“So many in the political elites of this country cannot wait for the President’s second term in office to end.

“They yearn for a return to the “good old days” of helping themselves to public funds with abandon, the easy export of ill-gotten money to foreign bank accounts, of acting without responsibility, accountability, or censure. The last thing they want is “another Buhari.”

These are contained in a statement today, January 18, by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu.

He said that there is no doubt that the President will stand down after the election of a successor next year, but wondered whether or not the successor will live up to the exacting standards and example Buhari has set.

Garba Shehu argued that Buhari’s legacy “is strong and will be peculiarly tough to dismantle.

“Courts that hold those before it fairly and properly accountable regardless of their wealth or lack of it; the successful repatriation of stolen funds from decades of export abroad and its use to fund social, unemployment and welfare programmes for the poorest; reforms that have taken the steam out of centuries-long ethnic and tribal disputes – such as the farmer-herder clashes – long used to stoke ethnic and regional tensions by venial politicians for political advantage and the protection of millions through an effective vaccine roll-out programme, adding that these are just a tiny handful of the achievements of the President.

“But, perhaps, his greatest achievement of all is to break the belief that Presidents of Nigeria take the office and use it to enrich themselves and their accessories at the public’s expense.

“That wicked spell is broken for good. And it has offended politicians everywhere. They thought the state owed to them while the people provided for the state. ” “Instead, they have witnessed how, when the state owes to them nothing, it provides for the people.”

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has announced his recovery from COVID19, which sent him into self-seclusion a couple of weeks ago.

In a Facebook post on his wall, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello said: “I’m now free of COVID-19

“Best regards to all. Pleased to report that after taking my prescribed course of COVID-19 medication, I feel very well and great. The doctors have confirmed that I’m now free of the virus and it’s OK for me to resume all official activities.

“I wish to convey my sincere appreciation to all those who showed great concern on my health status, through various channels of communication.

“I also wish to commend the FCTA Medical team for their commitment and dedication to duty. All COVID-19 patients in the FCT are truly thankful to you.

“Let me use this opportunity to further reiterate that COVID-19 is very much around. I therefore once more, I appeal to residents to get themselves vaccinated. Doing so could save their lives.”

Zamfara State Governor, Bello Muhammad Matawalle has said that Federal and some state governments are quietly investigating those he called “politicians” who have been fueling banditry and other forms of insecurity and their names will be made public.

Answering Reporters’ questions today, January 17 shortly after a private audience with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential villa, Abuja, Governor Matawalle regretted that while the governments are trying to end the insecurity, these “political bandits” are thwarting such efforts.

“We know the people that are pushing them (bandits) to do so and we are going to push them out and I assure you that they will be fished out and we will deal with them accordingly.

“As I have been saying, there are some political bandits who have been spreading lies, rumors so that they can achieve some political gain.”

The governor said that such political bandits have sworn with Holy Qur’an that thousands of people have been killed which is grossly misleading “but we know all those kind of people do not want peace in the nation but God will prevail inshallah.

“Like I said, we are still investigating those that are involved in these activities. And we will make the public to know them after the confirmation of the reality of all the information that we have at hand. Because, we are working to make sure that all those who have hand in this insecurity must be brought to justice.

“Therefore, once the investigation is concluded, we will inform the public of the result of the investigation of what the security is doing about it.”

Governor Bello Matawalle, who confirmed that the total number of people killed by bandits in recent attacks were 58 and not over 200 as media carried it, recalled that when he assumed duty as a governor: “I used so many options to bring this insecurity to a minimal level.

“First of all, I initiated dialogue and reconciliation between the herders and farmers and during  that dialogue, we spent more than nine months without any crisis in Zamfara State. It worked.

“But unfortunately, people used politics, because they have collaborators, of course.

“So, they went back to those bandits telling them that the government is not serious about this dialogue; that we did not give them anything. So the bandits decided to go back to their normal businesses.

“That’s why I backed out from the reconciliation Programme. But definitely, it worked for over nine months. But because this is something that I inherited, that has been going on for almost eight years, and you don’t  expect it to end within just two years of my administration. It is  supposed to be ongoing process.

“So, after I realized that some of them had backed out of this dialogue, then I cut off the programme. I then initiated the cutting off  communications, and some logistics that used to go to the bandits from August 2011 to December 2011. And it worked too.

“But sometimes those collaborators who are usually happy with what is happening; who would even jubilate if people are being kille, they went back and started again, saying that the government is not serious. And instigating some of the public. In fact, they even dragged me to court.

“So you see the kind of people who we have in Zamfara State?

“I don’t think this issue of banditry will end very soon because, already some people are behind it. Some people are using it and all they want is at least to show Nigerians that both the federal and Zamfara state governments are  not serious on the issue of insecurity, despite the fact that some of them are involved in the crisis of this insecurity. But we’re doing our best.”

Question: have you identified those calibrators and, what are you going to do with them. Over the weekend, some people from  Nahuche village protested at the government house that they have paid bandits N200 million and yet it’s not abetting?

Answer by the Governor:

It is not true. As  I said, they have collaborators and we are working to fish out those collaborators and the law will take it course. It’s wrong for the whole people of Nahuche to say government gave N200 million to the bandits. How can you believe that? Your  Chairman is from Zamfara State, he is from Chafe local government area. He can testify to that.

So we know that people are just saying that in order to blackmail the government and the security agencies. But it is not true.

The Administration of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has declared its workers who have not taken vaccination against COVID19 persona none-grata as they are being denied entry into their offices.
Officials of the Administration arrived in the premises in the early hours of today, January 17, to enforce the no vaccination no entry policy. They practically prevented the recalcitrant workers from entering their offices, and turned the. unsuspecting visitors back to the streets.
The Administration had last week, gave notice to the staff and visitors to get vaccinated on or before January 17 or refused entry into the premises and offices. The notice was issued by the permanent secretary in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
Our reporter said that “unvaccinated” workers and visitors were turned back by the combined team of Security men stationed in strategic entering points.
The reporter said that the enforcement team was led by the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikaro Attah.

Detail….