chino11:
You were the governor of Oyo State at the time Chief Ajibola Ige was murdered. What was your experience then?
It was a bitter experience. That very day was a Sunday. It was the day we had our Christmas carol at the Government House. It was a norman Sunday; everything was going on fine. The carol came and went from 4:15 to 6:00pm that day. And then everybody dispersed. As if I got a signal of what was coming, my speech that day was centred on security in Oyo State. I called on the Commissioner of Police and the Inspector General of Police to strengthen security in Oyo State because an old school mate, Engineer Adegeebo, had been assassinated near his house in Bodija a week earlier.
Every cleric went home and I retired to Government House. I played for some time. Then I went to my room to treat some files. I was doing that when suddenly the phone rang. It was land line we were using then. The operator said that somebody wanted to speak with me. Then I picked the call and it was a brother to my deputy. He said he was asked to tell me that Chief Bola Ige had been shot by some unknown assassins. I was confused immediately. I didn’t know what to do. But later I regained my strength and quickly went down without telling my wife what was happening. It was 9:55 pm. I sent for my PS because all the ADC and other security staff had gone to their places of abode. I told him to drive me in one of the private cars. Inside the car, I told him that Uncle Bola Ige had been shot by some gunmen, that I was going to check him at Catholic Hospital, Oluyoro. The man who informed said Ige was taken to Oluyoro.
The place I have been treading for over 60 years, I that I lost my way. I was just going round and round until I gained my consciousness again. Immediately the gateman saw me, he quickly opened the gate. There, we saw Uncle Dele Ige, who was already rolling on the ground. I went straight to the room where Bola Ige was lying. I saw marks of bullets on his body. He slept with his face up. He was somehow breathing but the breathing was abnormal. I saw where the bullet penetrated on the left side. I saw it myself. Uncle Bola Ige was wearing shirt and tros. And I saw Muyiwa standing by the side of the bed. He was wailing. He appealed to me, saying: ”Uncle, please tell the doctor to wake up my Daddy. Tell him. The doctor can do it.” Then, I approached the doctor and asked him the situation. The doctor called me to one side and told me that he was dead. He said: “Sir, Your Excellency, Uncle is gone. There is nothing we can do. They shot him straight in the heart. He asked me not to tell Muyiwa.
I almost betrayed my emotion when I got back into the room where Uncle was lying with Muyiwa beside his bed. I just quickly gathered myself and told Muyiwa that I was going to see the head of the hospital. That was how I bolted away. I came back to the Government House to inform Mr. President, who was Obasanjo at that time.
By the time I was going upstairs to my room, to try and tell Operator to phone Mr. President for me, the phone was already ringing. When I got into my room, it was still ringing. I quickly picked it up and it was Obasanjo.
He the Operator said the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wants to talk to you. Then I asked him to put him on. The question Obasanjo just asked was: “Is he certified dead?” I said: “Yes sir.” Then he dropped the phone. That was all. That was my experience. I can never forget that experience.
All Progressives Congress chieftain, Bola Tinubu, has again stated that he is richer than Osun State and that he indeed said he was richer than Osun State during the run-up to the Osun State governorship election last year.
This comes months after Tinubu’s media team had claimed the APC chieftain was quoted out of context.
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He said, “They insulted me and said I used my mouth to speak anyhow. However, that rough-handedness paid off in Osun. They claimed that we brought candidates from Lagos to become governors in Osun; people like (Rauf) Aregbesola and (Gboyega) Oyetola.
“If we train your children, and they become experts in their fields, won’t we ask them to come home to make things better? How much is your money that I’ll embezzle? You can’t match my pocket. I told them so, and their traditional rulers were seated.
“They were even recording the incident and published it.
The Awolowo rebirth in the Southwest has inspired gongs, songs and rhetoric of sorts. But they have missed one point.
It occurred to me in Abeokuta last week amidst the big crowds and euphoria of the swearing-in of Senator Ibikunle Amosun as governor. In all the states from Lagos to Edo, where Awo has witnessed ideological resurgence, hardly a single family member has played a role.
So we have an Awo family without an Awo. That is an irony. But history overwhelms us with this sort of twist. Obafemi Awolowo toiled for his reputation. His roots were lowly, he toiled to school both home and abroad, launched into careers in law, business, journalism and eventually politics. He carved a niche for himself, and became the first methodical and charismatic leftist in our history. Other leftists abounded but they did not inspire comparable drama and following.
He faced tribulations, went to jail, failed in elections, won a few, but he imprinted his ideas and legacy in the country, and no single mortal has beaten him in the history of this country. His greatest achievement was in the area of ideas, and that was how he fashioned a family. Most families are born of biology but his issued from ideology. That family suffered with him.
In a spoof of Jesus Christ, these were the men who followed him in his teachings, and endured with him in his temptations. So he formed a kingdom for them in the Southwest, in the old Western Region, presiding over his projects, his legacies and people.
In all of these, the family he had was not his flesh and blood. In another spoof of Christ, who were his family anyway? Those who were with him must be counted as his family. So, I combed in the ambience of Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), and I found none. I went to Ogun, I frisked the crowd under Amosun’s bower, hardly any. Around Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in Osun, I could not lay a finger. With Governor Kayode Fayemi in Ekiti, where are the forbears of Awo? Yet, I can hear the chants of Awo. Hardly in any of the inaugural speeches or any of their other public intervention would you miss the philtre and filter of Awo from these gentlemen. To parody Novelist Joseph Conrad, they are the sparks from Awo’s sacred fire, the messengers of the might within the man.
Already all of them are pursuing the legacy ideas of Awo: free education, free health services, infrastructural development, urban renewal and economic engineering.
Lagos has posted itself as the John the Baptist. The others are putting up valiant efforts, and the world of course is watching to see how well they will perform. It will call for great work, resourcefulness and cooperation. They are the real Awoists, and Awo was a man of rigour and vigour.
The Awo son that many expected to take after the father was Olusegun, who unfortunately died in a car crash. We shall never know if he could have pulled it off. But the others have not shown much of the paterfamilias’ brio and depth. In the past decade, under this republic, they have blended with the wrong crowd. Even H.I.D, hobnobbed with Alao-Akala, who brought illiteracy to governance; with Oyinlola who turned the grace of office into a hell-hole of despots; with Daniel who could not arrest his quick fall into megalomania.
I wrote once that this woman whom Awo once described as the jewel of inestimable value has lost value to his cause. If he came back to life, he would have committed the extraordinary act of divorce after death. Even his newspaper, The Tribune, has so stumbled and fallen that it swims in Awo’s vomit.
Racoon: Festus Keyamo Defends Tinubu From Drug Trafficking, Says Tinubu Mistakenly Shared Flats With Drug Lords
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo, has distanced the All Progressive Congress presidential candidata, Bola Tinubu, from being a drug baron who was involved in the traffic of narcotics in the United States.
Keyamo, who also doubles as APC Presidential Campaign spokesperson, noted that the former governor of Lagos State only shared a block of flat with drug barons about 30 years ago in the US.
His reaction is coming following documents of a Chicago District Court indicting and convicting Tinubu of drug dealings and money laundering in 1993.
The document which emerged online two days ago, described APC standard-bearer as a drug baron, adding that Tinubu entered a plea bargain, leading to the forfeiture of his assets to US authorities in 1993
It was also pointed out that Tinubu forfeited the sum of $460, 000 dollars in his bank at First Heritage Bank to the US government.
Speaking on Wednesday on Channels TV, Mr Keyamo dismissed such claims, insisting that Tinubu was linked to drug peddlers who were his neighbours.
He said: “What happened was that Tinubu went to open an . The address which he used in opening the was the address used by these people. I think some blocks of flats. Maybe, he was happy to be in that block of flats too.
“So, they now link it that the other people they were investigating for narcotics are in the same address used by Asiwaju to open that .’’
dre11: ing APC Makes the Brain Stop Working’ and 4 More Daniel Bwala Anti-Tinubu Remarks
There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy: hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny. – Frederick William Robertson
Daniel Bwala, a staunch critic of President Tinubu, his istration and the All Progressives Congress (APC), has been seen frolicking with the President in recent days, which has infuriated the public.
For his past statements against the APC, Bwala, who was a spokesperson for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign council during the 2023 elections, has now drawn backlash.
He was an APC member until he defected to the PDP in 2022. He would later cite the ruling party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket as the reason for his exit.
While announcing his decision on X on July 10, 2022, Bwala wrote: “Tonight I officially resigned my hip of @OfficialAPCNg on principles and conviction that I hold so dear. At this time of our national existence, our efforts and energy should gravitate towards uniting our people.”
There are now speculations that he may return to the APC. He held a meeting with President Tinubu on Wednesday “to show appreciation and for the bold decisions he is taking to deal with the crisis confronting [the] country”, and he revealed that he would Tinubu without apologies, even if it meant going back to the APC.
Amid ongoing controversies surrounding Bwala’s recent interactions with the President, FIJ revisits five times in the past when he criticised the APC-led istration.
‘EVEN IF YOU GIVE TINUBU 30 YEARS, NOTHING WILL WORK‘
On December 25, 2023, Bwala expressed scepticism about President Tinubu’s ability to deliver within his four-year term. He argued that waiting for significant changes under Tinubu’s istration might not be feasible.
Bwala said, “When people talk about being patient and waiting, you have to look at the time frame the public officer is expected to execute the work. The President has just been voted into a term of four years. He is eight months into the term, which constitutes 31.8 percent of the total time that he has. He has less than 70 percent time in government; when is that going to happen? When President Buhari took over in 2015, it was the same language, and we patiently followed and he finished the first term and finished the second term. When there is a fundamental problem with policy, time is irrelevant; 30 years, it will not work.”
‘TINUBU’S CABINET WON’T PERFORM MORE THAN 15%‘
In August 2023, Bwala said that the cabinet appointed by Tinubu would not perform beyond 15 percent because the President seemed more focused on politics than governance.
“I feel that when it comes to the number of ministers, he (Tinubu) was more particular about politics than governance. The number of governors in the cabinet and the portfolios assigned to some individuals were purely political. I don’t have an expectation of a performance that is going to be beyond 15 percent, looking at the cabinet ,” he said.
‘TINUBU IS PRESIDENT-SELECT, NOT PRESIDENT-ELECT’
In May 2023, Bwala said Tinubu was the ‘president-select’, and not the ‘president-elect’. He said Tinubu was selected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as their preferred candidate.
His words: “Now we are in court to say that it was a rigged process. As long as there is no final determination of the matter, we have every right under law, equity and justice to hold the opinion that we express that he is a president-select and not a president-elect.”
‘THE PDP CLEARLY WON THE ELECTION BUT APC RIGGED IT‘
Following the 2023 presidential polls, Bwala said his party won the election and alleged that the APC rigged it to emerge as the winner.
Bwala, who disclosed this in an interview with Arise TV in March 2023, said, “We clearly won. In fact, if these results were allowed to be read from the result sheet, we won with over 1 million vote. Nigerian people voted PDP as the winner of this election, but history and posterity is the one that will judge.”
‘ING APC MAKES THE HUMAN BRAIN STOP WORKING’
Bwala made a post on X in November 2022: “The human brain is unique and miraculous. It works and functions optically 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, until you APC, then it stops working.”
Since his post resurfaced on Thursday amid his unabashed declaration of for the APC, Bwala’s cognitive abilities have been questioned by Nigerians.
An X with the handle @chymaker wrote, “His brain stopped working.”
Another X @Morris_Monye, wrote, “There’s something wrong with this man’s brain.”
“Your brain didn’t take that long to stop working. Either you forgot to go for an annual checkup or your network is not as strong as you think. Whatever the case is, learn to clean your mouth,” wrote @Gary_Mazi
NextIG:
>>>After the 2013 Anambra State Governorship election that APC lost, Tinubu, Buhari and other APC leaders protested in Abuja, calling for Prof Attahiru Jega’s sack and dissolution of the management of INEC.
Now, the same APC people are shouting that Jega must not be removed.
Between November 2013 that they said Jega was a BAD person and now, has anything changed? <<<
>>>Here is THE NATION newspaper report of November 28, 2013...
#Anambra poll: Buhari, Tinubu, others protest at INEC headquarters#
Top leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by a former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari defied police and military barricade to march on the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in protest against the shoddy conduct of the governorship poll in Anambra State.
They demanded outright cancellation of the election by INEC.
They also called for the resignation of INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega and dissolution of the management of the electoral body.
Reminiscence of pro-democracy struggle between 1993 and 1998 during the dark days of military era, the leaders trekked for about five kilometers from APC National Secretariat in Blantyre Street in Wuse II part of Abuja to Zambezi Crescent in Maitama District where INEC is located.
The initial stage of the trek was piloted by Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun State) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti State) and many of the National Assembly.
The great trek was later coordinated by a former National Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change, Engr. Buba Galadima.
But when the procession took off, Buhari and some top leaders of APC withstood the rigours of standing in an open lorry for the protest march.
Others tucked in the lorry were the National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; a former National Chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu; a former National Chairman of the defunct All Peoples Party(APP), Alhaji Yusuf Ali; ex-Governor Ahmed Sani Yerima, ex-Governor Segun Osoba; ex-Governor Niyi Adebayo; Senator Nazif Suleiman; the Deputy National Secretary of APC, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, Senator Abu Ibrahim; and a former member of the House of Representatives, Comrade Dino Melaye.
Others who participated in the hectic protest were Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Senator (Prof.) Sola Adeyeye; Senator Domingo Obende; Senator Anthony Adeniyi; Senator Ahmed Lawan; Senator Gbenga Asafa; House Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajiabiamila and the Chairman of the House Committee on the Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri.
Others were the Deputy Minority Chief Whip in the House, Hon. Garba Datti; Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Suleiman Kawu; Hon. Umar Bago; Hon. Adeola Solomon; Hon. Yakubu Balogun; Hon. Pally Iriase; Hon. Munir Hakeem; Hon. Abayomi Ayeola; Hon. Taiwo Adelekan; Hon. Adeyinka Ajayi; Hon. Gafar Akintayo; Hon. Sunday Adepoju; Hon. Ajibola Famurewa; the APC National Women Leader, Barrister Sharon Ikeazor, APC National Treasurer, and Hajiya Sadiat Umar Farouk,
Waving brooms amidst blare of revolutionary songs, traffic was brought to a standstill for about two hours along the ever busy Ademola Adetokunbo Street in Wuse II.
Many workers in the business district abandoned offices to identify with the protesters.
They wielded leaflets and placards with the following inscriptions: “Anambrarians, Nigerians are with you,” “Anambra Election: Jega, not the INEC Messiah, Resign Now,” “2015, No hope with Jega,” “No Supplementary Election in Anambra,” “Cancel Anambra Governorship Election Now,” “Election Fraud Must Stop Now.”
*PRESIDENT TINUBU'S PRIORITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS AFTER ONE YEAR IN OFFICE.*
Purchase of Presidential Jet valued at #150 billion naira. Purchase of Presidential Yath valued at #5 billion naira.
Purchase of Presidential motor cade bullet proof Escalade SUV valued at #2 billion naira. Purchase of Nigeria AGIP oil company (NAOC) with 17 deep sea upstream oil wells valued at $5 billion USD dollars for his family.
Awarded Lagos to Calabar Coastline super highway project valued at $13 billion USD dollars without biding to his friend.
Naira to USD dollars exchange rate has crashed to #1,600 /dollar.
A litre of petrol is #950.00.
A bag of rice is #88,000.00.
A bag of beans is #145,000.00.
A bag of garri is #130,000.00.
A tuber of yam is #7,000.00.
Transport from Lagos to Abuja is #45,000.00.
Transport from Lagos to Awka is #35,000.00.
Nigeria's debt is #110, trillion naira.
Inflation is 40%.
Rent increases.
Nigerians should be patient with President Tinubu and endure APC nine years misrule.@everyone
May 12, 2016
Former governor of Lagos, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed his immense for President Buhari’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy.
In a statement released on Thursday in Lagos, Jagaban said that the Buhari istration made a prudent decision in the removal of the fuel subsidy. The statement read;
“We all want fuel at a cheaper price. under the subsidy, we got the right price but not the fuel. Meanwhile, some were getting rich on the common man’s predicament. They were laughing to the bank while the rest of Nigeria waited in the petrol line. This is not the way to democratic development. It is a recipe for creating a class of economic predators that would feed off the people and in time gain such power and wealth that they would seek to buy and control if not own government as well.
President Buhari has with this decision put an abrupt and just end to this assault against our economy and political system. He has made a courageous and prudent decision. It is time to end the fuel subsidy and to begin to subsidize the true needs of the people.
To Mr. President, I say congratulations for having the courage to remove the subsidy. The President has taken this tough decision in the interest of the present and future generations of Nigerians.
For some time, I have been a proponent of this action. I believed ending of subsidy was the only sure way to put to sleep the myriad demons that had invaded the subsidy process, sucking the blood of Nigeria, swallowing much of our needed money.
A former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has described the decision of the President Buhari-led Federal Government to remove petrol subsidy as courageous.
The government, through the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, on Wednesday, announced the removal of the subsidy on petrol, pegging the upper limit at N145 per litre from N86.50k.
In a statement in Lagos on Thursday, Tinubu said though the decision was a difficult one, it would ultimately become beneficial to the generality of the people instead of enriching the pockets of a few Nigerians, who enjoyed the fraud of the subsidy regime.
Nigeria Boko Haram: Militants 'technically defeated' - Buhari
Published
24 December 2015
Nigeria has "technically won the war" against Islamist Boko Haram militants, President Muhammadu Buhari says.
He told the BBC that the militant group could no longer mount "conventional attacks" against security forces or population centres.
It had been reduced to fighting with improvised explosives devices (IED) and remained a force only in its heartland of Borno state, he said.
Boko Haram has been described as one of the world's deadliest terror groups.
Critics of the government argue that it has exaggerated the scale of its success against the militants, and that each time the army claims to have wiped out Boko Haram, the militants have quietly rebuilt.
Nnamdd1:
The Nigerian Army has handed over the flag of Boko Haram that was recovered from “camp zero” in Sambisa forest to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Major General Lucky Irabor, Theatre commander of Operation Lafiya Dole handed over the flag to Buhari at exactly 10:30 pm on Friday, December 30th, at this year’s regimental dinner organised by the presidential brigade of guards.
Speaking at Friday’s dinner, Irabor said troops arrested 1,240 suspected Boko Haram during a mop-up operation inside Sambisa.
In his response, Buhari, who recounted how he was nearly killed even before he collected his first salary in the army stated that keeping Nigeria united was paramount.
“I believe you are here because you want to be here and you cannot complain. We will do our best to build the national institutions in the country,” he said.
“There are 250 ethnic groups, so keeping Nigeria one is a task that must be done. So even for a personal reason, you must make sure this country stays one and remain strong.”
On his part, Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai assured Nigerians that they will continue their onslaught in the north-east.
Highways: Where Are The Cows? Is Evans A Herdsman?'
When Funke Olakurin, daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti was murdered instead of Bola Tinubu to make sure that the perpetrators were brought to book, he ended up making fun of the death of the young lady by turning everything into tribalism by showing his hates for Igbos.
Tinubu has never spoken against the deadly activities of Fulani herdsmen across the country
Mrs Olakunrin died of gunshot wounds in July 2019 after her vehicle was attacked by armed men, suspected to be marauding Fulani bandits whose violent activities had reached a frightening level across the southwest states.
Those arrested suspects include Lawal Mazaje, 40, from Felele area of Kogi State; Adamu Adamu, 50, from Jada area of Adamawa State; Mohammed Usman, 26, from Illela area of Sokoto State and Auwal Abubakar, 25, from Shinkafi area of Zamfara State....
However, the leader of the team, identified only as Tambaya, and three others are yet to be found.
Tambaya has been declared wanted by the police and he is said to be capable of communicating in Hausa, Fulfude and Pidgin English.
scribble:
The blogosphere was inundated with reports of the excessive sharing of dollars at the All Progressives Congress which took place during the latter part of last week.
One APC er and Special Adviser to Osun Governor on Environment, BolaIlori had blown the scandal open after he saw the beginning stages of the dollarization in action.
He took to his Facebook page and scribbled, “Crazy things are happening here!!! Some of these cannot represent the change Nigeria is yearning for. Excessive dollarization by one of the aspirants to is to say the least obscene. I have been involved in political process for decades now, I have never witnessed this volume of raw dollarization of party primaries. I only read about this kind of things in PDP primaries. A question been asked by conscientious delegates is that whoever can be giving out between $2000 to $5000 to…delegates certainly does not represent the kind of change Nigerians want…those who contributed to the pauperization of Nigeria now revel in dollarization… majority of Ondo delegates are still standing with Buhari but have been reduced from 85% to 70% within 24 hours…the remaining has gone with dollars ooo.!!!!!”
One has to wonder how Buhari was able to win the primaries in this era of stomach infrastructure where dollars are like the Biblical manna that God sent down from heaven to nourish the Israelites as they made their way to the promised land.
Sources close to the APC with knowledge of the way the Primaries unfolded have revealed that it was Rivers State Governor, A[b]maechi who flew back to Rivers State and returned to Lagos on Thursday morning with enough dollars to make Benjamin Franklin blush.[/b]
It has been revealed that Atiku offered the delegates $5000 each, but Amaechi doubled it to $10000 a pop. Thus turning the tables in favour of General Buhari.
Since his adventure into the APC, Amaechi has gone out of his way to prove himself a party loyalist, always the first to shoki or azonto at the many events the APC holds, which he himself is usually the chief sponsor.
According to party insiders, Amaechi has overtaken Tinubu as the major financier of the party. One does not need to wonder why he is always at President Jonathan’s throat over misappropriated oil wells or other such business. Anything that diminishes from the State’s coffers will have a ripple effect on his funding budget for the APC.
Glimpsetv:
A large crowd of Lagosians was filmed in a long queue struggling to collect a loaf of bread. To maintain order, several military personnel were on the ground to control the crowd. This has triggered a lot of reactions online.
Watch the video, share your thoughts in the comments.
BeeBeeOoh:
The First Lady of Nigeria, Oluremi Tinubu, has urged Nigerian youths to be hard-working, saying, “There is no food for lazy man.”
Mrs Tinubu said this during a courtesy visit to the palace of Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, in Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Thursday.
She noted that while the Tinubu-led istration is working hard to provide sustainable solutions to the current challenges facing the country, Nigerians should also work hard to provide for themselves.
The first lady maintained that the government will do all it takes to ensure that Nigerians are not disappointed and called for patience with Tinubu’s istration.
Mrs Tinubu said: “There is no food for the lazy man; even God worked for six days and rested on the seventh day.
“Nigeria is a land that’s flowing with milk and honey, but we need to sustain it for generations to come.
“God has richly blessed my family before getting to the presidency and we are content with what we have.
“What is happening in the country, we are just two years into our istration, we are not the cause of the current situation. We are trying to fix and secure the future.
“I have embarked on several journeys but it seems that people are not seeing what God is doing in the land. Nations across the globe want to do business with us, legally, on the table. There is a government in power now that they know it is able.
“We are trying all our efforts to ensure that the economy is stabilised and the masses are living meaningful lives since the removal of fuel subsidy.”
Deltafirstson:
Although the pump price of fuel was N197 when President Bola Tinubu took over on May 29, 2023, the product now sells for N617 per litre – less than two months after.
In his inaugural address, Tinubu announced that subsidy was gone, fulfilling a promise that all leading presidential candidates made during the campaign.
However, pump price of fuel hit N537 per litre days after Tinubu ended subsidy.
On Tuesday, the price climbed further to N617, a development that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) attributed to “market forces”.
Nigerians have been lamenting the hardship occasioned by fuel price hike. Amid the lamentation, a video where Tinubu campaigned to slash the price of fuel went into circulation.
Checks by Daily Trust affirmed the authenticity of the video ed on the YouTube page of Channels Television.
At his campaign rally in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, on January 25, 2023, Tinubu spoke on a number of issues, but those of fuel scarcity and naira redesign made the headlines.
However, Tinubu who spoke in Yoruba language, also assured the crowd that though people were saying petrol price would hit N200, it would be reviewed downward under him.
“The great Nigerian youths, the great Nigerian students, the confident Nigerian youths. This is a revolution. This election is a revolution. They are plotting, but they will fail. They said fuel price will increase and reach N200 per litre. Go and relax, we will bring it down,” he had said in the 7th minute of the video.
King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, a Fuji musician who performed at the rally, interrupted the president’s speech with chants as the crowd cheered.
On the campaign podium with the president were Vice-President Kashim Shettima; Pa Bisi Akande, interim National Chairman of the APC; Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President; Senator Gbenga Daniel; among other bigwigs of the ruling party.
Tinubu went further to say Nigerians would defy the acute fuel scarcity at the time and trek to cast their votes.
“The great Nigerian youths, the great Nigerian students, the confident Nigerian youths. This is a revolution. This election is a revolution. They are plotting, but they will fail. They said fuel price will increase and reach N200/N500 per litre. Go and relax, we will crash the prices,” he had said.
ganisucks:
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has attacked President Muhammadu Buhari for anointing Iyiola Omisore who is the prime suspect in the murder of late Attorney General, Bola Ige, as National Secretary of the APC.
Omisore was last Saturday elected National Secretary of the ruling APC during its National Convention held at the Eagles Square, Abuja, Nigeria.
Soyinka’s reaction was contained in a statement issued on Saturday, titled: “Perhaps closed files should remain just that-Closed?”
He said barely three months had ed since the 20th anniversary of the murder of the late Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Bola Ige, an occasion that he utilized to remind Buhari, of a subsisting election pledge.
‘That pledge was to re-open the files on the spate of unsolved political assassinations that had plagued the nation in recent decades. Prominent among those cases was that of the Minister of Justice, murdered on his way to take up a prestigious position with the United Nations.
“Presidential response was swift. Buhari ordered the Inspector-General of Police to re-open those files and resume investigations.
The nation has patiently awaited even a hint of Work in Progress. Most, I am certain, expect no less than a revaluation of prior investigative efforts. None, to my knowledge, has attempted to rush the Chief of Police and his team into judgment. We all take solace in the knowledge that the wheels of justice grind slowly, but they arrive. Eventually,” he said.
Soyinka said an unusual turn of events has raised questions, as the ruling party, headed by the same President, had just elected as its National Secretary one of the prime suspects of this most notorious of the nation’s unsolved murders.
“Not for a moment does one suggest that mere accusation, even trial, presumes Guilt. More than mere verdict is involved in any trial however. The process of arriving at that ultimate destination – justice – is integral to the very concept of democracy and equality under the law. That process is one of the structures of civic education.
“Unresolved till today were quite a number of untidy, even suspect aspects of investigation, prosecution and trials, aspects which revealed improper cell co-habitation by suspects under custody. That this led necessarily to recantations of earlier depositions is not thereby proven, but the fact remains that such U-turns did take place.
“One was so brazen that it induced a heart attack that proved fatal to the victim’s wife, another Justice – Mrs. Atinuke Ige.
That the prime suspect was privileged in a number of improper ways went beyond mere allegation. Political interventions, including pressure on the judiciary during bail hearings, cannot be denied. A judge under such pressure kept a diary with accusations, pages of which he consigned to friends for safekeeping,” he added.
Soyinka asked: “With the emergence of the said prime suspect as National Secretary of the Ruling Party, is the Inspector-General of Police equipped to confront political obstacles in a resumption of investigation? Is there any guarantee that the result will see the light of day? How suspect, ab initio, will be the conclusions, given the present political ordering?
“I repeat: we are speaking of blatant, undeniable exercise of political interventions during investigations and the arraignment of suspects. Prior incumbency of the position of National Secretary of a ruling party has demonstrated the potent interventionist clout that can be wielded from that office.
“The president has personally received, and thus anointed the new incumbent. Since he remains central to any re-investigation – whatever form or direction it takes – just what value of objective assessment can be placed on the presidential pledge?”
With this scenario, the Nobel Laureate said that investigative revisit was already hamstrung and disrobed of credibility.
“I think the nation should simply relieve President Buhari of his pledge. I am certain the Inspector-General of Police will be equally relieved and can now turn his mind and energy to the national accustomed posture – Business as Usual ,” he stated.
Ratio of public to private schools in Lagos State is one to 22 ― Commissioner
September 4, 2022
The Lagos State government has said the ratio of public to private schools at both primary and secondary school levels in the state is one to 22.
The state’s Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, gave the revelation in her remark at the 2022 edition of the Total School Seminar Exhibition (TOSSE) held at Oregun in Ikeja between Thursday and Friday.
One decade later, how far with your GMB disaster that was painted in messianic colours only to reveal himself as the shege destructive agent
Omooba77:
The association, in a statement on Sunday by the NAS Capn, Dr. Joseph Oteri, said these needless deaths, a grim reflection of the desperation gripping many Nigerians, underscore the rising hunger and economic hardship that has engulfed the nation.
The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) says it is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of over 60 lives in Oyo, Anambra, and Abuja during recent palliative distribution stampedes.
The association, in a statement on Sunday by the NAS Capn, Dr. Joseph Oteri, said these needless deaths, a grim reflection of the desperation gripping many Nigerians, underscore the rising hunger and economic hardship that has engulfed the nation.
“While we commend the government's effort to alleviate the plight of vulnerable citizens through palliatives, it is evident that these measures have been marred by inadequate planning, poor coordination, and lack of ability,” it said.
According to the group, the chaotic scenes that led to the fatal incidents are an “indictment of the systemic failure to address the root causes of hunger and poverty”.
The group noted that rising hunger in Nigeria is a national emergency that demands urgent action.
“Failure to act decisively will deepen the crisis, with devastating social, economic, and political consequences,” it said.
“We mourn with the families of the deceased and demand that the government ensures ability for this avoidable tragedy. Hunger should never be a death sentence in a country blessed with abundant resources.”
“It is time to rise to the challenge of ensuring that every Nigerian can live with dignity, free from the scourge of poverty and hunger,” it added.
Therefore, the association called on all levels of government to urgently prioritize sustainable solutions to the hunger crisis.
It said, “Palliatives must reach the intended beneficiaries without endangering lives. Transparent and well-organised systems, with the involvement of community leaders and credible NGOs, should be put in place to avoid chaotic distributions.
“Beyond temporary relief measures, the government must develop long-term strategies to enhance food production, local farmers, and stabilize food prices.
“Programmes aimed at addressing the needs of the most vulnerable must be scaled up. Access to affordable healthcare, education, and social safety nets is critical to lifting millions out of poverty.
“Policies that create jobs and enhance income-generating opportunities should be fast-tracked to reduce dependency on palliatives.”
The association noted that two of its chapters in Edo State (Area 3) recently had successful palliative programmes, during which over 2,000 underprivileged persons were fed.
It added that one of the key components of the programme was orderliness.
chisomkachy:
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s first supplementary budget includes a fleet of SUVs for himself and his wife, a presidential yacht and the renovation of his villa amid a cost-of-living crisis for some of the poorest people in the world.
The proposal — which seeks additional funding beyond the annual budget approved by Tinubu’s predecessor — comes as the government asks Nigerians to persevere through pain caused in part by a raft of economic reforms ushered in by the new president. Africa’s most populous country faces rampant unemployment, soaring food prices and a plummeting currency.
Federal lawmakers approved the president’s request for extra spending on Thursday, but eliminated the provision of 5 billion naira ($6.01 million) to buy a presidential yacht. Instead, they doubled the allocation to a student loan fund to 10 billion naira, according Abubakar Bichi, chairman of an appropriations committee in the House of Representatives.
The lawmakers approved 1.5 billion-naira proposed to purchase SUVs for the office of First Lady Oluremi Tinubu — an amount larger than that allocated to many individual federal colleges. The supplementary budget also proposes almost 6 billion naira to purchase SUVs for the presidency — more than the amount initially allocated to fund a student loan program for poor families.
World Bank offers Nigeria forex rate advice, as Tinubu eyes N200/Dollar rate
April 23, 2023
The President-elect said he would work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to *bring down the exchange rate to N200 in his first term.*
“My istration will collaborate with the Central Bank to harmonize the fiscal and monetary policy to achieve immediate stabilization of the value of the naira against the US dollars and other currencies and in the short term, strengthen the naira by boosting the supply of foreign currency and moderating demand.
“The short-term goal is to achieve a naira/dollar rate of 300 naira/US$ and gradually achieve a less than 200 naira rate over the next four years, Tinubu stated.
Beyond his neighbours, there is something about the sight of people hanging around a president’s residence that does not speak well of his leadership capabilities. Maybe no one has nudged him to see it, but the impression that spectacle on Bourdillon Road generates is that Tinubu enjoys the sight of suffering humans and thrives in—and through— their poverty.
If all these years, impoverished people hang around you and you remain comfortable enough to keep them just so they can be handed tokens of your large heart, then it means you have a pro-poverty mindset. Such a frame of mind is oriented toward cultivating poverty rather than stimulating abundance.
That is why he could unproblematically relate the story of his “friend” who went from using five Rolls Royce to a far-less valued car and not consider the import of the nonsense he was saying. That spurious was an indication that this is a man for whom poverty—of others, not himself—is an ideal.
Former Head of State and Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (C), Major General Muhammadu Buhari has faulted the federal government’s clampdown on Boko Haram Islamic insurgents. He accused the government of killing and destroying their houses while the Niger Delta militants were given special treatment by the government.
Buhari who first spoke in Hausa before the English version accused politicians from the Niger Delta region of starting the current in security in the country by recruiting and arming youths of the region in their desperate attempt to retain power as governors.
The former Nigerian leader said that unlike the special treatment given to the Niger Delta militants by the federal government, the Boko Haram were being killed and their houses demolished by government.
While accusing President Jonathan of failing from the beginning to address the security situation in the country, Buhari said he has never been in of the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa state.
“How did Boko Haram start? We know that their leader, Mohammed Yusuf started his militant and the police couldn’t control them and the army was invited. He was arrested by soldiers and handed over to the police.
“The appropriate thing to do, according to the law, was for the police to carry out investigations and charge him to court for prosecution, but they killed him, his in-law was killed, they went and demolished their houses.
“Because of that, his ers resorted to what they are doing today. You see in the case of the Niger Delta militants, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua sent an aeroplane to bring them, he sat down with them and discussed with them, they were cajoled, and they were given money and granted amnesty.
“They were trained in some skills and were given employment, but the ones in the north were being killed and their houses were being demolished. They are different issues, what brought this? It is injustice”.
thewinning101:
PANDORA PAPERS: Buhari visited Tinubu in corruption-tainted London villa acquired by Oyetola
Governor Oyetola, a relative of Mr Tinubu, may have sabotaged his own country by buying the exotic property as Nigeria made to seize it.
ByNicholas IbekweandTaiwo-Hassan Adebayo October 7, 2021 in Headline Stories, Pandora Papers Reading Time: 8 mins read
It was a meeting of two of Nigeria’s most influential politicians in London – President Muhammadu Buhari was visiting political kingmaker and senior member of his ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.
In July, the presidency announced that Mr Buhari was heading to London for an education summit. The office also added that the president would also see his doctors for “medical check-up”.
Coincidentally, Mr Tinubu, who had travelled to London earlier, was also receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment in the British capital. So, a perfect setting for both men to meet was created.
Lagos — Pension teachers in Lagos State under the aegis of Teacher Pensioners of Nigeria (TEPAN) have urged Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to review his stance on paying the harmonised three year old outstanding pension allowance or risk losing their votes.
In a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of TEPAN, Mr. Ayodabo 'Lade, accused Tinubu of failing to pay the arrears to teachers on their correct pension grade since the year 2000, contrary to what was obtainable in other five States of the South-west controlled by the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
anonimi:
World Bank offers Nigeria forex rate advice, as Tinubu eyes N200/Dollar rate[
April 23, 2023
The President-elect said he would work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to *bring down the exchange rate to N200 in his first term.*
“My istration will collaborate with the Central Bank to harmonize the fiscal and monetary policy to achieve immediate stabilization of the value of the naira against the US dollars and other currencies and in the short term, strengthen the naira by boosting the supply of foreign currency and moderating demand.
“The short-term goal is to achieve a naira/dollar rate of 300 naira/US$ and gradually achieve a less than 200 naira rate over the next four years, Tinubu stated.
ManirBK:
Aug 28, 2023
The Federal Government says it has no intention to borrow from any local or foreign organisation with its removal of subsidy on petrol and exchange rate harmonisation.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Chief Wale Edun, revealed this at the end of the inaugural Federal Executive Council meeting on Monday in Abuja.
He said that the benefit of the subsidy removal would be ploughed back into various sectors aimed at boosting government revenue and improving the business environment for local and foreign investment.
Edun said that with the increased revenue from subsidy removal, various palliatives have been made available to cushion its effect on a short, medium and long-term basis.
He reiterated the President Bola Tinubu-led istration’s desire to bring back the economy from the wood it has found itself over time.
Ibusho:
The Federal Government on Friday received a $2.25b foreign exchange facility from the African Import-Export Bank.
The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, confirmed this to Arise TV, said it is the first tranche of the $3.3bn facility from the bank. He noted that the loan was aimed at resolving the acute FX shortage that has hampered the economy.
According to the report monitored by our correspondent, the balance of $1.05bn will be received in the first week of January.
Edun stated that work has commenced for solutions to Nigeria’s economic challenges.
In August, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited announced that it had secured a $3bn emergency loan from the Afrexim Bank to stabilise the country’s volatile foreign exchange market.
thisweekng:
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Chief Olawale Edun has said the last time Nigeria’s economy looked stable was about a decade ago.
He made this statement during his maiden press conference as Minister of Finance where he outlined President Bola Tinubu’s vision, agenda and strategy for the economy.
He said, “I think as we all know, we are not where we should be. The economy is barely growing above the rate of population growth.
“But it was not always so, and I think in trying to look at the way forward, if we now have a situation of slow growth, double-digit inflation, weak/depreciating exchange rate, as well as security concerns that are resulting in an economy that is not growing and not taking Nigerians out of poverty.
“If we think back to the last time when the economy was stable- when it was growing, when inflation was low, and the interest rate was affordable, that period was about a decade ago. Growth was about 6% in 2013 and 2014.”
Private sector to drive the economy
Majesty2:
The APC Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has revealed how he will drive the economy of the country, strengthen the Naira and making the country "import less" while "exporting more".
