Posts

Showing posts from October, 2015

We’ll Make Nigerians Smile In Our 2016 Budget – VP Osinbajo

Image
 As you all know, the President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo government is still running the 2015 budget that they inherited from the Goodluck Jonathan administration. But things will soon change. According to VP Yemi Osinbajo, the Buhari administration is working out how to ensure government’s planning and budgeting for 2016 caters for the vast majority of Nigerians, especially the over 110 million extremely poor among the country’s 170 million population. VP Osinbajo made the comment Friday in Abuja while meeting with a delegation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation who paid him a courtesy call in his office. According to the Vice President, the Buhari administration enjoyed the electoral support of millions of poor Nigerians who invested their hope in the new government and they can’t afford to disappoint them. He added that the Buhari presidency would deliver on its promises including the social investment programmes such...

The 36 name screened Nigerian ministerial nominees:

Image
1. Chris Ngige – (Anambra) 2. Kayode Fayemi- (Ekiti) 3. Rotimi Amaechi – (Rivers) 4. Babatunde Fashola -(Lagos) 5. Abdulrahman Dambazau- (Kano) 6. Aisha Alhassan – (Taraba) 7. Ogbonaya Onu- (Ebonyi) 8. Kemi Adeosun – (Ogun) 9. Abubakar Malami – (Kebbi) 10. Sen Hadi Sirika – (Katsina) 11. Barr. Adebayo Shittu – (Oyo) 12. Suleiman Adam – (Jigawa) 13. Solomon Dalong – (Plateau) 14. Ibe Kachikwu – (Delta) 15. Osagie Ehanire – (Edo) 16. Audu Ogbeh – (Benue) 17. Udo Udo Udoma – (Akwa Ibom) 18. Lai Mohammed – (Kwara) 19. Amina Mohammed – (Gombe) 20. Ibrahim Usman Jibril – (Nasarawa) 21. Hajia Khadija Bukar Ibrahim- (Yobe) 22. Cladius Omoleye Daramola (Ondo) 23. Prof Anthony Onwuka (Imo) 24. Geoffrey Onyema (Enugu) 25. Dan Ali (Zamfara) 26. Barr James Ocholi (Kogi) 27. Zainab Ahmed (Kaduna) 28. Okechukwu Enelamah (Abia) 29. Muhammadu Bello (Adamawa) 30. Mustapha Baba Sheh...

#Ministerial screening: Senate screens Anwuka Anthony Gozie

Image
The senate has screened ministerial nominee, Anwuka Anthony Gozie, a former Vice Chancellor of the Imo state University and also former Secretary to the Government of Imo state. During his presentation, the nominee talked about his tenure as the Vice Chancellor of Imo state university and how his house was burnt down while he was trying to fight cultism in the school. He said there is need to upgrade the Oguta lake to turn it into an international tourist center. Anwuka in his presentation said there is need for a total restructuring of the University Matriculation Examination conducted for prospective undergraduates. He was asked to take a bow and go.

#Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Okechukwu Eyinna Enelemah

Image
The senate has screened ministerial nominee, Eyinna Enelemah from Abia state. He is a medical doctor by training. During his introduction, he vowed to work tirelessly with President Buhari for a new and better Nigeria. He said for Nigeria to grow economically, efforts must be made to generate resources outside the oil sector. Enelamah said efforts should be made for Nigerians to pay their tax. He said infrastructures and better legislation will help for it to work. He also called for a more inclusive growth. On youth unemployment, he said efforts must be made to create on-the-job training for graduates. He also advocated for skill acquisition among youths. The ministerial nominee advocated for a technology driven Nigeria. He said government needs to work more to attract foreign investment. He advocated for every state to concentrate on its comparative advantage.  He said the government needs to create policies that will promote shared returns.    Enelamah promised ne...

Rivers election tribunal nullifies election of state House of Assembly speaker, 20 PDP lawmakers

Image
Few days after nullifying the election of the state governor, Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja today nullified the election of the state assembly speaker, Owaji Ibami (pictured above) and 20 PDP state lawmakers. With this new development, the state Assembly has been rendered ineffective due to the reduction in the number of lawmakers. 32 lawmakers make up the state Assembly. With the nullification of 21 lawmakers, only 12 of them appear to be eligible and this is too small for the house to run effectively.

I won’t resign even if I don’t defeat Boko Haram by December, says Buhari

Image
President Muhammadu Buhari says he “will not resign” if he is unable to fulfill his promise of defeating Boko Haram by December. Buhari, who was speaking in an exclusive interview with Mehdi Hasan on Al Jazeera English’s ‘Upfront’, said he would instead  be “determined to stay on and fight it out”. In the interview, which won’t be aired until Friday night, the president also reiterated his willingness to do a deal with Boko Haram to free the kidnapped Chibok girls on the condition that the true leaders of the sect are the ones to be dialogued with. “We said it and we meant it,” he said. “They have to prove to us that they are alive, they are well, and then we can…negotiate with them. We said it and we meant it. If we are satisfied that the girls are alive.” Asked whether he would offer financial payments, or a prisoner release, to Boko Haram in return for the girls, he refrained from ruling out eithe...

President Muhammadu Buhari has restated his gratitude to Nigerians for his victory at the general elections saying he emerged winner against all odds.

Image
President Muhammadu Buhari has restated his gratitude to Nigerians for his victory at the general elections saying he emerged winner against all odds. Speaking at The Red Media Summit in Lagos, Thursday, Mr. Buhari that he won the election despite the deployment of state forces against him. “Muhammadu Buhari’s goodwill greetings to you is on account of the fact that he won an election that many people think he was not going to win,” said Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, who represented Mr. Buhari. “Americans say that elections are won on the dollar. It’s very improbable that anybody can win an election without money. We didn’t have advertising money on our campaign. Even when we had little money to spend on advertising, the Nigerian Television Authority was not making available to us slots, neither was AIT. “I remember on a particular night I called NTA, they had 16 slots of one minute adverts and I said I wanted t...

How would you rate the senate's ministerial screening?

Image
The first leg of the screening and confirmation of ministers was concluded yesterday. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the exercise so far?

Photo of President Buhari's new ministerial nominee

Image
President Buhari yesterday announced the withdrawal of Ahmed Ibeto from his ministerial list. He has now replaced him with Abubakar Bawa who is also from Niger state. Read his CV below...  Abubakar Bawa Bwari popularly called (ABB) by admirers was born on 4th November 1963 in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Geography (1986) and a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning (1990) from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and is a registered member of both the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners and Town Planning Registration Council. He was elected as a member of the Federal House of Representatives representing Suleja/Gurara/Tafa Federal Constituency in 1998 and subsequently became Chief Whip of the House, a position where he served meritoriously over a period spanning 1999-2007. While in the House, he was also elected as Vice President African, Caribbean, Pacific and European Union (ACP-EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly and Chairman of the p...

Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Ibrahim Usman Jibril

Image
Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Ibrahim Usman Jibril The Senate has screened Ibrahim Jubril, an engineer from Nassarawa state, where he spoke on the problems of Land allocation in Abuja. He said land allocation was reformed in Abuja following the population growth in the federal capital territory. He said the last 30 years has seen an inconsistent flow of policies concerning Land allocation Abuja and said the master plan of Abuja needs to be reviewed frequently. He also spoke on how to check the issuance of false land certificates in Abuja. He was the last person to be screened. Screening has been adjourned to tomorrow Oct. 14th

Senate screens Sulleiman Hussaini Adamu

Image
Senate screens Sulleiman Hussaini Adamu The senate has screened Sulleiman Hussaini Adamu, a distinguished civil engineer from Jigawa state. During his presentation, Adamu spoke about the importance of skills acquisition and training. He called for more investment in water infrastructure. On project delay, he said a major cause is planning and irregular budgeting. Speaking on Nigerian road infrastructure, he called for more attention to be placed on building roads with longer life cycles. He said physical attributes of soils in which roads are to be built on must be taken into great consideration so as to avert road deterioration. On funding of road development, he said private-private partnership and foreign investment needs to be encouraged. Adamu called on Nigerians to engage building professionals instead of quacks as a way of averting building collapse in Nigeria. He was asked to take a bow and go.

Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Amina Mohammed

Image
Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Amina Mohammed Senate has screened Amina Mohammed, (whose dad is from Gombe state and mum from UK) a special adviser on post 2015 development planning to UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon She spoke on the Millennium Development goals and how Nigeria can benefit more from it. She called for more focus to be put in the vision 2020 plan of Nigeria. She was asked to take a bow and go after speaking for a few minutes. Very learned  woman.

Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Lai Mohammed, doesn't ask him any question

Image
Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Lai Mohammed, doesn't ask him any question APC National Publicity Secretary Lai Mohammed has just been screened by the Senate. He is the first ministerial nominee to be asked to take a bow and go without being asked any questions by Senate members. He promised to be as passionate and committed if confirmed as minister.

Miniterialscreening: Senate screens Gen. Abdurrahman Dambazau

Image
Miniterialscreening: Senate screens Gen. Abdurrahman Dambazau The senate has screened Gen. Abdurrahman Dambazau (Rtd), a former Chief of Army staff. During his presentation, Dambazzau said Nigeria has a defense policy which needs to be reviewed regularly. He also called for the review of allowances of soldiers, both for those serving in the North East and those who serve in foreign missions in places such as Sierra Leone. He said the Nigerian military has to stick with National security and not regime security. He said that the current N1,000 allowance of soldiers is too low and must be reviewed upwards. On conflict of farmers and herdsmen in the North and South, he said this has an adverse effects on agriculture. He said ecological issues such as desertification and erosion have to first be tackled to eradicate this problem. He said this crisis takes a religious turn and called for the root cause of these issues to be addressed. He called for more medical support for soldiers. On m...

Ministerialscreening: Senate screen Dr. Osagie Ehanire

Image
Ministerialscreening: Senate screen Dr. Osagie Ehanire Osagie Ehanire, a German trained surgeon from Edo state has been screened. During his presentation, he said the lack of confidence in Nigeria's medical sector has resulted in most Nigerians going abroad for medical attention. According to him, there needs to be training and retraining of medical personnel. He called for the fight of corruption to be taken to the health care sector in Nigeria. On wrong medical diagnosis which has led to death of many Nigerians, the ministerial nominee called for better curriculum in schools as well medical personnel consulting each other in serious cases. According to him, one of the problems in the health sectors is the non inclusion of young medical doctors in the scheme of things. He called on government to adhere to any agreement reached with medical workers so as to avoid incessant strike actions. He acknowledged that maternal and infant mortality have increased in Nigeria. He said a com...

Names in president Buhari's second ministerial list

Image
Names in president Buhari's second ministerial list The new ministerial nominees sent to the senate by President Buhari yesterday October 10th was read by Senate president Bukola Saraki this morning. They include; Brigadier-general NM Dan Ali, Rtd Prof. Isaac Adewole (prictured above) a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology and UI's Vice Chancellor James Ocholi: APC governorship aspirant in Kogi state Anthony Anwuka, a professor of education administration Okechukwu Enelamah, the CEO of African Capital Alliance. Claudius Omoyele Daramola, a professor of sociology of education from Ondo state. Aisha Abubakar. Adamu Adamu (Bauchi). Hajia Bukar Ibrahim, the former first lady of Yobe State, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa), Jeffery Onyeama. Kadija Ibrahim Abubakar Bawa Mohammadu Bello

Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Ogbonnaya Onu

Image
Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Ogbonnaya Onu Ministerial nominee, Christopher Ogbonnaya Onu from Ebonyi state has been screened. Onu talked about the importance of electricity and asked that we do more in that regard. He called for power diversification in Nigeria, asking that we look at other ways for power generation. He asked that Nigeria pursue power generation using coal and said the issue of decrease in gas to be used for power generation will be a thing of the past. He said renewable power generation using sun light should be considered and that power diversification will help reduce unemployment as more industries will function better. He was asked to take a bow and go...

Ministerialscreening: Chief Audu Ogbeh screened, asked to take a bow

Image
Ministerialscreening: Chief Audu Ogbeh screened, asked to take a bow Former chairman of PDP and APC chieftain Audu Ogbeh has been screened. While addressing the senate, he said he will revolutionize the agricultural sector by ensuring we have quality seeds to cultivate and also improve on the nutrition of livestocks. He said in 35 years to come, most of us will not be here so it is important that Nigeria gets the agricultural sector right. He was asked to take a bow by members of the senate.

Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Kayode Fayemi, he denied buying N50m bed in govt house

Image
Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Kayode Fayemi, he denied buying N50m bed in govt house The Senate just finished screening Kayode Fayemi. During his screening, the former governor answered quite a number of questions. Reacting to claims that he left a heavy debt burden in his state while he was governor, Fayemi said he borrowed to offset debts owed by his predecessor, Segun Oni and also to develop infrastructures which he promised his people during his election. He said the debt figures being brandished around is false. Reacting to a question that he spent unwarranted sums of money to build a government house during his tenure as governor, Fayemi said he met a 2 bedroom apartment government house and so decided to build a befitting government house. He said the government house was a multipurpose house. He denied claims of buying a N50 million bed in the Ekiti state. He said there is even no N1.5 million bed in the Ekiti government house he built. He dared anyone to bring forwar...

Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Sen. Udo Udoma, ask him to take a bow

Image
Ministerialscreening: Senate screens Sen. Udo Udoma, ask him to take a bow The senate has finished screening Senator Udoma Udo Udoma from Cross River state. During his presentation, Udoma said he will be bringing his experience in the private sector to bear when he is confirmed as Minister. He was asked a few questions which he answered very well. He was asked to take a bow and go. They definitely approved of him!

Senate suspends probe of Amaechi, Muhammad

Image
Senate suspends probe of Amaechi, Muhammad The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions on Monday called off the consideration of the petitions it received against the nomination of former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and Amina Ibrahim Mohammed as ministers. A Port Harcourt based group, The Integrity Group, had forwarded a petition to the Senate, alleging financial impropriety against Amaechi with the aim of preventing him from being confirmed as minister. The petitioners, who sent their petition to the Senate through Senator George Thompson Sekibo and two other Senators, claimed that Amaechi mismanaged N70 billion Rivers State funds. The Senate committee, after a brief meeting with Amaechi at the National Assembly, said the subject matter of the petition which is related to the white paper on a report of a Judicial Panel of Inquiry is already a subject of court case. The former Rivers governor, who appeared before the committee in company with his for...

Senate Receives Second Batch of Ministerial Nominees’ List

Image
Senate Receives Second Batch of Ministerial Nominees’ List The second batch of President Muhammadu Buhari’s list of ministerial nominees has been presented to the Nigerian Senate. The Senate announced this via its Twitter handle on Monday afternoon. The Chief of Staff to the President, Alhaji Abba Kyari, who was accompanied by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang and his counterpart for the House Of Representatives, Honorable Suleiman Kawu, handed over the letter to the Senate President at exactly 4:24 pm. The letter was sealed and would only be opened by the Senate President at the plenary on Tuesday.

Former Bayelsa Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha Is Dead

Image
Former Bayelsa Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha Is Dead Former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, is dead. The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information, Esueme Dan-Kikili, confirmed to Channels Television that the former governor died of cardiac arrest on Saturday. He reportedly slipped into a coma two days ago and was placed on life support. There were reports during the week that the British Government was determined to resurrect an outstanding case of money laundering against the former governor and had requested for his extradition to London. Alamieyeseigha, who was facing money laundering charges, jumped bail and returned to Nigeria and has since then refused to answer summons for trial to continue. According to his Wikipedia page, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was born on November 16, 1952 in Amassoma, Ogboin North Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. He attended the Bishop Dimeari Grammar School, Yenagoa. He joined the Nigerian Defence Academy as a Ca...

Ministerial screening: Senate has power to set conditions – Presidency

Image
Ministerial screening: Senate has power to set conditions – Presidency With just four days to the Tuesday date for the screening and possible confirmation of the ministerial nominees, the Presidency has said the Senate is empowered by the constitution to set its criteria and conditions for the screening of prospective ministers. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, stated this on Friday while speaking with reporters in Abuja. The Senate has set October 13, 14 and 15 as the dates for screening of 21 ministerial nominees submitted to it by President Muhammadu Buhari. Enang, who was answering question on the demand of the Senate that ministerial nominees must submit certified true copy of their assets declaration forms, said the Senate is free to set its criteria for the screening of ministerial nominees appearing before it. He noted that the nominees are expected to comply with whatever standard, principles, measures, no...

We have received more petitions against Anmaechi's ministerial nomination - Dino

Image
Spokesperson of the senate, Dino Melaye, says the senate has received more petitions against Rotimi Amaechi's ministerial nomination asides the petition from Senators from Rivers state which was presented to the senate by Senator George Sekibo yesterday October 7th. "The petitions from the senators from Rivers state is not the only one that we have received. We will continue to receive petitions after the screening exercise"he said  Asked what the senate will do with the petitions presented, he said "The senate especially the 8th senate is a responsible senate and all the petitions will receive the attention of the senate. The senate president in his wisdom has refer this particular petition to the committee on Ethics and public petitions and I am sure it will be treated. All petitions will be looked into, will be investigated. The authenticity of the petitions will be investigated and and at the end of the day the conclusion will be drawn"

Those against Buhari’s ministerial position are crooks – Presidency

Image
The Presidency on Sunday said President Muhammadu Buhari had not broken any law by his decision to serve as the Minister of Petroleum Resources. Buhari had while granting interview last week during his visit to New York said he would head the ministry, saying he would only appoint a Minister of State to assist him. The decision has however attracted criticisms from some people who have argued that the nation’s constitution forbids a sitting President from holding another public office. Some industry experts also claim that the position of a minister will divert Buhari’s attention from his presidential duties and make him wield too much power. But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent, accused those he described as “briefcase-carrying crooks” as being behind the President’s criticism on the matter. Shehu said because the said crooks were aware that Buhari would...

Saraki unveils ministerial list, Lai Mohammed, Fashola, Ngige, Amaechi included

Image
Senate President Bukola Saraki this morning during the Senate's plenary session unveiled the names on the ministerial list sent in by President Buhari. Those on the list are: former Lagos state governor, Babatunde Fashola, Rotimi Amaechi, Kayode Fayemi, Chris Ngige, APC National publicity secretary Lai Mohammed, Senator Udo Udoma Udo, Abubakar Salami SAN, Ogbonna Onu, Aisha Alhassan, Abdulrahman Dambazzau, Kemi Adeosun, Adebayo Shittu, Solomon Dalong, Audu Ogbeh, Amina Ibrahim, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Suleiman Adamu,, Ibrahim Usman Jubril.

Screening of ministerial nominees will commence on October 13th

Image
Senate President Bukola Saraki says screening of all the 21 ministerial nominees will begin on Tuesday October 13th. See the full list of the nominees and their states of origin after the cut...   1.Chris Ngige - Anambra  2. Kayode Fayemi- Ekiti 3. Rotimi Amaechi - Rivers  4. Babatunde Fashola -Lagos  5. Abdulrahman Danbazau 6. Aisha Alhassan - Taraba  7. Ogbonaya Onu- Abia  8.Kemi Adeosun -Ogun  9. Abubakar Malami (SAN) -Kebbi  10. Sen Hadi Sirika –Katsina 11. Barr. Adebayo Shittu -Oyo  12. Suleiman Adam -Jigawa  13. Solomon Dalong -Plateau  14.Ibe Kachikwu-Delta  15. Osagie Ehanire -Edo  17.Audu Ogbeh - Benue 18. Lai Mohammed -Kwara  19. Ahmed Isa Ibeto -Niger  20.Amina Mohammed - Kaduna

2nd ministerial list: Oyinlola, Akeredolu, ex-UI VC on the card…as Buhari ponders over fresh nominees

Image
2nd ministerial list: Oyinlola, Akeredolu, ex-UI VC on the card…as Buhari ponders over fresh nominees Okorocha’s in law, Barth Nnaji, Odimegwu alsoBarely three days after submitting the list of the first set of ministerial nominees, President Muhammadu Buhari is weighing options on the next batch of nominees.Last minutes of intense horse-trading and lobbying are ongoing in the affected states. There were strong indications yesterday that the Presidency is shopping for a new Group Managing Director for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) following the nomination of the present holder, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu as a Minister-designate. The thinking of the presidency is that since Kachikwu will be the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, he cannot continue to be in charge of NNPC. It was learnt that President Buhari believes a Minister cannot be a regulator and an operator at the same time. Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the jostle for t...

BREAKING: EFCC seals Abuja home of former Nigerian minister, Alison-Madueke

Image
BREAKING: EFCC seals Abuja home of former Nigerian minister, Alison-Madueke Operatives of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have raided the Abuja home of a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, few hours after she was arrested in London. EFCC agents arrived Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s palatial home, located in upmarket Asokoro district of Abuja, and sealed the property Friday evening. Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke was on Friday arrested in London. The former minister, who was one of the most powerful officials of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, was arrested Friday morning alongside four other people by the UK National Crime Agency. The identities of the four other people arrested along with her could not be immediately ascertained. PREMIUM TIMES learnt she was arrested for offences related to bribery and corruption being investigated by the UK National Crime Agency. Two top British offici...

EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, arrested in London

Image
Ex-Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, arrested in London The immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, was on Friday arrested in London, PREMIUM TIMES can exclusively and authoritatively report. The former minister, who was one of the most powerful officials of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, was arrested Friday morning alongside four other people by the UK National Crime Agency. The identities of the four other people arrested along with her could not be immediately ascertained. PREMIUM TIMES learnt she was arrested for offences related to bribery and corruption being investigated by the UK National Crime Agency. Two top British officials in London have however confirmed the development to this newspaper. They requested not to be named because they had no permission to speak on the issue. The British High Commission in Nigeria confirmed that some arrests were made Friday but declined to disclose the identities of those invol...

What Buhari is bringing to the table as Oil minister- Femi Adesina

Image
What Buhari is bringing to the table as Oil minister- Femi Adesina Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina was a guest on AIT's programme Kakaaki yesterday October 1st where he spoke about Pres. Buhari's recent announcement that he will be overseeing the Ministry of Petroleum resources. According to Femi Adesina, Buhari will be bringing his track record of integrity and transparency while he served as Minister of Petroleum during Obasanjo's military administration in the 70s.Excerpts from the interview after the cut   "What would the President be bringing to the table, if he is going to supervise the petroleum ministry? He has been Minister of Petroleum for 31/2 years , that is a lot of experience. Those were years that things were done fairly properly in this country. There are things that never change in life. These include integrity, transparency, truth and responsibility. Those things never change and those are the things the P...

President Muhammadu Buhari’s 21 would-be ministers whose names he gave the Senate on Wednesday were unaware of their nominations, The Nation learnt yesterday.

Image
President Muhammadu Buhari’s 21 would-be ministers  whose names he gave the Senate on Wednesday were unaware of their nominations, The Nation learnt yesterday. The President neither met nor hinted any of the nominees of their appointments, it was learnt. After shortlisting those he needed, according to a source, Buhari directed security agencies to conduct discreet investigations into their records. Those closer to him were not exempted, the source said. The Presidency yesterday directed all the nominees to submit their curriculum vitae. In 14 states yesterday, there was anxiety because no  nominees were named. Some of the states are  Ondo, Kogi, Abia, Enugu and Imo. A source, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “Most of the nominees    announced on Wednesday were caught unawares because Buhari never sat any of them down or told them that they would be among his ministers. “Even though some of them had been coming to the Presi...

What Gordon Brown, Clinton, others told me about Buhari, by Obasanjo

Image
What Gordon Brown, Clinton, others told me about Buhari, by Obasanjo Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed the impression of some world leaders about President Muhammadu Buhari. The ex -President, who spoke with reporters at his Abeokuta home yesterday,  added that despite Nigeria’s “mistakes and missteps,” it is not doing badly at 55 as a nation. Obasanjo added that 55 years in the life of a nation was still relatively young and notwithstanding this, the country had managed to be dynamic and progressive. He said: “I heard some of the comments of those he (Buhari) met; the comment that probably will not come back to him. He met Clinton for almost one hour and President Clinton, when I joined him for his global initiative talked to me about the impression of our President, it was favourable. “Gordon Brown and I met him and we talked about issues. The few other leaders who met him gave me their impression and his debut so to say, it has be...

I can be successfully impeached if I interfere - Pres. Buhari speaks on Saraki's Trial

Image
President Buhari says he will not be interfering in the trial of the senate president Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal as he could be successfully impeached if he does so. According to him, the Nigerian constitution does not permit interference between the three arms of government, that is the Legislature, Judiciary and the Executive. Buhari said this in an interview with Sahara TV. "What has the president got to do with another person. The case is in court. Do Nigerians expect me to tell the chief justice to tell which ever court that they shouldn't try the senate president? Do Nigerians know about the constitution of their own country? The judiciary, the legislator and the executives have got their own roles within the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria? Then how do they expect me to interfere? I can be successfully impeached if I do it?" he said Asked how confident he is on the senate president just as 84 senators did two days, Buhari s...

10 major and important quotes of President Muhammadu Buhari’s independence day Speech.

Image
10 major and important quotes of President Muhammadu Buhari’s independence day Speech. 1. No temporary problems or passing challenges should stop us from honoring this day. Let us remind ourselves of the gifts God has given us. 2. We have all the attributes of a great nation. We are not there yet because the one commodity we have been unable to exploit to the fullest is unity of purpose. 3. That we have remained together is an achievement we should all appreciate and try to consolidate. 4. Whatever one’s views are, Nigerians must thank former President Jonathan for not digging-in in the face of defeat and thereby saving the country untold consequences. 5. I bear no ill will against anyone on past events. Nobody should fear anything from me. We are not after anyone. People should only fear the consequences of their actions. 6. Every new government inherits problems. Ours was no different. But what Nigerians want are solutions, quick solutions not a reci...