that the 13 Brigade Commander, Bulama Biu, a Brig. Gen. had warned that no militant group or criminal under any guise would be spared.

Owolabi further said that the military and other security agencies would continue to hunt down any militant group or criminal that did not surrender.

He, however, called on residents in the state to always avail the security agencies with useful and timely information that would enable them curb crime.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Sani Usman, had on Sept. 24, confirmed that militants killed a soldier at the same spot (Efut Esighi) where the attack was repelled today.

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