President Muhammadu Buhari in handshake with President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu after conferring the highest national honour; Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on the incoming number one citizen of the country.
Music legend, Tina Turner, whose soul classics and pop hits made her a superstar, is dead. She died today, May 24, at the age of 83.
Turner had suffered a number of health issues in recent years, including cancer, a stroke and kidney failure.
She rose to fame alongside her husband, Ike, in the 1960s with songs including Proud Mary and River Deep, Mountain High.
She divorced the abusive Ike in 1978, and went on to find even greater success as a solo artist in the 1980s.
Dubbed the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tina Turner was famed for her raunchy and energetic stage performances and husky, powerful vocals.
She won eight Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 as a solo artist, having first been inducted alongside Ike in 1991.
Upon her solo induction, the Hall of Fame noted how she had “expanded the once-limited idea of how a Black woman could conquer a stage and be both a powerhouse and a multidimensional being”.
Younger stars who have felt her influence include Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae and Rihanna.
Born in Tennessee into a sharecropping family, she first found prominence as one of the backing singers for her husband’s band The Kings of Rhythm.
She soon went to front the band, and the couple tasted commercial success with Fool in Love and It’s Gonna Work Out Fine, which made the US charts in the early 60s.
Their other hits included 1973’s Nutbush City Limits, about the small town where Tina was born. But Ike’s physical and emotional abuse was taking its toll.
It was he who changed her name from her birth name, Anna Mae Bullock, to Tina Turner – a decision he took without her knowledge, one example of his controlling behaviour.
She recalled the trauma she suffered throughout their relationship in her 2018 memoir, My Love Story, in which she compared sex with the late musician to “a kind of rape”.
“He used my nose as a punching bag so many times that I could taste blood running down my throat when I sang,” she wrote.
After escaping her abuser, she went on to rebuild her career and become one of the biggest pop and rock stars of the 80s and 90s, with hits including Let’s Stay Together, Steamy Windows, Private Dancer, James Bond theme GoldenEye, I Don’t Wanna Fight and It Takes Two, a duet with Rod Stewart.
She also starred in 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome – which featured another of her smashes, We Don’t Need Another Hero – and The Who’s 1975 rock opera Tommy as the Acid Queen.
She found happiness with her second husband, German music executive Erwin Bac. They began dating in the mid-80s, and got married in 2013.
The pair lived in Switzerland, with Turner taking Swiss citizenship. He donated one of his kidneys to her in 2017 after it was discovered she was suffering from kidney failure.
She also suffered tragedy with the loss of her eldest son, Craig to suicide in 2018.
His father was Turner’s former bandmate, Raymond Hill.
Another son, Ronnie, whose father was Ike Turner, died in 2022. She also had two adopted sons, Ike Jr and Michael, Ike’s children from a previous relationship.
Tina’s life story spawned a 1993 biopic titled What’s Love Got To Do With It, which earned Angela Bassett an Oscar nomination for playing the star; and a hit stage musical – aptly titled Tina: The Musical.
She was also the subject of HBO documentary Tina in 2021.
In an interview with Marie Claire South Africa in 2018, Turner said: “People think my life has been tough, but I think it’s been a wonderful journey. The older you get, the more you realise it’s not what happened, it’s how you deal with it.”
BBC.
Festus KeyamoFestus Keyamo and Ramatu Aliyu Tijjani, the two ministers of State in the outgoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari have kicked against the portfolio.
Keyamo has been the minister of State for Labour and Employment while Ramatu Tijjani has been the minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Keyamo described the position of Minister of State ss unconstitutional and an aberration.
“The concept or designation of “Minister of State” is a constitutional aberration and is practically not working for many so appointed. Successive governments have come and gone and many who were appointed as Ministers of State have not spoken out at a forum such as this because of the risk of sounding ungrateful to the Presidents who appointed them.”
Keyamo went on: “However, like I said earlier, this is not ingratitude.
As a private citizen, I am on record to have gone to court a number of times to challenge unconstitutional acts of governments for the sake of advancing our constitutional democracy, so it will be out of character for me to have gone through government and be carried away by the pomp of public office and forget my role as a member of the Inner Bar and my self-imposed role over the years as a crusader for democracy and constitutionalism.
Mr. President, I crave your indulgence to explain this constitutional conundrum of “Minister of State”. Sections 147 and 148 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), deal with the appointments and responsibilities of Ministers of the Federation. The said sections state as follows:
Section 147
“(1) There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.
(2) Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.
(3) Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution:- provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each State, who shall be an indigene of such State.”
Section 148
“(1) The President may, in his discretion, assign to the Vice-President or any Minister of the Government of the Federation responsibility for any business of the Government of the Federation, including the administration of any department of government.”
Furthermore, the 7th Schedule to the 1999 Constitution provides for the Oath of Office to which each Minister must subscribe. There are no different Oaths for “Minister” and “Ministers of State”. They all take the same Oath of Office.
In addition to the above, the Ministers-designate appear before the Senate and are grilled and cleared AS MINISTERS, not as Ministers in some instances and Ministers of State in some other instances. It is at the point of assignment of portfolios that successive Presidents then reclassified some as “Ministers of State”.
Some may want to justify this by saying the President is given the discretion by the Constitution to assign whatever responsibility(ies) he likes to Ministers. Yes, I concede Mr. President can do that, but not by a designation different from that prescribed by the Constitution. Simply put, it is akin to the President assigning responsibilities to the office of the Vice-President and re-designating that office as “Deputy President” under our present Constitution. That is clearly impossible. Why then should that of the Ministers be different?
What is more, Ministers are appointed pursuant to Section 147(3) of the 1999 Constitution to represent each State of the Federation. Therefore, Ministers sit in Cabinet as the eye of Mr. President in each State of the Federation. It is therefore against the intendment of the drafters of our Constitution for a representative of a State to be reclassified as against another representative of another State.
The Schedules of Duties of Ministers and Ministers of State that intend to cure some of these anomalies hardly help the issues. Firstly, the Schedules of Duties are observed more in breach by the Permanent Secretaries and Directors who really cannot be expected to serve two masters. And in any case, many of the roles of both Ministers are so ambiguous that the bureaucrats would always interpret them to satisfy the ones they see as the “Senior Ministers” or “main Ministers” for fear of being persecuted by them.
Secondly, parts of the Schedules of Duties seem to suggest that the Ministers can delegate functions to the Ministers of State. This is a constitutional impossibility. It is only Mr. President that can delegate Presidential powers as one cannot delegate what he does not have (delegatus non potest delegare). In any case, how can someone who took the same Oath of Office with another delegate functions to that other?
Thirdly, the Schedules of Duties leave so many gaping holes that bring conflicts between the Ministers and Ministers of State. In addition, the provision that “Ministers of State” cannot present Memos in Council, except with the permission of the Minister, is another anomaly. It means the discretion of the Minister of State is subsumed in the discretion of the Minister, yet both of them represent different States in Cabinet.
It also follows that it would be difficult to assess the individual performances of the Ministers of State since their discretion is shackled under the discretion of the Ministers. Original ideas developed by a Minister of State are subject to clearance by another colleague in Cabinet before they can sail through for consideration by Council. The drafters of our Constitution obviously did not intend this.
As a result, many Ministers of State are largely redundant, with many going to the office for symbolic purpose and just to while away the time. Files are passed to them to treat only at the discretion of the other Minister and the Permanent Secretary. Yet, the Ministers of State will receive either praise or condemnation for the successes or failures of such Ministries.
I understand that when this practice first surfaced in the First Republic, it was used as a contraption to give a semblance of “Government of National Unity”, when in actual fact no “real power” was ceded to the opposition members co-opted into government who were mostly designated as the Ministers of State, so as to keep them in check under the leadership of the ruling Party’s Ministers. But, over time the custom has come to stay and now it has been established as a norm, even regarding Ministers from the same ruling Party. In fact, one political absurdity that has emerged from this is that some Ministers of State won more votes from their States for the party in power than the “main Minister”.
THE WAY FORWARD
Many Ministerial Retreats have been held to try and resolve the issues between Ministers and Ministers of State. President Obasanjo held four of such Retreats, with the last one holding at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, from 23rd to 25th February, 2001. Yet, the problems persisted.
Unknown to many successive Presidents and the general public, these conflicts gravely affect the optimal performance of Governments. What is the way forward?
Obviously, the argument that two Ministers are cramped into some Ministries in order not to unnecessarily proliferate Ministries and therefore save Government’s money is no longer tenable. This is because Government does not need any extra infrastructure or more money to maintain all Senior 36 Ministers or even a bit more appointed as is now the custom. This is because the present Ministers and Ministers of State have their separate offices, cars, security personnel and personal aides. So, what is the point?
There are enough Permanent Secretaries within the system to be assigned to each Minister, or in the least, one Permanent Secretary can serve two Ministers. Since the Schedules of Duties of both Ministers already reflect the broad Mandates of the Ministries, the Ministers can be named in line with those Schedules of Duties, instead of continuing with this unconstitutional arrangement. For instance, there is no reason why we cannot have a Minister of Labour and another Minister of Employment.
In my case, whilst the Schedule of my colleague had to do more with Labour and Productivity, mine had to do more with Employment. The Directorates in my Ministry that were under my office would then be fully under the Minister of Employment, without any double loyalty to the Minister of Labour and Productivity.
We can also have a Minister of Trade and another Minister of Investment. We can have a Minister of Education (Tertiary) and another Minister of Education (Primary and Secondary); we can have a Minister of Mines and another Minister of Steel; we can have a Minister of Works and another Minister of Housing and so on and so forth.
In all of these, no extra infrastructure is needed to sustain this suggested arrangement. The present infrastructure and present personnel in the Ministries can very well sustain it. It will be at no extra cost to government. This is preferable than successive governments continuing with this present unconstitutional arrangement.”
On her part, FCT Minister of State, Ramatu Tijjani asked: “if you are appointed, if you serve your state, if you underwent the same training, you attended the same FEC, representing your people, why then is your voice hinged upon another minister’s voice? “Why is lack of planning on another minister’s part and an emergency on yours? Why is the label ‘ineptitude’ now the label you will carry if he should fail?
“All these should be looked into by the next administration, to put the country in the good part of trajectory.
“Let me tell you this: if and only if, and that is the little minus I saw in this administration, all ministers were allowed to perform, the performances of the government and the achievement of President Muhammadu Buhari administration, I will beat my chest, cannot be equaled. But if one plus one becomes one, then there is an issue.
“Why then a minister of state, whose capacity no matter what, is brought forth, will be weighed and will be debated upon, will be decided to go or not go to FEC by a colleague? So that does not do justice to the appointment; it doesn’t do justice to the people representing and it does not even do justice to the persons presenting themselves.
“But by and large, it was fantastic. It is a worthy experience, because you know what that did to me? It also built my thick skin. It built my endurance level, it built my capacity to understand what is not and what does not. And it has built me largely to operate within the level available to me and hopefully, there if an another opportunity comes sometimes somewhere God’s grace, such will unleash the potential of so many untapped representing ministers.”
CBNThe Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has revoked the operating licenses of 132 microfinance banks and those of four primary mortgage banks and three finance companies.
This was disclosed in the official gazette of the Federal Government, which was published on the website of the CBN on Tuesday.
The gazette stated that the licenses of the financial institutions were revoked because they “ceased to carry on in Nigeria, the type of business for which their licences were issued for a continuous period of six months; failed to fulfil or comply with the conditions subject to which their licences were granted; or failed to comply with the obligations imposed upon them by the Central Bank of Nigeria in accordance with the provisions of Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, Act No. 5.”
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, revoked the licenses in the exercise of the powers conferred on the Central Bank of Nigeria under Section 12 of BOFIA 2020, Act No. 5.
The microfinance banks include – Atlas Microfinance Bank, Bluewhales Microfinance Bank, Everest Microfinance Bank, Igangan Microfinance Bank, Mainsail Microfinance Bank, Merit Microfinance Bank, Minna Microfinance Bank, Musharaka Microfinance Bank, Nopov Microfinance Bank, Ohon Microfinance Bank, and others.
Finance companies whose licenses were revoked include – HHL Invest & Trust Limited, TFS Finance Limited and Treasures & Trust Limited while the four primary mortgage banks whose licenses were revoked are – Resort Savings & Loans, Safetrust Mortgage Bank, Adamawa Savings & Loans and Kogi Savings & Loans.
According to the Gazette signed by CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, the affected institutions also failed to fulfill or comply with the conditions subject to which their licences were granted.
They also failed to comply with the obligations imposed upon them by the Central Bank of Nigeria in accordance with the provisions of Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, Act No. 5.
“Now Therefore, I, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, CON, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, in exercise of the powers conferred on the Central Bank of Nigeria under Section 12 of BOFIA 2020, Act No.5, hereby revoke the licences of the Microfinance Banks, Finance Companies and Primary Mortgage Banks stated in Schedules I, II and III respectively attached hereto,” Emefiele stated in the report.
Source: City BusinessNews.
President Muhammadu Buhari has unveiled series of projects executed by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) at the weekend.
The projects were located at the permanent site of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, Anambra State.
President was represented at the event by the Minister of State for Health, Joseph Ekumankama.
The interventions, which were unveiled by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, include a 100-bed Mother and Child Centre, a new Accident as well as new Accident and Emergency Building, the Renal Building, new ward complex in Block A and Block B, as well as a new Accident and Emergency Unit.
Speaking during the commissioning of the projects, attended by top officials of Anambra State Government, NAUTH, lawmakers and other stakeholders, Princess Orelope-Adefulire said that the interventions were aimed at tackling the problems of shortage of the required infrastructure at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi which has affected the quality of healthcare services being delivered to patients over the years.
She said that with the complete provision of the facilities at the hospital through the interventions of OSSAP-SDGs, the Teaching Hospital has been turned into a state-of-the-art healthcare facility that everyone can be proud of.
“The intervention at this teaching hospital will not only significantly enhance the educational experience and skill development of students for their professional careers, but it will also contribute to the achievement of SDG 3 and a positive spill-over impact on several SDGs,” said the Presidential Adviser.
Princess Orelope-Adefulire said that apart from the critical intervention at the Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital, the Office has also carried out several interventions across the entire state.
She listed the interventions to include the construction of 4 units of 2-Bedroom staff quarters and a 500-capacity mortuary at Ifitedunu Primary Healthcare Centre to improve the healthcare infrastructure and widen access to quality healthcare services for the people.
“In the same vein, and to enhance a conducive learning environment for students in schools, we have also provided hostels and security house, a 40Kva hybrid solar inverter, solar powered borehole, 50 solar streetlights, and football pitch with artificial turf at St. Mary’s High School and Nnaemeka Secondary School, Ifitedunu, Dunukofia LGA.
She added that the interventions include construction of a new garri processing centre, provision of 239 Nos of 2.5Kva generators to the Anambra South Senatorial District as well as the construction of access roads with drainages and asphalts across nine streets in Dunukofia LGA of the State.
“Together these interventions will enhance transportation, stimulate trade, and improve overall connectivity, leading to increased economic activity, improved access to healthcare and education, and a greater sense of community cohesion and development, and have the potential to uplift the quality of life for the people of Anambra State.
“I am confident that these interventions will accelerate our progress towards the SDGs by the year 2030.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Health urged residents, staff, and management of the health institution to ensure that the facilities were protected against vandalism.
“What we see here today represents lots of sacrifices. Many projects sought the attention of the national budget, but the Federal Government decided to invest heavily in this particular project because of its importance to the well-being of the people.
The Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, who represented Governor Charles Soludo at the event expressed appreciation to Buhari’s administration for the interventions at the hospital.
The Chief Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr Joseph Ugboaja and the Chairman, Management Board of the NAUTH, Chief Ezekiel Afukonyo also said the interventions will help the facility meets it desire to provide quality healthcare services to the people at its new permanent site.
Former British Prime Minister, Sir Tony Blair, has assured President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that his Foundation will partner to fast-tract the development of Nigeria.
Tony Blair, who spoke when he visited the president-elect at the Defence House, Abuja today, May 23, emphasized that the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which he founded, would be a willing partner of the Tinubu administration, especially in prioritising its goals and delivery.
He said that since leaving office as the UK prime minister, he had been working with governments around the world to help them deliver on their mandates.
He said that the Blair Institute have a project in place in Nigeria and felt it was incumbent upon him to meet Nigeria’s incoming president to understand the administration’s priorities.
“We would like to help in any way with your administration. We only need to know what the leadership priorities are and help in how to actualise them.”
Blair commended the President-elect for allowing his campaign to focus on key areas of security, economy, agriculture and power, describing the intertwined nature of the areas as critical to the development of any society.
He expressed optimism that with the appetite shown by investors to invest in Nigeria, the Tinubu administration could get the support it needs to spur economic development in the country.
Blair, however, acknowledged the difficult task before Tinubu and other leaders, at a time of global turmoil.
“Being in government today anywhere in the world is tough. You have things happening around the world which affect you and for which you can’t do anything much.”
President-elect Tinubu, in his response, expressed appreciation to Blair for the visit and for his offer to work with his administration.
He spoke of the shared vision between him and Tony Blair Institute in their priority areas, but underlined the importance of tackling investment challanges and the need for social investment to fight poverty.
“Yes, we are challenged. But where is our courage? We can eliminate ignorance, diseases and poverty in Africa. We must work hard to ensure democracy works for our people.
“We have to invest more, put technology in place and keep terrorists at bay because without effective security, there is no guarantee investors will come.”
The president-elect promised to provide a conducive environment that would encourage investors and open up opportunities for the people.
Tinibu was accompanied to the meeting by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Vice President -elect, Senator Kashim Shettima; member of Tinubu Transition Team, Wale Edun; former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Adetokunbo Abiru and Executive Secretary, National Sugar Development Council, Mr. Zacch Adedeji.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said finally that his government did not squander all the loans it procured so far but that they were Invested in specific Infrastructures for the purpose of hastening development in many other sectors of the economy.
Speaking today, May 23, at the virtual commissioning of three bridges, three secretariats and one road project undertaken by his administration, the President described criticisms of the debt profile of his administration as unfair.
“We do not act on infrastructure by accident. It has been a deliberate choice for our government as a tool to fight poverty, to create economic growth and employment and to open the path of prosperity for our people.”
He said however that he shared the concerns of Nigerians, but that the debts are tied to projects that have been executed in very transparent circumstances and are there for everyone to see. He added that the wealth of other nations is traceable to their investments in infrastructure made possible by debts redeemed over decades.
“As we look at the debt profile, I urge us to also look at the assets and investment profiles, some of which were paid for by debt and some by investment income.
“In 8 (Eight) years, I am proud to say that we have doubled Nigeria’s stock of infrastructure to GDP from about 20% to over 40% and that is no small undertaking.
“The projects that we hand over today apart from others such as rail, sea and airports, gas pipeline projects that have been previously completed, symbolise our country’s sharp focus on delivering prosperity.”
Buhari described the projects as frontal efforts to address multi-dimensional poverty as well as improve business efficiency and service delivery time.
According to the President, the Ikom Bridge is aimed at boosting trade in and around the Calabar Port and Free Zone and facilitate transport connectivity from the South-South, through the North Central to the Northeast.
“This is a bridge across the Cross River itself.
“The Second Niger Bridge, which has been long in the making, and is certainly now a reality, is a bridge of choice across the River Niger to bring relief to those crossing from the Southeast to the Southwest.
“The Loko-Oweto Bridge, across the River Benue will provide a shorter connectivity for those traversing from Benue to Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory. It cuts off travel through Lafia and provides connectivity to Keffi and to Abuja.”
President Buhari also commissioned 200 kilometres out of the 365 kilometres Abuja-Kano highway noting that the road, the Second Niger bridge and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were all funded partly from dividend income earned from investment in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), repatriated funds from overseas, and recoveries from proceeds of crime successfully prosecuted at home.
“This is an example of the change that we promised; to invest dividend income in visible assets that last for generations and to put proceeds of crime to public and enduring use for the country.
“Our anti-corruption approach does not end in courts. Stolen and recovered assets are utilized for the common good.”
The President also commissioned three Federal Secretariats in Anambra, Bayelsa and Zamfara States, believing that they would reduce the cost of governance by bringing federal civil servants under one roof for efficient service delivery, thereby reducing expenditure on rent for office spaces.
He named the Secretariats after distinguished Nigerians as follows:
i. Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Federal Secretariat in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State;
ii. Ebele Okeke Federal Secretariat in Awka, Anambra State; and
iii. Malam Yahaya Gusau Federal Secretariat in Gusau, Zamfara State.
In his remarks, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola said that the construction of the infrastructure generated economic activities around them, providing means of livelihood for hundreds of thousands who worked there.
According to him, travel time is reduced by more than 50% in many of the places we surveyed; Property values of landowners have appreciated by up to 30% in the surveys conducted on land values where we have delivered infrastructure.
The Minister said that these are some of the attempts by Government to push back against multi-dimensional poverty.
Goodwill messages were delivered at the event by the Governors of Anambra, Imo and Delta States, Minister of Labour and Employment as well as the Obi of Onitsha and the Asagba of Asaba.
Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Honourable
Marcia L. Fudge will lead American Presidential delegation to the swearing-in of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President of Nigeria on Monday, May 29, 2023.
Other members of the Presidential delegation are David Greene, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Abuja: Honorable Sydney Kamlager-Dove, United States Representative (D), California: Honorable Marisa Lago, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce: General Michael E. Langley, Commander of U.S. Africa Command: Honorable Enoh T. Ebong, Director, U.S. Trade and Development Agency: Honorable Mary Catherine Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State: Honorable Judd Devermont, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council and Honorable Monde Muyangwa, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development
The President of the pan-African Conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote, has said that the newly commissioned 650,000pbd refinery would employ over 100,000 Nigerians youths as well as generate over $21 billion, thereby saving the country huge foreign exchange.
The company, according to him, now has over 33,000 employees.
Dangote said that the commissioning marked the beginning of the new journey of self-sufficiency in refined petroleum products and exportation, the same way it was achieved in Cement and fertilizer sectors.
Dangote noted that the current fuel crisis has had negative impact on the nation’s economy and that the situation informed his decision to build a world class refinery that would change the trend.
He highlighted events leading to his deciding to build its own refinery after his attempt to acquire one of the existing moribund did not materialize.
He said that he decided to change marketing strategy and settle for gigantic project ever undertaken by an individual across the world.
According to him, the refinery plant would be run at the highest effective and efficient level for maximum benefits to all Nigerians.
“We will replicate what we achieved in cement and fertilizer by attaining self-sufficiency and becoming net exporter.’
Dangote assured Nigerians that 40 per cent of the production capacity will be available for export with the coming on stream of the plant, guaranteeing raw materials for plastic, and pharmaceutical industries.
In his remark, President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated Dangote Group, saying “the 650,000 barrels a day of crude which will enable our country to achieve self-sufficiency in refined products and even have some supplies for export saying the government and people of Nigeria are proud of the doggedness and tenacity of Dangote as entrepreneur.
“This feat at this time of the nation’s economic development clearly made this event a notable milestone for our economy and the game changer for the downstream petroleum products not only for Nigeria but the entire African continent. Dangote Group has helped transform our economy from heavy import dependence to a net exporter in some critical industries, including cement and Fertiliser.”
He noted that the economy which has been stressed for many decades by huge deficits in economic infrastructure and over a decade of insurgency has also been severely impacted by several external crises, including the global financial crisis, the collapse of world crisis the Coronavirus pandemic and the Russia Ukraine war.
“The consequences of these challenges constitute a severe strain on our economy and limiting government’s ability to provide basic infrastructure without resorting to borrowing. Government therefore decide to focus attention on creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and fill the enormous gap in investments not only in infrastructure, but also in all critical sectors.
“We recognize that without active participation of the private sector and a strong commitment to public-private partnership, the economy will not be able to continue to meet the challenge and economic growth”, while expressing the hope that the coming administration will continue to apply such innovative schemes to accelerate the fruition of critical infrastructure, in particular roads and gas pipelines.
A group which goes by the name, Niger Delta Concerned Indigenes has called for a “war” against those it called thieves that have over the years, stolen the resources of the region, especially the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
In a few words designed and being circulated around the social media, the group wanted the people in the region to join hand with the chairman of the NDDC Board, Lauretta Onochie to get rid of the age-long marauders in the system.
“This is the time for all men and women of goodwill from Niger Delta region to stand up.”
It stressed the urgent need to rally round Lauretta Onochie “in her epic battle with buccaneers and wolves in the NDDC and the region who have, over the years, appropriated the wealth of the region, using thievery, shenanigans and chicanery. Enough is enough.”
