Sahara Reporters Latest News Thursday 30th May 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 30/05/19
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target=_blank>Prove To Lagosians You Are Not A Puppet To Godfathers, ADP Tells Sanwo-Olu
The Action Democratic Party (ADP), Lagos State Chapter has called on Mr Babajide Sanwo-olu to act as a Governor and serve the people rather than doing the bidding of any godfather.
Barrister Nasir Adewale Bolaji, Lagos State Chairman of ADP, in a statement, tasked Sanwo-Olu to “advance the State in all aspects, including job creation, empowerment of youth with entrepreneurship skills and everything that will uplift the State from its current situation.”
The newly sworn-in Governor was also urged to begin the implementation of the new minimum wage to civil servants in the state and to ensure he completes all projects Akinwunmi Ambode couldn’t finish while he was the Governor.
“The implementation of the newly signed minimum wage of N30,000 should be his priority, Lagos State is capable and workers must be adequately taken care of if maximum productivity is expected from them.
“Both human and infrastructural developments should be key areas the governor must focus on if indeed he would want Lagosians to take him seriously.
“We are expecting that Sanwoolu will continue with legacy projects of the past Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode because, since it’s the same APC that is still power, governance should be a continuous thing, except that they want to tell Lagosians differently,” Bolaji said.
The Governor was also urged to revisit the Lagos Water project in order to make potable water accessible to the people while also charging him to “look at how Local Government autonomy can be implemented since they are closer to the people who need to enjoy the dividends of democracy.”
Sanwo-Olu was also charged to partner with the police in terms of training on Human Rights and awareness on the value of human lives, to mitigate against these barbaric and senseless killings of innocent residents of Lagos.
The party also asked Sanwo-Olu to address the issue of waste collection in Lagos as it has become a menace in the state and also tasked the Governor to give opportunities of prosperity to all without any form of discrimination, hate or favoritism.
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target=_blank>End Killings Or We’ll Occupy The Country Falana Warns Nigerian Govt
Sahara Reporters Media
Femi Falana, Human Rights Activist and Nigerian Lawyer ( SAN), has said that Nigerian’s will occupy the country if the Federal Government fails to put an end to the ongoing reckless killings and abductions in the country.
He said this during a protest organized by The People’s Alternative Fonts, aimed at putting an end to the indiscriminate killings at the Gani Fawehinimi Freedom Park, Ojota, Lagos on Wednesday.
According to him, leaders must know that democracy is not only about the rituals of elections but also the aftermaths of electoral processes.
He said, “Democracy is not about the rituals of elections, it transcends election. It is not about commissioning boreholes in a country where we used to have tap water on the street. It is also not about commissioning roads and dancing on the road in a country where we used to have good and motorable roads”.
Falana pointed out that the greatest dividends of democracy is freedom for the masses to carry out their business activities under the rightful tenets of the law without indiscriminate killings and arrests.
While also speaking on the breach of human rights, he demands that the federal government adequately equip, fund and motivate the police force as this will ensure sanity and keep soldiers to perform their civic duties rather than their unlawful functionalities on public street.
He stressed the need for education for every child and job creation as this will help reduce criminal activities in the society adding that the bulk of looted money discovered should be channeled towards establishing factories as outlets for employment.
Falana also demanded the creation of ranches in rural areas to end violent clashes between farmers and herders.
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E2%80%99s-ministers%E2%80%99-scorecard-december-2015-may-2019 target=_blank>Buhari’s Ministers’ Scorecard December 2015- May 2019
Governor Kayode fayemi
Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika
Solomon Dalung
Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazau
Aisha Alhassan
Abubakar Malami
Adebayo Shittu
Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun
Minister of Foreign Affairs – GEOFFREY ONYEMA
Achievements and Failures
-Prompt reaction to the reports of slave trade and imprisonment of Nigerians in Libya. Summoned Nigeria’s charge d’Affairs in Tripoli, Libya, over the ongoing reports of trading of Nigerians in the North African country.
-Election of Nigerian representatives into various world organizations. The organization includes the UN Human Rights Council, Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
-Nigerian mission and embassies are still underfunded/ groan under financial difficulties.
-Slow response to the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
-Abike Dabiri Arewa is most time mistaken for the Minister of foreign affairs due to the inactivity of Geoffery.
2) Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun
Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun
Achievements
-Auditing of tax records of over 800,000 public firms, contractors, companies, including those that have never paid taxes before.
-Suspension of the Director General of the Securities & Exchange Commission, SEC, for alleged financial impropriety, corruption and abuse of office.
-Over 3,000 properties in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, sealed off for allegedly defaulting in filing annual tax returns to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS.)
-Creation of a Central Asset Register for recording the actual quantity, value, condition, and location of all Federal Government capital assets.
Failures
-Inability to publish names and details of monies recovered from politicians and former public office holders.
-Untidy payment of commission to the whistle-blower that gave information leading to the recovery of sums of money totaling N13 billion from Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Notes:
She had to resign as a result of an ugly certificate scandal in 2018.
She was replaced by Zainab Ahmed
No major achievement since she was appointed.
3) Minister of Women Affairs Aisha Alhassan
Aisha Alhassan
Achievements
-Initiating and launching of the Year of Action to End Violence against Children by 2030, National SDGs Campaign, the End Child Marriage, etc.
-Inauguration of Child Protection sub-working group to ensure humanitarian actors’ commitment to standard and best practices for child protection in emergencies particularly in the North-eastern part of Nigeria.
– She put together a Social Investment Intervention Programme – Government Enterprise and Empowerment Program (GEEP) and the National Women Empowerment Fund, NAWEF, which is implemented by the ministry in collaboration with the Bank of Industry.
Failures
-Violence against women still on the rise.
-Nigeria still has one of the highest child brides in the world.
-The practice of female circumcision known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still ongoing despite a law signed by former President Jonathan banning the exercise, there are very few camp from the ministry moved against this.
-She said in June 2018, APC Will Rule Nigeria Forever- June 4, 2018.
-She resigned from the position for her governorship ambition and later left APC to join ADC. Then she said, APC doesn’t deserve anything of mine- Oct 17, 2018.
4) Minister of Justice – Abubakar Malami
Abubakar Malami
Achievements
-Concluded negotiation with Switzerland on the return of $321 million Abacha loot.
-He secured an Appeal Court order for the retrial of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki for false asset declaration.
-Recovered N57.9 billion as well as $666.676 from fines, corporate organizations and corrupt individuals
Failures
-Clashes between the Justice ministry and EFCC.
-Allegation of one-sided Anti-corruption war.
-He paid Temitope Adebayo and Oladipo Opeseyi $15m for doing what Enrico Monfrini, a Swiss lawyer was paid for in 1999.
-Malami stalled N5.7 billion Naira corruption case against former government officials.
5) Minister of Environment Stephen Ocheni
Achievements
-Flagged-off a Climate Change Knowledge Immersion Workshop in Ogun State.
-The ministry resolved to domesticate Minamata Convention on Mercury and other Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) ratified by Nigeria.
Failures
-His ministry failed to clean up Ogoni land despite Buhari’s promises.
-Yet to establish the electronic-based data bank on Pollution Control and Waste Management issues in the country.
Note:
He should have resigned after a report by SaharaReporters revealed that he plagiarised research from an Australian university when he was still lecturing.
6) Minister of Mining and Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi
Achievements
-Secured a $150 million World Bank loan to support the ministry’s mineral sector support for economic diversification program.
-Apart from a 300 percent increase in revenue (royalties and fees) between 2015 and 2016, the sector surpassed it entire revenue of over N2 billion generated for the whole of 2016, with over N3.5 billion earning.
Failures
-Failed to completely end illegal mining in the country.
-Refusal to respect the Supreme Court ruling on the ownership of the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON).
-Ajaokuta Steel Mill is still not functioning.
7) Minister of Sport and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung
Solomon Dalung
Achievements
-Organized the Sports festival after 6 years.
Failures
-Unable to resolve the leadership crisis in the NFF and NBBF.
-Inability to account for N2.9 billion released for participation in 2015 All Africa Games in Congo and preparations for the 2016 Olympics.
-His ministry has failed to return the $135,000 mistakenly sent to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria AFN by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
-“Who took them there? What are they there for? Because they are under 23 and they went to the US. Now they are having problems, does that become our business?”
-Talking about the U-23 Eagles who camped in the United States ahead of the Rio Olympics in 2016.
8) Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole
Achievement
-Eradication of Polio in Nigeria.
Failures
-Failure in the reduction of the Lassa fever rate.
-Failure to put N2.5 million Nigerians on ARV’s.
-During his tenure, more doctors left the shores of Nigeria than before.
9) Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh
Achievements
-Rice revolution-Fertilizer provision to farmers-Engaged foreign experts to contain Tuta Absoluta, the pest that affects tomato production in the country. Nigeria produces 1.8 million tonnes of tomatoes annually.
Failures
-Inability to account for spendings as petitioned by SERAP.
-Agriculture still at below 30% to the GDP.
10) Minister of Labour and Employment
Achievements
-Resolve labor dispute e.g NUPENG and PENGASSAN and the federal government over anti-labor activities.
-Increment of the minimum wage to N30,000 per month.
-NDE, an agency of the ministry empowered over 4000 Nigerians under the Artisans Resettlement and Mentoring Scheme while recruiting and training 1,850 persons across the nation under the Community Based Training Scheme (CBTS).
Failures
-Increase in unemployment and a decrease in productivity.
-At least 18,919 Nigerians lost their public sector jobs between October 2015 and March 2016, according to NBS.
11) Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola
Achievements
-Rehabilitation of some major roads began.
-Fixed the damage at the Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro hydro-power stations.
-Paid over N70 billion to contractors handling federal jobs to return to site.
-Progress made on the 2nd Niger Bridge.
Failures
-Achieved far less than the 40 projects which he said he would execute in the first year.
-The power situation has really not improved as millions of Nigerians still live without stable power.
-There is still major road crises in the country.
12) Minister of Defence
Achievements
-Procurement of new equipment for the armed forces.
-Establishment of new military colleges.
-Fresh alliance with world military powers in defense and aerospace technology.
Failures
-Continuous Boko haram attacks despite claims of technically defeating the terrorist group.
-Increase in herdsmen Crises and growing insecurity especially in the north.
-Controversy over Properties in Dubai traced to him.
-Controversy over being due for retirement as a military officer after more than 35 years in service.
13) Minister of Education
Achievements
-Reviewed the tuition fee for Unity Schools.
-Approval of the establishment of a secondary education commission to oversee operations of secondary schools in the country.
-JAMB, a parastatal under his Ministry repatriated the highest amount N5bn into government coffers
Failures
-Inability to reduce Nigeria’s out of school children.
-No major improvement in the Education sector.
-Inability to implement the 2009 agreement reached by the federal government of Nigeria with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) thereby resulting in continued strikes.
14) Minister of Science and Technology: Ogbonnaya Onu
Achievements
-Initiated the maiden edition of National Science and Technology Week to showcase inventors and inventions.
-Signed a Memorandum of Undertaking (MOU) with three international companies to export indigenous technologies and food and also with NASCO to kick off commercial production of High Nutrient Density Biscuits.
-Introduced 19 new high yield crop varieties to enhance agriculture.
Failures
-Nigeria’s inability to start producing pencil as was promised by the Minister.
-Inability to implement a partnership with European Union (EU) on climate change, science and technology.
-Nigeria still largely a consuming country as there was no major breakthrough in science and technology.
15) Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau
Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazau
Achievements
-Procurement of new equipment in the Federal Fire Service-Famous for announcing Public Holidays
Failures
-All the institutions under this ministry like The Nigerian Police Force(NPF), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Fire Service (FFS), Nigeria Prison Service (NPS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) are still riddled with Corruption and inefficiency.
-The rate of insecurity in the country has skyrocketed.
-Prison still overcrowded with the awaiting trial inmates having over 70% of the population.
16) Minister of Budget and National Planning | Senator Udo Udoma
Achievements
-Started an app for the budget office for accountability purpose.
-After the recession in 2016, the economy has grown by 1.98% in the last 2 years, partly due to the implementation of the Economic and Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) developed by his ministry.
Failures
-There is still no evidence of national planning in the budget.
-There is still no timely submission of the budget to the house.
-No proper scrutiny of the budget as there are poorly described, misaligned and padded items obvious in the budget.
17) Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi
Achievements
-Completed Abuja to Kaduna Rail.
-Completed Lagos to Ibadan Rail.
-Completed Itakpe to Warri Rail.
Failures
-Alleged running of most of the rail services by the Chinese, thereby denying Nigerians employment.
-60% delayed flight as a result of infrastructural related problem.
18) Minister of Niger Delta
Achievements
-Uncovered fraud in the past operations of the ministry.
-Relative peace in the region.
Failures
– Skill acquisition projects and other projects have been abandoned in the different states of the region.
– No proper explanation on the going-ons in the ministry.
19) Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello
Achievements
-Improvements in the sanitation of the city.-Re-energised the health sector by revising primary health care in the FCT.
Failure
-Increase in the crime rate in the city.
-Several Incomplete projects.
-Regular raid and demolition of Night clubs and fun centers towards the end of the administration.
20) Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika
Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika
Achievements
-Started the Nigeria Air project.
-Reconstruction of the Abuja Airport runway on time.
-Completion of the Abuja and Port Harcourt terminal.
-No major Airline Casualty during his tenure.
Failure
-Poor Infrastructure in the airport cases of flooding in the airport.
-Over 60% delayed flight.
-Poor state of the Murtala Muhammed Airport.
-Failure to kick start Nigeria Air
21) Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed
Achievements
-Launch and implementation ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign.
-Launched and implemented campaign against Fake News
Failures
-Lack of implementation of Digital Switch Over.
-Major Information bombs that should not be credited to a serving Minister.
-Sometimes act as APC Publicity Secretary rather than Minister of Information.
22) Minister For Communication, Adebayo Shittu
Adebayo Shittu
No major achievement, even his governorship ambition failed…
23) Minister of Petroleum. President Muhammadu Buhari
Achievements
No major attack on oil facilities since 2016.
Failures
Refusal to sign the PIGB billNo new investment in Nigeria’s petroleum industryNNPC continued spending monies not approved by the National AssemblyMajor power tussle between Minister of State, Ibe Kachikwu and NNPC Chairman, Maikanti BaruSubsidy is still a mirage after claims of ending the subsidy regime
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target=_blank>Do Not Expect New Minimum Wage, Seyi Makinde Tells Oyo Workers
Seyi Makinde, the new Governor of Oyo State, has told civil servants in the state not to expect immediate payment of the new minimum wage.
Makinde said this while giving his inauguration speech after being sworn-in to take the reins as Governor of the state.
He also said he would reduce the government overheads while increasing the efficiency in tax collection.
“Recently, the Federal Government announced a new salary scheme in which the lowest cadre of civil servants are expected to earn at least N30,000.
“I know how access to this type of money will improve the lives of many of the families that I have had direct contact with,” Makinde said.
He continued, “With the way the Oyo state account currently stands, I will be deceiving you if I said we are capable of taking on this burden.
“I believe in true federalism. I believe the states should decide the minimum wage of their workforce based on individual realities.
“All states are not created equal, so it is against the principle of fairness to apply a blanket rule to govern them all.”
Makinde noted that his plans is to make Oyo State the first state to pay above the national minimum wage while adding that “development would need time to materialize in the face of economic resources of the state.”
LABOR/WORKERS’ RIGHTS
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target=_blank>UPDATE: How Bad Weather Almost Killed Obasanjo, Others Aboard Ethiopian Airlines
Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian president and other Nigerians escaped death on Wednesday at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that other prominent Nigerians in the Ethiopian airline passenger aircraft, Boeing 777-300, included the Director General of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni.Also in the plane was Prof Samson Tunde Adebayo, the Director of Ports Inspection, National Agency For Food And Drug Administration And Control (NAFDAC) as well as scores of Nigerians and other nationals.The passenger aircraft, ET-901, had departed the Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, at about 9:10 a.m., Ethiopian time; 7 a.m Nigerian time.A NAN correspondent, who was among the passengers, recalled that the almost 5-hour flight from the Ethiopian capital to Lagos had been smooth until the pilot attempted to land at the Murtala Mohammed International airport.Rather than landing on the first touch-line of the runway, the pilot over short it, due to rain and heavy wind, landing on the third touch-line.NAN reports that, on realizing this, the pilot quickly manouvered the plane back air, flying out of the Lagos airport.After hovering around between Lagos and areas suspected to be in Ogun, causing panic in passengers and crew members, the plane landed in Lagos airport, some 20 minutes after the initial false landing.The atmosphere in the aircraft upon landing was a replica of what is obtainable in some Nigerian worship centers, as many passengers broke out into worship songs and clapping, while some fell to their knees in prayer.The duty manager and Chief Customer Service (Nigeria) of the airline, Mr. Otori Jimoh Otan, told NAN that if the pilot had continued taxing down after landing on the third touchline, he would have overshot the runway.“But this is an experienced pilot. He realized this immediately.“Fortunately, the distance between when he realized the situation still permitted him to take off and renegotiate landing,” Otori said.Obasanjo and Olukanni had both attended a Stakeholders Dialogue on Continental Trade and Strengthening Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) which ended on Tuesday in Addis Ababa.
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target=_blank>BREAKING: Obasanjo, 393 Others Escape Crash On Ethiopian Airlines
Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian president and other Nigerians escaped death on Wednesday at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport when an Ethiopian Airlines plane almost crashed.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that other prominent Nigerians in the Ethiopian airline passenger aircraft, Boeing 777-300, included the Director General of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni.Also in the plane was Prof Samson Tunde Adebayo, the Director of Ports Inspection, National Agency For Food And Drug Administration And Control (NAFDAC) as well as scores of Nigerians and other nationals.The passenger aircraft, ET-901, had departed the Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, at about 9:10 a.m., Ethiopian time; 7 a.m Nigerian time.A NAN correspondent, who was among the passengers, recalled that the almost 5-hour flight from the Ethiopian capital to Lagos had been smooth until the pilot attempted to land at the Murtala Mohammed International airport.Rather than landing on the first touch-line of the runway, the pilot over short it, due to rain and heavy wind, landing on the third touch-line.NAN reports that, on realising this, the pilot quickly manouvered the plane back air, flying out of the Lagos airport.After hovering around between Lagos and areas suspected to be in Ogun, causing panic in passengers and crew members, the plane landed in Lagos airport, some 20 minutes after the initial false landing.The atmosphere in the aircraft upon landing was replica of what is obtainable in some Nigerian worship centers, as many passengers broke out into worship songs and clapping, while some fell to their knees in prayer.The duty manager and Chief Customer Service (Nigeria) of the airline, Mr. Otori Jimoh Otan, told NAN that if the pilot had continued taxing down after landing on the third touchline, he would have overshot the runway.“But this is an experienced pilot. He realised this immediately.“Fortunately, the distance between when he realised the situation still permitted him to take off and renegotiate landing,” Otori said.Obasanjo and Olukanni had both attended a Stakeholders Dialogue on Continental Trade and Strengthening Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) which ended on Tuesday in Addis Ababa.
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E2%80%99s-second-coming-%E2%80%98fisayo-soyombo target=_blank>What Will Nigeria Look Like In Buhari’s Second Coming? By ‘Fisayo Soyombo
When President Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in on Wednesday for a second consecutive democratic term in office, it will be a low-key affair: no pomp or pageantry, no retinue of world leaders. In practice, this is due to Buhari’s admittedly smart decision to officially recognise June 12 — rather than May 29 — as Nigeria’s Democracy Day in honour of MKO Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, who was denied his mandate by military dictator Ibrahim Babangida, and eventually died on the very last day of his four years in detention.
In theory, however, this is a foretelling of what to expect of Buhari’s next four years: they will be economically drab, ideologically uneventful and nothing distinct from the past four. Low-key inauguration, probably lower-key exit in 2023. Buhari himself implicitly admitted this much recently. In terms of the most important three of Buhari’s campaign promises, what can Nigerians expect?
Corruption
Buhari earned a sizeable fraction of his early-office goodwill from hunting corrupt former public office holders, most notably former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, accused of presiding over the embezzlement of $2.1bn arms fund. Ordinarily, this ought to continue in his second term. But, having largely localised the anti-corruption war to opposition politicians, Buhari has practically arrested or intimidated every notable name on his list. There are only few of such politicians left to go after, hence the war against corruption will lose steam in Buhari’s second term. It would have continued were Buhari as open to prosecuting corrupt elements in his own camp, but he has proven himself dead to that possibility and he won’t suddenly change.
Only on Sunday, First Lady Aisha Buhari impugned the $16m expended on mosquito nets under the Social Investment Programme (SIP) coordinated by presidential aide Maryam Uwais. The nets are nowhere to be found, she lamented, insisting that the promised distribution of $14 to Nigeria’s poorest hadn’t reached the North despite the allocation of N500bn for the purpose. The matter, though, doesn’t interest Buhari since his aide is the alleged villain. Within the next four years, expect many more instances of the President turning a blind eye to corruption and inefficiency among his appointees.
Security
Some credit: Boko Haram may not have been “technically defeated” as Buhari and Army Chief Tukur Buratai often claim, but the insurgents are clearly less effective today than four years ago. The bomb attacks and large-scale kidnaps once the signature of the insurgents have reduced in scale and frequency. However, as long the deadly attacks, such as last week’s killing of 35 soldiers, can still happen, Buhari still has his work cut out.
In his second term, there will be slightly more progress. The extent of this progress will be determined by the synergy he is able to forge with the incoming legislature; his fractious relationship with the outgoing set frustrated many of his moves, including a plan to secure $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to bolster the anti-terrorism war.
As the last two years have shown, Boko Haram is probably no longer the highest-ranking security concern before the Nigerian government, but the rapidly rising cases of banditry and kidnapping for ransom in all geopolitical zones of the country, including federal capital Abuja, as well as the unresolved herdsmen attacks. The slight progress to be recorded in the war against insurgency will be evened out by a worsening of these latest security challenges — because Buhari will not change his approach. He ignored intense calls to sack the Police supremo Ibrahim Idris after flouting presidential orders during the peak of herdsmen killings, and bizarrely defended successor Abubakar Adamu with a ‘losing weight’ comment that earned him public opprobrium. Buhari is not about to ditch his blind loyalty to his appointees; he will never shake up the security architecture regardless of the performance of his security chiefs. As long as the security chiefs are really under no pressure to curtail insecurity to keep their jobs, Nigeria’s security challenges will not lessen over the next four years.
Economy
Nigeria slipped into recession a year into Buhari’s reign and exited it after another year. Just one more year later and the apex bank warned the exit was under threat, followed by a similar warning just last month by Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, AbdulAziz Yari. The problem is that despite Buhari’s pre-election promises to diversify the economy, the Nigerian economy is still completely oil-dependent. The concerns about a potential return to recession stem from recent fall in global oil prices. Meanwhile, power — the single biggest impediment to the survival of small-scale businesses — hasn’t improved in Buhari’s first four years.
By 2023, would Buhari have weaned Nigeria off its over-reliance on oil? Probably not. This is because the president neither has the right answers, nor the right people to do so. The latter is evidenced, for instance, by the calibre of people running the central bank, who were exposed two weeks ago by a leaked audio discussing how to cook the books to cover up the mismanagement N500bn from the treasury. The CBN’s rebuttal is all suspect; but having been rewarded with a second term of five years in office days after the scandal was reported, Godwin Emefiele, the bank’s chief, is set to continue this administration’s reign of economic indiscipline and artificial balance sheets. And the worst news: after four years, Buhari is “still thinking”.
Asked during a strange interview with state media NTA on Monday night about his thoughts on solving the new threat of kidnapping for ransom, Buhari said he was “still thinking”. “I am thinking of what happened between 1999 and 2014. I suspect a lot of things went wrong, including accountability in the efficiency of the military and law enforcement agencies.”
Overall, that is the kind of Nigeria to expect in Buhari’s next four years — a country where a returning President begins his second term “still thinking” after four long years in the saddle. So, Nigeria’s economic, security and corruption challenges will, sadly, still be there in 2023. Hopefully, they aren’t too grand for the next President to attempt solving.
This piece was first published by Al Jazeera.
Soyombo, former Editor of the TheCable and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), tweets @fisayosoyombo
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target=_blank>Oshiomole Disgraced, Chased Away For Breaching Protocol At Presidential Inauguration
APC National Chairman
APC National Chairman
Adams Oshiomole, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was today disgraced on national television for breaching inauguration protocol at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
The incident is coming among calls within the APC for Oshiomole’s resignation as chairman.
While the representatives of the two arms of government, the Legislature, and the Judiciary stood in a file to welcome the president along with serving service chiefs, Oshiomole stood close to the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Tanko.
Video of WATCH: Oshiomole Disgraced, Walked Out For Standing In Wrong Protocol Order While Awaiting President
WATCH: Oshiomole Disgraced, Walked Out For Standing In Wrong Protocol Order While Awaiting President
Shortly after, one of the service chiefs walked up to Oshiomole and walked him out of the waiting line because he bore no constitutionally recognized position to stand in as part of the parade.
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target=_blank>Buhari Marks Inauguration With N61 Million 2019 Mercedes Benz
So many activities headline the second term swearing-in ceremony of President Muhammadu Buhari but one of the other silent things is a new Mercedes Benz car unveiled by the President today.
The 2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class S 560 was part of the fleet of cars that brought the President to the Eagles Square for the swearing-in ceremony.
Buhari, in company of his wife, Aisha Buhari, were occupants of the new 2019 S560 Benz.
Checks by SaharaReporters reveal that the 2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class S 560 was specially designed for the president.
However, the 2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class S 560 (Maybach) is being sold at $170,000. It is equivalent to N61,200,000 when converted to Nigerian naira at the rate of N360 per dollar.
The car has special features like Active Parking Assist, Multicontour Front Seats w/Massage Feature, Surround View Camera, Active Lane Change Assist, and Traction control.
The unveiling of the N61m car acquired by President Buhari is coming less than 24 hours after he submitted his asset declaration form at the Code of Conduct Bureau.
The Presidency had said the forms signed by the President and sworn to before a Judge of Abuja High Court, showed no significant changes in assets as declared in 2015 by him.
“There are no new houses, no new bank accounts at home and abroad and there are no new shares acquired,” Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity said.
In 2015, Shehu listed 270 cows, 25 sheep, five horses, birds and economic trees, five houses in Kaduna, Daura, Kano and Abuja, a plot of land each in Port Harcourt and Kano; farms, an orchard, and some cars while he owned a mud house in Daura, as Buhari’s assets.
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Babagana Zulum Sworn In As Governor Of Borno State
Prof. Babagana Zulum has taken the oath office as the fifth democratically elected governor of Borno State.He took the oath exactly 11:30 am shortly after his Deputy, Hon. Usman Khadafu was sworn in at the Ramat Square center, Maiduguri.
Chief Justice of Borno state, Justice Zanna Bukar Wakil separately administered the oath on Zulum and his Deputy at the well-attended colorful ceremony.
The event witnessed a high turnout of party faithful, various groups, and association across the 27 LGAs of the state.
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