Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) not to renege on its campaign promise of paying N5,000 to 25 million unemployed Nigerians. This is contained in a statement signed by the Special Assistant to the president’s wife on Media, Mrs Adebisi Ajayi, on Tuesday in Abuja. “The APC is a party of integrity and has assured Nigerians during the campaign that it will pay N5,000 each month to 25 million most vulnerable citizens. “Nigerians should be patient with the APC government as the change they had been yearning for has come to stay,” she…
Author: Wale Adebayo
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ), today, met President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) yesterday in Abuja, behind closed doors. Although neither Buhari nor Obasanjo spoke to the media at the end of the meeting, it is believed that the former president was at the presidential villa to discuss recent assignments. He has been President Buhari’s special envoy to Guinea Bissau. He also headed the African Union observers to the general election in Ivory Coast.
Former military president Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) has said that he would not seek any political post in Nigeria again. He made this known on Tuesday in a statement signed by him in Minna. Babangida had rejected an invitation by the PDP for a rebranding conference. However, he said he would continue to offer his wise counsel to all politicians towards building a better Nigeria. “If I called it quit in 2011, why would PDP contemplate fielding a 78 year-old man in a presidential election in a country that parades very vibrant men and women of lesser age? “I have no…
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday apologised for mistakes made during its 16-year rule in the country. The Chairman of the PDP Reconciliation Committee, Mr Raymond Dokpesi, offered the apology at a news conference in Abuja ahead of the party’s National Conference slated for Thursday. “on behalf of PDP, I tender our apologies,” said Dokpesi, who admitted that the PDP might not have met all the expectations of Nigerians while it was in power. “We tender unreserved apology to Nigerians for the mistakes and to party members for abandoning the zoning principle of the party. “We apologise to people…
The Governors in the Southeast geo-political zone and the leadership of the pan Igbo socio-political organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, will converge on Owerri, Imo State, this weekend at the instance of the Imo state Governor, Rochas Okorocha, to find a lasting solution to the escalating agitation by separatist groups in the zone. Okorocha, who had earlier denounced the activities of the pro-Biafra groups on behalf of the Southeast Governors and Igbo leaders, said the governors and leaders in the zone could no longer sit and watch the situation degenerate further, adding that the Igbo as a people cannot afford to have…
A group of federal lawmakers from the House of Representatives elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), on Monday said that the composition of the leadership of House committees shared equally between the party and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) by Speaker Yakubu Dogora was a declaration of war against the presidency and the party. The lawmakers operating under the aegis of “APC House Loyal Members”, stated that it was against the democratic principle to share committees equally with the opposition. Briefing Journalists at the end of a closed door meeting with the members of the National Working…
Troops of 23 Brigade Special Battalion on Monday, arrested another wanted Boko Haram suspect, Ishaku Wardifen, at a check point in Maiha, Adamawa State. According to the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman, preliminary interrogation revealed that the suspected terrorist is a Cameroonian citizen. “Visual matching with photographs on the poster of the 100 declared suspected Boko Haram terrorists wanted list released by the Nigerian last month, shows that he clearly resemble the suspect on serial number 22 on the list. “The suspect has been handed over to military intelligence for further investigation and possible prosecution. “Nigerian Army…
The former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) has sued the Federal Government over allegation that men of the Department of State Services (DSS) were laying siege on his Abuja home. In a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed on Monday, Dasuki wants the Federal High Court, Abuja to compel the federal government and its agents, especially operatives of the DSS to immediately vacate his premises on 13, John Kadija Street, Asokoro, Abuja. DSS operatives had stormed Dasuki’s house few days ago in a move meant to prevent the former NSA from travelling to the United Kingdom for medical…
Kaduna State has been selected as the best performing state during the first phase of the 2015 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCH), a statement by the governor’s media aide, Samuel Aruwan, said on Sunday. The news of the prize was conveyed to Governor Nasir El-Rufai in a letter signed by Dr. Bilali Camara, the Country Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Camara’s letter explained that Kaduna was adjudged the best state because during the MNCH week, its hospitals counseled and tested 84,000 pregnant women for HIV during the period, and referred everyone that tested…
A former United States’ Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Walter Carrington, has said that the US will not stand in the way of President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts to negotiate with Boko Haram. The former diplomat, however, stressed that Washington would not support any attempt by the Nigerian Government to offer money to the terrorist group in exchange for the abducted Chibok schoolgirls. “The American position is refusing to negotiate (with terrorists) for the release of prisoners by paying a ransom on the feeling that if you pay a ransom to release somebody you will only encourage the terrorists to take other…
The European Union on Monday said 7,436 Nigerians crossed illegally into Europe in the second quarter of 2015. Mr Richard Young, EU Deputy Head of Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, made this known on the sideline of a news briefing on migration in Abuja. According to Young, the figure was the number of irregular migrants that were officially recorded by the EU Border Agency, Frontex. He said that out of the 7,436 immigrants, 7,124 illegally crossed through the sea borders into Europe during the period. “In this situation, they are referred to as irregular immigrants in the sense that they…
President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration will strive to deliver on its campaign promises to the people of Nigeria, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), has assured. Osinbajo gave the assurance on Saturday at Ikenne, his home town where he was the Special Guest of Honour at the 39th Ereke Day celebration. Ereke is an annual festival organised in Ikenne, Ogun State, as platform for addressing the town’s developmental challenges. Osinbajo pointed out that the opportunity to address the nation’s numerous challenges and reposition the country for greatness is now. He said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration would keep its…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has saluted the Golden Eaglets for Sunday night’s victory at the U-17 World Cup in Chile, describing it as a bold statement by the Nigerian youth against series of “uninspiring and negative utterances and actions” of President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government that has been de-marketing the nation in the international arena. The Golden Eaglets successfully retained their crown by defeating fellow Africans, Mali, 2-0. With the victory, Nigeria became only the second side to retain the FIFA U-17 World Cup. In a congratulatory message on Monday, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said the victory…
President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) will officially inaugurate a new Federal Executive Council on Wednesday, November 11, 2015. According to a statement signed by Mr Femi Adesina, special adviser on media and publicity to the president, before the commencement of the inaugural session of the council, the ministers-designate will take their oaths of office in the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa. The swearing-in ceremony will begin at 10:00am and the ministers-designate are expected to be seated in the Council Chambers by 09:30am at the latest. Meanwhile, President Buhari will tomorrow at the Presidential Villa, preside over the swearing-in of Prof. Mahmood…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the Saturday’s verdict of the Taraba State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal is the clearest indication yet that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has started reaping what it sowed in its years of “impunity and recklessness”, hence it should blame itself for whatever tragedy has now befallen it. In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said the PDP has always been a party of anything goes, hence it is a matter of time for the party to come to grief, first by tumbling from…
The family of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the April 11 polls in Plateau State, late Senator Gyang Pwajok, has announced that will he be buried on November 13 in Jos. This is contained in a statement signed by Samuel Pwajok, the deceased’s elder brother, in Jos on Sunday. The former senator passed on in an Indian Hospital on October 29. While thanking Nigerians for standing by them in their time of grief, the Pwajok family, however, warned against “wild rumours” that were aggravating the sad moments for the family, relations and friends. The statement specifically expressed…
Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Bro Felix Obuah, has described the state governor, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike as a good man. He also described the Wike administration as that dedicated to God and the service of the collective interest of the State and not for the service of the pocket of someone. Obuah in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, said the collective interest of Rivers people is paramount to the governor and not a particular individual. The PDP Chairman also said the road to success is always tedious and only the…
President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) has restricted ministers’ foreign travels to only “essential ones”. Speaking at their retreat at the weekend, Buhari said the “essential ones” must be “duty-related”. He directed the ministers to adhere to the rule of law in everything they do, while cautioning against flamboyance in their conduct or spending. According to a document obtained by Vanguard, the President listed about 11 key things the ministers must abide with to fit into his cabinet. They include: – Foreign travels must be duty-related – Ministers must operate within lean resources – No more flamboyance – Strict adherence to the rule…
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has risen against the clamour for the establishment of grazing reserves for herdsmen in all parts of the country, warning that its implementation portends “very grave danger to our national peace and security”. The association also called on state governments and concerned authorities plotting to stop prayers and assembly devotion in public schools to rescind the decision because the “new trend is evil and must not prevail”. “The idea of acquiring parcels of land in the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory for the sole purpose of providing grazing area for…
The Group Chief Executive Officer of telecom company, MTN, Sifiso Dabengwa, has resigned following the hefty N1.04 trillion ($5.2 billion) fine imposed on the company by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC. MTN was sanctioned by the NCC for failing to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered subscribers from its network. The NCC had in August directed mobile telecoms service providers in the country to deactivate all unregistered SIM cards or face severe sanctions. While other networks complied substantially with the directive, the NCC said MTN refused to comply and after the deadline to deactivate its unregistered subscribers elapsed, a 200,000-naira ($1,008) fine…