Presidency reacts to shooting at the Presidential villa

The presidency has reacted to the shooting which reportedly occurred at the presidential villa in the early hours of Saturday June 13.

Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari described the incident as a "minor occurrence" which is being used by some critics to justify attacks on the government and the Nigerian leader.

He stated that the recent incident among the occupants of the State House has led to the arrest of some staff by the police.

The presidential spokesperson noted that the President has acted in compliance with the rule of law by authorizing that proper investigation be carried out into the unfortunate incident which occurred outside the main residence of the President.

Buhari orders police to investigate shooting in the Presidential villa

President Muhammad Buhari has ordered the police to investigate the recent crisis involving the First Lady, Aisha Buhari and some security aides in the Presidential Villa.

The Presidency announced this on Sunday, June 14, 2020, in a statement by Garba Shehu the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.

On Saturday, Pulse reported about how gunshots fired by Aisha’s security aide, Usman Shugaba in the Villa escalated a heated argument between the First Lady and Buhari’s Personal Assistant, Yusuf Sabiu also known as Tunde.

The First Lady, her children and her security aides had gone to Sabiu’s residence in the Villa to ask him to self-isolate after returning from a trip to Lagos.

But Tunde felt the First Lady was picking on him, saying he was not the only occupant of the Presidential Villa that travelled during the lockdown measure put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The encounter degenerated into a heated argument as Aisha’s ADC reportedly fired gunshots while trying to apprehend the President’s PA.

Following the gunshots, the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed received a security report on the incident and ordered the arrest of Aisha’s ADC and all the security aides that went to Sabiu’s residence with the First Lady.

Fresh allegations arise against Buhari over partiality in appointments

Fresh allegations of nepotism against President Muhammadu Buhari are probably indications of how Nigerians feel about him. They feel that the promise he made about inclusive governance in his second term is far from being fulfilled.

Soon after receiving his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the February 23, 2019, presidential election, President Muhammadu Buhari pledged to run an inclusive government in his second term.

“I, therefore, want to assure that we will continue to engage all parties that have the best interest of Nigerians at heart. Our government will remain inclusive and our doors will remain open. 

That is the way to build the country of our dream; safe, secure, prosperous, and free of impunity and primitive accumulation by those entrusted with public offices.

The hard work to deliver a better Nigeria continues, building on the foundations of peace, rule of law and opportunities for all. We will roll up our sleeves afresh, and give it our all,” the President had said.

A year after President Buhari made the pledge, it appears he has continued to tread the old path, which elicited widespread allegations of nepotism against his administration during his first term. 

The rising clamour for equity and fairness in the polity, especially in the area of appointments, signals the old order still persist.

Towards promoting national unity and cohesion, Section 14 (3) of the 1999 constitution provides that “the composition of the government or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies.”

Section 15 (4) of the constitution also provides that “The state shall foster a feeling of belonging and of involvement among the various peoples of the Federation, to the end that loyalty to the nation shall override sectional loyalties.”

In an open letter to Buhari, former military governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (retd), warned that lopsided appointments in his government was against the provisions of the Constitution and could spell doom for the country’s unity.

In the letter entitled, “Mr. President, Please Belong To All Of Us”, Umar said unless the Buhari administration changed its style of governance, Nigeria might further be faced with crisis. 

He particularly accused the president of favouring some sections of the country in the headship of the security agencies.

All those who wish you and the country well must mince no words in warning you that Nigeria has become dangerously polarised and risks sliding into crisis on account of your administration’s lopsided appointments, which continues to give undue preference to some sections of the country over others.

Nowhere is this more glaring than in the leadership cadre of our security services. Mr. President, I regret that there are no kind or gentle words to tell you that your skewed appointments into the offices of the Federal Government, favouring some and frustrating others, shall bring ruin and destruction to this nation,” Umar warned.

Umar’s outbursts came on the heels of public outcries over the recent constitution of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (PTF) by President Buhari.

It could be recalled that the President had on May 7, this year, named a former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the NPTF.

The president had also appointed Mr. Ahmed Sokoto as the Executive Secretary of the board; Mr. Nnamdi Mbaeri as representative of the Ministry of Police Affairs; Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, as the representative of Nigeria Police Force; and Mr. Usman Bilkisu as the representative of the Ministry of Justice.

Others are Mr. Ben Akabueze, Director-General of Budget and National Planning as the representative of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Mr. Mansur Ahmed as representative of the organised labour; and Dr. Michael Adebiyi to represent the civil society groups.

The Presidency had said the appointments were in furtherance of the commitment of the Buhari Administration to retooling policing architecture in the country.

Nevertheless, many individuals and groups faulted the membership of the Board, noting that the composition favours a particular section of the country.

National Coordinator of Campaign for Equity, Oliver Akosa, last Tuesday, said Umar’s letter merely reinforced the position of the organisation on the composition of the Board, urging the president to treat the warning by the former military governor with the seriousness it deserves.

Akosa said: “We are delighted that voices of reason are talking and are reinforcing the points we have been making about the refusal of Mr. President to recognise that Nigeria is a federation and should be governed as such. 

Umar particularly referred to the utter imbalance in the headship of security services and warned Mr. President to retrace his steps before Nigeria slides into anarchy.

Umar’s declaration is clearly in line with our earlier position, which drew attention to the lopsidedness in the constitution of the Board of Trustees of the Police Trust Fund, an important security agency of the country. 

While reiterating our position on this anomalous constitution of the PTF board, we wish to add here that cronyism, which the appointment promotes, will deepen the woes of the Nigeria Police Force, which Mr. President, ostensibly, set out to rescue from its sorry state.”

Akosa reminded the President that the raison d’être for the setting up of the PTF as contained in the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Establishment Act 2019 was to retool policing architecture in Nigeria.

He added: “To achieve this, the PTF is expected to ensure a well-funded, well-equipped and highly professional Nigeria Police Force in line with international best practices. 

It was also for the purpose of meeting this objective that President Buhari reestablished the Ministry of Police Affairs. All of this was aimed at reforming policing architecture in order to deepen the country’s internal security.

But we regret to note that the proper policing architecture we are yearning for cannot be realised with the present crop of people, particularly the leadership, who have been appointed by the president to lead the PTF. 

If Mr. President appreciates the full import of federalism, he would not give us a police force whose ministry is headed by someone from Sokoto State and at the same time give us a PTF whose Executive Secretary is from the same Sokoto State. This arrangement smacks of utter disregard for the fine tenets of federalism.”

The Lower Niger Vanguard (LNV) had also faulted the composition of the PTF Board, saying it neither conforms to regional nor zonal balance. The group, which is a coalition of Southern and Middle Belt groups concerned with equity and good governance in Nigeria, urged the President to reconstitute the board, noting that its lopsidedness was a brazen attempt at the domination of the security architecture of the country by one zone. 

National Convener, Mike Melah, had said members of the group felt most scandalised by the arrangement.

“Former Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abbah, from Jigawa State is the chairman of PTF Board of Trustees while Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto from Sokoto State is the Executive Secretary. 

They will be working with the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, who also comes from Sokoto State.

Then we ask: Whose interest is this arrangement meant to serve? We pose this question because what we have on our hands smacks of over concentration of power in the hands of one segment of the country at the expense of others. 

We wonder what this lopsidedness is aimed at if not a brazen attempt at the domination of the security architecture of the country by one zone.

As a pressure group committed to telling the truth to our leaders in order to get them to do the right thing, we urge President Buhari to change this arrangement. It conforms neither to regional nor zonal balance,” the group said.

On its part, the Alliance for Change through a statement by its National Coordinator, Dandison Oruwari, stated “this arrangement, in whatever way it came about, makes the Nigeria Police Force an instrument in the hands of the Northwest.”

The group noted that if the reason for the establishment of the PTF, as explained by the government, was to ensure a professionally run, well-equipped and well trained police force in line with international best practices, then the government committed a faux pas by concentrating the powers of the national police in the hands of a section of the country.

This arrangement does not also support the plan to reform the Nigeria Police Force. Reformation begins with inclusiveness not exclusiveness. We therefore urge the Presidency to revisit the composition of PTF board,” Oruwari said.

With the increasing calls for fairness, equity and balance in the polity, Nigerians expect President Buhari to be a man of his word and keep to his promise of inclusive governance. With three years to the end of his second term, he still has ample room to do so. Whether he would toe this line would be glaring soon.

Obaseki presents nomination form to Buhari

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has presented his nomination form for re-election under the All Progressives Congress to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Obaseki made the presentation during a visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, ahead of the APC governorship primary election scheduled for this month.

The governor, who addressed State House Correspondents on the purpose of the visit, said, 

“Even though Buhari is a father, it would be wrong to assume or take things for granted, so I have to formally inform (him).”

The governor also said over 300,000 Edo indigenes had been screened for COVID-19 out of the 500,000 targeted by the government.

He also vowed to ensure that the killers of the 100-level student of the University of Benin, Uwaila Omozuwa, were tracked and brought to justice, describing the crime as heinous.

Chairperson of new NNPC board still unclear

Although the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Act as amended in 2007 provides for the appointment of nine persons to the Board, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, named six members, leaving the public, including the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, as well as NNPC with the need for clarification.  

Statutorily, the Chairman of the board should either be the Minister of Petroleum Resources or the Group Managing Director appointed by the President; the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance; six other persons appointed by the President, who by their experience and knowledge of the oil and gas industry, have the capability of contributing to the Corporation.  

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina announced yesterday that Buhari had reconstituted the NNPC Board following the expiration of the term of the board members appointed in 2016.

While the six other members, as listed by extant regulations were appointed by the President and are Mohammed Lawal (North West), Tajudeen Umar (North East), Adamu Mahmood Attah (North Central), Senator Magnus Abe (South South), Dr Stephen Dike (South East), and Pius Akinyelure (South West).

Expectations were that the GMD, Mele Kyari, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Mahmoud Isa-Dutse and the Minister or State Minister of Petroleum Resources, who should be the chairman would make up the other three members of the new board.

Recall that Buhari had appointed Dr Thomas John last year as an acting alternate chairman of the Governing Board of NNPC to end the tenure of former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu.

John was expected to hold the position until the appointment of a new Minister or Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. 

It was, however, not clear, if the President, who doubles as Minister of Petroleum Resources is holding to the chairmanship of the board or the Minister of State, Timipre Sylva.

When asked of the full list of the board, a reliable source at NNPC noted that the corporation is still awaiting communication on the matter from the Presidency.

Another source noted that Sylva has been chairing the board of the corporation and that the board has been active. At the time of filing this report, request for further clarification from the Presidency was not attended to.

Energy expert, Adeoye Adefulu stated that the lack of a properly constituted board is not just a breach of the enabling law of NNPC, but also takes away one of the most important mechanisms for ensuring accountability, providing a strategic direction and bolstering corporate governance of the Corporation.

SERAP Nigeria asks Buhari to reveal details of loans

Days after President Muhammadu Buhari wrote to the National Assembly for approval on plans to borrow a fresh $5.513bn loan, he has been asked to give details on the loans taken by his administration.

The demand was made by the Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Projects (SERAP). SERAP confirmed the move in a series of tweets on its official Twitter handle on Sunday, May 31.

According to SERAP, it filed a Freedom of Information (FoI) request on Saturday, May 30, calling for details of all the foreign loans that the Buhari administration has taken since its inception on May 29, 2015.

President Buhari solicited for approval on a $5.5 billion loan to finance the revised 2020 appropriation bill in a way that will enable the accommodation of some priority projects.

The information of the loan was contained in a letter directed to the House of Representatives by the president on Thursday, May 28.

According to the President, the funds will be used for the federal government’s priority projects and will also be channelled toward the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

Just before that, an N850 billion loan requested by the President was approved by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, May 12.

The loan was requested by President Buhari for the purpose of funding the 2020 budget.

The approval by the Green Chamber was given during its plenary held in Abuja on Tuesday.

In a similar event, earlier in March this year, a disagreement broke out on the floor of the Nigerian Senate after deliberations on the $22 billion external borrowing request by President Buhari started.

Clifford Ordia, the chairman of the committee who read out the report on Thursday, March 5, suggested that the lawmakers should approve the foreign loan request.

However, the decision to deliberate behind closed doors sparked a back-and-forth for over half an hour between lawmakers and the Senate president, Ahmed Lawan.

Buhari loses another nephew, Ibrahim Dauda

Ibrahim Dauda, a nephew of President Muhammadu Buhari died in Daura, Katsina State, following a prolonged illness.

In a condolence message by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday, Buhari said the death has robbed the family and the Daura community of one of its finest gentlemen.

“I am deeply touched and devastated by the passing of yet another family member, a man who had demonstrated amazing kindness and honesty in all his dealings,” he said.

Buhari prayed God to forgive the soul of the deceased and reward his great and noble deeds with paradise.

The deceased, Dauda is survived by a number of children, including Dauda Ibrahim, a Chief Administrative Officer in State House, Abuja.

See the states that top the list of Presidential aides

Ogun, Adamawa, Oyo and Lagos states are currently topping the list of states with the highest number of presidential aides in an updated list prepared by the Presidency.

The 142 aides on the list are attached to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); his wife, Aisha; Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo; his wife, Dolapo; Chief of Staff to the President; and a few ministers.

An analysis of the list showed that Ogun, Osinbajo’s home state, topped the chart with 16, Adamawa, the home state of the President’s wife, Aisha, came second with 12, while Oyo State came third with 11 aides.

Lagos came fourth with 10 aides while Kano followed closely with nine presidential aides to occupy the fifth position.

Buhari’s home state, Katsina, as well as Ondo state, are tied in the sixth position with seven presidential aides each.

Edo, Ekiti and Osun states are occupying the seventh position with six presidential aides each.

Bauchi, Kebbi and Nasarawa states have the lowest number of presidential aides with one each.

States without representation on the list are: Imo, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Plateau, Zamfara and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

A zonal analysis showed that the South West geo-political zone which has a total of 56 presidential aides accounts for the highest number.

The North West is second with 25 aides while the North East came third with 21.

The South has 17; North Central has 12 while South East came last with nine.

According to an updated list, there are currently eight Special Advisers to the President; 55 Senior Special Assistants; 64 Special Assistants; and 15 Personal Assistants. However, not all of them are paid from federal coffers.

COVID-19 : NMA calls on Buhari to intervene in Kogi

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to intervene in the refusal of the Kogi State Government to accept the positive test results of coronavirus patients in the State.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had on Wednesday confirmed two COVID-19 cases in the state.

One of the patients, who is reportedly a popular community and religious leader, was referred from the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja and diagnosed with the virus at the National Hospital, Abuja.

But the Kogi State Government rejected the result.

The NMA President, Dr Francis Faduyile, and Secretary General, Dr Odusote Olumuyiwa, in a statement on Friday, said the association was “incredibly disturbed” by the response of the Kogi State Government.

The NMA lamented that the state Commissioner for Information did not only describe the process of arriving at the diagnosis as fraudulent, but allegedly “went on to smear the front-line health workers and the NCDC on live national television.” It said, 

“His use of profane words is capable of demoralising the exemplary gold-winning health workers and the untiring NCDC, which possibly can lead to a national catastrophe. The implied consequences of these unbecoming actions are what the NMA condemns.

The association, therefore, appeals to President Muhammadu Buhari to caution the state governor and his officials immediately.”

Buhari has put Nigeria on an irreversible road to sustainable development - Lai Mohammed

The minister for information, Lai Mohammed has said that Buhari has put Nigeria on an irreversible road to sustainable development. 

He made the statement at a news conference in Abuja to mark the first anniversary of the second term of Buhari.

He said that the President achieved the feat by some actions “mostly bold and highly visionary” taken.

Mohammed said that the past one year had been momentous, adding that never in the history of Nigeria had so many positive steps being taken in so short a time.

“President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015 on the strength of his promise of change.

Nigerians are satisfied with his performance, especially in the cardinal areas of fighting corruption, tackling insecurity and revamping the economy, overwhelmingly re-elected the President in 2019.

One year later, the President is taking Nigeria to the Next Level of irreversible change for the better,” he said.

Specifically, Lai Mohammed said that the intractable power problem was finally being tackled in a way that would end poor power supply that had stunted Nigeria’s socio-economic development.

COVID-19 brings advanced and developing countries to the same level - Buhari

The President of Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), said that he observed the Eid-el-Fitr prayers at his State House residence because of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

He explained that his decision was in compliance with the measures put in place by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 which prohibited mass gatherings.

Buhari was joined at the prayers by family members, including his wife, Aisha, and son, Yusuf.

In a brief interview after the session, Buhari urged Muslims to reflect on the lessons of the period. He said,

“I held Eid prayers at home today with my family, in keeping with the protocol of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 against mass gatherings, as well as the directive of the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, suspending Eid congregational prayers across the country.”

Buhari noted that COVID-19 was so devastating that it had reduced developing and developed countries to be on the same level. He stated,

“Nigerians can see that COVID-19 has reduced us, both the developing and developed countries, to the same level. In fact, we have fewer casualties than they we have.”

He called on farmers to double their efforts in producing more food for the country by taking advantage of the rainy season.

“I hope the rainy season would be bountiful so that we get a lot of food.

I wish the farmers will go to farms and save lives so that we can produce what we need in sufficient quantity so that we don’t have to import food.

In any case, we don’t have any money to import food. So we must produce what we are going to eat,” he added.

"Lockdown won't go longer than necessary" – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that the lockdown put in place to reduce the spread of coronavirus in the country would not go longer than necessary.

The president said this in a statement issued ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr celebration by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu on Saturday, May 23, 2020.

In his Sallah message, the president told the Muslim faithful to keep their spirits up in spite of the challenges. He said,

“The lockdown measures would not go on longer than necessary because they would be reviewed from time to time to ease the increasing hardships on the people.

I am well aware of the inconveniences these tough measures have brought on the lives of Nigerians, including limiting religious activities and gatherings in large numbers.

No government would intentionally impose these tough and demanding measures on its citizens if it had a choice.”

Buhari also appealed to Nigerian whose businesses and means of livelihoods were badly affected by the prolonged lockdown measures for their understanding and cooperation. He said,

“For the first time in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the people’s spiritual, social, and economic lives.

This year’s fasting period was particularly challenging for Muslims because they had to forgo many important aspects of their daily worship, including the routine congregations for prayer and the recitation and interpretation of the Holy Qur’an as well as travelling for the lesser pilgrimage to Makkah.

It is not easy to give up many of these important duties and activities, but it became imperative to do so in order to control or limit the spread of this deadly disease.”