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Tag: Garba Shehu

  • Buhari Gov’t created 12 millions new jobs– Garba Shehu

    Buhari Gov’t created 12 millions new jobs– Garba Shehu


    Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, says President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration created 12 million new jobs in agriculture alone.

    Shehu, in an interview on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily said the administration did well in many sectors including security, power, fighting corruption among others.

    “In agriculture alone, the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) is talking about 12 million new jobs, look at what we did in agriculture, this administration inherited just four functional fertilizer processing companies, we have 52 that are working today.

    “And this shifted the supplies of fertilizer to these 12 million new rice farmers, today rice farmers alone domestically produce rice. This country has achieved food sufficiency, we have diversified the economy, we are no longer a monocultural economy.

    “This country had spent $5 billions before this administration every day to buy foreign rice, today no one US Dollar leaves the Central Bank of Nigeria for foreign rice,” he said.

    On corruption, Shehu said his principal did not operate any account with stolen funds and feared no prosecution after office.

    “As his spokesperson, I go to bed, I sleep soundly convinced that nobody, whether from Nigeria or outside the country, can call me to say we have discovered this bank account and your boss has these huge millions. That’s not Buhari; he is well-above scandal and that is how it will end,” he said.

  • Victory for Atiku, Obi, would’ve retired many APC leaders — Garba Shehu

    Victory for Atiku, Obi, would’ve retired many APC leaders — Garba Shehu


    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, Thursday, said that many of the leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, would have been sent on compulsory retirement had it been that Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or Peter Obi of the Labour Party, had won in the February 25 presidential elections.

    Shehu also said that the victory of the President-elect and Vice President-elect, Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, respectively and the established control of the APC in 21 out of 36 states in the last general elections, firmly established the party as a dominant national Political Party.

    Speaking while receiving the Arewa Young Lawyers’ Forum, AYLF, the umbrella body for all young lawyers in the Northern part of Nigeria, the presidential spokesman said, ‘‘This is a difficult reality for the opposition parties.”

    According to him, opposition victory in the general election would not only have been a career-ending moment for many APC leaders but would also have had negative consequences for the various programmes of the Buhari administration that empowered marginalised groups and remedied much of the nation’s infrastructure deficit.

    A statement issued by Patience Tilley-Gyado,
    Deputy Director, Information, State House, quoted him as saying, “APC victory in the election is a watershed moment for the Buhari government, its orientation, its programmes and projects.

    ‘‘In the hands of the opposition, many of the laudable programmes of the Buhari administration would have been sabotaged or unimplemented.

    “An important and overlooked aspect of the Tinubu/Shettima victory is that it ensures, not only an orderly transfer of power from the outgoing administration to the incoming one, but also the safety of policies and programmes of the outgoing government.

    ‘‘For this, we remain grateful to the Almighty, and to citizens of Nigeria for sticking with our Party.”

    In accepting his appointment as Grand Patron of the Arewa Young Lawyers’ Forum, the presidential spokesman urged members of the association to be at the vanguard of promoting the study and practice of legal profession in the northern states.

    “To build and secure democracy in our communities, you need lawyers and journalists as its guardians and protectors. Without one, the other will not be successful,” he admonished them.

    The Chairman of AYLF, Barr. Olayinka Dauda Jimoh craved the support of the Presidency in giving strategic training to young wigs to enhance their leadership roles in the society.

    Other members of the Forum at the meeting were Barr. Audu Umaru, National Welfare Director (Borno State), Barr. Ahmad Khalil, National Treasurer (Yobe State) and Barr Paul Gbande, Director of Publicity (Benue State).

  • Buhari’s achievements, best response to Punch’s adversity – Garba Shehu

    Buhari’s achievements, best response to Punch’s adversity – Garba Shehu


    PRESIDENT BUHARI’S ACHIEVEMENTS, BEST RESPONSE TO PUNCH’S ADVERSITY

    Ø PUNCH SHOULD STOP LIVING IN DENIAL

    The latest in a series of some partisan editorials by some of this country’s newspapers seeking to rewrite recent history was published by the Punch newspaper paper this weekend, painting a bleak, pessimistic and frequently inaccurate picture of the state of our nation and outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership.

    In this post-election period of heightened tension and disinformation, we see it fit to set the record straight.

    First let’s start with the one thing the editorial gets right: that President Buhari inherited an economy in disarray. Corruption ran rampant, oil-prices were nose-diving and – astoundingly – an international terror cell, the Boko Haram controlled territory the size of Belgium within our country’s borders.

    That so-called country, the Caliphate is unrecognizable from today’s Nigeria.

    Today, corruption is thrust out in the open by Buhari’s landmark whistleblowing policy, empowering Nigerians to report it without fear and seeing the repatriation of hundreds of millions of dollars stolen by corrupt politicians and stashed in banks abroad.

    Terrorists no longer hold any territory in Nigeria whatsoever, and their leaders have been neutralised by our security forces.

    Economy has witnessed growth. External reserves have maintained a healthy growth throughout these eight years.

    Within two years of the Buhari administration, exports more than doubled from the 2015 records. Agriculture exports grew 180.7% by 2017 above the value in 2015.

    Raw material exports grew 154.2% in the same period; solid minerals grew 565% and exports of manufactured goods 26.8%.

    The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the Federal Government’s medium-term Economic Plan, launched by President Buhari in April 2017, successfully ushered in a macroeconomic environment and helped the country to achieve food security.

    The editorial begrudgingly credits President Buhari for the “massive success” of pushing through the Petroleum Industry Bill – a staggering achievement attempted but failed by myriad previous administrations – as well as the vast improvements to national infrastructure that have set our country on course for sustainable and equitable growth.

    The reality of President Buhari and his legacy is a far cry indeed from what the editorial describes as a leader who “failed to demonstrate any real grasp of modern economic ideas, and lacked the presence of mind or leadership acumen required to turn the ailing economy around”. Goodness!

    Which economic miracle worker in Punch newspaper can turn round an economy which suffers from collapse of oil prices, COVID-19 lockdown and associated supply chain crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war?

    Look around the world and see how practically every country struggles from these disasters.

    But President Buhari is not a North Korean dictator. He would be scornful of any world leader who claimed a perfect record and would be the last person to make such claims for himself.

    He had his strengths and his weaknesses, and applied the former and mitigated against the latter to achieve his overarching goal: to leave Nigeria a better place than he found it. In that he succeeded.

    He presided over the most turbulent period in modern Nigerian history, helping our nation navigate through global shocks such as volatile oil prices, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the global cost of living crisis.

    He kept the ship steady, and paved the way for his successor, President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to take the reins at the end of this month and build upon what he has already achieved.

    The editorial states that Buhari will not be missed. We shall see. But, countless Nigerians whose futures he has improved, will fondly remember him for good.

    Among these, to take just one aspect or two- the two million poor and vulnerable Nigerian households that are currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, which pays a bimonthly stipend of N10,000 per household; the 355,000 vulnerable persons have received a special one-off grant of N20,000 each in the 36 states and the FCT; the beneficiaries of Nigeria’s Micro-Pension Scheme which allows self-employed persons and persons working in organisations with less than 3 employees to save for the provision of pension at retirement or incapacitation.

    Punch possibly doesn’t have a record of the government’s Survival Fund, the National Youth Investment Fund, and National Special Public Works Program (774,000 beneficiaries across 774 LGAs nationwide), and the Central Bank’s COVID-19 N300 billion Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) to support millions of small businesses, households, and young people, with federal grants, loans, and stipends.

    This Survival Fund has provided grants (Payroll Support, Artisan and Transport Sector grants, and General MSME grants) to more than 1.2 million beneficiaries, since the last quarter of 2020. It has also provided free business registration to 250,000 MSMEs across the country.

    Nor will he be forgotten by the owners of the new 40 plus fertilizer companies and the thousands of people they employ, producing locally to service the more than 12 million new rice growers who in turn provide six million tons of paddy processed by more 100 new rice mills with Kano alone having 62, and others spreading far and wide to Ebonyi, Lagos, Ekiti, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina and others.

    No, Punch should stop living in denial. These ones and their kith and kin making up the 200 million plus citizens of our country, the teachers whose backlog of unpaid salaries were paid and the pensioners from years yore, denied payment and treated with contempt now smiling their way to the banks will remember positively that Muhammadu Buhari came, saw and he conquered.

    Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)

  • Nigerians will yearn for Buhari when he leaves office — Presidency

    Nigerians will yearn for Buhari when he leaves office — Presidency

    The Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, has said that just like Goodluck Jonathan, Nigerians will yearn for President Muhammadu Buhari when he leaves office.

    In an interview with Channels Television, Shehu lamented over the level of criticisms thrown at the president, asserting that leaders are not loved while in office.

    Citing the case of Goodluck Jonathan who he says was persecuted out of office, but has now become the favorite of many Nigerians, Shehu argued that it will be the same way Nigerians will yearn for President Buhari after he hands over power to the next president come May 29.

    Regarding the cashless policy, Shehu affirmed that the current cashless policy of the present administration is desirable and therefore irreversible. According to him, “cashless is the way forward for Nigeria because cashless nations and in fact, all advanced nations of the world have gone cashless”.

    Acknowledging the challenges that have accompanied the change, the president’s spokesman said it is sad that the only people who should have been more pained are the ones who are inflicting pains on the lower segment of the society.

  • 2023 Presidential poll better than past elections– Presidency

    2023 Presidential poll better than past elections– Presidency

    The Presidency has rated the February 25 presidential election, which produced the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, as president-elect, as the best the country had seen in recent times despite all the controversies that have trailed the exercise.

    Many foreign and local observers have reported that the conduct of the election failed to meet the expectations of Nigeria and that INEC failed to follow the Electoral Act and even its own guidelines in the conduct of the poll.

    However, Presidential spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a release, declared that the APC victory in the presidential election, underscored by the nationwide wave of support in the National Assembly results, was a clear mandate for the party to retain power for another term of four years.

    “This election is an improvement on past elections and due credit should be given to the government and people of this country,” Shehu stated.

    The Presidency thanked former ambassadors Mark Green and Johnnie Carson, along with other foreign observers, for their concerns over the logistics of the general election in Nigeria and their work as observers on the National Democratic Institute/International Republican Institute Election Observation Missions.

    The statement said, “It is worth setting their comments in context. No one has disputed the result of the election, except the candidates that fell short. The biggest and the most competitive presidential election in the history of Nigeria has been won by one man: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    “The US State Department congratulated President-elect Bola Tinubu of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the people of Nigeria on the outcome of the ‘competitive election’.

    “British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, was also quick to congratulate the winner, on this victory. And so did many others in ECOWAS and the African Union.

    “Though it is true there were some delays and technical faults in the process that we can learn from – as is the case in any election the world over – the vote progressed and consolidated democracy in Nigeria. The integrity of the Electoral Act of 2022 was strengthened.

    “The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System cut out ghost, unauthorised or multiple votes to stem fraud. The election may not have been pluperfect, but due to the steps the government has taken, it is an improvement on previous polls. That achievement should not be overlooked. The next step is for the election commission to ensure transparency in collation.

    “Adverse reactions as received from some quarters are themselves a part of the learning process for everyone. Elsewhere, the world had been treated to epic lies, obfuscation, jingoism and hate, and told by global media to expect a different outcome. Nigerians shocked the world by refusing religious hatred and sectarian politics. All true friends of Nigeria should join the people in proceeding forward for sustainable peace.”

  • Feb. 25 elections strengthened integrity of Electoral Act, says Presidency

    Feb. 25 elections strengthened integrity of Electoral Act, says Presidency


    The Presidency has described the Feb. 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections as the most competitive presidential election in the history of Nigeria, saying the exercise had strengthened the integrity of the Electoral Act of 2022.

    In a statement on Monday in Abuja, the President’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said though there were some delays and technical faults in the process , the election had consolidated democracy in Nigeria.

    He thanked former ambassadors Mark Green and Johnnie Carson as well as other foreign observers for their concerns over the logistics of the general election in the country.

    He also lauded their work as observers on the National Democratic Institute/International Republican Institute Election Observation Missions.

    Shehu said: ”It is worth setting their comments in context. No one has disputed the result of the election, except the candidates that fell short.

    ”The biggest and the most competitive presidential election in the history of Nigeria has been won by one man: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    ”The US State department congratulated President-elect Bola Tinubu of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC and the people of Nigeria on the outcome of the ‘competitive election.’

    ”British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, was also quick to congratulate the winner, on this victory. And so did many others in ECOWAS and the African Union.

    ”Though it is true there were some delays and technical faults in the process that we can learn from – as is the case in any election the world over – the vote progressed and consolidated democracy in Nigeria.

    ”The integrity of the Electoral Act of 2022 was strengthened. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System cut out ghost, unauthorised or multiple votes to stem fraud.”

    Shehu noted that the election might not have absolutely perfect but it witnessed an improvement when compared to previous polls in the country.

    ”The election may not have been perfect, but due to the steps the government has taken, it is an improvement on previous polls. That achievement should not be overlooked. The next step is for the Election Commission to ensure transparency in collation.

    According to him, adverse reactions as received from some quarters are themselves a part of the learning process for everyone.

    He said: ”Elsewhere, the world had been treated to epic lies, obfuscation, jingoism and hate, and told by global media to expect a different outcome. Nigerians shocked the world by refusing religious hatred and sectarian politics.”

    The presidential aide, however, called on all true friends of Nigeria to join the people in proceeding forward for sustainable peace in the country.

    He believed that the APC victory in the presidential election, underscored by the nationwide wave of support in the National Assembly results was clear mandate for the party to retain power for another term of four years.

    ”This election is an improvement on past elections and due credit should be given to the government and people of this country,” he further stated.

  • Your legacy is a model– Joe Biden tells Buhari

    Your legacy is a model– Joe Biden tells Buhari


    SEVEN KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM PRESIDENT BUHARI’S VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES, By Garba Shehu

    In the first in-person meeting with the American President Joe Biden, President Buhari established a personal equation with his US counterpart and got an important recognition for his democratic credentials and activism at home in particular, and Africa in general: “your legacy is a model,” says President Biden. There was a perfect meeting of minds.

    This, coming from the remaining superpower still standing and the guardian and promoter of the values of democracy all over the world, is a major milestone as the President braces up to give the country its most open, most free and most fair elections in February next year.

    Equally, it speaks to the fact the world is interested in what happens here and they are watching. Everyone is watching what happens in Nigeria and our politicians must watch their steps. President Buhari has cleared himself. He is doing all that is required of him to deliver free and fair elections, leading to the emergence of his successor in May next year.

    Beyond the symbolism of the one-on-one meeting and their sitting together to watch the Morocco-Argentina World Cup semi-final, an incident that grabbed the attention of the world soon as it took place, Biden’s recognition of President Buhari as continental champion of democracy will come with admirable dividends.

    One, the fact of the acceptance by the two leaders that we share with each other the values of democracy and human rights; that we are on the same page in regard to these values is indicative of deep ties between our two nations, working together to uphold free and fair elections, an important condition for democracy in Nigeria, West Africa and the rest of the continent.

    In this context, the Biden promise to work for a permanent “G20” seat for Africa may, if all continues to work well between our two nations, lead to Nigeria earning a place in the all-important intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union, and possibly thereafter, a “G7” place and-wait for it-a Permanent Seat on the United Nations Security Council!

    Nigeria’s strategic partnership with the US is important if a choice is to be made.

    Two. On the very important issue of peace and security of the continent, a key agenda item in the Biden-Africa summit, President Buhari was asked to lead. It is a recognition of Nigeria as the very important voice for Africa.

    After President Buhari finished with his speech on AU Agenda 2063, essentially speaking about the defined goals of peace and security on the continent, President Biden left the meeting.

    Three. President Buhari spoke at the US Peace Institute. It is interesting that the President spoke at the Institute in 2015 at the commencement of his first term and was coming to do so when the curtains are about being drawn on his second term tenure.

    Who invited him to speak at both points? It’s Ambassador Johnnie Carson, the diplomat and politician who was an Obama-era cabinet member and a friend of Nigeria who, not only extolled the virtues of President Buhari but played up the role of the administration in attaining a strategic partnership with the US.

    Amb. Carson has just been named by President Biden to coordinate the follow up of the decisions on the just-concluded Summit. In this regard, it is not out of place to expect Nigeria drawing substantially from the USD 55 billion the Biden administration has put in the basket for Africa to draw from.

    Four. President Buhari, who has been waging a global battle for the survival of gas, Nigeria’s abundant resource as a transition energy from fossil fuels that are being blacklisted for causing global climate degradation, found the right place to take his case to, and it is getting a traction. With the US supporting Nigeria, President Buhari is building a consensus for our well-articulated energy transition plan that has gas a transition energy.

    Five. Following the successful CEOs’ roundtable and interactions with businesses at US-Africa Civil and Commercial Space Forum and Corporate Council on Africa-Nigeria Business and Investment Forum, US businesses reaffirmed their confidence and reinforced their commitment to deepening their business interests in Nigeria.

    Six. President Buhari presented a refocused roadmap clearly showing Nigeria’s commitment for a safer and healthier global climate, highlighting the country’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

    He has prepared a ready-to-go blueprint for whoever succeeds him; a plan that has earned the respect of the US government, paving the way for a partnership to address conservation, climate adaptation and a just energy transition based on shared objectives.

    Government plans to prepare well to draw substantially from the proposed US funding and from CocaCola Foundation which has indicated interest in their participation in our climate change and renewable energy plans.

    In line with the plan to address clean and reliable energy supply, creating jobs and ensuring knowledge and technology transfer, the government of Nigeria and a US company Sun Africa LLC, signed a major agreement, right there before the representatives of Mr. Biden for the “development, engineering, procurement and construction” of 5,000 MW of solar generation and 2,500 MWh of battery energy storage power plants for up $10 billion investment from the US government.

    The project portfolio location and size indicates the beneficiary states as including Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Jigawa, Nassarawa, Benue, Kogi, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, FCT, Kwara, Edo and Akwa Ibom. Megawatts of power availability ranges from 24, the lowest to 350, the highest.

    In addition, 360 rural communities across the 36 states are to benefit from solar mini grids electrification infrastructure and smart meters.

    Seven. While there are several crucial outcomes from the visit, I am excited to report that between President Biden and President Buhari, there is a perfect meeting of minds. While President Buhari was full of commendation for the leadership of Biden on global issues, it emerged clearly from these interactions that the two leaders share a common vision on democracy, human rights and the important role in Africa that Nigeria is playing. Nigeria is crucial to Biden and he seemed pleased that he found in President Buhari, an African role model. He held back nothing in showering encomiums upon him for especially sticking to two stipulated terms in office.

    With impressive accomplishments trailing the seven-day visit, President Buhari has wetted the ground for whoever will be the next President from May next year. It will be in the nation’s interest to build on where the current President stops.

    Garba Shehu is Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity.

  • Buhari At 80: 12 Things Nigerians Need To Know– Garba Shehu

    Buhari At 80: 12 Things Nigerians Need To Know– Garba Shehu


    -First thing to know is that President Muhammadu –Buhari, retired General and former Military Head of State was born in Daura on December 17th, 1942. He lost his father at the early age of three years.

    -He was enlisted in primary school by the District Head of Daura, Waziri Alasan and fell under the guardian-ship of his older brother, Alhaji Dauda Daura, Malam Mamman’s father, then a Head Master at Mai Aduwa, from where the young Buhari went to the middle and secondary schools.

    -After his education at the now Government College Katsina, he went to the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna which is now known as the Nigerian Defence Academy. He trained at the Mons Officer Cadet School, a British Military training school in Aldershot and also attended the US Army War College (USAWC) Carlisle, Pennsylvania and the National Defence College, New Delhi, India.

    Apparently, Muhammadu Buhari, as a young officer had already been gifted with “wisdom and strength for the future,” the motto of the USAWC even before he got there.

    -The young Buhari was sent by his country to Congo (DRC) on a UN Peace Keeping mission assigned to command a battalion commander, but in carrying out his duty, he almost lost his life before earning his first salary.

    Caught in a tricky and the dangerous situation of either protecting a prisoner to face the wrath of 5,000 armed natives and, possibly his losing his life and the relatively small number of 400 men under him, or finding another a solution to mollify the mob, he gathered the needed courage and wisdom to stop a major tragedy from happening.

    -As a soldier, he fought in the 30 months Nigerian Civil War and did not take a single day off while the war lasted. He traversed the entire Eastern Region literally on foot and suffered a gun shot in the lower leg. He was the second in command in the battalion that fired the first shot in the war.

    -Two. He was a military Governor of the Northeast, now broken into six states as a young Colonel and thereafter, Federal Commissioner (Minister) and Chairman, Nigerian National Oil Corporation, now renamed NNPCL.

    As a General, he had the record of commanding all four army divisions they had in -their time. As Military Secretary, he did the meticulous work of the documenting the records of the entire officer corps.

    That is why it baffled him to no end that some officers in Army Records Office, obviously playing politics with the issue in 2015, claimed that the army didn’t have his WAEC certificate which was no more than a ploy to stop him as a candidate in the election.

    -Three. As a politician with more than 4 million followers on Twitter and an equally huge following on Facebook, Instagram and the others, President Buhari is one of the most popular politicians that this country has ever produced.

    -Four. He holds the record of being the first opposition candidate to defeat an incumbent in an election to take office as President of Nigeria. He is the only non-PDP President to win two consecutive terms of four years. He is a charismatic leader with the capability to sway the masses. In all five elections he ran as president, three of which were recorded as losses, there was none in which he got less than 12 million votes.

    -Five. The Covid-19 pandemic seized the world by its collar. Covid-19 lockdown shut all businesses and threw people out of their jobs all over the world. National economies slowed down and were in a recession in all countries but China.

    Nigerian government under President Buhari pulled out the country out of the Covid-induced recession at a global record time. No Nigerian bodies were picked on the streets from Covid deaths as the pundits projected. In fact, West Africa suffered the least number of casualties in the subregional grouping on the continent, thanks to the ECOWAS COVID-19 Champion, working with regional leadership, the AU and the UN.

    Six. In seven-and-a-half years, he is credited with the introduction of some of the country’s long delayed reforms, among these is a most ambitious infrastructure push since the 1970s – delivering roads, rail, ports, power plants, airports etc; and deploying innovative financing mechanisms like the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), Executive Order 7, Sukuk Bonds, and Green Bonds.

    -Seven.He is presiding over the largest program of legislative reforms in Nigeria’s history: the Company and Allied Matters Act, CAMA revised for the first time in 30 years, Prisons Act for the first time in almost 50 years, Police Act for the first time in 70 years. And a surfeit of all the new Acts too – the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Climate Change, the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offenses, SPOMO, the Finance Acts, Electoral Amendment, the new Terrorism Act, among others.

    -Eight. The President is building the largest social investment program in Africa, and one of the largest in the world, serving tens of millions of Nigerians. The school feeding component, giving a free meal a day to 10 million children has increased school enrollment and lowered the distressing number of out-of-school children in our country.

    Nine. The President is successful in rebuilding the confidence of the Nigerian military, and degrading Boko Haram/ISWAP. He has commenced the rebuilding of the Northeast; making the biggest investments made in military platforms and assets in more than 40 years; Police Reforms (New Police Act, Police Trust Fund, Community Policing, Police Recruitment of 10,000 men in uniform every year, community policing, New Police Salary Structure); Nigeria’s Coastal Waters (in the Gulf of Guinea) are the safest they have ever been in almost 3 decades.

    Ten. In the sphere of foreign affairs, the President has distinguished himself as a global leader respected by the world. He has enhanced Nigeria’s standing in the International Community.

    At the African Union, AU he is the outgoing Anti-Corruption Champion; at the ECOWAS, he has performed wonderfully as Covid-19 Champion; His leadership of the Lake Chad Basin Commission has come to an end with a lot of benefits, not least the degradation of Boko Haram terrorism.

    His recent inauguration as the Chairman of the committee of of Heads of State of the African Great Green Wall Agency is to fortify the continent against harmful effects of the climate change.

    Under his leadership Nigeria presented Ambassador (Professor) Mohammed Bande, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative as the President of the UN General Assembly, and Mrs Amina Mohammed got appointed and reappointed as the Deputy Secretary General of the UN.

    He spearheaded the campaign for the election of Dr. Ngozi Okwonjo-Iweala, NOI as the World Trade Organization, WTO DG- the first for an African and the female gender, and promoted the election and reelection of Akin Adesina for the Second Term in AfDB – in the face of concerted opposition.

    He sealed the very helpful military deals with the US Government; made bold interventions to restore stability in Gambia and Guinea Bissau and Nigerians have been pushed into holding leadership positions in recent years at the International Criminal Court, African Civil Aviation Commission, and several others.

    -Eleven. Muhammadu Buhari as a young army Colonel and Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources was convinced by science, not geopolitics or native instinct that oil and other hydrocarbons were plenty in existence in the Northern States as well as the Southwest and knew that the political stability of the nation will be helped by the sense psychological equality or balancing its discovery could help to bring.

    He fought hard for this as Federal Commissioner Petroleum Resources and Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation until his very last day in office but it didn’t work.

    When he found himself in office as elected President 30 years after leaving oil, he resumed his passions as oil finder at the Lake Chad Basin area, considered a low hanging fruit until kidnapping and killings by the Boko Haram terrorist group spoiled things up.

    Explorations shifted to the Benue trough map and his vindication came by way of the unveiling of the Kolmani Oil Well straddling Bauchi and Gombe states, promising more than a billion barrels of crude oil an over 500 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The project has already attracted over USD 3 billion in investment. For doing the most work to discover the new oil fields, President Buhari deserves a gold medal, and the Asiwaju Bola,Tinubu, an easy ride ride to power for the promise he made to take the explorations further afield.

    -Twelve. While the work of nation-building under his incomparable hardwork, dedication and creativity continues to advance the country in many ways, the same cannot be said of some follow country who put all manner of obstacles in the way to accomplishing two major projects about which he very passionate:

    completing and commissioning of the Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill and construction of the 3, 500 megawatts Mambila Electricity Power Project. Thankfully, the long-drawn legal tussle on Ajaokuta just got ended and the Minister, Solid Minerals Develpment Arch. Olamilekan Adegbite has already hit the road running, hoping to achieve what is possible before the administration ends its term.

    While the legal contestation for Ajaokuta was ongoing, the country under President Buhari has begun to record progress in the production of liquid steel through the private sector.

    Same however cannot be said of Mambila Power Project where the problems have defied solutions. ChinaExim has withheld funding to Mambila as did the Qatari Sovereign Wealth Fund due to the challenges by one man claiming to have a contract that doesn’t exist anywhere. We are hearing that he wants to be paid on the basis of this improperly awarded contract to be paid money in hundreds of million of US Dollars to cover the cost of his litigation. President Buhari is not one to give anyone free money from the treasury.

    As he marks this milestone by attaining the age of 80, in extraordinarily state of high physical and mental fitness, Muhammadu Buhari’s life continues to symbolize service to the nation and humanity as well as dedication and commitment to the building of of a secure, stronger and prosperous Nigeria.

    ***Shehu is Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity).

  • PDP governors propose no solutions to nation’s challenges – Presidency

    PDP governors propose no solutions to nation’s challenges – Presidency


    The Presidency says the governors elected on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) propose no solutions to nation’s challenges in the face of COVID and global economic downturn.

    Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Shehu said the governors ”instead, they grasp for more money and mourn their lack of access to social media to spread falsehoods and hate”.

    ROYAL NEWS reports that the presidential aide was reacting to an earlier communique issued on Monday by the PDP governors at the end of their meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

    The governors condemned the way and manner some government agencies like the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have been managed under Buhari’s administration.

    However, the presidential spokesman said: ”The PDP Governors’ Forum Communiqué was a spectacular demonstration to the people of Nigeria as to why this party and its representatives should not be entrusted with national leadership of our country any time soon.

    ”In bemoaning the decision by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) not to make contributions to the Federation Account, the governors appear to believe NNPC can spend the same money twice: once on the petroleum subsidy – which they all support – and then on their States via the Federation Account.

    ”NNPC is a trustee for the nation – and this means it must manage its finances with prudence and for the long-term to safeguard the financial support it bestows on our country.

    ”What the governors are asking of NNPC is to ‘break the bank’ for their own profligate political ends.

    ”Similar profligacy and contradiction are in full view with their call to the Central Bank to appreciate the value of the Naira.”

    According to him, this will damage exports (including oil revenues on which NNPC depends) as well as damage small businesses and employment.

    He maintained that an appreciated currency would benefit those spending on luxuries from abroad.

    ”This, no doubt, being the leading desire of a typical PDP governor.

    ”When the governors claim a lack of federal institutions’ money pouring into their States’ coffers is an affront to democracy, constitutionalism and federalism,” he said.

    He added that they ”fail to mention the ugliest trend against the integrity of Nigeria comes by own hands with their refusal to support the Federal Government’s earnest desire to reinstate the local government as the third tier and finding a lasting solution to farmer-herder conflicts costing the nation lives and livestock.

    ”This initiative brings rights and support for generations of all ages to bring solutions to challenges that different communities of our country have faced, but the PDP governors reject it.”

    Shehu stated that with this, the governors denied all Nigerians their constitutional right to live and work in any state of the Federation – ”preferring to appeal to ethnic division and hatred rather than support the first practical solution offered since independence.

    ”Similarly, the governors appeal to each other for more involvement of States in mining and geophysical activities within their States.

    ”The question must be asked: ‘Why has this taken you so long?’ Such opportunities and States’ powers have been fully available since independence – yet only now the PDP realises it?”

    The presidential aide also condemned the PDP governors’ stance on the suspension of the activities of Twitter in the country.

    He noted that the governors had been using the Twitter platform to spread fake news and invented stories.

    ”And, of course, the PDP grieve over the Federal Government’s action over Twitter – for it represents the curtailment of their ability to use the platform to spread fake news and invented stories to the detriment of community and good-neighbourliness between the peoples of Nigeria.

    ”Their statement is evidence, if any were needed, as to why the President and the APC ended the PDP’s one-party rule in 2015, were re-elected by an increased margin in 2019, and why their winning trend is set to continue far into the future,” he added.

  • Presidency to safeguard Nigerians from negative social media influences

    Presidency to safeguard Nigerians from negative social media influences


    The Presidency says the Buhari administration will continue to safeguard all citizens against social media’s disruptive and divisive influences.

    Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, stated this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

    Shehu, who is reacting to the removal of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweets by Twitter and subsequent mixed reactions from members of the public, described Twitter’s action as disappointing.

    He said the government’s action was not a knee-jerk reaction to Twitter’s preposterous deletion of Buhari’s tweet.

    According to him, the temporary suspension of Twitter is not just a response to the removal of the president’s post.

    He posited that the president’s post was never a threat but statement of fact.

    He said: ”There has been a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences.

    ”All the while, the company has escaped accountability. Nevertheless, the removal of President Buhari’s tweet was disappointing.

    ”The censoring seemed based on a misunderstanding of the challenges Nigeria faces today.

    ”The President in his address at the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA in 2019 said “the world was shocked and startled by the massacre in New Zealand by a lone gunman taking the lives of 50 worshippers.”

    ”This and similar crimes which have been fueled by social media networks risk seeping into the fabric of an emerging digital culture.”

    The presidential aide, therefore, maintained that major tech companies must be alive to their responsibilities.

    ”They cannot be allowed to continue to facilitate the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages capable of inciting whole communities against each other, leading to loss of many lives. This could tear some countries apart.

    ”A terrorist organisation (IPOB) poses a significant threat to the safety and security of Nigerian citizens.

    ”When the President said that they will be treated “in a language they understand,” he merely reiterated that their force shall be met with force.

    According to him, this is a basic principle of security services response world over, adding that this is not promotion of hate, but a pledge to uphold citizens’ right to freedom from harm.

    ”The government cannot be expected to capitulate to terrorists.

    ”IPOB is proscribed under Nigerian law. Its members murder innocent Nigerians. They kill policemen and set government property on fire. Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across the country.

    ”Twitter does not seem to appreciate the national trauma of our country’s civil war. This government shall not allow a recurrence of that tragedy,” he added.