TheNewsGuru

Tag: Buhari

  • Governors not meeting in Abuja over Buhari’s health – Lai Mohammed

    Governors not meeting in Abuja over Buhari’s health – Lai Mohammed

    …Warns rumour mongers to stop overheating the polity

    The Federal Government has debunked reports in the section of the press that governors are meeting in Abuja on Thursday to send emissary to see President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated the position on Thursday in Abuja when he received a delegation of the Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI).

    “I want to say categorically and emphatically that there is no iota of truth in this.

    “Governors are not meeting in Abuja because there is no need for it. There is no plan to send emissary to London to see the President.

    “Again, I want to say that the president is hale and hearty in London where he is observing his 10 day vacation.

    “Let us all shun the negative reports insinuating the president illness and death.

    “We implore those behind this outright falsehood to desist.

    “It is because Nigeria exists that they can practice their profession. We implore them to stop overheating the society.’’

    The minister told the delegation that his ministry is very passionate about the North-East and has put the region’s concerns and developmental agenda in the front burner of its activities.

    He explained that until Nigeria took possession of the insurgency war in the region, full rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement would not take place.

    According to him, the country is winning the war against terror and there is need to celebrate the military that is prosecuting the war.

    “We are also aware there is bigger war to be won which is healing the wounds that have been created by the insurgency.

    “The ministry is particular about ensuring that correct information about the North East is disseminated,’’ he said.

    The minister said that the PCNI had a tall mandate but expressed confidence in the leader and members of the committee to deliver.

    He pledged the readiness of his ministry to assist the committee in any way, particularly in information dissemination.

    Leader of the delegation and Chairman PCNEI Economic sub-Committee, Mr Yusuf Yakubu said the committee was committed to restoring stability to the North East through sustainable socio-economic activities.

    In achieving this, he said the committee harmonised all intervention planning for the region into a national strategic road map tagged “The Buhari Plan’’.

    Yakubu solicited partnership with the ministry in mobilisation and changing negative narratives on the Northeast region.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the PCNI was inaugurated by the president under the leadership of Gen. T.Y. Danjuma (rtd.) on Oct. 26, 2016 with three-year mandate to guide, coordinate, facilitate and support all interventions and relief activities across the North East.

  • Save Nigeria from confusion, provide daily updates on Buhari’s health – Afikuyomi tells Buhari’s media aids

    Former Lagos Commissioner for Tourism, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi has called on President Muhammadu Buhari’s media aides to provide regular updates on his health.

    Afikuyomi made the call on Wednesday in reaction to fake media reports about the President’s health.

    Citing a fake news report about a suicide attempt by Buhari, who is currently on medical vacation in the United Kingdom, the APC stalwart wrote in a message that: “if government were to provide daily updates on the President’s treatments all these rubbish would not be floating around.”

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, released a message on Wednesday advising Nigerians to disregard “subversive messages being circulated on the health of the President.”

    Afikuyomi, stated further that said Aso Rock “media managers must provide daily updates on our President health.

    “Everyone falls sick and does medicals, it’s no big deal!

    “Save our nation from these confusing matrixes.”

    Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, announced on January 19 that Buhari was proceeding on a short leave and is expected to resume work on February 6.

    “During the vacation, the President will also undergo routine medical check-ups,” Adesina wrote in a press statement.

     

  • Your fiscal policy is crippling our economy, Tinubu blasts Buhari

    Your fiscal policy is crippling our economy, Tinubu blasts Buhari

    Former Governor of Lagos State and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government to review its fiscal policy to ease the economic hardship in the country.

    Tinubu spoke on Wednesday as a guest lecturer at the National Defence College Course 25, titled, “Strategic Leadership: My Political Experiences.”

    He argued that Nigeria’s current inflation rate of 18 per cent was unbearable and that Nigerians were suffering for it.

    In his words: “In the situation we face, deficit spending is essential to bolster aggregate demand and direct funds to projects that build infrastructure and bolster employment. We must better harmonise monetary policy with fiscal policy. It undercuts our goals if monetary policy is unduly tight at a time when fiscal policy begets deficit spending.

    “We must also realign trade policy with our need to create a meaningful industrial base and more potent agricultural sector. We can no longer allow cheap imports to preclude the development of industries and sectors strategic to our enduring economic future.

    “What am I doing if I have a billion, and you are ready to give me 180 million, that is 18 per cent upfront, do I have to work or do anything again? These are the factors they have to look at quickly to ease the monetary policy.

    The APC leader continued: “You have to stimulate this economy, you have to spend yourself out of this recession and you cannot do that by consistently stifling the banks of liquidity. It is their money; it is their saving. We have to criticise ourselves when it is necessary, speak truth to power.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the well-respected politician said if the Federal Government means well for Nigerians, it must be proactive in handling the failing economic policies.

    “We are the power, we speak truth to ourselves. The monetary policy must be consistent with the environmental need of our domestic requirements, you cannot hold on too much or too tight to a policy.”

    Tinubu added that the leadership of the APC was right to criticise the Federal Government, because “when it is necessary, speak truth to the power, we are the power, we will talk the truth to ourselves.”

    “Our fiscal policy does not mesh with monetary policy. Trade policy undermines industrial policy, thus the ease of doing business is inhibited. Overseas peacekeeping missions do not always harmonise with core foreign policy interests. A nation in progress seeks to minimise, not harvest additional contradictions, otherwise its leadership strategy is doomed to fail.

    “Strategic objectives during this period of economic uncertainty must be to re-engineer the economy bottom up, diversify the economic base, strengthen our industrial base, modernise infrastructure, enhance agriculture, and provide employment and of course, ease of doing business,” he added.

  • Presidency clears air on Buhari’s health status, vows to deal with rumour mongers

    Presidency clears air on Buhari’s health status, vows to deal with rumour mongers

    The Federal Government has for the umpteenth time expressed dissatisfaction over the rumours being circulated in some segments of the media about the president’s health status.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the President was hale and hearty and urged Nigerians to disregard the subversive messages being circulated via text message and the social media about the President’s health.

    In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, Mohammed said the fabricated messages were being orchestrated by those who feel threatened by the emerging order.

    He said the unpatriotic elements who were behind the rumours had also resorted to the use of ethnicity and religion as tools to divide Nigerians, overheat the polity and cause panic among the citizenry, in addition to using fake news and disinformation to distort government activities.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the minister said while opposition and criticism are all part of democracy, the crafting and circulation of subversive materials and scare-mongering are unacceptable, hence the full wrath of the law will be brought to bear on those who are bent on subverting the state.

    In his words: ”The source/sources of the fabricated messages are already being investigated and the authors should prepare to face the consequences of their actions.

    ”The emerging trend of resorting to destabilization and scare-mongering is not unexpected, considering this government’s clampdown on the corrupt elements in the society, the plugging of all financial leaks which has derailed the gravy train of the looters of public treasury and the enthronement of probity and transparency in the polity.

    ”While we will neither stifle press freedom nor abridge the citizens’ right to express themselves freely, whether through criticism or protests, the security agencies will neither allow any resort to violence nor a willful subversion of the state for whatever reason.”

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the rumours of the president’s death surfaced on the social media last week Sunday.

    The president’s media aids had since debunked the claim.

  • Lagos lawyer sues Buhari over vehicles purchase for former presidents

    A lagos lawyer Mr Johnson Esezobo has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari to court over alleged budget proposal to purchase vehicle for former Presidents, Heads of state and their Deputies at the cost of N400 million.

    Esezobo’s suit, is praying the court for an order of perpetual injunction, restraining the Federal Government,its agents from purchasing any vehicle for the former presidents or Heads of state and their Deputies from any public funds of the federation of Nigeria.

    Buhari President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly and the Attorney General of the Federation , AGF are joined as defendants in the suit with No FHC/ABJ/CS/BI/201.

    The plaintiff is seeking an order of the court to declare null and void the budget proposal for the purchase of vehicles for former president and heads of state and their deputies by President Buhari (1st defendant) in 2017 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly (2nd defendant) for enactment into law is a violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended particularly Section 14(2)(b).

    The matter has been assigned to Justice John Tsoho but hearing date has not been fixed.

  • APC leaders behind Buhari’s rumoured death — Makarfi

    APC leaders behind Buhari’s rumoured death — Makarfi

    The chairman of the PDP caretaker committee, Sen. Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, has alleged that some leaders of the APC were behind the rumoured death of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Makarfi, who spoke with newsmen in Kaduna, yesterday, said it was APC leaders who are interested in contesting certain positions in 2019 that were behind the rumour.

    “The APC should point its searchlight inward and investigate itself as to the source of the rumour. PDP has nothing to gain from anything; those who are peddling the rumour know themselves and they are in APC.

    “Some of them are already positioning themselves for power in 2019. APC should investigate itself,” he said.

    Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State, also advised the people of Southern Kaduna against politicizing the crisis in the area.

    While describing the crisis in Southern Kaduna as unfortunate, he cautioned the government and the people of the area to resist the urge to politicize the matter.

    “It is a serious criminal issue, and, of course, there may be matters that have to do with other things that may not be seen as criminality. I am not in a position to say much because I don’t have all the facts but we must not politicize the matter.

    “Even, those outside the state must never politicize this crisis because, if we attempt to politicize it, then the crisis will spread beyond Kaduna and that would be a disaster,” he said.

    The former governor commended efforts being made to bring an end to the problem.

    “I welcome the Abdulsalami committee. We need a body of arbitrators composed of both sides of the divide that the people can have confidence in to try to stem the tide, broker some peace and listen to all sides and come up with ways and manners that we can re-establish stability and lasting peace in that area,” he said.

  • Buhari is after me, Apostle Suleman cries out

    Apostle Johnson Suleman of The Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide in Ado Ekiti has raised a public outcry over his alleged arrest by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

    Suleman accused President Muhammadu Buhari of ordering his arrest after he warned against the killing of innocent Christians.

    The popular apostle made the announcement via his official Twitter account early this morning stressing there will be consequence from God.

    The Pastor who was in Ado Ekiti for a two-day crusade was alleged to have preached against Fulani Herdsmen rampage by ordering his members to kill any suspected herdsmen they find near him or his church recently in Auchi, Edo State.

    Suleman was reportedly trailed after paying a courtesy visit to the governor at the Government House to his hotel room by the operatives of the DSS in Adebayo area of the State capital.

    The DSS operatives who almost forced their way into the hotel was also said to have been resisted by security men of the hotel who insisted on knowing their mission.

    The pastor was said to have alerted Governor Fayose to apprise him of the sudden development.

  • Buhari fights corruption in legislature with ‘insecticides’, uses ‘deodorant’ for executive

    Buhari fights corruption in legislature with ‘insecticides’, uses ‘deodorant’ for executive

    Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central Senatorial District, APC) has said President Buhari’s approach to fighting corruption at both the legislature and executive arms of government is biased.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Sani was reacting at the floor of the house to the president’s reaction on the Ad-hoc Committee’s report on Humanitarian crises in the Northeast ( which he also chairs). He accused the President of favouring members of the executive in cases of corruption while he frowns with the legislature at any slightest undoing.

    Sani said the President’s position, to exonerating the SGF, Babachir Lawal of any wrongdoing in the award of contract in IDPs to his company, Rholavision Engineering Services Limited, was totally unacceptable.

    He said it amounts to using ‘insecticide’ when it comes to fighting corruption in the National Assembly and Judiciary, while using a ‘deodorant’, when it comes to fighting corruption at the Executive arm

    In his words: “Mr. President, Distinguished Colleagues, I rise through Order 43 of Senate Rules and I want to submit that President Buhari’s reaction on SGF shows the use of insecticides when fighting corruption at the legislative arm, while he uses deodorant at the Executive arm.”

    Debunking claims that SGF was not given fair hearing before calling for his resignation in report, Sani explained that a public hearing was held, but the SGF did not honour the invitation which was given to him.

    He also averred that copies of the report was signed by all the members of the Committee, while expressing shock at the version without his name which Mr. President relied on.

    “Distinguished Colleagues, you realize that the copy which was read to us did not carry my name even as the Committee Chairman and I wonder where it emanated from,” he asked.

    TheNewsGuru.com He insisted that the Committee did a thorough review of activities of government officials involving coordination of IDPs, adding that SGF remained indicted.

  • Southern Kaduna Crisis: Buhari, El-Rufai playing politics with peoples’ lives – PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said the wanton killing of Christians by herdsmen in Southern Kaduna has continued unabated as a result of the shabby response and attention President Muhammadu Buhari and the Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai accorded the cries of the hapless victims.

    The party was reacting to a recent statement credited to the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity (SSA), Garba Shehu, on a television programme where he was quoted as saying that the killings in Southern Kaduna ‎was partly the fault of the PDP because it was the only Senatorial District in the North West with PDP Senator.

    Recall that TheNewsGuru.com had reported the Kaduna State Governor as saying that all those behind the killings will be properly tried and punished according to law.

    In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye and obtained by TheNewsGuru.com on Monday, the party said: “We are baffled that such a callous, irresponsible and insensitive statement could come from a person who speaks for the President of Nigeria.

    “This shows the extent to which every issue in the Country today is viewed from the APC’s and the Presidency’s extremely narrow and jaundiced partisan political prism.

    “Is Garba Shehu inferring that the hapless people of southern Kaduna were singled out for genocide because they elected a PDP senator? Or that the People invited such mindless violence upon themselves by choosing to be different in a sea of APC domination?”

    “It is high time those in authority learned that we cannot reduce everything to partisan politics. You do not play politics with the lives of millions of people. That’s exactly what APC Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el Rufai and President Buhari have been doing with the lives of the people of Southern Kaduna.

    “Beyond politics, we are all accountable to God almighty. We once again call for an international inquiry into the Southern Kaduna massacre. We have little faith that those at the helm of affairs at the State and National levels will do justice in the matter.”

    Recall also that the TheNewsGuru.com had reported that the governor had begged the Methodist prelate Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche on Thursday not to relocate the church over the wanton killings saying his government would provide another land for the church and also improve the security of lives and properties in the state.

     

  • I’m proud of you, Buhari tells Nigerian Media

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari has saluted the Nigerian media for performing its duties diligently.

    The President, who made his position known on his Twitter handle, @MBuhari, on Sunday in London, said he was always in touch with news from home.

    President Buhari, whose picture was also posted in the tweet, specifically named Channels TV as one of his favorite Television stations.

    He said: “Wherever I am, I keep up with news from home. Channels TV is one of my favorites. I’m proud of what the Nigerian media are achieving.’’

    The post has, therefore, dispelled the insinuation about the President’s health conditions.

    The Presidential spokespersons on Saturday night in Abuja described as ”evil rumours” the social media reports on President Muhammadu Buhari’s health conditions.

    President Muhammadu Buhari left Abuja for the United Kingdom on Thursday on a short leave, which is part of his annual vacation.

    He is expected to resume work on Feb. 6, 2017.

    See the president’s tweet below:

    NAN