The Nigeria Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has made it clear to the soldiers in war front with Boko Haram insurgents that they either end the remnant of the insurgents in this December or prepare to live with their antics for a long time.

Buratai, who spoke to the troops of the Operation Lafiya Dole in Borno state as the Christmas and New Year festivities approach said: I wish to reiterate that December is a month of decision. It is either we succeed in clearing the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists or we continue to live in perpetual circle of their atrocities in the North East.

“I hereby want to reassure all troops that I intend to return everybody back to Barracks in 2017 only leaving behind a strong, highly mobile, effective and motivated force that will continue to do the good work that we have already started. In this regard we shall also bring reassurances to the populace as normalcy finally returns to the area.”

Buratai, who sent his best wishes to the troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE as the Yuletide period approaches, commended them for their sacrifices, commitment, loyalty and courage in the service of our fatherland.

“I wish to make this call to action and wake up call to you all and to emphasize that we must immediately begin to embark on the final aggressive action and comprehensive sweep of the operational theatre with a view to ending the operation on a very high note. In this regard, no stone should be left unturned. I therefore call on all officers and soldiers to buckle up and ensure that remnants of Boko Haram terrorists are completely cleared.

“I hope to be with you sometime this month to motivate and positively influence the ongoing operations. This is with a view to having a colourful end of year and peaceful Yuletide in the North East and indeed Nigeria. I urge all commanders to plan and embark on effective patrols, raids, ambushes and deliberate attacks in conjunction with other Services especially the Nigerian Air Force and Nigerian Navy to rescue all those abducted by the terrorists.

“I also wish to remind all troops that captured and surrendered Boko Haram terrorists must be treated humanely and fairly and in strict accordance with the provisions of International Humanitarian Law and Laws of Armed Conflict. In doing so, we must be prepared to enter all fortresses, camps, dens and enclaves of the Boko Haram to completely flush them out and dominate these areas to ensure they are not reoccupied.”

The Army Chief called  on all the troops to remain focused, disciplined, loyal, dedicated and patriotic to their duties and to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. [myad]

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has said that he would pay one month salary bonus  as part of his Christmas package to workers.

Governor Umahi, who was on a visit to the Ebonyi State University permanent site in  Ezzamgbo,  said that in spite of the recession in the country and the fact that the state is one of the lowest  recipients of federal allocations, his administration was determined to improve the lot of its workers.

He said that junior workers would receive 100 per cent bonus while the senior  workers would get 50 percent, even as he challenged the university authorities to emulate his administration by paying salaries on or before 20th of every month.

He said that his administration would also put smile on the faces of the university workers during the Christmas period.

The governor announced the donation of a bag of rice each to all staff of the university  and  N5 million to be shared by them .

He also gave  3,000 bags of rice and N10 million to  the students as their Christmas gifts and  donated two buses to the Students Union Government for easy transportation of students  to their various campuses.

Governor Umahi said that the  state House of Assembly had already given approval for sums to be spent on the largesse, stressing that his government  is not owing workers salaries.

He said that his administration’s plan to begin immediate payment of gratuity arrears owed by both local and state governments since 1993 amounting to  N8bn.
The governor, who expressed dismay that civil servants found it difficult to pay their retired colleagues their pensions but would want to be paid when they retired, said the  payment of gratuities would begin this month with the families of retirees who are now late.
“We are not owing anybody pension in Ebonyi State. Gratuity is owed since 1993 and gratuity for both local  and state governments is over N8bn but the funny thing is that when you seat as a civil servants,you refuse to pay others their gratuities and when you now leave, you start insisting, we should pay gratuity.

“So, for those we have owed gratuity for a very long time;we are expecting a miracle. What we want to do for our brothers and sisters that were not paid gratuities and they are dead, we intend to look at them and  see how we can pay off their gratuities through their families and we hope to do it this December.
“We also want to pay everyone that has retired 10 per cent of whatever we owe him/her in the name of pension and other allowances.”

Governor Umahi said that his government had assisted Ebonyians mostly women doing petty business in Lagos with N140 million  to enhance their business opportunities. [myad]

The Buhari Media Support Group, a voluntary organization dedicated to the Promotion of the change agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari, has asked the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, to stop his frequent attacks on the policies of the Federal Government in order not to give cynics the wrong signal to undermine the government’s efforts towards finding solutions to the myriad problems facing the country.
A statement issued in Abuja by the Head of the group, MaIam Muhammad Labbo, described the latest attack on the government by Emir Sanusi as very unfortunate and disheartening.
Muhammad Labbo said that as a highly respected public figure, the Emir should not engage in street tactics to make his point because the doors to the President’s office are widely open to him to offer his advice for the betterment of the country and its people.
According to the statement, the Emir’s open and hostile posture to the policies of the government could be misunderstood, thereby dividing the people.
The statement explained that since the Emir is not an opposition political figure, his hostile attacks are likely to be interpreted as political, thereby compromising the neutrality of his office.
The group said that regarding the 30 billion -dollar proposed loan, a simple check by the emir will show him that about two thirds of it is for the rail project that includes the East-West and Lagos-Kano corridors that have capacity to create tens of thousands of jobs for his subjects and other Nigerians.

“Or, is the emir against accelerated National development?”
Muhammad Labbo said that as a friend of the President, Emir Sanusi should not give ammo to the President’s opponents to undermine the efforts of the government in the implementation of its change agenda
“He should rather, subscribe to the age-old code of ethics of the traditional institution where emirs are mostly seen and hardly heard, instead of being constantly onduly flippant in order not to bring disrespect the stool he occupies.”
He said that President Buhari holds Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II  in the highest esteem, and that in the spirit of mutual respect, the Emir should channel any constructive criticism privately, as was always done by his predecessor and other traditional rulers, and the President would use his input for the good of the country. [myad]

The Nigerian Presidency has expressed concern about what it called “blatant attempts to whip up a nonexistent fear of mass starvation” in the Internally Displaced Peoples’ Camps in the North East, by some international aid agencies.
It described such alarm as a hype that does not provide solution to the situation on the ground but more to do with calculations for operations financing locally and abroad.
A statement by the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu recalled that in a recent instance, one arm of the United Nations screamed that 100,000 people will die due to starvation next year. A different group says a million will die.
He admitted that the effect of the Boko Haram terrorism and their occupation of communities and destruction of houses, infrastructure and means of livelihood have been manifested in the decline of socio-economic activities throughout the North-East.
“Arising from this, farming, pastoralism, trade, exchange of goods and services and social interaction among the people have negatively been impacted leading to the displacement of more than two million people, mostly women and children. “Consequently, there is death, there is hunger and there is poor nutrition.
“The displacement pattern as revealed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) indicates that there are currently about two million people who are displaced.”
Garba Shehu said that only about 20 percent of the number are in IDP camps, adding that this much reduced numbers are in Borno’s 13 formal and 16 satellite camps.
“Four of such camps are currently operating in Adamawa and about the same number in Yobe. The larger number of the IDP population is living either in self-settled camps or with host communities.
“The affected states with active collaboration with NEMA and the recently inaugurated Presidential Committee on Northeast Initiative (PCNI) are deeply involved in efforts to cushion the humanitarian challenges, especially on food security and nutrition.
“Through an ongoing arrangement, NEMA provides raw food items to IDPs at formal camps, self-settled centers, host communities and satellite centers. The states, on their part, provide condiments, firewood and maintain environmental quality of the IDP camps.
“Beyond the IDP camps, government agencies are  distributing food in host communities. The T.Y Danjuma-led PCNI is currently doing this in Borno state at the time of writing.
“In addition to the supply of food, the Federal Government through NEMA and the PCNI has made the provision of drugs to some major hospitals in the zone as a priority.
“These agencies have also been deploying on continuous basis, medical teams and equipment to the North-East to support the provision of medicare to the IDPs.
“There are also search and rescue vehicles in service in the region as well as the deployment of a revolving fund at major hospitals in Maiduguri and Yola to ensure full treatment of victims of insurgents’ attacks and sick IDPs.
“Government has also been providing skills and empowerment equipment to IDPs side by side with education for children in camps and the U.N Safe Schools Initiative,SSI.
“While the humanitarian situation in the Northeast is already complex and challenging, there is no doubt that the recent successes by the Nigerian military against the terrorists has come with it, the releases of thousands of people held against their wish in the forests.
“The captives come to government camps famished, ragged, poorly nourished and mostly ill, released from the hunger and acute shortages of basic necessities of life on account of the effective sieges of Sambisa forest by the military.
“So, while local and international humanitarian responders including the United Nations have done an immeasurable amount of effort filling in the gaps wherever they existed, it is not true as these reports have indicated that 100,000 or even a million people will die because government is unable to provide care at the camps. This country has a responsible government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, which is doing a lot to bring relief to the displaced people.
“The Nigerian Government which has been making the most efforts in the entire endeavor will continue to work closely with the local and international response groups to overcome this humanitarian crisis. At this time when the focus is gradually shifting to towards rehabilitation, reconstruction, resettlement, recovery and the dignified return of IDPs back home, we can do with all the support out there in the donor community. “We do not , however see the reason for the  theories and hyperbolic claims being made ostensibly to draw donor support by some of the aid agencies. The situation on the ground, as it exists, provides sufficient motivation to all well-meaning donors to come and do a decent part.
“The hype, especially that which suggests that the government is doing nothing is therefore uncharitable and unnecessary.” [myad]