Plateau State government has denied the allegation of taking $350m African Development Bank, AfDB loan saying such allegation is frivolous as the government only took $11.2 million of which, 70% of the amount is being committed to infrastructure, 20% to capacity building and 10% for project management. A former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, last Thursday at a webinar discussing why Plateau State lost its relevance at the national stage, accused the Governor, Simon Lalong of non-performance despite taking loans that have no impact on the lives of citizens. Dalung said, “$350 million (N140 billion) was approved for the Plateau State governemnt by the Federal Executive Council for the purpose of the potato value chain. I was a serving Minister at the time, so I was part of tha...
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the ambush on entourage of Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno, which led to the death of security men and some operatives of Civilian-JTF. The President made the condemnation in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday. He described the attack, on Maiduguri-Baga route, as an orchestrated sabotage against long planned return of displaced persons to their local communities. Buhari noted, with deep sympathy, the loss of lives of security men on the convoy, ahead of the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), commiserating with their families and loved ones. The president advised the government of Borno, working with security and intelligence agencies, to remain firm in their determinat...
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has nullified the purported suspension of Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State by the party’s state chapter. Mr Yekini Nabena, APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja, while reacting to the development. “The attention of the APC national secretariat has been drawn to a purported and widely reported suspension of Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, as well as an earlier reported indefinite suspension of some other party members in the state. “The actions are a nullity as the party’s national secretariat is yet to receive communication from the state chapter on the purported suspensions,” he said. Nabena, therefore, advised all members of the party to adhere to its Constitution, adding that Fayemi remains the ...
The 36 states governors, through their respective Attorneys General and Commissioners for Justice, have dragged the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, before the Supreme Court over the failure of the Federal Government to fund the courts in the country with recurrent expenditure since May 5, 2009. It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, had in May 2020, signed Executive Order 10, which gave financial autonomy to the legislature and judiciary at the state level. The state governors argued that the Federal Government should also fund state courts if the president must make such order. The plaintiffs in the suit against the AGF, through their counsel, Mr Augustine Alegeh, SAN, are contending that the respondent refused to fun...
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday explained that the recently passed Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA) in Nigeria will enhance transparency and corporate accountability in the fight against corruption. President Buhari spoke in a video message presented at the Open Government Partnership (OGP) 2020 Virtual Leaders’ Summit on the sidelines of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA75) in New York, United States. ”Since the inception of our Administration in 2015, the Government has been committed to changing international and domestic perceptions regarding Nigeria’s commitment to fight corruption and foster good governance. ”We focused on the task of dealing head-on with this destructive monster, which led to us joining the Open Government Partnership and...
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the death of two Borno Emirs as a “rare double tragedy” and a painful loss to the people of Nigeria. Buhari in a condolence letter he sent to Gov. Babagana Zulum and the people of Borno, commended the roles played by the late Shehu of Bama, Umar El-Kanemi, and the Emir of Biu, Mustapha Aliyu, in maintaining peace and stability in their respective emirates, especially in the wake of violence caused by the Boko Haram insurgents. Presenting the letters on behalf of Buhari, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who led the federal government delegation, commended Gov. Zulum for his foresight, commitment, devotion and courage for his peace building efforts to restore normalcy in his state. “We would like to pray to God to change the situation fro...
Rochas Foundation A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and former governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, has described the loss of his party in the Edo State governorship election as people’s revolution against injustice. This was even as he said members’ respect for President Muhammadu Buhari was the reason the party is still intact, warning that there could be an imminent possible implosion in the party if the leadership failed to address some issues threatening its sustenance. The senator representing Imo West Senatorial Zone, reacting to the outcome of the just-concluded Edo governorship election, insisted that APC’s loss was the masses’ revolution against injustice. “If the report I am getting from Edo is not quite interesting when injustice comes into a ...
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to make Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State a model. Wike, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Campaign Council for the poll, spoke during a live television programme in Port Harcourt. A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, quoted the governor as saying that the outcome of the election would provide hope for 2023 general election. He said: “Everyone that loves this country should ensure that tomorrow’s election is credible, free and fair. “The police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should show Nigerians that they can support credible elections. “INEC should ensure that result sheets are not in the hands of i...
The Trent President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday felicitated with elder statesman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, on the occasion of his 85th birthday. This is contained in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja. Buhari joined members of Tukur’s family, friends and well-wishers in celebrating the elder statesman. He noted Tukur, former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party and one-time governor of old Gongola State, had devoted a greater part of his extensive political life to supporting democracy in the country and continent. According to the president, Tukur is an accomplished businessman, pan-Africanist and philanthropist. Tukur understands very clearly that one of the best human legacies is to invest in people and many Nigerians who cam...
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has asked voters to cast their votes for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Godwin Obaseki, in the Saturday’s Governorship election in Edo State. He tweeted this a few hours after the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, said Obaseki does not deserve a single vote in the Saturday governorship election. The former governor of Lagos State had in a televised broadcast said, “He (Obaseki) does not deserve any democratic ballot paper. Don’t vote for him, I appeal to all of you.” But Obaseki debunked Tinubu’s claim, noting that Tinubu would fail in his attempt “to extend his political dominance and empire to Edo State”. Atiku in his tweet warned against violence during the election. He said, “The democracy that we enjoy t...
The Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, has inaugurated a Committee on Covid-19 Herbal Remedies and Natural Compounds. The Minister who emphasised the threats posed by COVID-19 to the health and well-being of Nigerians and the national economy reiterated the urgent need to develop a home-grown remedy and vaccine to tackle it. Speaking at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, Onu said the Committee, made up of eminent scientists and fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) will work to authenticate claims by researchers, scientists, and traditional medical practitioners of cure and herbal remedy for COVID-19. The Minister urged members of the Committee to vigorously scrutinize and evaluate all claims brought before it, adding that it should identify the remedies with ...