Tag Archives: Buhari’s Govt.

MEND Accuses Jonathan For Using Avengers To Destabilise Buhari’s Govt

Posted on by
9

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta says it has been vindicated by the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers’ allegation that former President Goodluck Jonathan is a grand patron of new militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers.

MEND claimed in a statement on Tuesday that Jonathan was sponsoring the NDA to destabilise the government of his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari.

The statement signed by one Jomo Gbomo was MEND’s response to Jonathan’s denial of the allegation by the RNDA, linking the ex-President with the new militant group.

The full text of the statement was made available to online news platform, SaharaReporters by MEND.

MEND said it was highly infuriated by Jonathan’s rebuttal of the RNDA earlier claim, particularly his declaration that Henry Okah was after his life rather than clear the air on the allegation.

The statement said, “MEND cannot hold brief for the RNDA, which pointedly accused Mr. Jonathan of complicity in fueling the ongoing Niger Delta crisis and patronising the NDA, apparently for political reasons.

“We are, however, quick to point out the fact that the RNDA has merely vindicated MEND’s belief and conviction that the former President and his cronies, who lost the 2015 presidential election, were using the illegal and treasonable NDA platform to destabilise President Buhari’s government.”

Read More:

http://punchng.com/jonathan-using-avengers-destabilise-buhari-govt-mend/

 

Buhari’s Govt ‘Dragging Feet’ On Petroleum Industry Bill- Dogara

Posted on by
1

The House of Representatives is picking up the Petroleum Industry Bill for a speedy consideration, its speaker, Yakubu Dogara, said Monday.

Mr. Dogara said the legislature found the initiative necessary after President Buhari’s administration repeatedly ignored calls to send an executive version of the bill.

The bill has remained stuck at the National Assembly since 2009 despite the huge impact experts said a petroleum industry law could have on Nigeria’s economy.

“I have on at least three different occasions publicly requested the executive to as a matter of urgency send an executive bill on its intended reforms in the petroleum sector,” Mr. Dogara said.

Mr. Dogara said he sought to prevent past occurrences whereby the executive sent in the legislation late, consequently depriving lawmakers the much-needed time to thoroughly consider such a humongous document.

Mr. Dogara said the house was considering members-sponsored bills that would help reform the oil and gas sector.

“It is deliberate that Section 44 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, apart from vesting the powers to make laws in the legislature, went further to clearly invest it with powers to make laws for the management of the oil and gas sector,” Mr. Dogara said.

 “We had hoped to avoid the situation in the last two Assemblies where the PIB was sent to the National Assembly very late in its tenure, thereby guaranteeing failure to pass the bills.

“In the absence of an executive bill on the matter, two private member’s bills have now been introduced. We urge participants to familiarize themselves with these bills and make necessary inputs at the public hearing stage.

“We also hope that this summit will craft its own version of the PIB for the attention of the National Assembly, taking into consideration all the existing drafts and also the pending bills,” Mr. Dogara said.

Mr. Dogara denied media reports about the existence of an executive version of the PIB before the National Assembly, adding that lawmakers could no longer ignore the rot in the oil industry.

According to Nigeria Extractive Industry Initiative, NEITI, the PIB, if passed into law, would “strengthen the capacity of indigenous Nigerian companies in the oil and gas sector to compete with international oil companies in the search and acquisition of hydrocarbons in Nigeria. The measure was also intended to reduce exploitation in the sector and limit, to the barest minimum, Federal Government’s exposure to oil and gas exploration and production through joint venture operations”.

Bala Zaka, a petroleum engineer, welcomed the initiative of the National Assembly.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Why Buhari’s Govt Can’t Function Properly- Lamido

Posted on by
1

Former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has said the reason the All Progressives Congress (APC) government led by President Muhamadu Buhari is unable to function properly is because the formation of the ruling party was not based on any sound ideology, but out of frustration, bitterness and divisive politics.

The former governor, who made this assertion when he visited THISDAY, yesterday also did not conceal his desire to contest for the presidency in 2019, when he said he would not say no to such an offer should his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), deem it fit to field him for the nation’s top job.

Insisting that the APC was not designed to function properly, Lamido described the party as an amalgam of strange bedfellows, cautioning that the crisis currently plaguing it could undo the Buhari government soon.

Asked if his current trial would not stand between him and his aspiration, the former Jigawa governor said as long as God wills, no man, no matter how hard he tries, can stop God from doing that which he chooses to do.

“The APC has failed woefully and miserably,” he proclaimed, adding that though the Buhari government was prosecuting those it likes, “in the next three years, those being sheltered, protected and favoured against those who are now being seen as human things instead of human beings – their activities would be looked into by another government”.

He insisted that no government was clean and that after four years in government, the Buhari government might not be found to be too clean if searchlights are beamed on the activities of the government while in power.

He said contrary to the impression being created by the president, corruption was endemic in the country by the military, adding that most of the stupendously rich Nigerians are either retired or serving military officers.

Lamido, who traced the history of corruption in the country to the time of the military interregnum, reiterated that no government in Nigeria was clean, “even this government, after four years and you go through what they did, you will be surprised”.

He said it was the reason most of the mind boggling amounts of money stolen during civilian governments were perpetrated by serving or ex-military men.
“Yet, we the politicians are the ones maligned as corrupt. Corruption is not a civilian culture, it is a culture instituted by the military,” he said.

Credit: Thisday

Army Debunks Militants Allegation On Plot To Topple Buhari’s Govt

Posted on by
1

Authorities of the Nigerian Army have said allegation by a militant group claiming that a coup plot to remove the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari were the handiwork of mischief makers since there was nothing like that in the offing.

A statement titled ‘Warning to Mischief Makers; Nobody is Planning Any Coup’ and signed by Col Sani Usman said, “The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to another campaign of calumny and distraction by faceless criminal gang of economic saboteurs that hide under the aegis of Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF) alleging that some officers of the Nigerian Army approached them for support to overthrow our duly elected present democratic government.

“This is baseless and most unfortunate allegation that existed in the warped minds of the originators of such weighty allegation. The Nigerian Army wish to state that this is not true and hereby distanced itself from this weighty allegation.

“We also see this speculation as a dangerous distraction to our effort in fighting insurgency and other criminal elements in the country.

“The Nigerian Army would like to send a strong and an unequivocal warning to those speculating a coup by the Nigerian Army (NA) against the Government to desist forthwith. “We would like state in clear terms that that we are a product of democracy and a focused professional institution and would have nothing to do with such abomination and heinous crime.

“We wish to state further that the NA is the greatest beneficiary of democracy and therefore cannot ever contemplate any anti-democratic misadventure, certainly not under the command of the present Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai.

“Rather, we see this type of dangerous speculation as a declaration of war to destabilize the present government by these unscrupulous elements.

“The Nigerian Army is investigating those behind the dangerous insinuation in order to unravel the real motive behind it.

“We would like to reiterate our unalloyed loyalty to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and defence of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We would also like to reaffirm our unconditional support and obedience to civil authority. “We wish to further assure Nigerians and indeed all peace loving people that the Nigerian Army and indeed its personnel will never be involved in such terrible misadventure.

“We wish to further add that no matter how long it takes, we would track and find out those behind these insinuations and bring them to justice.

Credit: Vanguard

 

Buhari’s Govt Lacks Economic Direction- PDP

Posted on by
Reply

The Peoples Democratic Party has accused President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government of lacking economic direction.

It therefore urged the All Progressives Congress’ administration to pay urgent attention to the management of the nation’s economy.

The party said its worry stems from the result of the assessment it made which showed that the economy had remained on a rapid fall in the last four months. This, the PDP said, was due to lack of a clear-cut fiscal policy direction and an economic team to deal with the domestic and global challenges associated with a developing economy.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said this in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

Metuh said, “Whereas the PDP is in full support of the President’s efforts in tackling corruption and insurgency, the party is however concerned about the grave economic situation we now face, as well as indices from global economic watchers, which this administration has failed to give deserving attention, despite its predictable negative impact.”

Read More: punchng

I Am Unavailable To Buhari’s Govt Now- Soludo

Posted on by
Reply

It has been difficult tracking Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo (former Governor of the Central Bank) since his bombshells before the general elections, but finally we tracked him down in his private library at his residence in Abuja on Friday, 5th June, 2015. He seemed unwilling to say much, at least for now.  But it was still vintage Soludo, and some of the issues he raised are explosive.

He sees hope and opportunities for the new Government, even though he says his current engagements will not allow him to join the government on a full time basis, contrary to wide speculations. He says he can however freely offer advice to the government if needed.

Soludo says: Nigeria needs a Job Manifesto, and that solid minerals and agriculture can’t be relied upon for job creation; Argues that a sustainable change will not occur without a new constitution; says the clamour for zoning and sharing of public offices is an elite power game which has little to do with the masses and therefore misplaced; believes the argument for local government autonomy is anti-federalism; is waiting for the action plan from the new government before joining the debate on the agenda;  says his public spat with Okonjo-Iweala was unfortunate; raises questions about the proposal by CBN governor on selling government equity stakes in oil for immediate revenue as well as the new NBS data on unemployment; etc.

Read More: vanguardngr

Buhari’s Govt., Fuel Marketers Meet Finally; Agree To End Petrol Scarcity

Posted on by
1

The Muhammadu Buhari administration finally met fuel marketers Friday to resolve a lingering fuel crisis that continued a week after the new president was sworn into office.

At the end of the meeting with the marketers and other operators in the oil and gas sector, all sides agreed to work speedily to end the shortage that has hit the hardest in Abuja and Lagos.
Oil marketers said they have dispatched 700 trucks of petrol to Abuja as part of efforts to end the scarcity.

According to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, signed by Taiye Haruna, permanent secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the marketers agreed to begin to deliver fuel products to all parts of the country immediately.

The statement said the meeting was tagged “Queue must go stakeholders’ platform”.
It said that the Petroleum Products Marketing Company in conjunction with marketers, major and independent, have agreed to increase the level of supply to all retail outlets nationwide with immediate effect.

It also stated that the meeting also directed marketers to move 700 trucks of petrol to Abuja with immediate effect.

It noted that one of the major constraints to distribution was the logjam at Apapa –Oshodi expressway in Lagos. “We have agreed to work with the Lagos State Government, Petrol Tanker Drivers (PTD) and NARTO to clear the logjam at Apapa,” the communique stated.

“Currently we have over 2,000 trucks on that road waiting to take fuel at the depot. Trucks are at Apapa to load products but could not get product but we fashioned out modality to clear the logjam in conjunction with other stakeholders,” it stated.

The communiqué said the measure would enable the marketers start loading and moving products out of the depot to the hinterland. “We have enough stocks that can last for 23 days; also we agreed to set up the committee of stakeholders to monitor the loading and delivering of products nationwide. We have also agreed that efforts will be made to clear this long before the end of June,” the communiqué declared.

It further stated that the Petroleum Equalization Fund would track all the trucks from Apapa using the Aquila project to avoid diversion of the products. “DPR is to ensure that products are delivered and selling of proceeds should not be more than N87 per litre. Government will not relent in their efforts to ensure that the challenge becomes a thing of the past.

“All stakeholders have agreed to clear the queue before the end of next week,” it stated.
According to the communiqué, it was also agreed that a task force comprising all operators be set up to look into the distribution of petrol nationwide.

The meeting was attended by the Executive Secretary, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, Femi Olawore, and Lawson Obasi, leader of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).

The Executive Secretary Depot & Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), Femi Adewole; the Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), George Osahon, also attended the meeting.

The others were Executive Secretary, PEF, Asabe Ahmed; the Executive Secretary Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPRA) Farouk Hamed, and a representative of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), David Ige, who is the Group Executive Director, Gas and Power.
Credit NAN