Buhari Admits He Has Failed, Says Nigeria Has Been In Trouble Since He Came On Board

​BREAKING NEWS

Buhari Admits He Has Failed, Says Nigeria Has Been In Trouble Since He Came On Board

 

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday admitted that Nigeria has been turbulent since he came on board in 2015.

The president made this comment while inaugurating the Food Security Council chaired by him.

At the inauguration, the president spoke about Nigeria’s “very turbulent” journey in the past three years, the period of his administration.

Read the full speech below.

“Two weeks ago, I announced my intention to establish and chair a presidential level committee that focuses on food security, I am happy that today it has become a reality.

“Nigeria’s journey in the last three (3) years, has been a very turbulent one. The country’s need for critical job creating sectors which has been ignored for decades is now beginning to yield results.

“We introduced the National Social Investment Programmes targeting millions of Nigerians who are living from hand to mouth.

“We launched agricultural programmes focusing on import substitution, job creation and rural development thereby bringing socio-economic transformation to the millions of citizens living in some of the most remote rural parts of our country.

“We commenced the long term Pollution Remediation Projects in the Niger Delta with the hope of restoring dignity and normalcy to the millions of Nigerians impacted by decades of pollution in their communities. Fishing and farming will resume once blighted areas are rehabilitated.

“We intensified our participation in the Lake Chad Basin Commission with the goal of reversing the shrinkage of the lake, which impacts the livelihoods of over 45 million farmers, herdsmen and fishermen in the LCBC countries.

“We issued the first ever green bond that will act as a catalyst for investments in renewable energy and afforestation projects. This was oversubscribed, sharing market confidence in the country and our government.

“We established the Agro Rangers Unit within the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to protect the billions of naira of investments recorded in Nigeria’s agricultural sector across the country.

“We continued to equip the Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency to fight maritime criminals such as pirates and sea robbers who adversely impact offshore and inland fishing activities in our waters.

“These programmes and many more, have started yielding results and if sustained, will transform the lives of millions of Nigerians across the country.

“We are well aware that the full results will not be felt or seen overnight. The journey is long. It is therefore our collective duty to ensure the actual and potential positive impacts of these programmes are sustained, improved and expanded.

“A key mandate of the Food Security Council is to continuously assess and enhance these infant, but impactful programmes, thereby guaranteeing they achieve their full potential.

“We shall also develop new programmes and projects that will protect and indeed, create more jobs in farming, fisheries, animal husbandry and forestry.

“As we all know, land is use for farming, grazing and forestry, Water is used for irrigation, livestock sustenance and fishing. Therefore, any strategy for land and water management must take into account the interconnectivity of all these key sectors to ensure equity and sustainability.

“We will also not lose sight of the other issues that will impact our food production ambitions such as; Population growth, Urbanisation, IndustrialisationRural Infrastructure Development andClimate Change.

“These factors will also stress and stretch our land and water resources. This means we must invest in research and development to enhance yields and outputs.

“Moreover, we are not insulated from Global and Regional events. Accordingly we develop local programs, but not lose sight of events from a far and their impact on us. Specifically, issues such as smuggling and dumping, which is our responsibility to ensure we develop and enforce strategies to protect Nigeria from these illegal and unhealthy imports.

“The Council includes Governors representing the six (6) geopolitical zones. Some geopolitical zones have similar Eco climatic conditions. The council is therefore a platform to further enhance the collaboration between the federal and state governments. We shall share success stories and collaborate to address common threats.

“We will also engage key stakeholders representing the core sectors of the Food Value Chain. Regular consultations will be held with investors, development partners, financiers, academia and our friends and allies abroad.

“ Our deliberations will look into all the issues and our decisions will be implementable and impactful. We shall stay focused, first and foremost on securing our food requirements and employment for our people, especially the youth. We shall feed ourselves and build an inclusive Nigeria for ourselves and for future generations.”

Please Share This Post

Nigerian President's Son Yusuf Buhari Returns From A Medical Trip

SHARE THIS POST


Nigerian President's Son Yusuf Buhari Returns From A Medical Trip

 

Osagie Enahire receiving Yusuf Buhari at the airport

Nigeria’s First Son, Yusuf Buhari has returned to Abuja after spending weeks in Germany receiving medical treatment.

Saharareporters learned that Yusuf received treatment at the St. Joseph Hospital in Wiesbaden as well as further treatment to fix a broken arm at another hospital in Munich. Yusuf left Nigeria for Germany on January 12, 2018.

Yusuf spent some time at Cedarest Hospital in Abuja after he was injured in a power bike accident in Gwanripa neighborhood in Abuja while drag racing with a friend, Bashir Gwandu. 

He was received by the honorable Minister of State for Health, Osagie Enahire and was pictured meeting his father at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.

Yusuf on handshake with his father, President Mohammed Buhari

Please Share This Post

2019 Election: APC Has Not Endorsed Buhari 2nd Term, The Party Spokesman Denies

SHARE THIS POST


2019 Election: APC Has Not Endorsed Buhari 2nd Term, The Party Spokesman Denies

The spokesman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, on behalf of the party, has denied viral reports that it endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for second term.

 

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi 

While speaking in a telephone interview with The PUNCH, in Abuja, on Wednesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said what the party’s National Executive Committee did at its last meeting, was to pass a vote of confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working Committee.

The All Progressives Congress spokesman made it clear that a vote of confidence was not the same as endorsing the President for a second term, adding that the issue of endorsing the President for a second term did not form part of discussions during the NEC meeting.

Speaking in response to a question on whether the endorsement of Buhari for a second term in 2019 was part of decisions taken during the party’s last NEC meeting, Abdullahi said, “NO.”

He said: “You will recall that the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, addressed this issue while responding to a question on the issue of 2019 at yesterday (Tuesday’s) briefing when he said, the President has not said he wants to contest and that for now, his focus is on the issue of governance, so the issue of endorsing him (President) for a second term in 2019 did not arise.”

Recall that Reuters had on Wednesday, quoted two unnamed APC leaders as saying the APC National Executive Committee of the APC had endorsed President Buhari to seek re-election.

Please Share This Post

Review Shows Nigeria Needs Urgent Help - IMF

SHARE THIS POST


Review Shows Nigeria Needs Urgent Help - IMF

President Muhammadu Buhari

Nigerian people are getting poorer despite the country’s slow recovery from recession and economic reforms are urgently needed, the International Monetary Fund has said.

The Fund expects the government to “muddle through” in the medium term, and any progress could also be threatened if elections next year consume political energy and resources, it said in a report seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Since emerging from recession in the second quarter of 2017, Nigerian officials have repeatedly boasted that they have set the economy back on track.

But critics say much of the recovery comes from a return to oil dependence after a rise in global oil prices and a rebound in crude production, more the result of militants in the Niger Delta halting attacks on oil facilities than of economic policy under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The IMF said in the report that the outlook for growth had improved but remained challenging.

“Comprehensive and coherent” economic policies “remain urgent and must not be delayed by approaching elections and recovering oil prices,” it stated in its annual Article IV review of Nigeria’s economy.

“Higher oil prices would support a recovery in 2018 but a ‘muddle-through’ outlook is projected for the medium term under current policies, with fiscal dominance and structural constraints leading to continuing falls in real GDP per capita,” the IMF added.

In the report, it identified risks to growth, including additional delays to implementing policies and reforms ahead of the 2019 elections, security tensions, and oil prices, a fall in which could see capital flows reversed.

“Further delays in policy action, including because of pre-election pressures, can only make the inevitable adjustment more difficult and costlier,” the report added.

The lender repeated its call for Nigeria to simplify its complex foreign exchange system, a bugbear for the IMF for more than a year, which has left large gaps between official rates and various windows that certain groups can use to get other rates.

“Moving towards a unified exchange rate should be pursued as soon as possible. The IMF staff does not support the exchange measures that have given rise to the exchange restrictions and multiple currency practices,” it stated.

The Fund further singled out the central bank, saying it should discontinue direct interventions in the economy. The Central Bank of Nigeria frequently injects hundreds of millions of dollars into the foreign exchange market to keep its own rates stable.

Commercial banks struggling to remain solvent were also called out, but not identified by the IMF, including one that the lender said was already insolvent, adding, “Some of these banks are kept afloat through continuous recourse to the CBN’s lending facilities.”

The IMF said it would not comment on purported leaks. A spokeswoman for the Fund said a statement would be issued after the lender’s board’s meeting to discuss its assessment on Friday.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Finance did not immediately respond to a phone call and email requesting comment.

Please Share This Post

"APC Is Undemocratic" APC Chieftain Timi Frank Laments

SHARE THIS POST

"APC Is Undemocratic"  APC Chieftain Timi Frank Laments

APC chieftain, Comrade Timi Frank, has expressed disappointment in the decision taken by the party’s NEC, which extended the tenure of the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC for another 12 months.

 

Timi Frank

In a statement released on Wednesday, the former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, expressed disappointment in the ruling party over the 1-year tenure elongation of the national working committee led by John Oyegun.

According to TheCable, he said the development has shown “that APC is an undemocratic party”.

“I am personally disappointed with the tenure extension of Chief John Oyegun led leadership. This has clearly shown that APC is an undemocratic party. A party which has been in existence for three years but has never obeyed its own constitution,” he said in the statement.

“I challenged anybody to tell me which part of the APC constitution has been religiously obeyed in the past? This is has shown again the difference between PDP and APC, but I know that the former is better.

“I will not relent in speaking the truth which I’m known for. This decision is against the wish of the majority but for the oppressors within the party.”

While reacting to the party’s national executive committee (NEC) which extended the tenure of Oyegun and state chairmen of the party by 12 months, Frank said that Oyegun’s tenure elongation is an indication that the presidency did not believe in the assignment it gave Bola Tinubu, national leader of the APC, to reconcile aggrieved members of the party.

“Even when the presidency had appointed the national leader of APC to reconcile all the aggrieved members, the tenure elongation clearly show that the party is going nowhere beyond 2019 because if they didn’t believe in Tinubu’s reconciliatory panel why did they set up at all?” Frank queried.

“How can you keep a man that lacks capacity to lead a governing political party for another twelve months? This has shown that those who took such decision are selfish and do not mean well for APC.

“Some of us that came from PDP have not been treated well, even the positions being held today by the Senate President Bukola Saraki and speaker Yakubu Dogara were forcefully taken.

“Time will tell very soon when some of us will have to take decision against some of these anti-democratic tendencies of some people in APC.” 

Please Share This Post

“We Spent Last 2 Years Digging Nigeria Out Of Mess We Met” – President Buhari

SHARE THIS POST

“We Spent Last 2 Years Digging Nigeria Out Of Mess We Met” – President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government has been salvaging Nigeria from her challenges since he assumed office.

The President said this on Tuesday while addressing a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

He urged leaders and members of the APC at the meeting, as well as Nigerians, to support the security agencies in tackling insecurity in the country.

Ahead of the forthcoming elections, President Buhari declared the APC as the party of the Nigerian people and asked its leaders and members to join forces towards achieving victory in the 2019 polls.

He further asked them to remind Nigerians of the past and thank them for supporting the APC in spite of the recent challenges in the country.

The President also appealed to the party faithful not to relax and support the presidential committee led by former governor Bola Tinubu, to reconcile all aggrieved members of the APC.

Read the President’s full remarks below:

I welcome all of you dear party members to this year’s NEC meeting.

Let me first record my appreciation to the party leadership in Abuja and the states for their stewardship of the party affairs. In particular, may I commend our Chairman, His Excellency Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, for steering the party from success to success.

From our resounding victory in 2015, to gubernatorial elections in Kogi, Edo and Ondo as well as much improved showing in Anambra Elections. APC is the party of government and now the party of the Nigerian people.

Mr Chairman, Members of NEC, great credit is due to our APC State Governors for stabilizing the country and to our Armed Forces, Police and other Security Agencies for stopping Boko Haram in its tracks and driving them from their bases. No country, however well secured, can prevent isolated acts of terror as we have seen in America, Europe, Asia and here in Africa.

We must support our Security Agencies to safeguard our country so that the job of development as outlined in our Manifesto can proceed without too much interruption. 

Mr Chairman, Members of the National Executive Committee, we cannot afford to fail to remind Nigerians where we came from in 2015. I am happy to report that slowly and steadily we have managed to stabilise the country and re-direct the ship of the State.

We have restored prudence to the management of public finances. Confidence in Nigeria has been restored. On February 23rd, Nigeria issued 12-year and 20-year Eurobond on the international market, which were both oversubscribed. The 12-year bond was within days subscribed by 332%. The 20-year bond was subscribed by 372%.

We have stabilised the Naira, increased our foreign reserves from US$20 billion to US$40 billion. Inflation rate is down. With considerably less resources available to the country, we have improved all indices towards a stronger economy.

Above all, we must pay tribute to the Nigerian people. They still massively support the government in spite of distractions from exponents of “business-as-usual”.

Nevertheless, I am not asking us to relax and take things easy. As we all know, elections are looming on the horizon, we must, therefore, get our act together. Accordingly, I implore all members of the Party to give the Asiwaju Committee full cooperation to resolve differences existing amongst our members in the States affected. It is perhaps inevitable that there would be differences of opinion within the Party. If we didn’t have differences we wouldn’t be a genuinely democratic Party.

But we must not lose sight of our common purpose as a new Party to break the mould of Nigerian politics and take the country to new heights. Therefore, we have asked our respected Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead this process of restoring order to the ranks, manage differences and strengthen the Party.

Mr Chairman, members of the National Executive Committee, I must acknowledge that the pace of government has not met the expectations of many within our Party. But few of us knew or appreciated the depth of the hole when we took office. Thus we spent the last two years digging the country out of the mess we met.

Furthermore, the stand-off between the Executive and the National Assembly slowed the process of government. We are working hard to resolve the differences so that the country can move forward.

Soon, primaries for; wards, local governments, state and centre will be due.

I urge all members to take account of the fact that APC has a history of conducting free and fair primaries whenever consensus about any position is not reached. Regardless of thcomes of the primary processes, it is imperative that we all work together to ensure victory for our party.

Thank you

Please Share This Post

Lai Mohammed's Outfit To An International Event Has Got People Talking (Photos)

SHARE THIS POST

Lai Mohammed's Outfit To An International Event Has Got People Talking (Photos)

Kudos or thumps down? So Nigeria’s Honourable Minister Of Information, Culture and Tourism Alhaji Lai Mohammed on Friday February 16, 2018, paid a guided tour to Real Madrid Stadium, Santiago Barnabeu, Madrid, Spain.

His outfit for the event – Blazer on Agbada, has really got some Nigerians talking. Like what for? Some people tag it a national embarrassment. Coould it be part of culture?

Some people think it is ridiculous of a National figure to wear something like that for an international event. What do you think? Blazer on Agbada

See photos below…

Source – Kemifilani

Please Share This Post

Do Not Treat Dapchi Missing School Girls Like Chibok Girls - Senate Warns FG

BREAKING NEWS
Do Not Treat Dapchi Missing School Girls Like Chibok Girls - Senate Warns FG

Punch Metro has shown that the Senate has warned against treating the Boko Haram attack on Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, like the case of the Chibok girls.

The warning followed the adoption of a motion at the plenary on Thursday which was moved by Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe East) on the attack, where 94 students were declared missing out of which 48 had been found as of Wednesday night.

Boko Haram had attacked Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014, where about 200 pupils were abducted and over half of them had either escaped or released, while others have remained in captivity.

The upper chamber also said there was a “resurgence” of attacks by Boko Haram, which was linked to payment of ransome to the terrorist group.

Granting payers of the motion, the lawmakers unanimously resolved to “condemn the attack on the school and resurgence of the insurgency” and urged the Federal Government to “urgently rescue the girls and not repeat the Chibok girls’ experience.”

Speaking on the motion, Senator Joshua Lidani stated that the Chibok girls incidence should have taught Nigeria the lesson that schools are a major target of the insurgents. He decried that the Federal Government had continued to pay ransome to Boko Haram to secure release of captives, thereby empoweing the terrorist group.

Lidani said, “We have observed of recent that this spate of kidnapping happens whenever Boko Haram members are being severely attacked or are on the run. They devise a means of going to abduct people so that they would negotiate with the Federal Government for ransom.

“It happened with the recent abduction of some University of Maiduguri staff that were on an exploration mission. The government negotiated with them (insurgents) and they got money. Now, they have been empowered. Even on police officers’ wives, the Federal Government went and negotiated with them and they were given money.

“We need to be very proactive in this case because the idea of sitting down and always negotiating and paying ransom; we are empowering Boko Haram to continue to do more. This may not be the end of it because after this, if they have abducted these girls, they will demand ransom and if the ransom is paid, it means they would continue to engage in this.”

Lidani urged President Muhammadu Buhari to do more by visiting the scenes and victims of attacks to show empathy.

Source: PunchNg

Share This Article