NEWS: I Didn’t Leave Empty Treasury For Buhari​ — Jonathan

• Bakare was quoted as claiming during a recent trip to Canada that President Buhari could not appoint a cabinet for six months because “he met an empty treasury.”

President Muhammadu Buhari and Ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday stated that he did not leave an empty treasury for his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari, describing Pastor Tunde Bakare’s claims to that effect as false and untenable.

Bakare was quoted as claiming during a recent trip to Canada that President Buhari could not appoint a cabinet for six months because “he met an empty treasury.”

But in a statement by one of Jonathan’s media aides, Reno Omokri, he described Bakare’s statement as lies and a figment of both the imaginations of President Buhari and Pastor Bakare.

“The Jonathan administration left $2.07 billion in the Excess Crude Account when it handed over to the Buhari administration on May 29, 2015. This is an easily verifiable fact from both the Central Bank of Nigeria and is also available from other open sources”, Omokri stated.

“In addition to that, the Jonathan government left a foreign reserves of $29. 6 billion for the incoming government and $5.2 billion was left for the Buhari administration by way of dividend payments from the NLNG.

“Now, there is no way these huge amounts can be described as empty treasury. I challenge Pastor Tunde Bakare to disprove these figures I have given here or take me to court and I will embarrass him there and show him to be the liar that he is.”

He also disputed claims by Pastor Bakare that Nigeria no longer imports rice as untrue.

Omokri said, “first of all, even the Buhari administration has not claimed that Nigeria is no longer importing rice. What they said, which is also a lie, is that rice imports have reduced.

“But the truth is that Nigeria’s rice imports have actually increased by 60 per cent as revealed by no less an institution than the United States Department of Agriculture.

“In fact, according to the USDA, not only has Nigeria’s rice imports increased by 60 per cent, but Nigeria is projected to be the second largest rice importing nation.

“These are the exact words of the USDA “China and Nigeria are projected to remain the largest rice importing countries in 2019, followed by the EU, Cote d’Ivoire, and Iran.

“You do not have to take my word for this – google it by yourself. The last time Nigeria’s rice imports went down, according to the USDA, was in 2015 under former President Jonathan.”

Omokri added that Bakare’s claims that 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) occupied by Boko Haram are no longer an issue means that Pastor Bakare is out of touch, saying that as he was granting that interview, Baga, Doron-Baga, Kross Kawwa, Bunduran, Kekeno and Kukawa towns are all under Boko Haram/ISWAP’s control.

“In fact, the Governor of Borno State, a notorious political enemy of former President Jonathan, was forced to hold a press conference on New Year’s eve where he confessed that the situation has deteriorated and was worse than before.

“For emphasis, the following was the front page headline in the Punch on New Year’s eve “Residents flee as Boko Haram takes over Borno communities”, Jonathan’s spokesman said.

“There has been mass movement of people out of communities in Borno State through Damaturu the Yobe State capital to Bauchi, Gombe, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kebbi and Jigawa States.”

He added that unlike the Jonathan era, the insecurity in Nigeria is almost total, arguing that “as I write this today (January 2, 2019, Aminu Bello Masari, the Governor of Katsina State, President Buhari’s own state, raised an alarm on the insecurity and breakdown of law and order in his state.”

Omokri further stated, “We are not talking of Zamfara or the North-east. We are talking Katsina. If Buhari cannot secure his own state, is it Nigeria he can secure? And then there is Zamfara State, which is becoming as bad, if not worse, than the Northe-ast.”

He said that with these unimpeachable facts it is hard pressed to understand why “Pastor Tunde Bakare cannot respect himself and the calling he claims to have, by using his mouth to speak truth instead of lying like a heathen.”

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Minimum Wage Bill: Labour Has Sets December 31 As Their Deadline

• The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress(TUC) and the United Labour Congress (ULC) resolved at the end of a meeting, yesterday, to resume the suspended strike if government fails to forward the bill to the National Assembly.

Organised Labour has given the Federal Government the last day of December as deadline to forward the new minimum wage of N30,000 Draft Bill to the National Assembly for passage into law.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress(TUC) and the United Labour Congress (ULC) resolved at the end of a meeting, yesterday, to resume the suspended strike if government fails to forward the bill to the National Assembly.

Rejecting the decision of the Federal Government to set up a technical committee on the minimum wage, labour said that it is alien to the tripartite process and ILO conventions on National Minimum Wage Setting Mechanism.

Besides, the labour leaders frowned that almost two months of the submission of the report of the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee, which included a draft bill, no bill has been submitted to the National Assembly.

“Finally, organised labour will not guarantee industrial peace and harmony after December 31. This serves as a statutory notice for organised labour to recall our suspended nationwide industrial action,” a part of the communiqué read.

They also added that the federal government’s plan to set up a high-powered Technical Committee, as included in 2019 budget speech read to a joint session of National Assembly, by president Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, was diversionary and delay tactics.

The communiqué was signed by NLC’s Ayuba Wabba, Joe Ajaero of the ULC and TUC’s Bobboi Kiagama.

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NEWS: President Muhammadu Buhari Failure To Obey Court Orders is a National Embarrassment – Soyinka

• Soyinka, who was the keynote speaker, also said present and past leaders have consistently abandoned recommendations made by Nigerians on different occasions on how to move the country forward and that restructuring the country is not an option but a necessity

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure to obey court orders as a national embarrassment.

It was also a day President General of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, declared in Lagos that restructuring of Nigeria is now or never.

They said this at the maiden Handshake Across Nigeria summit, with the theme: Nigeria beyond oil organised by Nzuko Umunna in partnership with The Core Federalists, which was held in Lagos, yesterday.

Soyinka, who was the keynote speaker, also said present and past leaders have consistently abandoned recommendations made by Nigerians on different occasions on how to move the country forward and that restructuring the country is not an option but a necessity that will help avoid the constant bloodshed in the country and guarantee its unity.

“We want government to understand that they are part of the community and have been given a mission of carrying out the will of the people… Insecurity has reached a certain level that even when we bring experts in, they wonder what exactly they have come to do. They are given a certain problem to solve and when they arrive here, they meet another problem.

“We have had many instances of armed killer herdsmen who wreak havoc across communities in the country and, rather than show empathy to the victims, the Inspector General of Police goes there to say they were killed because they blocked the grazing routes for cattle.

“One way of stopping the bloodbath is to reconfigure the nation. States must be given maximum control over their resources. There are some who prefer to grow rice, there are others who prefer to grow religion and we know where religion has taken us, today.

“Some people will like to say it is not really religion that has gotten us to where we are. I agree with you, but, some people have manipulated religion to suit their purpose.

“Those insisting on restructuring do so because they know that there is something wrong with the state of Nigeria. Many times, Nigerians have come together to proffer solutions and the way forward for the country, but, after spending so much time and effort, nothing ever comes out of it. The recommendations are left to gather dust. How much longer shall we continue like this?

“Forgiveness is a virtue. Although I have the same temperament as my late friend, Tai Solarin, but, it is a national embarrassment that our president has refused to obey our laws. Citizens should not be the one to choose to obey laws.”

On his part, Nwodo said those campaigning against restructuring of Nigeria have painted an unfortunate and untrue picture.

He said: “The new model we propose for Nigeria recognises that revenue in the world, today, is promoted by two main sources namely, human capital development leveraging on technology to drive the critical sectors of the economy and agriculture. Nigeria beyond oil must contemplate the implementation of legislative independence to the federating units, sovereignty of mineral and oil resources to the federating units, a painstaking resolve to support all electoral processes and candidates that would bring about this change.”

Adebanjo said anyone who opposes restructuring is living in denial about the fragility of the country.

He said: “It is unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, do not understand each other as regards restructuring. I can understand the president’s predicament because education is necessary to comprehend what restructuring entails but, I do not know why the vice president, who is a professor of Law, does not know what it entails.

“How can the vice president say he wants devolution of powers, state police and the likes, yet, he says he does not understand what those who talk about restructuring want? If the man who is the president does not understand what restructuring is, because of his education deficiency, should the vice president not also know what it is?

“If you do not restructure, the country would break up. If you say that the unity of the country is non-negotiable, then, you do not have a choice than to restructure.”

But, Director General of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Yima Sen, who represented the convener, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, had a different view about restructuring.

He said: “As a group, NEF met several times with northern governors and northern traditional rulers over the issue of restructuring and discussions are still ongoing. But, one thing we have decided is that we are going to dialogue with our people and know what they want.

“Most often, the elite push an agenda because they think that is what those they are leading want and they usually do it out of pride and arrogance.

“We should be humble when pushing an agenda. We need to move from the level of sentiments to the scientific. It is important that, when such important issues are discussed, the elite should be humble enough to ask their people what they want and that is what we are doing.

“We are not going to decide for our people whether they want restructuring or not. We are going to ask them and listen to what they have to say.”

Chairman on the occasion, General Ike Nwachukwu, said even though the unity of the nation is sacrosanct and non-negotiable, the country cannot maximise its full potentials if it does not return to federating units.

“Although they were appointed by the government, they are responsible to the people of Nigeria.

To make INEC truly independent, there is the need to review the system of appointing its members.”

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NEWS: Buhari, APC Under Fire For 'Plagiarising' 'Next Level' Logo

• Less than 24 hours after the unveiling of the logo, it appears internet surfing rather than creativity is the anchor on which the logo rests.

President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All progressives Congress (APC), are under fire on social media for what appears to be the passing off of a foreign logo as theirs.

Buhari launched his 2019 presidential campaign on Sunday, titling it ‘Next Level’ on the argument that “the past few years have put us in good stead to trudge on the Next Level of building an even stronger nation for our people”.

It is not the President’s words that are currently attracting public opprobrium, though, but the ‘Next level’ logo, a striking feature of which is the creative elongation of the ‘x’ in ‘next’ in a manner as to give the pass mark to a candidate.

Less than 24 hours after the unveiling of the logo, it appears internet surfing rather than creativity is the anchor on which the logo rests.

A quick search of ‘Next Level’ will show, among others, a project of the Winthrop University-School Partnership Network in collaboration with Fort Mill School District (York 4), Lancaster County School District, and Rock Hill School District (York 3). It is a Professional Development Program grant funded by the US Department of Education and administered through the Office of English Learner Aquisition (OELA), PR/Award # T365Z160278.

‘Next Level’, in this case, means NETwork for Leading Education that Values English Learners. In recognition of students’ right to a high quality education, Project NExT LEVEL “provides professional learning opportunities for educators from pre-service to in-service to district and higher education faculty aimed at meeting the unique needs of English Learners and their families”.

One look at this logo and its similarity with Buhari’s ‘next Level’ is easy to see. The two pictures have been circulating on social media, and the comments are far from palatable.

It is not the first time Buhari and his handlers have been enmeshed in a plagiarism scandal.

In September 2016, his ‘Change Begins With Me’ speech contained several sentences that were identical to some in Barack Obama’s 2008 victory speech.

For instance, Buhari had said: “We must resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship, pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our country for so long.”

Meanwhile, eight years ago, after his victory over Republican John McCain in the race for the White House, Obama had said: “Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.”

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NIGER DELTA: We'll Protest Outside Nigeria To Tell The World Buhari Has Failed, Says Ijaw Youth Council

• "We are putting mechanisms in place to take our demonstrations outside this shore and tell the world that President Muhammadu Buhari has failed the Nigerian people," the IYC President said.

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has said it is putting mechanisms in place for an international campaign against the present administration.

The organisation also restated its stance that the people of the Niger Delta will not give their votes to any presidential candidate and, particularly the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), if there are no concrete agreements on restructuring the country.

In an interview with SaharaReporters, Oweilaemi Pereotubo, IYC President, said the organisation will embark on a global campaign to tell the world about how “President Muhammadu Buhari has failed the Nigerian people”.

According to Pereotubo, “I pray that Mr President will get some things right before we meet, but one thing is very important here. Whatever we are doing is within the ambit of the law. Whether we are going to protest or demonstrate, we demonstrate peacefully. We are putting mechanisms in place to take our demonstrations outside this shore and tell the world that President Muhammadu Buhari has failed the Nigerian people.”

Oweileami also noted that restructuring will develop the country and ensure improved security.

He said: “We urge Mr President to start the processes of restructuring this country because the in thing in Nigeria today is restructuring. Restructuring is a national call for Mr President, if he means well and he doesn’t want to put Nigeria in flames. Mr President should immediately kick-start the processes of restructuring this country.

“If we have a restructured Nigeria, you won’t be talking about killings in any part of the country. There is no day that passes by that people don’t die in Nigeria, because the security agencies in Nigeria are overwhelmed; they can’t do their work. If Nigeria is restructured, policing will be the responsibility of state or the region and the security situation will be addressed. And Mr President called people who are clamouring for it selfish leaders; that is unacceptable and doesn’t show sportsmanship.

“We expect Mr President to do all of these. However, should the president refuse to start the process to restructure Nigeria, the Niger Delta people will go into alliances with people from other regions and look out for aspirants or candidates who believe in restructuring this country and we will give our votes to such aspirant, not politicians that come to deceive us.

“Most politicians today are all singing the song of restructuring, and they are just singing this song to get votes. But there are a few of them who are passionate about restructuring this country. We are looking at them, monitoring their activities and very soon the Ijaw nation will gather in Port Harcourt in Rivers State and we will make far-reaching decisions."

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NEWS: Buhari Has Allowed Terrorists Like Sylva, Lokpobiri To Unleash Violence On Bayelsans, - Dickson

• "The president has allowed common criminals and terrorists such as Sylva and Lokpobiri to unleash violence on their people," Dickson stated.

Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of allowing Timipre Sylva, a former governor of the state, and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, to “unleash violence” on the residents of the state.

He also expressed shock that the President has failed to take any action against the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders, whom he accused of causing mayhem, despite making several reports and complaints to him and security agencies.

In a press statement issued by Daniel Alabrah, his Special Adviser on Public Affairs, Dickson stated that despite several security reports tabled before President Muhammadu Buhari on the activities of the accused politicians, "the president has allowed common criminals and terrorists such as Sylva and Lokpobiri to unleash violence on their people, while the Inspector General of Police is sitting in Abuja to direct investigation of a petition against the Brass Council chairman”.

The statement continued: “At the moment, they are attacking innocent people in Brass, who are members of the PDP, with people bloodied and houses burnt all in a bid to destabilise the state."

He also accused the APC leaders in the state, including Sylva and Lokpobiri, of using the security agencies to shield criminals, as well as to intimidate and harass innocent citizens.

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BREAKING NEWS: Buhari Receives N45m Election Forms From 'Group Of Good Nigerians'

The forms were presented to Buhari at the State House on Tuesday.

President Muhammadu Buhari has received the expression-of-interest and nomination forms from the Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN) in Abuja.

The forms were presented to Buhari at the State House on Tuesday.

The president, via a tweet, described the group as a "mixture of familiar faces, as well as new ones, united by a common vision of a secure and prosperous Nigeria".

The tweet via his handle reads: "Just now at the State House I was presented with the APC Presidential Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms, by the Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN). A mixture of familiar faces, as well as new ones, united by a common vision of a secure & prosperous Nigeria."

Just now at the State House I was presented with the APC Presidential Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms, by the Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN). A mixture of familiar faces, as well as new ones,united by a common vision of a secure & prosperous Nigeria. pic.twitter.com/OH0RaQZl1l

— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) September 11, 2018

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SERAP On Budget Cut: National Assembly Engaged In Crimes Against Humanity

• SERAP accused the leadership and members of the National Assembly of “apparently engaging in crimes against humanity against millions of Nigerians by unilaterally cutting funding for critical projects such as health, water, education, housing and security, and replacing such projects with their own personal projects totalling 6,403 projects and amounting to N578 billion”.

President Muhammadu Buhari Signing The Budget

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has accused the leadership and members of the National Assembly of “apparently engaging in crimes against humanity against millions of Nigerians by unilaterally cutting funding for critical projects such as health, water, education, housing and security, and replacing such projects with their own personal projects totalling 6,403 projects and amounting to N578 billion”.

President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2018 Apprpriation Bill into law on Wednesday, but that was only after he had lamented that the National Assembly cut funding for over 4,000 critical projects amounting to N347 billion.

Responding on Wednesday, SERAP advised President Muhammadu Buhari to “instruct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami to open discussion with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to establish whether substantial grounds and the requisite elements exist to warrant the intervention of the Prosecutor in this case. We note that under the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor has power to intervene in a situation under the jurisdiction of the Court if a state party, such as Nigeria, refers a situation to the court.”

A statement by Timothy Adewale, SERAP’s Deputy Director, said: “Indicting individual lawmakers suspected to be most responsible for the reduction of funding for critical projects would provide a much-needed measure of accountability for leaders who have traditionally acted with impunity, assured that they will never be held to answer for their actions. Cutting funding for essential public services such as health, education and security constitutes a serious human rights violation and potentially rises to the level of crimes against humanity against the Nigerian people.

“The deliberate and systematic acts of alleged budget padding and cutting of funding by the lawmakers coupled with the widespread negative consequences of such acts for millions of Nigerians across the country point to not only allegations of corruption but also crimes against humanity, that is, deliberately withholding access of Nigerians to essential and life-saving public services, which is triable at the International Criminal Court.

“Apart from pursuing a possible crime against humanity prosecution before the ICC, President Buhari should also move swiftly to enforce the judgment delivered last month by Justice Mohammed Idris in suit no: FHC/L/CS/1821/2017 ordering the President to ask anti-corruption agencies to forward to him reports of their investigations into allegations of padding and stealing of some N481 billion from the 2016 budget, and to ensure effort prosecution of suspects.

“It is the failure to decisively address allegations of padding of the 2016 budget that has allowed the practice to continue with almost absolute impunity. Combating impunity of lawmakers for allegations of budget padding is important for ending the practice and deterring future lawmakers from using their legislative functions as a weapon for promoting personal gains and denying Nigerians access to critical and life-saving public services.

“Crimes against humanity invoke criminal responsibility. Although the authorities bear the responsibility for violations of the rights to health, water, education and security, it is possible to hold individuals responsible for massive and grave violations of these human rights through the operation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to which Nigeria is a state party. Nigeria deposited its instrument of ratification on 27 September 2001.

“Those suspected of using legislative powers to allocate resources for personal gains and as an instrument to violate Nigerians’ human rights should be as guilty as those who commit traditional systematic and widespread crimes against the population, particularly the socially and economically vulnerable sectors of the population.

“Crimes against humanity in article 7 of the Rome Statute are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. Crimes against humanity are also committed as “other inhumane acts of similar character intentionally causing great suffering, as described in article 7(1) (k) of the Rome Statute.

"SERAP notes that the Office of the Prosecutor’s Policy Paper on Case Selection and Prioritization, 2016, states that the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC will select cases for investigation and prosecution in light of the gravity of the crimes, the degree of responsibility of the alleged perpetrators and the potential charges. The impact of crimes may be assessed based inter-alia on the suffering endured by the victims and their increased vulnerability, the terror subsequently instilled, or the social and economic damage inflicted on the affected communities. The Office will give particular consideration to crimes such as the illegal exploitation of natural resources.

“Crimes against humanity can be committed in peacetime. The requisite intention to inflict inhumane acts is satisfied when the alleged perpetrator had the intention to inflict serious physical or mental suffering or knew that the act or omission was likely to cause a serious attack upon the human dignity.”

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Buhari Calls The Bluff Of nPDP — I'm Not Ready To Sit Down With Any Faction

• The President told the governors as well as national leaders of the party pointedly to resolve the issues,” the source said, quoting the President as adding: “It is a party matter. I am not ready to sit down with any faction. If they have problems, they should go to the party. I will not interfere.

President Muhammadu Buhari has called the bluff of the leadership of new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The bloc was instrumental to APC’s dislodgement of the PDP from federal power in 2015, as the faction, led by six PDP governors, pulled out of the then ruling party to fuse with the APC.

Now disgruntled in the APC, the nPDP is asking for a meeting with the President. However, it appears their wish would not be granted, as a presidential source has told reporters that the President recently admitted to APC governors that has no plans to honour such meeting.

“The President told the governors as well as national leaders of the party pointedly to resolve the issues,” the source said, quoting the President as adding: “It is a party matter. I am not ready to sit down with any faction. If they have problems, they should go to the party. I will not interfere.”

According to the source, Buhari had also said: “Governors as party leaders in the states should deal with all issues. Where there is need, the party leadership can come in. I will not get involved.”

The President was said to have expressed happiness with the meeting betweent nPDP and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, and gave his nod for the discussions to continue.

The source explained that not all the governors in attendance supported the President’s stance.

“Some hardline governors asked the President to ignore the nPDP while the majority felt the party and the VP should continue to talk to them,” the source said.

The nPDP, led by Kawu Baraje, is country pulling out of the PDP, like it did in 2014; however, that will be determined by how the party handles its grievances.

After meeting with the National Working Committee of the party and with VP Osinbajo, a follow-up meeting was scheduled to hold with the VP. But the bloc withdrew from the meeting, citing the alleged use of state institutions to harass Senate President Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives, who are members of nPDP.

Baraje had kicked against the partial withdrawal of the security aides of the two leaders of the legislature, as well as the linking of Saraki to the Offa bank robbers by the Police.

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Buhari's Government A Puppet In The Hands Of Oil Multinationals, Says The Ijaw Group

• “It may interest you to note that the Buhari government is a puppet in the hands of oil multinational companies operating in the country," it said. "It is obvious that the current government of the country lacks political will to proffer sanctions on defaulting oil companies in the country." 

Ijaw People’s Development Initiative, a Niger Delta rights group, has described the Muhammadu Buhari government as "a puppet in the hands of oil multinationals".

The group said this in a statement condemning the non-implementation of the order for International Oil Companies (IOC’s), to relocate their operational headquarters to the Niger Delta.

“It may interest you to note that the Buhari government is a puppet in the hands of oil multinational companies operating in the country," it said. "It is obvious that the current government of the country lacks political will to proffer sanctions on defaulting oil companies in the country."

While lamenting the continued degradation of their environment, the statement, signed by President of the organisation, Austin Azobo, said peace would continue to elude the country until the region gets its due.

"We make bold to say that peace will elude Nigeria except Niger Delta is given her due place in the country," read the statement. "It is equally appalling that the Muhammadu Buhari government cannot enforce the compliance of its directive given to oil multinational companies to relocate their operational headquarters to the Niger Delta region."

It further gave a directive to IOCs to vacate the region if they cannot obey the demand, saying: “Our attention has been drawn to the gross failure of oil multinational companies operating in Niger Delta to return their operational headquarters to the region despite several directives from the Federal government of Nigeria.

“It is our warning that oil multinational companies refusing to relocate their operational headquarters to the Niger Delta should quit or vacate the region. It is provocative and absurd for oil companies operating in the region to undermine the clarion calls of stakeholders to relocate back to the region.

“It is imperative to note that our environment is being polluted and degraded day in and out. Our ecology system has been damaged. We inhale hydrocarbon particles and emissions emanating from gas flaring, uncompleted combustion and other oil activities, but no justice is done to ameliorate it.

"It is sad that Nigeria is governed by oil companies. It is a pity that Nigeria has turned a lawless state where oil companies dictate laws that should govern the country and how it should operate. We are disappointed at the government’s failure to compel these companies to do the needful."

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Open Letter To President Muhammadu Buhari

President

Dear Mr. President

It is with a heavy heart that I sit down to write Your Eminence. As a conscious, patriotic and progressive youth, I could not help but register my dissatisfaction with my country’s plight alongside a volley of plea to your administration to rescue this dire situation. Excuse the curtness of my manners. The intensity of my pain has almost robbed me entirely of formality. My passionate plea is not for a personal gain but for a revision of government’s position on issues of health, poverty and education, the individual components forming the fulcrum around which our collective development and glory as a nation revolve.

Sir, I read the disapproving remarks you made at the 58th general conference of the Nigeria Medial Association (NMA) concerning the unpleasant effects of various strike actions embarked upon by the country’s health professionals on the nation’s health. With a commensurate level of concern – and perhaps more, I have found myself under the onus of speaking on this trend with a view to achieving an impressive turn in events.

By the same token, a flush of reassurance stole my heart when I read your solemn promise, alongside the Senate President, to release the 1% Consolidated Revenue Fund to cater for health needs – in line with the National Health Act of 2014. This is a remarkable development. There is, however, still far more to be done to make this administration the true, long-awaited group of heroes.

Sir, I will always be reminded to say that nothing has been more pleasant about the present administration than President Muhammadu Buhari’s unconditional devotion to unceasingly protect the interest of the citizenry. In many of your words, Your Eminence has always reiterated your unfaltering devotion to putting your country first. Sir, I am a fan of your confession for being for everyone, and, today, Your Excellency, I seek to invoke that spirit of selflessness and dedication to the common man's good to seek your favour pro bono publico (for the public good).

Mr. President, it is always interesting to know that Nigeria has a fantastic population of a hundred and eighty million people – conservatively. Unfortunately, this feeling of national pride is not without an admixture of an aching sore. The country’s high death toll owing to a gross inadequacy of our health sector is the source of this enormous pain.

In a statistic that will shake the cruelest heart, sir, the 2006 UNICEF State of the World’s Children Report reveals that about 580,000 mothers die from pregnancy-related causes – annually, while close to 750,000 children are buried amid bitter tears before their fifth birthday. It is also a thing of national shame that our dear country loses $1bn to medical tourism every year whilst forfeiting its thousands of well-trained medical professionals who continually search for greener pastures to other countries ― no thanks to the inadequate resources channeled toward maintaining the country’s health sector. It is exceedingly disturbing that the country has set aside only a paltry ₦1,500 – according to an analysis – to be spent on our individual health needs.

As if it never happened, sir, the country seems to have totally forgotten the Abuja Declaration. Since there are piles of documents that struggle for your presidential attention, may I be honoured to remind you of the promise our dear country made some seventeen years ago. On April 1, 2001, heads of states of African Union countries met and pledged to set at least 15% of their annual national budget to improve the health sector. While the duo of Rwanda and South Africa have attained this praiseworthy target, it's disappointing and dissatisfying that the purported Giant of Africa is nowhere within sight. Instead of progressing we have only continued to stagnate. In fact, the situation has gone for the worse with the 2018 budget which has considered a ridiculous 3.95 percent for our healthy subsistence in the national budget. For years, we have depended on aids to tackle diseases like HIV and Polio.

If this deviation from a sealed pact has been ongoing for years unaddressed, I believe the time is now to hold firmly to that pledge. Now is the time for the country to shift focus to the deteriorating health sector. And this will never be possible until the country retraces its position toward the Abuja pact that stipulates a modest 15% of budgetary allocation to the nation’s health-related concerns. Another step in the right direction is the release of the 1% Consolidated Fund Revenue for the health sector. In the name of humanity and love and for the sake of our collective national development, may I humbly and passionately solicit that Senate approves the 1% consolidated fund with the 2018 budget as promised, while future efforts would be made at assuming the aforesaid 15% target.

It is a ridiculous and unspeakable source of collective shame to humanity that an incredible 130 million girls are out of school, when a report has exposed that it costs less than a loaf of bread or a newspaper to educate a girl in a day. Sir, it is a great source of national disrepute that our dear country ranked as the 27th for a girl child to get an education. While this is uncomplimentary, prima facie, a regional consideration tells a more discouraging reality. With the heinous insurgent incidences of Boko Haram, over 1000 schools have been destroyed in the North while a thousand five hundred more have been closed as of 2016. Sadly, 52% of girls in the North-East are out of school.

If the business of the nation is business, there is yet a fascinating and untold economic yield that accompanies the education of the girl child. As unbelievable as this may sound, pundits are unequivocal in their assertion that educating girls to the same level as boys could benefit developing countries to the tune of at least $112 billion a year. In fact, one 2008 estimate suggested that the failure to educate girls to the same standard as boys cost developing countries $92 billion a year. This should not be so incredible. The last prophet of Islam, Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), has said, “when you educate a woman, you educate a nation”. Bridging the gender gap could yield an enormous gain in developing countries, a figure that has been presumed to be between $112 billion and $152 billion dollars a year, according to 2017 One Campaign paper.

In the face of this resource boom, it is disappointing – though not surprising – that a massive number of Nigerians still flourish in stark penury. While poverty may seem an insurmountable impasse for the country, experts have confidently proposed education to be a potent weapon against the towering poverty in country. There is an abundance of evidence that countries who have a more educated population are healthier, wealthier and more stable.

Educating the girl child carries as much importance as increasing the budgetary allocation for the health sector. This is because education is light, wealth and power. Girls who do not get educated are at a high risk of becoming child mothers, are more vulnerable to disease, and suffer the risk of dying of AIDS.

With the look of things, this cost of our little investment in the health and educational sectors – especially of the girl child – is too expensive for us to bear as a developing nation. Sir, an increased health spending will translate into a healthier and increasingly productive population, just as an increased educational allocation and monitoring would mean a healthier, wealthier and more progressive population. Shouldn’t we be more concerned about people’s lives than infrastructures?

On a final note, I would love to express my cordial greetings to Your Excellency. It is an honour to be a witness to the milestones your administration has achieved so far. While I admire your success, let me hasten to add that there is still so much to achieve. A lot has been done but a lot more is still undone. My genial wishes to the honorable Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr, Yakubu Dogara. I sincerely hope the duo would be served copies of this letter of aching concern.

Olasupo Abideen

Olasupo Abideen Opeyemi is a ONE Champion (one.org) and a fellow of the Young Africa Leadership Initiative (Regional Leadership Centre). He is the executive director of the award-winning Brain Builders International; a United Nations recognised and certified SDGs group. He is also the CEO Brain Builders IT Firm, OPAB Global Consult, OPAB Gas Station, Soup For Me and OPAB Farms. He hails from Osun State. He can be reached on abideenolasupo@gmail.com or 2347068775529. He tweets at @opegoogle

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BREAKING NEWS: Buhari Returns From Medical Trip 24Hours Ahead Of Schedule

• This is at least the third medical trip Buhari has undertaken to the UK in 2018 alone. 

President Muhammadu Buhari

 President Muhammadu Buhari is back in Nigeria, a day before he was scheduled to return from his medical trip to the United Kingdom.

Buhari travelled to the UK on Tuesday and was expected to return on Saturday.

However, his plane touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 6:47pm on Friday.

He was received by Abba Kyari, his Chief of Staff; Mohammed Bello, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and other top government functionaries.
Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, also confirmed his arrival, writing on Twitter: “President Buhari just returned, a clear 24 hours…”

This is at least the third medical trip Buhari has undertaken to the UK in 2018 alone.

Shortly before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the UK in April, he was in London to attend to his health for nine days.

He also stopped by in the UK last week, while returning from an official trip to the US —a visit his media managers initially denied and names a “technical stopover” before they were forced to admit it.

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You're The One God Will Punish, Olapade Agoro Replies Buhari

• Dr. Agoro said this in a statement he released on May 3 in reaction to recent assertion in an interview by the President God will judge past leaders of Nigeria over their failures to develop the country.

Dr. Agoro

Dr. Olapade Agoro, a presidential aspirant and chairman of National Action Council (NAC) said God will punish President Muhammadu Buhari for the killing of innocent people going on in the country, imprisonment and sentencing to death of people when he was military head of state and for inflicting suffering on Nigerians through the mismanagement of the economy by his administration.

Dr. Agoro said this in a statement he released on May 3 in reaction to recent assertion in an interview by the President God will judge past leaders of Nigeria over their failures to develop the country.

Dr. Agoro said, “If the Most Righteous God of justice were to mark the signs of inequity, it becomes apt to mention that President Muhammadu Buhari would be chief among those to the severely punished of all past and present Nigerian leaders if his political life misdemeanors were to be visited.

"God will no doubt punish President Muhammadu Buhari for the socio- economic unprecedented woes and blood of the innocent currently plaguing the nation and making lives not worth it for us all.

"From case of the poor and innocent Leah Suaribu now left languishing alone in the hands of Boko Haram terrorists, to the perspective of the most oppressive decree 2 promulgated by his regime in 1984, he sent two innocent Guardian Newspaper journalists Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabo to jail terms, that of the issue of 53 suit cases stowed away from custom checks, that of the retroactive Decree 20 that got Bartholomew Owoh executed rather than being sent to serve six months jail term under the then prevailing order,” Dr Agoro said.

“That of the Special Military Tribunal that jailed Governor Abubakar Musa Rimi for 21 years for corruptively enriching 96 legislators of Kano State House of Assembly with 500,000 naira on March 28 1985, that of 1984 jailing of Governor Awaal Muhammed of Niger State for corrupt practices; that of jailing former Governor Ambrose Ali of Bendel State to 100 years for misappropriation of N983, 000; that of 1984 sending former Rivers State Governor Melford Okilo to 21 years jail term for holding foreign bank account contrary to prevailing laws in Nigeria; that of sending Governor Aper Aku to 21 years jail term for borrowing Naira 50000 from Benue breweries; Sending Governor Sabo Bakin Suwo to 21 years jail term for boxes full of cash found in his house among others.”

The presidential aspirant also also pointed out that Nigerians have been wallowing in poverty and unemployment under Buhari as indicated in the World Bank report released on Monday 30, April 2018.

In his words, “God will no doubt and must punish President Muhammadu Buhari for his poor economic management of the nation’s resources. And lastly God will punish President Muhammadu Buhari because never has Nigeria had a sitting President or Head of State jumping over the bother line of decency and democratic values engaging bad language to pour vituperations and evil wishes on their wives, the youths of the country and our past leaders.”

Sahara Reporters had reported that President Buhari said that God will judge former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan and other past leaders of Nigeria for mismanagement of the country’s resources.‎

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Buhari Is On His Way Back To Nigeria From US - Presidency

• The presidential aide said the delay in the president’s return to the country was because the jet had to take a quick break to refuel and do some checks in London

President Muhammadu Buhari

The Senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu says President Muhammadu Buhari is on his way back to Nigeria from United States of America.

The presidential aide said the delay in the president’s return to the country was because the jet had to take a quick break to refuel and do some checks in London.

"It is a smaller plane. The BBJ is away on repairs. The technical crew decided to break the long distance journey, to refuel and do routine checks. This is normal. They are flying back to Abuja now," he said

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BREAKING NEWS: FG Probes Cambridge Analytica, PDP’s Alleged Hacking Into Buhari’s Medical Records

• The Federal Government has commenced investigation into the recent revelation that ahead of the 2015 general elections, a Nigerian billionaire and supporter of former President Goodluck Jonathan paid £2m to Cambridge Analytica to hack into the medical records of President Muhammadu Buhari, then candidate of the All Progressives Congress. 

The Federal Government has commenced investigation into the recent revelation that ahead of the 2015 general elections, a Nigerian billionaire and supporter of former President Goodluck Jonathan paid £2m to Cambridge Analytica to hack into the medical records of President Muhammadu Buhari, then candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

The government is also probing the report that suggested that the consulting firm that combines data mining, brokerage and analysis with strategic communication for electoral process manipulated Nigeria’s 2007 elections by organising campaigns to weaken the chances of opposition parties.

A Presidency official who spoke on the condition of anonymity disclosed this to State House correspondents in Abuja on Sunday.

“The government of Nigeria is scrutinising the reports of the data mining firm Cambridge Analytica, which swiped the data of more than 50 million Facebook users to sway elections in many countries including Nigeria, where it waged a campaign to perpetuate discord and hack into personal records of the then leading opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari,” the source said.

He said the government had set up what he called an in-house committee to investigate whether the firm’s work for the then ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, in 2007 and 2015 general election campaigns broke the laws of the country or infringed on the rights of other parties and their candidates.

“Depending on the outcome, this may lead to the appointment of a special investigator and possibly, criminal prosecutions by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN),” the Presidency official added.

When contacted on the matter, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said he had not been briefed on the issue.

Shehu however said it was the right of Nigerians for the PDP, Facebook and Cambridge Analytical to explain their roles in the matter.

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Buhari appoints Tinubu to head APC reconciliation team

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead the consultation, reconciliation and confidence building team as a measure towards improving cohesion within the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to the presidential aide, the assignment will involve resolving disagreements among party members, party leadership and political office holders in some states of the federation.

The Kano State APC crisis involving supporters of former Gov. Rabiu Kwakwanso and the serving Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, is one of the task of the Tinubu reconciliation committee.

It would be recalled that the Presidency, on Jan. 29, summoned Gov. Ganduje and Kwakwanso over the aborted Jan. 30 visit of the former governor to Kano to avert breakdown of law and order in the state.

The governor, accompanied by two serving senators and two members of House of Representatives from the state met with the Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari at the Presidential Villa. Ganduje, however, declined to speak to State House correspondents after the closed door meeting.

The Tinubu committee is also expected to reconcile other APC members in Kaduna, Zamfara, Oyo, Kogi and other states of the federation.

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INDEPENDENCE SPEECH: We Will Not Allow Advocacy For The Dismemberment Of Nigeria - Buhari

• President Muhhamdu Buhari spoke to Nigeria earlier today through a broadcast to celebrate Nigeria's 57th Independence anniversary. 

• While the speech delved into the fight against corruption and terrorism, President was deliberately hard on agitators for restructuring and the separatist movement in Nigeria's southeast calling for a separate Biafran nation, he wondered why the elders in the region did not warn the agitators about the danger inherent in their campaign to break up Nigeria.

See full speech below:

My dear Nigerians: October 1st remains a special date for all Nigerians as this marks the day when we attained one of the most precious of human desires — freedom. Over the years the country has gone through trials and tribulations, but October 1st is always a day for celebrations.

It is a day for thanksgiving, reflection and re-dedication.

It is also a day for remembrance. We should remind ourselves of the recent journey from 1999 – 2015 when our country happily returned to democratic rule.

However, in spite of oil prices being an average of $100 per barrel and about 2.1m barrels a day, that great piece of luck was squandered and the country’s social and physical infrastructure neglected.

We were left with no savings and huge infrastructure deficit.

The APC Government’s Campaign rallying cry to restore security, re-balance the economy and fight corruption was not all rhetoric.

The country must first be secured. The economy must be re-balanced so that we do not depend on oil alone. We must fight corruption which is Nigeria’s Number One Enemy. Our Administration is tackling these tasks in earnest.

In the past two years, Nigeria has recorded appreciable gains in political freedom. A political Party at the centre losing elections of State Governor, National Assembly seat and even State Assemblies to the opposition parties is new to Nigeria. Added to these are complete freedom to associate, to hold and disseminate opinions. Such developments clearly attest to the country’s growing political development. But like all freedoms, this is open to abuse.

Recent calls on re-structuring, quite proper in a legitimate debate, has let in highly irresponsible groups to call for the dismemberment of the country. We can not and we will not allow such advocacy.

As a young Army Officer, I took part from the beginning to the end in our tragic civil war costing about 2m lives, resulting in fearful destruction and untold suffering. Those who are agitating for a re-run were not born by 1967 and have no idea of the horrendous consequences of the civil conflict which we went through.

I am very disappointed that responsible leaders of these communities do not warn their hot-headed youths what the country went through. Those who were there should tell those who were not there, the consequences of such folly.

At all events, proper dialogue and any desired constitutional changes should take place in a rational manner, at the National and State Assemblies. These are the proper and legal fora for National debate, not some lop-sided, un-democratic body with a pre-determined set of objectives.

Government is keeping up the momentum of dialogue with stakeholders in the Niger Delta to keep the peace. We intend to address genuine grievances of the communities.

Government is grateful to the responsible leadership of those communities and will pursue lasting peace in the Niger Delta.

SECURITY

On security, Nigerians must be grateful to our gallant Armed Forces for rolling back the frontiers of Boko Haram’s terrorism, defeating them and reducing them to cowardly attacks on soft and vulnerable targets.

Nigeria is grateful to its neighbours and the international community for the collective efforts to defeat this worldwide menace of terrorism.

Not even the most organized and most equipped police and security forces in the world can escape the menace of modern day terrorism, as we have seen in recent years in Europe and other parts of the world.

But we are not letting up. Our Armed Forces in an effort to enhance the operational capability of troops of OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE have established Mobile Strike Teams in the North East. These will ensure the final push to wipe out the remnants of Boko Haram.

In addition, through targeted air strikes most of the leadership and identified logistics bases and routes of the insurgents have been neutralized. The Armed Forces have established a Naval presence in the Lake Chad Basin as part of the coordinated military efforts to curtail the movements or re-emergence of the sect in the area.

Government is working round the clock to ensure the release of the remaining Chibok girls, as well as other persons in Boko Haram captivity. The government will continue to support the Armed Forces and other security agencies to fight not only terrorism but kidnapping, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers violence and to ensure peace, stability and security in our country.

ECONOMY

With respect to the economy, the Government has remained pro-active in its diversification policy. The Federal Government’s agricultural Anchor Borrowers Programme, which I launched in November 2015, has been an outstanding success with:

N43.92 billion released through the CBN and 13 participating institutions, 200,000 small holder farmers from 29 states of the federation benefitting, 233,000 hectares of farmland cultivating eight commodities, namely Rice, Wheat, Maize, Cotton, soya-beans, Poultry, Cassava and Groundnuts, in addition to fish farming.

These initiatives have been undertaken in close collaboration with the states. I wish to commend the efforts of the Governors of Kebbi, Lagos, Ebonyi and Jigawa States for their support to the rice and fertilizer revolutions.

Equally commendable are contributions of the Governors of Ondo, Edo, Delta, Imo, Cross River, Benue, Ogun, Kaduna and Plateau States for their support for the Presidential initiative for palm oil, rubber, cashew, cassava, potatoes and other crops.

With the abundance of rainfall last year and this year, agriculture has enjoyed Divine intervention.

Since December last year, this Administration has produced over 7 million 50Kg bags of fertilizer. Eleven blending plants with a capacity of 2.1 million metric tons have been reactivated. We have saved $150 million in foreign exchange and N60 billion in subsidy. Fertilizer prices have dropped from N13,000 per 50Kg bag to N5,500.

Furthermore, a new presidential initiative is starting with each state of the Federation creating a minimum of 10,000 jobs for unemployed youths, again with the aid of CBN’s development finance initiatives.

Power remains a huge problem. As of September 12th, production of power reached an all-time high of 7,001 Megawatts. Government is increasing its investment, clearing up the operational and financial log jam bedeviling the industry. We hope to reach 10,000 Megawatts by 2020.

Key priorities include better energy mix through solar and Hydro technologies. I am glad to say that after many years of limbo, Mambilla Power Project has taken off.

Elsewhere in the economy the special window created for manufacturers, investors and exporters, foreign exchange requirements has proved very effective. Since April, about $7 billion has come through this window alone. The main effect of these policies is improved confidence in the economy and better investment sentiments.

The country has recorded 7 consecutive months of lower inflation, Naira rate is beginning to stabilize, appreciating from N525 per $1 in February this year to N360 today. Broad-based economic growth is leading us out of recession.

Furthermore, in order to stabilize the polity, the Federal Government gave additional support to states in the form of:

1. State Excess Crude Account loans,
2. Budget Support Facility,
3. Stabilization Fund Release

to states and local governments as follows:

•   N200 billion in 2015
•   N441 billion in 2016
•   N1 trillion in 2017

Altogether totalling N1.642 trillion.

This was done to enable states to pay outstanding salaries, pensions and small business suppliers who had been all but crippled over the years.

In addition, the Government’s current N500 billion Special Intervention Programme is targeting groups through;

• Home Grown School Feeding Programme,
• N-Power Job creation to provide loans to small-scale traders and artisans,
• Conditional Cash Transfer,
• Family Homes Fund and
• Social Housing Scheme.

CORRUPTION

Fellow Nigerians,

We are fully aware that fighting corruption was never going to be a straightforward task. We expected corrupt elements to use any weapon to fight back, mainly judicial obstruction and political diversion. But we are determined to eradicate corruption from our body politic.

In this fight, the Government has:

• Empowered teams of prosecutors,
• Assembled detailed databases,
• Accelerated the recovery of stolen funds.

The Administration’s new institutional reforms include:

• Enforcing Treasury Single Account,
• Whistle-Blowers Policy,
• Integrated Payroll Personnel and Information System.

We have signed multi-lateral cooperation agreements on criminal matters with friendly countries. There are signs of increasing cooperation from the Judiciary. Recently the Chief Justice of Nigeria directed Heads of all our Courts of first instance and Appeal to accelerate hearings of corruption cases and dismiss any judicial officers found to have been compromised.

Justice Salami has just been appointed to chair the Judiciary’s anti-graft committee. The government expects a lot from this Committee.

I commend the National Assembly for refocusing on its oversight committees. They should, in addition, ensure swift passage of enabling corruption laws. But fighting corruption is a bottom to top operation. I call on all Nigerians to combat corruption at every turn. By not asking for and refusing to accept a bribe, by reporting unethical practices or by blowing a whistle, together we can beat corruption. The government for its part will work for accountability at all levels - Federal, State and Local Governments. CHANGE will then be real.

As we enter the second half of our term of office, we intend to accelerate progress and intensify our resolve to fix the country’s challenges and problems.

Thank you and a happy holiday to all of you.

God bless our country

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Nigeria's President Buhari Back In Nigeria Following Four Days Of UK Medicals

• President Muhammadu Buhari returned to Nigeria on Monday evening without much fanfare after spending four days in the United Kingdom undergoing medical tests and treatment.

Following his release by his doctors, he departed Stansted Airport in London at about 11:45 a.m. UK time arriving Abuja at 6:40 p.m.

President Buhari is expected to return to the UK for further check-ups or treatment depending on the state of his health. Mr. Buhari recently returned to Nigeria on August 20 after spending 104 days in London for medical treatment, before that he'd spent 49 days in London on a medical vacation for an undisclosed illness.

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Nigeria sinking, APC support group alerts Buhari, Tinubu

• THE All Progressives Congress, APC Rebirth 2019, a support group within the party, has raised the alarm that the country was sinking, warning that the party has only two options before it to save the country.

• The group in a letter by national president, Prince Tony Akeni and six others, to President Muhammadu Buhari, national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others, said: “There is anguish of unprecedented scale and depth among the poor and lower middle class in Nigeria, which must be addressed with a sense of war-time foreboding and urgency… The ship called Nigeria is heading towards sinking grounds.”

Oyegun, Tinubu and Buhari

It said: “As the ruling party at the centre and in the majority of Nigerian states, we have two choices before us. To our own detriment, we can choose to bury our heads in the sand from blame like the preposterous ostrich and flaunt aimless growth and boom statistics like PDP is expert at and used to do in its hey days before its empire fell from its arrogant peak.” 

“We can choose to pretend that all is well with our once teeming but fast thinning supporters, once dedicated but now debilitated and dispersing change campaigners, and once hopeful but now embittered and hate-filled Nigerians as we glide dangerously towards the 2019 Judgment Day in the Supreme Court of Nigeria voters,” the group added. 

The group also said: “Our second choice is to have the courage and soul-searching sober reflections to enable us evolve a sweeping change of fortunes for Nigerians in general, and to do so urgently, diligently and pragmatically with everything it takes in the short time remaining in our hands.” It noted: “The most fruitful channel to achieve the latter, which is the sensible choice, is the immediate convocation of an APC National Political and Economic Retreat. 

Where we are in Nigeria today, we cannot afford to continue to wallow in the sympathy mentality that Nigerians will forever reason with us that the prolonged social-economic meltdown in our country is entirely the fault of others.” “Double-faced blacklegs among us, erroneously planted in sacred places of the President’s heart and installed in the Villa, are also guilty, make no mistake about that. 

“Unlike political retreats we have seen convened in the past by the anti-masses opposition PDP, which consolidate on their avaricious leaders’ well-being and mending party stable cracks to facilitate safe looting of our country, the proposed APC retreat should evolve through three stages. 

“The first retreat should be conducted at the local government area levels on the same date throughout the country, where grassroots supporters’ reports on the state of each local government area and the nation, peculiar challenges, solutions and well-being of Nigerians and party patriots from the local government areas will be collated and aggregated at each state venue on a second day. 

“The retreat’s third day and grand finale should comprise APC national party leadership, authentic APC delegates representing the states, foundational APC federal cabinet ministers and appointees; not opportunistic post-victory joiners and fly-by-night adoptees who found their way through back doors of corrupted appointment lists drawn by Mr. President’s Aso Villa confidants, who exploited and betrayed the innocent trust of the President to get deadly agents of the opposition into government. 

“At the second stage, reports of the state retreat should be aggregated to provide direction, executive compass and acceleration for projects, programmes and policy priorities of the administration for intervention in areas of urgent and optimum impact on electorates in different parts of our country,” it said. Such retreat, the group stated, “will throw up the truly most urgent needs of the people throughout Nigeria and foster the Federal Government’s sense of immediacy on electorate assuring and vote winning interventions.” 

It suggested: “These should include, for instance, expeditiously fixing notoriously failed sections of major inter-regional arterial federal roads as the East-West highways south of the country, Apapa Road, West of the country, and the nightmarish Ekpoma section of federal road, South-South of the country, which has in the last few months of rain turned that section of Ekpoma community to a mud lake.” 

“This should include effectively getting the North’s children back to schools in the post-Boko Haram era by strengthening the school feeding programme which has suffered a blow from the general downturn of federal revenue earnings. 

“The overall outcome of such retreat will accelerate decision processes from the President’s desk to the least APC administered local government council in Nigeria, and help us to put behind us the better part of the last two years during which decisions on virtually everything from budget legislation, executive actions and appointments to the justice dispensation have been a nightmare of excruciating sluggard pace and beggarly delays,” the group said.

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Nigeria President, President Muhammadu Buhari Departs New York For Medical Treatment In London

• Mr. Buhari’s immediate itinerary is a stopover in the United Kingdom where, according to a senior aide, he will undergo an extensive medical checkup on Saturday.

President Muhammadu Buhari today departed New York City for London after attending the United Nations General Assembly. An itinerary seen by SaharaReporters shows that the President would leave New York about 9:04 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on his presidential jet.

Mr. Buhari’s immediate itinerary is a stopover in the United Kingdom where, according to a senior aide, he will undergo an extensive medical checkup on Saturday. The results of that checkup will determine the schedule of his return to Abuja.

President Buhari’s presence in New York provoked protests by hundreds of Nigerians, most of them from the Igbo ethnic group, decrying his government’s deployment of troops to the southeast zone in a military operation tagged “Python Dance II.” There are conflicting reports that the soldiers killed more than twenty suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group agitating for a referendum to enable the Igbo-dominated southeastern zone of Nigeria to become a separate country.

The Nigerian presidential jet arrived New York from Abuja on September 17th after a brief stopover on the Spanish Island of Santa Maria. The jet was then flown to Dover, Delaware from when where it was returned to New York in preparation for the London trip.

Our Presidency source said he expected the London trip to be short, but added that he could not state how long Mr. Buhari would be in the UK.

“The whole thing will be based on what the doctors say after running their tests on Mr. President,” said the source.

President Buhari returned to Nigeria from the UK on August 19th, 2017 after spending 104 days receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed ailment. Our source said the president requires “total blood transfusions from time to time.” 

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