January 2022 – Page 30

Post Date : January 16, 2022

2023 Presidency: Why I Believe I’ll Win – Tinubu

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has expressed confidence of winning the 2023 presidency. Tinubu is one of the few presidential aspirants, who have publicly declared their interests. After Tinubu openly declared his presidential bid at Aso Rock, more aspirants have done so, both within the ruling APC and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When he visited Senator Rashidi Ladoja, a former governor of Oyo, at his Ibadan residence during the weekend, Tinubu said with the masses, he could win. He added that he was aware of the challenges ahead, but expressed optimism that he would emerge victorious. “Life is a challenge and you must be ready to confront challenges and overcome. I have the confidence that I will overcome any form of challenge. I am sure I would face challenges and I have the confidence that I will overcome them.” “The reactions of critical stakeholders to my presidential ambition have been very positive, encouraging and overwhelming and these have spurred me on with the strong conviction that we would succeed and emerge victorious after the election. “Life itself is a challenge and I have the confidence and capacity to wade through challenges and overcome. We are forging ahead and with the strong support of the masses of Nigeria, we are going to achieve resounding victory.”

Post Date : January 16, 2022

Four Nasarawa Varsity Students Regain Freedom

Four abducted students of the Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State have regained their freedom, the school authorities said on Sunday. The students were kidnapped on Thursday night by gunmen around the university’s campus. In a statement, the institution’s Head, Information and Public Relations Unit, Abubakar Ibrahim, said the students who were kidnapped outside the university premises were released on Saturday. “The management of the Federal University of Lafia wishes to happily wishes to happily announce that the students of the university who were kidnapped by unknown gunmen on Thursday, January 13, 2022, have been released by their abductor,” the statement read. Ibrahim extended the appreciation of the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shehu AbdulRahman, to the Nasarawa State Government and the general public for their concern and support during the period. According to him, the students have undergone medical checks and are found to be in good condition to resume their studies. While reiterating the commitment of the university to safeguarding the interests of the students to forestall a reoccurrence in the future, Ibrahim added that the Vice-Chancellor has called on staff and students to remain calm and to go about their normal duties.

Post Date : January 16, 2022

Insecurity: Your best not yet good enough, Archbishop Kaigama tells FG

The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Grace Most Revd Ignatius Kaigama, has said although the nation’s political leaders and security operatives are trying to tackle the security challenges being experienced across the country, their best leaves more to be desired. The Catholic prelate disclosed this in his sermon at St. Andrews Church, Orozo Abuja on Sunday. He, however, admitted that much military personnel have sacrificed their lives trying to defend the nation from armed aggressors. In consequence, Kaigama urged Nigerians to continue praying for the departed soldiers and also show love to their survivors. He said, “We witness criminal activities and mindless killings such as the recent attacks in Zamfara State, and efforts by terrorists to establish themselves as a government within a government, yet, the assurances of political leaders and security operatives always leave more to be desired. “Only yesterday (Saturday), the Armed Forces Remembrance Day was well celebrated. We join millions of Nigerians to appreciate the sacrifices of our fallen and living heroes. “We must continue to pray for the departed ones, expressing solidarity and showing kindness to the veterans and survivors, while urging the Government to pay particular attention to the welfare of the men and women who have made selfless contributions to the search for durable peace for all Nigerians.” The Metropolitan Archbishop also stated that the country appeared to transit from one major national challenge to another, stressing that the people expected the government to live up to expectations in many regards. “Unfortunately, we have become too uncertain about many things; unsure each day about what will become of our people if they go to the farms or streams, what may befall villagers at night, or even in broad daylight in the cities, where people get abducted in exchange for raw cash. “Many families too are quickly running out of the wine of gladness as they are threatened by moral and social vices, economic hardship; arising from poor and corrupt governance. “As Jesus filled the empty water jars with the water turned into wine, we all have to beg God to fill our hearts and the hearts of others around us with genuine love,” Kaigama added.

Post Date : January 16, 2022

Presidency: ‘I’ve no money for court case’, Peter Obi replies man threatening to sue him

The vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 election, Peter Obi, has urged a supporter not to sue him over alleged refusal to declare for the 2023 presidency. He said this in a response to a tweet by one @FakeBuhari, threatening to sue the former Anambra governor if he fails to declare for the presidency in 2023. @FakeBuhari tweeted, “Sir, if at the end of this month and you don’t declare interest for the presidency in the 2023 election, then be ready for legal action from me. Leave #AFCON2021 for Orji UZOR Kalu, that’s his calling, not yours. Your calling is excellent economic leadership. Congrats #TeamNigeria.” The fan had made the comment while responding to Obi’s congratulatory tweet to Super Eagles for defeating Sudan 3 -1 on Saturday in the ongoing African Cup of Nations. But Obi pleaded with the fan to give him time to consult, saying that he had no money for a court case. Obi, in a response to the tweet, said, “I wish I knew your real name. But the truth is, I don’t have money to spend on a court case. Give me some time.” The politician had in October 2021 denied having hands in his campaign posters being circulated both offline and online, and on different social media platforms. A statement made available by his Media Office and signed by Mr Valentine Obienyem, said that the office had been lately inundated with clarifications on Obi’s Presidential posters being circulated through various media platforms. According to the statement, Obi was not in any way connected to or authorised anybody or organisation to promote such on his behalf. It further noted that Obi was not the one to jump the gun on a matter the party was yet to give final directives. The statement said, “As a faithful party man, Obi will abide by the final position of the party on the issue. We frown on people’s preoccupation with the next election when the situation in the country urgently calls for all hands to be on deck towards the restoration of security, eradication of poverty, creation of jobs and provision of other productive ventures for the country’s teeming unemployed youths, improving education and making health care accessible in the country. “These are precisely what Obi is concerned with right now.”

Post Date : January 16, 2022

JUST IN: Mali Ex-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita Is Dead

Mali’s former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who led the West African country from 2013 until he was ousted in a coup in 2020, died at the age of 76 in the capital Bamako on Sunday, his family said. “President IBK died this morning at 0900 GMT in his home” in Bamako, a family member told AFP using the ex-leader’s initials, with several other family members confirming his passing. The cause of Keita’s death was not given. Keita was two years into his second five-year term when he was toppled by the military in 2020. In the weeks before the coup, he had been struggling with protests fuelled by his handling of a jihadist insurgency and failure to turn around Mali’s floundering economy. Keita was forced out of office on August 18, 2020, by young military officers who staged an uprising at a base near Bamako before heading into the city, where they seized Keita and other leaders. Under pressure from the West African bloc ECOWAS, the junta that emerged from the rebellion released Keita on August 27 and returned him to his residence in Bamako, under surveillance. He suffered a mini-stroke the following month and was sent to the United Arab Emirates for treatment. The ruling junta would stage another coup in May 2021. ECOWAS this month agreed to sanction Mali after the junta proposed it would to stay in power for up to five years before staging elections — despite international demands that it respect a promise to hold the vote in February. AFP

Post Date : January 16, 2022

2023: PDP Governors Meet Monday In Port Harcourt

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum will hold a Special Meeting on Monday 17th January 2022 at the Rivers State Government House, Port Harcourt. The Director-General of the forum, Cyril Maduabum, who announced this on Sunday, said the first meeting in the new year will review the state of the States, the state of the nation and readiness of the PDP to provide the necessary leadership to rescue and rebuild Nigeria. He said all the elected PDP governors are expected to attend the meeting to be presided over by the Chairman of the forum, and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. Maduabum said the meeting will be preceded by a Gala night to be hosted by the Chief Host, Governor Nyesom Wike. He said the PDP governors are working in consultations with other leaders of the party and in particular the Senator Dr Iyorchia Ayu-led National Executive Committee of PDP to craft a credible process and programme for Nigeria’s positive rebirth. He said Dr Ayu had been invited to attend the Port Harcourt meeting to hold consultations with the governors on strategies for executing the rescue and rebuild Nigeria project.

Post Date : January 16, 2022

Mele Kyari: With PIA, NNPC will become most profitable company in Africa

Mele Kyari, chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, says the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provides business opportunities that will enable the company earn more revenue for the country. Kyari said this while addressing staff of the organisation in a townhall meeting held at NNPC Towers, Abuja, at the weekend. Highlighting the significance of the PIA to the NNPC and by extension the Nigerian economy, he said the new legislation has raised shareholders’ expectations on the company. According to a statement by Garba Deen Muhammad, NNPC spokesperson, Kyari added that the PIA had given the company a wide room to make progress. “The PIA had put all money-making options on the table; it is up to us to take advantage of it,” Kyari was quoted as saying. He said as a result of the new legislation, NNPC Ltd would not only shed some of its toxic liabilities but will be the largest and most capitalised company in the whole of Africa and, potentially, the most profitable on the entire continent. Kyari asked the employees to ensure that the company becomes a commercially viable entity and a multi-billion-dollar company that will continuously deliver value to its shareholders — the over 200 million Nigerians. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosed plans to promote policies that would incentivise major companies such as Dangote Refineries and the NNPC to list their shares on the stock exchange.

Post Date : January 16, 2022

I cannot attack Tinubu, our friendship is deep-rooted, says Orji Kalu

Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Kalu, has said he cannot attack the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, adding that their friendship is deep-rooted. Kalu said this while exonerating himself from media reports that he, in a recent interview, attacked Tinubu when he said he would contest against the APC chieftain for the party’s 2023 presidential ticket if zoned to the South. The former governor of Abia State, through his media office, said, “I told Nigerians that I would contest against Tinubu if the ticket is zoned to the South. APC is a democratic party that allows every qualified member to vote and be voted for. It is not owned or managed by an individual. If I said I was going to contest against Tinubu doesn’t mean I attacked him. I cannot attack him for any reason. “It is said that few elements are trying to twist my statement to score cheap political goal. I am not distracted. My friendship with Tinubu is deep-rooted and I am not quarrelling with him. I am not against his ambition of becoming the president. It is the choice of the party to determine who becomes her presidential candidate,” he said.

Post Date : January 16, 2022

ASUU Extends Strike Deadline To February

Following the intervention of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said that it will wait till February for the outcome of the mediatory talks between the federal government and the religious body. The 50-member NIREC, under the Co-chairmanship of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III; and the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, is also backed by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Bishop Mathew Kukah, among other Christian and Muslim leaders. ASUU had resolved to embark on industrial action to compel the federal government to meet its demands. However, following the intervention of NIREC, ASUU had opted to go for more consultations and to give the government a few days within January 2022 to address all outstanding issues arising from the December 2020 Memorandum of Action (MoA). But ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodake, told THISDAY yesterday that the union had agreed to wait till February, adding that it has also submitted its position to NIREC which promised to help mediate and resolve the issues. “ASUU leadership has agreed to wait till February to give NIREC and other stakeholders enough room to address the union’s grievances,” he said. The decision of ASUU to suspend action till February is seen as bowing to pressure from prominent Nigerians and the leadership of NIREC comprising of the Sultan of Sokoto, the president of the CAN and other stakeholders. Osodeke had disclosed that it took notice of efforts by many patriotic Nigerians both within and outside the country to ensure an amicable resolution of the dispute. He, however, vowed that the union would resist any attempt to blackmail it and derail its patriotic struggle for a productive university system “by official propaganda founded on tokenism and crumb-sharing”. Its earlier statement had summed up the decisions reached at the emergency National Executive Council (NEC) of the union held at its National Secretariat, University of Abuja. The meeting was meant to review the level of government’s implementation of the FGN-ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA) of December 23, 2020, and other related matters to decide on the way forward. In deciding to stay action on strike, Osodake said: “NEC took full account of efforts by student union bodies, leading media organisations, traditional rulers, civil society organisations and other interest groups within and outside Nigeria to make government address all outstanding issues arising from the December 2020 MoA”. In particular, the ASUU president said the union took special cognisance of the pledges made by the NIREC to make further consultations on the crisis in the coming days to find an amicable resolution. He accused the government of reneging on its promise to set up an inter-ministerial committee to handle renegotiation of the 2009 agreement. One of the issues in contention is the delay in approving the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) developed by ASUU. ASUU said it was fully prepared to address all the reports of the “integrity test” on UTAS raised by the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to pave way for its deployment. The statement read in part: “NEC was worried by the spirited efforts of government agents to reduce the demands of ASUU to a regime of intermittent payment of watered-down revitalisation fund and release of distorted and grossly devalued Earned Academic Allowances (EAA). “NEC condemns, in strong terms, the surreptitious moves to pooh-pooh our demands on the review of the NUC’s Act to curb the proliferation of universities by state governments who are not funding the existing ones; adoption of the University Transparency Accountability Solutions (UTAS) with concurrent discontinuance of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel accumulated promotion arrears. “NEC concluded that government has failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement and subsequent MoUs and MoAs. “However, considering the ongoing intervention and consultation efforts, NEC resolved to review the situation at a later date to decide on the next line of action.”

Post Date : January 16, 2022

Governors to hold ‘crucial meeting’ in Abuja on Wednesday

The 36 state governors will meet in the federal capital territory (FCT) on Wednesday to discuss pressing national concerns. The meeting, which will be in-person, is going to be held at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) secretariat at 8:00 pm. An invitation to the governors was sent by Asishana Okauru, director-general of the NGF, according to a statement issued by Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, head of public affairs of the forum. Bello-Barkindo said pressing national issues will be discussed in the “crucial meeting”. The spokesman of the forum said governors will also receive briefings from the NGF’s fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability (SFTAS) team. Bello-Barkindo said at the end of the meeting, Kayode Fayemi, chairman of the NGF and governor of Ekiti, will address a press conference on the issues discussed.