Minister Defends Buhari, Says Foreign Trips Not Frivolous

Since his inauguration into power, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has travelled to over seven countries including the United States of America, France, Iran, and some border African nations. Following these trips made by the president in his six months in office, many Nigerians have lamented that Buhari’s travels are frivolous. But the minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, said the trips by the president are critical to the implementation of government key policies to enhancing security, jump-starting the economy, creating jobs and fighting corruption. ”Nigerians, whether in the ruling or the opposition parties, have a right to ask questions about the activities of their President, but it is absolutely important that they do so from an informed, rather than partisan or sensational, standpoint,” Mohammed said. The minister also said that president Buhari’s trips are already yielding positive results especially in the fight against insurgency and corruption. He said: ”He was in Germany at the invitation of the G7 to solicit support from the Industrialized Nations for the war against terrorism. No one who has witnessed the killings and maiming in the past seven years by Boko Haram will call such trips frivolous. After all, the security and welfare of the citizens are the reason for the existence of any government. ”The President’s visit to South Africa was to attend the regular summit of the African Union; the trip to Ghana was aimed at fostering better relations with a brotherly country; the trip to India was for the India-Africa summit that provided the opportunity to explore ways of enhancing Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) from Indian investors, while the trip to Iran was to attend the forum of Gas Exporting Countries, a veritable platform for discussing how to better harness Nigeria’s abundant gas resources for industrial/domestic consumption and export, at a time of dwindling oil prices,” he said. He added that Buhari recently travelled to Malta to attend the commonwealth heads of government meeting and Paris for the United Nations conference on climate change. “The President’s second trip to South Africa since assuming office is for the China-Africa forum. On the few occasions that the President has embarked on a State Visit, he has tied that to an agenda that will further the quest for support for the war against terror and the efforts to enhance FDIs, thus stimulating economic growth and creating jobs,” he said. Mohammed called on Nigerians to leverage on the president’s a high integrity quotient and an embodiment of committed and dedicated leadership to move Nigeria further in relevance and visibility on the global stage. ”President Buhari is well respected on the global stage for his high integrity, his transparency, his patriotism and his purposeful leadership. It is important to leverage this respect in such a way that Nigeria can become a major player, either in the realms of economy or global diplomacy,” he said. He also added that Buhari embarked on all the trips on a low cost budget by cutting his delegations to numbers far below what his predecessors used to travel with. He said the president also trimmed his entourage while reducing allowances on the occasions that the host governments have provided accommodation and feeding.

Twin Bomb Blasts Rocks Borno State

Two bomb blasts has reportedly occurred in Kimba area of Biu local government area (LGA) and Sabon-Ngeri area of Borno state on Friday, December 4. The numbers of causalities is unknown at the time of filing this report. This attack is coming a week after a female suicide bomber detonated her Improvised Explosive Device (IED) along Maiduguri-Mafa road in the state, killing eleven people in the process. The incident was perpetrated by the bomber whom sources say should be in her 20s. She detonated a bomb at a crowded area, killing herself and 10 others

Boko Haram: Army Raids Sambisa Tunnel

The Nigerian army has gained another victory over the dreaded Boko Haram sect, as troops raided Sambisa tunnel in their advance towards the sect’s main camp. Troops raided Sambisa forest, and discovered on of the Islamist’s main hideouts. According to Daily Post, the troops in their encounter freed many hostages and dislodged some Boko Haram insurgents. READ ALSO: Biafra Agitation: Northern Governors Caution Agitators Sources from the army said the Boko Haram fighters cannot escape into towns as there are many check points at all Sambisa exits and entry routes. The sources disclose that the Sambisa tunnel which was discovered is a hideout for the jihadists during military air strikes. Boko Haram flags, motorcycles, among other properties were destroyed in the raid and some hostages were allegedly freed. Below are images from the raid as obtained on Thursday, December 3.

Boko Haram Will Be Ousted By December - Defence Minister

Brigadier- General (rtd) Mansur Mohammed Dan-Ali, Nigeria’s defence minister, has said Boko Haram will be defeated by President Muhammadu Buhari’s deadline in December. Dan-Ali made this disclosure on Monday, November 30, during a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Appropriation to consider the request of President Muhammadu Buhari for a N465 billion supplementary budget. The defence minister assured the Danjuma Goje-led Senate committee that budgetary allocation to the ministry will be utilised to achieve the stipulated deadline. He said: “We are going to ensure that the budgetary allocation given to us as Ministry of Defence is utilised to get the maximum eradication of insurgency in our territory. “Insurgency is not something that can be removed within a day. All we are saying is that we will ensure that maximum security will be achieved within the time frame given to us,” Dan-Ali noted. In its continuous clamp down on the activities of the jihadist group, the Nigerian army foiled attacks by the sect in Lagos and arrested very prominent members. The members of the Islamist group caught in Lagos are reported to be those fleeing the onslaught in Borno state.

Nwabueze Calls For Calm, Blames Protests On Bad Leaders

A call has gone out to pro-Biafra group under the auspice of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) to reconsider their renewed calls for secession. biafra i Pro-Biafra Protesters file photos This plea was made by a constitutional lawyer and chairman of The Patriots, Professor Ben Nwabueze (SAN) Monday, November 30 in Lagos state. According to Vangaurd reports, Nwabueze blamed bad leadership in the country for this the new wave of protest for Biafra stating that the solution to the problem does not lie in secession. The legal luminary also added that sending the protesters to prison is either the solution. He hinged the cause for the new protest to what he termed as injustice melted out to the people of the southeast of the country f by the administration of President Muhamamdu Buhari for the renewed agitation for Biafra. Nwabueze said: “How can Nigeria with the kind of experience we had under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, elect another military commander and former head of the Federal Military Government as President. It doesn’t make sense. Have we ever sat down to reflect on this. It’s amnesia. Nigerians suffer from amnesia, loss of memory. We don’t have memory of the past. It’s possible the amnesia will repeat itself again after eight years, because President Muhammadu Buhari will go on for another eight years, and another military man will emerge and Nigerians will elect him. “What we are experiencing now under the current administration shows you that our problem has been leadership. What Nigeria needs is a leader who will guide this country as one, and not one Northern Nigeria. “Nigeria needs a leader who will regard all the ethnic groups as his constituency. We have 389 ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. How do you coalesce them into one. That’s what is called the national question, which is more challenging than corruption. Who can do it? It’s not impossible. I believe that it can be done. But not under the present process, where somebody with the kind of Buhari’s background and credentials could be elected and get imposed on Nigerians through this so-called electoral process.” He opined that Biafra is never the solution to the poor of Igbo saying that they have tried fighting for Biafra and failed. He warned that the continued protests by the Igbo might led to mass killing because the people of southeast are scatter all over the country. “Between 1967 to 1970, when the war ended, millions of Igbos were killed. Is that what we want again? What did we achieve by that war? did we achieve Biafra? We didn’t. Is there any basis to think that it can be realised this time? Are we more prepared for it now than we were in 1967. Certainly not, we aren’t prepared for it,” the Igbo leader said.

European Newspaper Sheds Light On Biafra

While the international media have been largely silent on the pro-Biafra agitation that is currently unfolding in Nigeria, a popular British periodical the Economist has finally gathered some facts about the Republic of Biafra to plunge into the depth of its unique history. Go your own way Half a century after the war, angry Biafrans are agitating again Most Nigerians do not remember their country’s civil war. A large majority were born years after the 30-month fight between Nigeria and the breakaway region of Biafra, which ended when the secessionists surrendered in 1970.Yet over the past month independence protests have erupted in cities across the south-east, where the self-declared state once was. Agitators say that this time they will not be beaten. “Biafra is a country to be restored,” declares one of them. “We are determined to fight to the end.” This is a concern for Nigeria’s new government. Secessionist organisations in Biafra have been agitating for years, but analysts reckon the scale of the current marches is unprecedented. Superficially, they were sparked by the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, the outspoken head of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, and director of Radio Biafra, a pirate station. But the grievances run deep. Nigeria did not exist until British colonialists drew a line around hundreds of fractious ethnic groups dominated by the Igbo in the east, the Yoruba in the west, and the Hausa-Fulani in the north. The country’s regions have jostled for power ever since. Predominantly Igbo protesters have not forgotten that tens of thousands of their people were killed before Biafra unilaterally declared independence in 1967. Between 1m and 3m people died during the war, many as the rebel territory was starved into defeat. In the 45 years since the war ended, they feel they have been blocked from senior political posts, denied public services, and impoverished by a post-war programme that they say auctioned off their houses and returned just £20 ($320, in today’s money) to them. In the presidential election in March most south-easterners voted for the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, who comes from their region. He lost to Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim from the north. “#NigeriaWillRot”, Mr Kanu’s radio station declared after the results were announced. More details at the Economist.

Kogi Poll: INEC Confirms Bello As Replacement For Audu

After Days of in-fighting and raising of dusts between the running mate of the late Abubakr Audu, James Faleke and Yahaya Bello, on who will replace Audu, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed request made by the All Progressives Congress for the nomination of Bello for the supplementary election in Kogi state.Bello will be flying the APC flag in the December 5 rerun election after the party has settled for him as the suitable replacement for its late candidate, The Nation reports. This confirmation was made by the INEC deputy director in charge of publicity, Nick Dazang. READ ALSO: Kogi Governorship Election: The Unending Conundrum Of Audu’s Death Dazang said: “They have sent the name of their replacement candidate, the second runner-up in their primaries that is Yahaya Bello, to the commission.” The INEC spokesman did not state when the request was made for the substitution of the name of Bello as it standard flag bearer. He stated that the electoral body is poised to conduct the Kogi supplementary and Bayelsa gubernatorial elections on Saturday, December 5.“The commission is committed to conduct the two elections, that is why in respect of kogi, despite what happened, we came out with public notice inviting the APC to submit its replacement candidate for the election,” Dazang explained. Meanwhile, earlier today, November 30, there reports of clashes between the supporters of Bello and Faleke as speculation was rift that the former might be picked as the APC governorship candidate for the forthcoming Kogi state supplementary polls.

Goodluck Jonathan, the immediate past president of Nigeria, has narrowly escaped the death in Bayelsa state today, November 30. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Suspects-300x169 Suspects Some suspected men accused of working for the All Progressives Congress in the state drove into Jonathan’s convey. The militants, who stopped and drove into a short motorcade transporting the former leader of the nation from the Julius Berger bridge area of the state capital Yenagoa, trailed and chased the motorcade to the entrance of the private house of Jonathan in the Kpansia area of the town, before they were crushed and detained by a combined team of security operatives attached to the ex-president. READ ALSO: I Have Served And I Think It’s Enough – Jonathan Members of the arrested band have been taken to the Bayelsa state police command for further investigation and interrogation. Last year Jonathan and some top government officials escaped an air crash at the Minna Airport, when a presidential jet developed a technical fault, while they were aboard. Another accident with former president happened at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony in Abuja as one of the soldiers in the firing party mistakenly pointed his rifle at GEJ’s direction. Goodluck Jonathan was serving as president from 2010 till 2015. In March presidential poll he was defeated by Muhammadu Buhari.

The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has revealed that the allowances of President Buhari, Vice-president Osinbajo and other political office holders will be reduced.Nigerian Tribune reports that the RMAFC, in line with the economic reality of the country, will reduce the take-home of the political office holders in the new remuneration package which would be introduced soon. The chairman of the commission, Elias Mbam, made this known at a valedictory press briefing to mark the end of his five-year tenure as the chairman of the commission. Mbam said that the commission has been using the 2008 remuneration package for seven years during which there had been several changes in the socio-economic indices of the country. READ ALSO: REVEALED: How Much Buhari’s Ministers Will Earn Yearly He went further to say that the RMAFC has commenced the process of reviewing of the 2008 remuneration package at the beginning of 2015, a step which is the sole aim of the existence of the commission. He however noted that the new remuneration package slash did not concern the basic salary. Mbam said that the commission had submitted documents to effect the allowance reduction documents to the presidency since 2014, adding that the process was ongoing. Recall that after being elected as the leaders of the nation President Buhari said he and his vice, Yemi Osinbajo would take only half of the salary paid to former head of state Goodluck Jonathan. Just recently, Shehu Garba, the presidential media aide, debunked rumours that Muhammadu Buhari didn’t accept any adjustment in the salary and allowances of ministers of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Jonathan Narrowly Escapes Death In Bayelsa

Goodluck Jonathan, the immediate past president of Nigeria, has narrowly escaped the death in Bayelsa state today, November 30. Suspects-300x169 Suspects Some suspected men accused of working for the All Progressives Congress in the state drove into Jonathan’s convey. The militants, who stopped and drove into a short motorcade transporting the former leader of the nation from the Julius Berger bridge area of the state capital Yenagoa, trailed and chased the motorcade to the entrance of the private house of Jonathan in the Kpansia area of the town, before they were crushed and detained by a combined team of security operatives attached to the ex-president. Members of the arrested band have been taken to the Bayelsa state police command for further investigation and interrogation. Last year Jonathan and some top government officials escaped an air crash at the Minna Airport, when a presidential jet developed a technical fault, while they were aboard. Another accident with former president happened at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony in Abuja as one of the soldiers in the firing party mistakenly pointed his rifle at GEJ’s direction. Goodluck Jonathan was serving as president from 2010 till 2015. In March presidential poll he was defeated by Muhammadu Buhari.