Former governor of Niger State, Engineer Abdulkhadir Abdullahi Kure has been announced dead at the age of 50 in Germany. He had earlier been flown to that country about three weeks ago for medical attention.
The Chief Press Secretary to the former Governor, Alhaji Mahmud Abdullahi confirmed his death and said that arrangement is being made by the family to bring the remains of the former governor to the country for burial.
Abdulkhadir Kure was born on February 26, 1956. He was the Director of Engineering Services in the Federal Capital Territory before joining politics .
Late Kure was a foundation member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and became its governor in Niger State for two terms, 1999-2011.
After leaving office former governor Kure became a member of the Board of Trustees of the party.
Late Abdulkhadir Kure was a member of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the PDP.
A devastated state chairman of the PDP Alhaji Tanko Beji described the incident “as sad” adding that “we cannot query God,”
Tanko Beji said the late Governor had contributed immensely to the socio -political development of Niger state and Nigeria as a whole
“He has left an indelible mark on the sand of times ,may his soul rest in peace”.
Meanwhile, the former Nigerian Military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has said that the sudden death of former Governor of Niger State, Abdulkadir Abdullahi Kure came to him as a great shock.
Babangida in a condolence to the family of the deceased, Government and people of Niger, said that as a believer, “All souls must taste dead’ sooner or later. My amiable friend and companion is gone. We that were left behind are on transit sooner or later, we will go.”
He prayed for Allah’s mercy and forgiveness for the late Abdulkadir Kure and urged the family, people of Niger and Nigeria at large to take heart. This was even as the State government has declared three-day mourning for the former governor. In a statement by the Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Jonathan Vatsa, in Minna on Sunday night, the state government said that all flags should be flown at half mast throughout the state during the mourning period.
According to the commissioner, Governor Abubakar Bello has also declared a work free day on the day of the burial of the former governor to enable all Niger residents accord the departed leader a befitting burial.
“Engineer Abdulkadir Abdullahi Kure remains a leader who out of office showed concern for the development of the state. His statesmanship saw him jettisoning party affiliation when he personally intervened in the recent labour crisis in the state.” [myad]
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari completed 19 months in office at the end of December. Except for this period being the end of a year and the beginning of another one, it is not a milestone of spectacular importance.
It is, nonetheless, another opportunity to reiterate the Buhari success story, a period in which so much changed. This is even as the beneficiaries of the old order seem even more determined to dislodge that narrative of success.
Here, we are in a country in which an essayist with excellent online credentials writes a syndicated weekly column in which he attacks our minister of Finance, Ms Kemi ADeosun who keeps a clean sheet, not for the work she did for the country but for having graduated from a U.K Polytechnic. But pray, would you rather have as your money keeper an Ivory Leaguer, even though clean by himself/herself that allows a free-for-all looting under his/her watch, or one that is a product of a polytechnic but keeps you money safe?
President Buhari swore to his oath of office on May 29th, 2015 on a promise to tackle insecurity and corruption; to arrest the decline of the economy with a pledge to create jobs and diversify the monocultural economy. These three big, bold ideas warranted the CHANGE in 2015 and the President never loses sight of them.
The most important of the challenges faced by the administration in 2016 were mainly caused by weak revenues.
Oil lost more than 60 percent of its value in the world market and output was severely curtailed by pipeline bombings in the Niger Delta, reducing production by, sometime as much as 50 percent.
Budget for the year 2016 was caught in a serious of disputes between the executive and the Legislative arms of the government following the uncovering of a huge scam through which the allocations to the various ministries were padded with sums that the executive did not ask for.
When the budget was eventually passed and signed, cash backing for capital projects approved for the year came only in the second half of the year. This notwithstanding, the Government pumped an unprecedented N800 billion into the economy for the financing capital projects to lift the country out of recession.
To everyone’s great relief, security in the country improved significantly but that too came with a number of challenges. Vast areas of the country in the Northeast were freed from Boko Haram terrorists and that opened up the humanitarian situation for the world to see: Two million people displaced from their communities faced imminent hunger. On record, we had eradicated the Polio disease, just awaiting certification. With the discovery of new, even though a few cases, Nigeria which was the second of three countries still in the Polio black book suddenly realized that there was more work to do.
The country has been celebrating the “defeat of the Boko Haram” which was officially proclaimed by the office of the Chief of Defense Staff. President Buhari has expressed his pride on the Army’s bravery. But Nigeria won this war on the back of a leadership that is strong and decisive; a President that believes that it is important to end terror for peace, which is a prerequisite for development, to be established.
Given his strong will to win the war, he explored all the ways and means available to the government to ensure that weapons procurement and supplies did not suffer a breakdown. He released the two newest helicopters in the Presidential fleet to the Airforce to strengthen their capacity for air combat and asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC to release theirs to the military as well. The Nigerian Airforce must be given credit for the successful conversion of the civilian aircraft to military uses at home here in Nigeria without any foreign technical assistance.
The problem of cattle rustling was prevalent in the North Central and Northwestern States in the first half of the year. There has been a noticeable slump in these activities in the last six months. As can be seen, relative peace has returned to Benue, Plateau, Enugu in the Southeast although Zamfara and Kaduna States still remain flashpoints.
With recent measures put in place by the Police and the Military, as well as the peacemaking efforts by the governments of both states, it is hoped that this too will fade.
For the first time in many years, Christmas and New Year came and passed without a noticeable escalation of armed robbery and kidnapping in the southeast and all over Nigeria. There was a seamless supply of petroleum products throughout the country. Similarly, road accidents were minimal following intensive exercises by the Federal Road Safety Commission.
Equally important for the country’s security is the ongoing direct and indirect discussions between the Government and the oil producing communities in the Niger Delta. There is still more to accomplish in this regard but the decision of the federal government to resume the Amnesty Program and the involvement of community leaders in the region towards disarmament of the militants continue to be of help. The President is determined to see that whatever promises were contained in that agreement are carried out to the latter.
The Buhari administration has been successful in averting public uprising in states following the issuance of bailout funds to attack the problem of unpaid salaries. Salary payments are important to the economy of the states and without this, it is hard to see such economies will keep moving.
In the year 2016, the success of important economic policy decisions of the government began to manifest through the diversification and inclusiveness of the people in the economy.
There is huge boom in the rural economy mainly following good rains in the year and the government’s increasing role in quality control through extension services. It is equally important in this regard that there are willing off takers of farm products.
Agriculture failed to thrive in the past in the country because farmers were left to the vicissitudes of the market. One of the policies of the Central Bank to manage scarce foreign exchange include the restriction of currency supplies to important sectors that assist manufacturing and jobs creation. It is a systematic move to curb the importation of unnecessary goods, to serve as a boost to local production.
Anyone paying attention to the agricultural activity going on in some states in the list of rice growers Ebonyi, Kebbi, Jigawa knows that economic diversification is taking a serious root.
Businessday reported that there was a record 48,000 new millionaires last year in Kebbi State alone. This diversification is greatly being aided by forward-looking companies that are backward-integrating. The brewers and other manufacturers of consumables such Dangote, Nestle and Unilever are aiding the economic transformation by changing many of their formulations to integrate local content.
As part of the goal of promoting home made goods, all cars and trucks bought by government as approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2016 were supplied by local vehicle assembly plants.
The Power Sector which is yet another priority for the administration has made significant advances. But for the pipeline vandalism that has deprived many of the plants of gas, the country’s output would have moved up to 6,400 MW.
Government is also showing the seriousness of a responsible consumer by making a huge provision in the 2017 budget for the settlement of debts owed to power distribution companies.
The Minister has been doing a lot towards diversification of power sources, talking about an energy mix that incorporates biomass, solar and increased water sources. A lot of ground has been covered towards the realization of the Mambila, 4,000 MW power plant. The highest funds allocation in 2016 went to the roads construction sector because government wanted contractors to return to site and recall staff they had laid off.
Roads and bridges such as Lagos-Ibadan and the East-West expressways which have perennially existed as uncompleted projects are being brought up to completion levels as a matter of priority. The 2nd Niger bridge which has been used to fool the people in the past is beginning to see action. Ghost contracts such as the Kano-Katsina dual carriage way are having life breathed into them.
In the war against corruption, new heights have been reached with the announcement of the whistle blower protection policy. The President has also ordered that the limelight be shone on leaders around him that have been accused of corruption.
The biggest takeaways in the last twelve months are introduction of the whistleblower program which, by the way has received so much welcome from Nigerians that the website hosted by the Ministry of Finance crashed in few days of its announcement. A finder’s fee of between one to five percent is being offered for whistle blowing that leads to assets and funds recovery. As you go around Abuja, you are likely to come across government ministries or departments moving out of rented accommodations, settling into buildings seized by the EFCC. The albatross of the war against corruption has been the slow Legal-judicial process. Some of the pending cases go back to the Obasanjo era. That’s a decade ago. This is something about which the President is limited in what he can do by the constitution. He will, in that regard, continue to respect the doctrine of the separation of powers as enshrined in our laws.
The program of social investment, our own version of the social security kicked off after delays occasioned by weak revenues that characterized 2016. The administration has started the payment of N5, 000 monthly stipends to the poorest and the most vulnerable in the country through the Conditional Cash Transfer.
The administration is already implementing Micro-Credit Scheme borrowing for about 1.2m.
All those that completed documentation among the two hundred thousand graduates listed of the intended 500,000 N-Power jobs have now started receiving their N30, 000 monthly stipends.
On the International front, the president continues to focus on issues of security, economic collaboration and trade.
He has spent a lot of quality time reaching out to regional blocks on the continent, with ECOWAS states, East Africa, North Africa and the South of the continent as well.
He has done very well with China, European Union countries, the U.K and the US.
In dealing with the EU, particularly France, Italy and Germany, a lot has been achieved on the issues of security and immigration. Italy and Germany are training our police and immigration officials. They are also giving skills training to our citizens who entered their countries illegally before their deportation. That way, they can have work to do here on their return. Without France, it is difficult to see how Nigeria surrounded by Francophone countries can achieve anything. President Buhari continues to improve his personal and official relationships with French leaders. U.S banks and lending institutions are giving money to Nigerian banks and other businesses entities. There is also a growing relationship with U.S.-based IT companies as witnessed by the visits by the CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg and the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates.
With China, the administration looked at the past and the present to build and strengthen existing relationships. As a consequence, Zungeru power plant will soon be delivered. After a careful scrutiny of the fine prints, the costs of Chinese rail and airport projects in Nigeria have come down.
In the year 2016, the President in his foreign policy looked beyond our traditional partners to undertake visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, UAE as well as Iran. With Morocco, we just came out of very successful bilateral negotiations that will lead to the establishment of the dream pipeline to transport gas from Niger Delta to European outlets. There will be the manufacture, here in Nigeria through this agreement, of one million tons of fertilizer by the next planting season and four million tons per annum three years ahead when Dangote starts his own fertilizer plant in collaboration with the Moroccans.
We are signing bilateral agreements leading to the creation of frameworks for friendship and improved ties around the world.
In a country of high oil revenues, citizens had developed brutally ostentatious life styles and consumption patterns. Assumptions were made by all of us that we could afford foreign brands from school uniform, rice and tissue paper. The fall of oil revenues means that we have to look inwards and diversify. This is proving to be very helpful.
The Government’s tough attitude towards corruption means that there are no sacred cows in the fight against corruption. Savings are being made from renegotiated contracts and continuous auditing of the payroll. The whistleblower program in effect means that government has handed the baton of the war against corruption to the citizens. It is exciting seeing how enthusiastically the public has responded. This will change many things in the country.
Government is succeeding in its primary duty of protecting life and property as can be seen from the noticeable slump of Boko Haram terrorism and the gradual return of normalcy to states in the North central zone.
The New Year 2017 has been described as the year in which the major policies of the APC administration will show results in full. President Buhari who is not a man of many words will speak through his actions. No one who messes with the President’s 2017 budget can stand his fury. It is a warning he has given. Let’s watch as the year unfolds. [myad]
The Turkish government is set to revoke the citizenship of critics who fled abroad under state of emergency decrees issued on Friday night.
The new decrees, numbered 679, 680 and 681, authorize the Turkish Cabinet to revoke the citizenship of people under investigation but who remain abroad if they fail to respond to a summons to return to Turkey within three months.
According to government decree No. 680, individuals who are facing administrative or judicial investigation or prosecution over charges of “crimes against the government,” “armed rebellion against the government,” “armed attack and assassination of the president” or “membership in an armed terror organization” will be summoned by prosecutors to testify. If they cannot be reached and understood to be abroad, the public prosecutor will refer the case to the Justice Ministry within a month.
The Justice Ministry will then issue a “return home” notice in the Official Gazette for those who are overseas. If they don’t respond to the call within three months, their citizenship will be revoked by Cabinet decision upon a proposal from the Justice Ministry.
Thousands of people, critical of the government or sympathizers of the faith-based Gülen movement, fled Turkey following a failed coup attempt on July 15, immediately after which the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement, a global civil society movement inspired by the views of the US-based Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen.
The AKP government, under emergency rule, has taken over hundreds companies, seized the assets of businessmen and shut down institutions linked to the movement.
Despite the fact that Gülen denied the accusation and called for an international investigation into the coup attempt, President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the Turkish government launched a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
More than 115,000 have been sacked from state institutions, nearly 83,000 detained and over 41,000 arrested by Turkish authorities on charges of links to the Gülen movement and the failed coup. [myad]
A multinational Global Satellite Mobile services (GSM) provider, the MTN Communications Limited has been accused of involving in an N8 billion unlawful activities, leading to a Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos ordering the seizure of the money.
The court asked the South African communication giant to surrender the said amount which it lodged in account number 0012005379 domicile in Ecobank Nigeria Plc to the Federal Government.
The trial judge in the matter, Judge Abdulaziz Anka also ordered another account number 1013607079 containing billions of Naira, domicile in Skye Bank and whose owner has not filed any paper before the court, to contest ownership, to be forfeited to go the Federal Government. details later. [myad]
The world football governing body, FIFA has stopped the annual $ 1.5 million development grant to Nigeria after discovering “traces of corruption” on how the previous funds were spent by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
AfricanFootball.com reports that FIFA had also issued the NFF a final warning “to straighten its financial records.”
The Nigerian government is now expected to quickly step into this latest development after Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, first expressed serious misgivings on the back of a FIFA query on how NFF used grants paid the federation.
NFF this week received the FIFA letter signed from the office in charge of the national associations.
FIFA member-associations including Nigeria, began to receive increased annual grants under new president Gianni Infantino.
Previously, the associations were paid $250,000 per annum.
But this has since been increased to between $1.2 million and $1.5 million to each FA. [myad]
The Nigeria minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has announced of the plans by the government of Muuhammadu Buhari to establish Aviation University to promote research, development and production of higher level management manpower for the industry.
The minister, who spoke to news men shortly after a familiarization tour of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria, Kaduna State, said: “the aviation university will be different from NCAT, the university will be fully into research and development and production of higher level management manpower need of the industry.
“The university will go into deep research, with the hope that in the near future, we will be able to manufacture aircraft components, until when we are able to produce the aircraft itself.
“Since the technology is available around the world, is no longer a hindrance, it is our own ability and capability to pursue it.”
The minister cited the example of countries like Brazil and India, which produce aircraft, saying: “if such countries could do it, why not Nigeria.
“The technology is known, we are not reinventing it, we just put our act together in doing it. So, the university will cater for that, while NCAT will continue to provide the services in the institute.”
Hadi Sirika said that the decentralization of NCAT by the previous administration would make the college less-efficient and less-capable to do what it was set out to do.
“Remember, it was the UNDP that partnered with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Nigerian government to produce this institution.
“And it is one of its kind, so why are going to reduce its capacity and capability?. Our own task is to improve, enhance and upgrade the capacity and ability of the college to do more.
“But if somebody feels that he has funds to go and establish a facility somewhere to do some kind of training, of course, we will support him.”
The minister appreciated the efforts of the college staff for providing adequate training, even as he seeks more support from government to pave way for its further improvement.
Earlier, the Rector of the College, Capt. Samuel Caulcrick, said the college was the bedrock of aviation industry because the industry was highly regulated and dynamic.
He enumerated some challenges of the college to include funding and obsolete facilities which worked against its rapid growth.
The rector said NCAT had many uncompleted projects that needed to be looked into to enable it achieved the desired goals.
Caulcrick commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his genuine efforts to make the college one of the best not only in Africa, but the world at large. [myad]
The new President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has declared that after 60 years of nationhood, “we no longer have any excuses for being poor.”
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was sworn-in today, Saturday, as the 5th President of the 4th Republic, by the Chief Justice, Theodora Georgina Wood before thousands of people and African leaders at the Black Stars square said that he would harness the talents, energy, sense of enterprise and innovation of the Ghanaian to take the country to greater height.
The President, who is a candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), defeated the then incumbent, John Dramani Mahama in an election conducted a couple of months ago.
President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stressed that the nationalists who witnessed Ghana’s first steps as an independent nation would be disappointed if they came today and saw the level of development that had been achieved in 60 years of independence.
He is therefore proud that Ghana has performed more creditably in the 24 years of the fourth Republic and witnessed a consistent period of development.
President Akufo-Addo said that he remained humbled by the opportunity offered for him to lead the country to a higher level of development, adding “we have an exuberant and young growing population that wants the best of what the world has to offer, and will not settle for third world and developing world standards. We have an adventurous people who are in a hurry for success.
“I am determined to do all in my power to accomplish the task of the mandate and justify their confidence. I will not let you, the people of Ghana, down.” [myad]
Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye has made it clear that he had not resigned as the General Overseer, Worldwide of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).
A statement signed by his last son and Personal Assistant, Leke Adeboye, quoted Pastor Adeboye as explaining that what happened was that he handed over the Nigeria’s branch of the church.
Pastor Adeboye announced at the Annual Ministers Thanksgiving held at the redemption camp on Saturday that the Church in Nigeria is now to be led by Pastor Joseph Obayemi, but the social media went to town to say that he (Adeboye) had resigned from the church completely.
He said that the latest development is sequel to the new legal requirements set up by the Financial Regulations Council of Nigeria (FRCN) guiding all registered churches, mosques, and CSOs.
The regulation, he said, stipulates that heads of nonprofit organizations like churches now have a maximum period of twenty years to lead their organizations while in retirement and that they are not permitted to hand over to their families.
Adeboye said that Pastor Funsho Odesola, will now serve as the new Church Secretary while Pastor Joseph Adeyokunu, is the new Church Treasurer.
He advised all members of RCCG to understand this new structure and go about their service to God and humanity in holiness and soul winning.
He also appealed to members to educate people around them and not spread inaccurate information. [myad]
The Manchester United, today, Saturday, has walloped the Reading four goals to nothing, in a match played at Old Trafford in Manchester, North West England, with striker Wayne Rooney opening scoring.
Rooney, 31, now needs just seven minutes to equal the record, established in March 1973, with the ball looping in off his right knee from Juan Mata’s cross.
Anthony Martial made it 2-0 after 15 minutes before Marcus Rashford made the game safe with a late brace.
As expected, United manager, Mourinho rang the changes, making nine alterations from Monday’s 2-0 victory at West Ham United, with Marcos Rojo and Michael Carrick the lone survivors.
Reading manager, Stam established a reputation as a fearless defender at United between 1998 and 2001, but the warm welcome he received on his return ended at kick-off.
Rashford broke onto a Rooney flick after just 36 seconds to bear down on Reading goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, but bent his shot wide trying to find the corner of the net.
Rooney’s breakthrough came when Martial ghosted past Chris Gunter on the left and slipped the ball inside to Mata, whose cross was guided past Al Habsi by the United captain.
Inspired by their lively captain, the hosts continued to stretch their Championship visitors, with Martial curling into the grateful arms of Al Habsi.
Rooney was heavily involved as United made it 2-0.
This time he played a one-two to put in Martial in the inside-left channel and the youngster casually curled the ball through Liam Moore’s legs and into the bottom-right corner. [myad]
Daughter of late Adamu Atta, form civilian governor of old Kwara State, Nigerian, in the person of Ms. Saratu Atta, has been appointed by the new President of Ghana, Nana Akufo Addo as Personal Assistant.
President Nana Akufo Addo announced the appointment of Saratu Atta, who was one time wife of the former Nigeria Aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, two days ago.
Saratu Atta, who was born 53 years ago, is a graduate of the University of Warwick, UK, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and International Studies after which she worked as a Securities Trader at First Securities Discount House in Lagos, Nigeria from 1993 to1997.
Saratu Atta established her own security printing company in Lagos before she was appointed as Ghana’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) Campaign Secretary in 2008. She has been Office Manager and Executive Assistant to Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo Addo who contested the presidential election on NPP’s ticket since 2009.
The new Personal Assistant to Ghana’s President married Fani-Kayode in 1987 and bore him a female and her only child named Folake in the same year. They parted ways around 1989 when Mr. Fani-Kayode found a new wife, Yemisi Wada.
Saratu Atta’s older Sister, Remi was also said to have once married to Nana Akufo-Addo.
The Ghanaian president and Remi were married for 10 years and spent most of their time together in Paris before returning to Accra where they later divorced after two children together. [myad]
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President Buhari’s Strides In The New Year, By Garba Shehu
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari completed 19 months in office at the end of December. Except for this period being the end of a year and the beginning of another one, it is not a milestone of spectacular importance.
It is, nonetheless, another opportunity to reiterate the Buhari success story, a period in which so much changed. This is even as the beneficiaries of the old order seem even more determined to dislodge that narrative of success.
Here, we are in a country in which an essayist with excellent online credentials writes a syndicated weekly column in which he attacks our minister of Finance, Ms Kemi ADeosun who keeps a clean sheet, not for the work she did for the country but for having graduated from a U.K Polytechnic. But pray, would you rather have as your money keeper an Ivory Leaguer, even though clean by himself/herself that allows a free-for-all looting under his/her watch, or one that is a product of a polytechnic but keeps you money safe?
President Buhari swore to his oath of office on May 29th, 2015 on a promise to tackle insecurity and corruption; to arrest the decline of the economy with a pledge to create jobs and diversify the monocultural economy. These three big, bold ideas warranted the CHANGE in 2015 and the President never loses sight of them.
The most important of the challenges faced by the administration in 2016 were mainly caused by weak revenues.
Oil lost more than 60 percent of its value in the world market and output was severely curtailed by pipeline bombings in the Niger Delta, reducing production by, sometime as much as 50 percent.
Budget for the year 2016 was caught in a serious of disputes between the executive and the Legislative arms of the government following the uncovering of a huge scam through which the allocations to the various ministries were padded with sums that the executive did not ask for.
When the budget was eventually passed and signed, cash backing for capital projects approved for the year came only in the second half of the year. This notwithstanding, the Government pumped an unprecedented N800 billion into the economy for the financing capital projects to lift the country out of recession.
To everyone’s great relief, security in the country improved significantly but that too came with a number of challenges. Vast areas of the country in the Northeast were freed from Boko Haram terrorists and that opened up the humanitarian situation for the world to see: Two million people displaced from their communities faced imminent hunger. On record, we had eradicated the Polio disease, just awaiting certification. With the discovery of new, even though a few cases, Nigeria which was the second of three countries still in the Polio black book suddenly realized that there was more work to do.
The country has been celebrating the “defeat of the Boko Haram” which was officially proclaimed by the office of the Chief of Defense Staff. President Buhari has expressed his pride on the Army’s bravery. But Nigeria won this war on the back of a leadership that is strong and decisive; a President that believes that it is important to end terror for peace, which is a prerequisite for development, to be established.
Given his strong will to win the war, he explored all the ways and means available to the government to ensure that weapons procurement and supplies did not suffer a breakdown. He released the two newest helicopters in the Presidential fleet to the Airforce to strengthen their capacity for air combat and asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC to release theirs to the military as well. The Nigerian Airforce must be given credit for the successful conversion of the civilian aircraft to military uses at home here in Nigeria without any foreign technical assistance.
The problem of cattle rustling was prevalent in the North Central and Northwestern States in the first half of the year. There has been a noticeable slump in these activities in the last six months. As can be seen, relative peace has returned to Benue, Plateau, Enugu in the Southeast although Zamfara and Kaduna States still remain flashpoints.
With recent measures put in place by the Police and the Military, as well as the peacemaking efforts by the governments of both states, it is hoped that this too will fade.
For the first time in many years, Christmas and New Year came and passed without a noticeable escalation of armed robbery and kidnapping in the southeast and all over Nigeria. There was a seamless supply of petroleum products throughout the country. Similarly, road accidents were minimal following intensive exercises by the Federal Road Safety Commission.
Equally important for the country’s security is the ongoing direct and indirect discussions between the Government and the oil producing communities in the Niger Delta. There is still more to accomplish in this regard but the decision of the federal government to resume the Amnesty Program and the involvement of community leaders in the region towards disarmament of the militants continue to be of help. The President is determined to see that whatever promises were contained in that agreement are carried out to the latter.
The Buhari administration has been successful in averting public uprising in states following the issuance of bailout funds to attack the problem of unpaid salaries. Salary payments are important to the economy of the states and without this, it is hard to see such economies will keep moving.
In the year 2016, the success of important economic policy decisions of the government began to manifest through the diversification and inclusiveness of the people in the economy.
There is huge boom in the rural economy mainly following good rains in the year and the government’s increasing role in quality control through extension services. It is equally important in this regard that there are willing off takers of farm products.
Agriculture failed to thrive in the past in the country because farmers were left to the vicissitudes of the market. One of the policies of the Central Bank to manage scarce foreign exchange include the restriction of currency supplies to important sectors that assist manufacturing and jobs creation. It is a systematic move to curb the importation of unnecessary goods, to serve as a boost to local production.
Anyone paying attention to the agricultural activity going on in some states in the list of rice growers Ebonyi, Kebbi, Jigawa knows that economic diversification is taking a serious root.
Businessday reported that there was a record 48,000 new millionaires last year in Kebbi State alone. This diversification is greatly being aided by forward-looking companies that are backward-integrating. The brewers and other manufacturers of consumables such Dangote, Nestle and Unilever are aiding the economic transformation by changing many of their formulations to integrate local content.
As part of the goal of promoting home made goods, all cars and trucks bought by government as approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2016 were supplied by local vehicle assembly plants.
The Power Sector which is yet another priority for the administration has made significant advances. But for the pipeline vandalism that has deprived many of the plants of gas, the country’s output would have moved up to 6,400 MW.
Government is also showing the seriousness of a responsible consumer by making a huge provision in the 2017 budget for the settlement of debts owed to power distribution companies.
The Minister has been doing a lot towards diversification of power sources, talking about an energy mix that incorporates biomass, solar and increased water sources. A lot of ground has been covered towards the realization of the Mambila, 4,000 MW power plant. The highest funds allocation in 2016 went to the roads construction sector because government wanted contractors to return to site and recall staff they had laid off.
Roads and bridges such as Lagos-Ibadan and the East-West expressways which have perennially existed as uncompleted projects are being brought up to completion levels as a matter of priority. The 2nd Niger bridge which has been used to fool the people in the past is beginning to see action. Ghost contracts such as the Kano-Katsina dual carriage way are having life breathed into them.
In the war against corruption, new heights have been reached with the announcement of the whistle blower protection policy. The President has also ordered that the limelight be shone on leaders around him that have been accused of corruption.
The biggest takeaways in the last twelve months are introduction of the whistleblower program which, by the way has received so much welcome from Nigerians that the website hosted by the Ministry of Finance crashed in few days of its announcement. A finder’s fee of between one to five percent is being offered for whistle blowing that leads to assets and funds recovery. As you go around Abuja, you are likely to come across government ministries or departments moving out of rented accommodations, settling into buildings seized by the EFCC. The albatross of the war against corruption has been the slow Legal-judicial process. Some of the pending cases go back to the Obasanjo era. That’s a decade ago. This is something about which the President is limited in what he can do by the constitution. He will, in that regard, continue to respect the doctrine of the separation of powers as enshrined in our laws.
The program of social investment, our own version of the social security kicked off after delays occasioned by weak revenues that characterized 2016. The administration has started the payment of N5, 000 monthly stipends to the poorest and the most vulnerable in the country through the Conditional Cash Transfer.
The administration is already implementing Micro-Credit Scheme borrowing for about 1.2m.
All those that completed documentation among the two hundred thousand graduates listed of the intended 500,000 N-Power jobs have now started receiving their N30, 000 monthly stipends.
On the International front, the president continues to focus on issues of security, economic collaboration and trade.
He has spent a lot of quality time reaching out to regional blocks on the continent, with ECOWAS states, East Africa, North Africa and the South of the continent as well.
He has done very well with China, European Union countries, the U.K and the US.
In dealing with the EU, particularly France, Italy and Germany, a lot has been achieved on the issues of security and immigration. Italy and Germany are training our police and immigration officials. They are also giving skills training to our citizens who entered their countries illegally before their deportation. That way, they can have work to do here on their return. Without France, it is difficult to see how Nigeria surrounded by Francophone countries can achieve anything. President Buhari continues to improve his personal and official relationships with French leaders. U.S banks and lending institutions are giving money to Nigerian banks and other businesses entities. There is also a growing relationship with U.S.-based IT companies as witnessed by the visits by the CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg and the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates.
With China, the administration looked at the past and the present to build and strengthen existing relationships. As a consequence, Zungeru power plant will soon be delivered. After a careful scrutiny of the fine prints, the costs of Chinese rail and airport projects in Nigeria have come down.
In the year 2016, the President in his foreign policy looked beyond our traditional partners to undertake visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, UAE as well as Iran. With Morocco, we just came out of very successful bilateral negotiations that will lead to the establishment of the dream pipeline to transport gas from Niger Delta to European outlets. There will be the manufacture, here in Nigeria through this agreement, of one million tons of fertilizer by the next planting season and four million tons per annum three years ahead when Dangote starts his own fertilizer plant in collaboration with the Moroccans.
We are signing bilateral agreements leading to the creation of frameworks for friendship and improved ties around the world.
In a country of high oil revenues, citizens had developed brutally ostentatious life styles and consumption patterns. Assumptions were made by all of us that we could afford foreign brands from school uniform, rice and tissue paper. The fall of oil revenues means that we have to look inwards and diversify. This is proving to be very helpful.
The Government’s tough attitude towards corruption means that there are no sacred cows in the fight against corruption. Savings are being made from renegotiated contracts and continuous auditing of the payroll. The whistleblower program in effect means that government has handed the baton of the war against corruption to the citizens. It is exciting seeing how enthusiastically the public has responded. This will change many things in the country.
Government is succeeding in its primary duty of protecting life and property as can be seen from the noticeable slump of Boko Haram terrorism and the gradual return of normalcy to states in the North central zone.
The New Year 2017 has been described as the year in which the major policies of the APC administration will show results in full. President Buhari who is not a man of many words will speak through his actions. No one who messes with the President’s 2017 budget can stand his fury. It is a warning he has given. Let’s watch as the year unfolds. [myad]