Ahmed Rasheed, the Chief Security Officer to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has been promoted to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

The FCT Police Commissioner, Wilson Inalegwu described Ahmed Rasheed as a very hard working officer, courageous, diligent in his assignment and has demonstrated love for the Nigeria Police Force.
Inalegwu said that he was not surprised that Rasheed was considered suitable for promotion to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

This was even as the minister asked the newly promoted officer to maintain high degree of discipline and loyalty to the nation.
While decorating Rasheed with his new rank, Muhammad Bello said that promotion to higher rank calls for greater dedication and loyalty to ones organization and the nation at large.
The minister said that the huge number of police men promoted in the FCT Police Command is an indication of the FCT Police Commissioner’s sterling leadership qualities.
“Usually, when people get promoted, the attributes for the promotion are usually most of the time, aligned with the person who was promoted. The reality is you can never be a good officer and excel in your career if you don’t have a good boss. So, we feel very delighted that Ahmed Rasheed is among those in your Command that has been promoted.
“We also in FCTA are proud that one of us has been elevated because he represents the crop of officers that to a large extent, are the face of the new Nigerian police; hardworking, dedicated and very smart.
“From what I have seen, haven worked with him for the last six months, I have no doubt that God willing, the sky is going to be the limit for this young officer.
“For you the Commissioner of Police, I urge you to continue with your good work of training officers because as you know, we need more and more policing within our communities. I’m sure that out of the 10,000 to be employed, based on what we have read in the newspapers, a number of them will be under your responsibility and I’m sure you will also guide and train them properly.” [myad]

Ogun state governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has said that Nigerian governors must think out of the box to in order to survive the harsh economic situation in the country.
Governor Amosun, who spoke to State House Correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, acknowledged that the prevailing economic situation in the county is affecting all stakeholders.
Asked how he is managing to survive, Amosin said “Yes, I know things are tough and I am saying these with all sense of responsibility, all the states in Nigeria are affected. We are part of the larger context called Nigeria ‎ and because of that challenge, people must think out of the box and I am happy to report that in Nigeria today, maybe not in the quantum of what we generate l, but we are number one.
If you check the indices that have been released, we doubled our revenue with about 97.8%, the next state to us I think was 41% we are working hard and we are doing well but they is still lot more to be done.”
Commenting on the effect of Investment Summit he organized in his state, the governor said “It’s the fourth in our series of investors forum and this year we believe we had to zero in on three key areas that is agriculture, Environment and transportation and the reason is not farfetched.
“Everybody believes that there is no alternative except for diversification and even before this crisis we realize that the only to go is to diversify into agriculture.
“It will employ our people, it will create wealth for them. Those nations that have got it right if you see them, you will discover that they have their cottage industries; they are the enablers. That’s why we believe those ones we zero in on these three grey areas of course we will get it right.
“I am happy that we got several investors, particularly those that are not even from Nigeria and so many people that are in Nigeria, that operate here and that’s why we showcased everybody.
“I know within the next maybe two years‎ you will see. Ogun state is the industrial hub of Nigeria, there is no state that has the kind of resources we have,in terms of numbers and value.
“We are not limiting it at that; we want to take it forward.  Not agriculture alone, we want to take full advantage of the full value chain that agriculture offers and what do I mean by that? That whatever we grow we must process, and whatever we have processed we must package and whatever we package we must market, we must transport it to the final consumer. You know everybody is working that is what we are trying to do.
“ln the area of transportation, we need to see how many people we can get on the roads, we need to introduce rails, waterways. If you go to these other nations, you will see that all their agriculture produce they are being moved either by the rail or water system and in other  areas they use air.
“I went to a place in California, if you move for five hours maybe left and right, you will see plantation and in those plantation you will see air fields. If you have the need for it, of course you must have it. So we are looking at all of those areas and the environment.
“Environment is living now, if you want to live well, we must be conscious of our environment, particularly the climate change, we must reduce carbon dioxide.
“We can use our waste to generate wealth and in doing that we employ our people. Like I said we are the most industrialized state, we want green industrialization. The ara of emitting dangerous hazardous smoke is over.
“There are new ways of doing things, new engineering solutions that are in place and that are what we are trying to do. We are even generating electricity with our waste that is what I call using waste to generate power and waste to wealth. Those are the areas we are focusing on.” [myad]

President Muhammad Buhari has been advised to disregard calls on him to sack the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. The advice was given by the national coordinator of a group, Stand Up Nigeria (SUN), Philip Agbese, at a news conference  in Abuja on Sunday.

“We appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to disregard the calls for him to sack the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and Minister of Justice, Malami Abubakar (SAN)

“Contrary to the lies being told, falling for propaganda to fire Mr Abubakar will signifying a policy U-turn on the part of his government and it will lead to loss of international goodwill and local support for the anti-corruption drive.”

The group said that the agitation for the removal of Malami was indeed evidence that corruption has continued to fight back.

Though SUN refused to address the allegations raised against the AGF, Agbese however said “we will tell these groups for free is that it is not an ethical choice or a popular stand to be seen as the advocate in chief for corrupt entities. The strategies they adopted in trying to bring the AGF down clearly gives indications as to who they speak for.

“We are instead appealing to Mr. Malami Abubakar SAN to disregard all such calls as the distraction that they are. The calls for his sack is an indication that he is taking actions that are hitting the corruption industry really hard, hence the desperation to get him out of the  way so that a pliable person that will not lift a finger against sleaze could be planted in his place.

According the National coordinator  of SUN, “In the short time Abubakar has been at the helms as AGF and Minister of Justice, we have seen enough proof that he embodies President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of justice.

“We have seen an anti-corruption crusade that is yielding results without resorting to jungle maneuvers. The conviction and jailing of the ex-NIMASA Director General, Raymond Omatseye is enough testament that the AGF is up to speed with his job description. Nigerians also did not lose sight of the pace at which trials of persons arraigned for corruption are going as opposed to the past when suspects are charged and the trials get stuck for months. We are also mindful of the several cases we once thought were lost but that have been revived today.

“These no doubt are among the reasons Mr Abubakar has become the subject of petitions and letters demanding for his sack. It takes someone that has proven himself as the engine house of President Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade to make such powerful enemies. The knowledge that the AGF gives the fillip to the anti-graft agencies to go after looters is unacceptable to his detractors.

“As those calling for Mr. Malami Abubakar’s sack go about writing the next chapter in their failed project: We hereby caution all those behind the call for the AGF’s sack; whether as the main client, foot soldiers or minions, to desist forthwith as Nigerians have zero tolerance for corruption and they have even lesser tolerance for those encouraging graft.

“We urge the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Mr. Malami Abubakar SAN to increase the onslaught on persons indicted for corruption and to the fight against graft to the next level. The assets and funds to be recovered from this exercise is sorely needed at this point in time that the economy is struggling.”

The group also described the call for Malami’s sack as laughable  and defended why it would not go into the allegations thus:”Let us state from the onset that we find these calls laughable.

“We will not try to counter the allegations raised against Mr Abubakar. That will be dignifying the groups that made those frivolous accusations and be helping them publicise their lies since their so called letter was never submitted in the first place. In the same vein we will not go into the identities of the groups making the calls since we are not an advertising agency to embark on image branding for them.” [myad]