TheNewsGuru

Tag: Femi Adesina

  • Buhari appoints Chief Economic Adviser

    Buhari appoints Chief Economic Adviser

    President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Dr Doyin Salami as Chief Economic Adviser.

    Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity made this known in a statement on Tuesday.

    The statement reads: “A Chief Economic Adviser to the President (CEAP) has been appointed.

    “He is Dr Doyin Salami, up till now Chairman of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).

    “A 1989 doctorate degree graduate in Economics of Queen Mary College, University of London, Doyin Salami, 59, is Managing Director and Head Markets Practice at KAINOS Edge Consulting Limited, and member of the Adjunct Faculty at the Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan-Atlantic University, where he recently attained the rank of Senior Fellow/Associate Professor.

    “The Chief Economic Adviser to the President is expected to address all issues on the domestic economy and present views on them to the President; closely monitor national and international developments, trends and develop appropriate policy responses; develop and recommend to the President national economic policies to foster macro-economic stability, promote growth, create jobs, and eradicate poverty, among others”.

  • Nothing abnormal contracting COVID-19 – Presidency

    Nothing abnormal contracting COVID-19 – Presidency

    The Presidency says nothing abnormal for Presidential aides testing positive to COVID-19, and are now on self isolation in their respective abode.

    Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, who stated this when he appeared on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, said such incidents only confirmed that the presidential aides are human and not immune to happenings around them.

    Reports had earlier on Saturday emerged that some presidential aides had tested positive to Coronavirus.

    It also mentioned the names of some cabinet members including the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    However, the minister dismissed the report that he tested positive to COVID-19 describing the report as fake news.

    Mohammed, therefore, demanded a retraction and an apology from the online newspaper which first published the report that he contracted COVID-19 virus and is receiving treatment in isolation.

    Also commenting on the issue, Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, was quoted as saying: “I have no confirmation of the cases you mentioned, but yes I have been afflicted by the mild variant of the COVID-19.

    ”I felt okay from the beginning, maybe because one had received all three jabs, and right now, I feel 100 per cent. I just finished my hour-long running exercise.
    “But the strange thing about this ailment is that it is the scientists, not you, that will say you are okay.

    ”Right now, I’m taking my prescriptions and isolating, and would go back for a test to ascertain if the virus is still here or it has left me. Thanks for your goodwill.”

    Also Adesina said: “Well, what I like to say is that presidential aides are just human. They can fall sick. If anything happens to human beings it can also happen to presidential aides.

    ”The fact that we are presidential aides does not make us to be immune to certain things. If there is a virus that is ravaging society. Well, it can touch anybody.

    ”So Malam Garba Shehu has confirmed that, yes, he tested positive but he said it’s mild. And I believe that by now, because it’s happened since Wednesday, by now, he should almost have beaten it if he had not beat it already. There is no cause for alarm.”

    Commenting on his contact with Shehu recently, the media aide said: “Well, I also believe God for the best. If it happens, I’ll recover. So that’s it.”

    Asked how many of the President’s aides in the State House have been infected, Adesina said:

    “No. That will not be within my purview to discuss maybe if you get the Presidential doctor or anybody in the medical side, they will tell you,

    ” I wouldn’t know because, it is a private thing. If it happens to anybody is between that person and possibly the doctor. It’s not going to be general knowledge.

    ”So I may not be able to say.”

    Adesina also dismissed the fear being expressed in some quarters over the president’s health following his exposure to his aides believed to have been infected with the virus.

    He said: “Well, I think Mr. President is quite fine, he is doing his normal routine, following his normal schedule. But if anybody close to him test positive, that person is required to stay away till he tests again, and he test negative.

    ”So, Mr President is following his normal schedule and routine.”

  • FG making progress on insecurity –Femi Adesina

    FG making progress on insecurity –Femi Adesina

    Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson has averred that the federal government has recorded progress in the fight against insecurity.

    Speaking on Monday during an interview with Channels Television, Adesina said anyone measuring the present administration should compare the current level of insecurity with what obtained in previous administrations.

    “Government is always a continuum. One government may do well in some areas and not do as well in some areas, and it will exit and another government will continue,” he said.

     

     

    “Can you compare the security situation today, as dire as it is, with 2015? You dare not. As at 2015, yes, it was only insurgency then but the way bombs went off like firecrackers in all cities of the country, can you compare that to today?

    “So, it will be disingenuous for you to say that there hadn’t been improvement in certain areas in security. There are certain areas where the delivery is high — higher than some other areas. But for anybody to say it’s a complete failure, that will not be true.

    “There were three main promises and it was expanded to nine priority areas. One, we will secure the country. We met an insecure country, we went at it and there was some stability, and after a while, it exploded again and it became hydra-headed.

    “Insurgency was the main problem then, but banditry, kidnapping, cultism and all sorts of things came in. So, it’s a serious issue. But the government is working at it seriously. There is progress, but some people want to mistake it for stagnancy.”

     

  • BREAKING: Femi Fani-Kayode finally joins APC [PHOTOS]

    BREAKING: Femi Fani-Kayode finally joins APC [PHOTOS]

    At last, former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, who had boasted not to ever join the All Progressives Congress (APC), has left the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the ruling party.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports rumours of Fani-Kayode joining the APC had one time flooded the Internet, but Femi Adesina confirmed on Thursday that the former Minister had joined the ruling party.

    Adesina, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity confirmed Fani-Kayode joined the APC, sharing photos of the former PDP heavyweight with Buhari via his official Facebook page.

    “President Buhari receives New APC Member Femi Fani-Kayode in State House on 16th Sep 2021,” Adesina posted along with the photos on Facebook.

    See post below:

    President Buhari receives New APC Member Femi Fani-Kayode in State House on 16th Sep 2021

    Posted by Femi Adesina on Thursday, 16 September 2021

    TNG reports Fani-Kayode was presented to Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja by the Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the APC, and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni.

    In a brief remark shortly after joining the party, Fani-Kayode said he was led by the Spirit of God in his decision and that he joined the APC to help for the unity of the country.

    He also stated that he was against anything that would cause the disintegration of Nigeria.

    TNG reports the former Minister revealed that he was instrumental in the exit of three Governors from the PDP into the APC.

    The Governors he mentioned were Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, Ben Ayade of Cross River State and Bello Matawale of Zamfara State.

    Fani-Kayode further said he has friends across party lines and that he was wooing the Governors of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Oyo State, Seyi Makinde and of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed to join the APC.

    Recall that the former Minister had said over his dead body would he ever join the APC.

  • Obasanjo contributed to Nigeria’s crisis- Femi Adesina

    Obasanjo contributed to Nigeria’s crisis- Femi Adesina

    Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina has stated that former President Olusegun Obasanjo contributed to the present crisis in the country.

    He stated this on Friday in a piece titled, ‘Nigeria’s Unity And All The Iberiberism’.

    Adesina wrote, “The sabre-rattling about Nigeria’s unity and the possibility of disintegration has got to the point of Iberiberism (an Igbo word which could mean stupidity). Some people have no other business than doomsday predictions of a crumbled, collapsed Nigeria, as if they actually fast and pray for that eventuality.

    “When Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was President between 1999 and 2007, they predicted that he was going to be the last President of a united Nigeria. It didn’t happen. When Umaru Yar’Adua came, they said he was too sick to hold Nigeria together. The country stood.

    “Under Goodluck Jonathan, they said the man was too weak, and different components of the country would soon say, ‘to your tents oh Israel.’ Nigeria survived. And for six years under Muhammadu Buhari, they have not changed their songs. The Somaliasation of Nigeria was on the way. The Fulanisation of the country would be the final death knell. But Nigeria lives. It trudges on from day to day, month to month, and will surely survive.”

    Adesina noted that though some people dwell on negativity, “some fathers of the land will not fold their hands and see Nigeria go down”.

    “Fortunately, we have one of them as President now. The young Muhammadu Buhari spent 30 months in the frontlines as a young army officer, fighting the war of unity. And he has said it: we will not be around and watch Nigeria go down. Never. We will rather speak to insurrectionists in the language they understand.

    “And what of Olusegun Obasanjo, a civil war hero. Despite all that he has contributed to the current upheavals by his actions and inactions, words and bile, he says it is idiotic to wish Nigeria disintegration now. Good. But let us put our money where our mouth is. Let Baba mind his thoughts, and his language,” the presidential spokesman added.

    “Nigeria will survive. The polity will endure. And the component parts will live together in amity and brotherhood. Any other option is Iberiberism,” he concluded.

     

  • Nigeria needs a leader with iron fist -Femi Adesina

    Nigeria needs a leader with iron fist -Femi Adesina

    Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity has stated that Nigeria needs a leader with an iron fist like his President Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

    The presidential aide also said Buhari won’t allow criminals and insurgents from any part of the country to destroy Nigeria.

    Adesina stated this in a piece on Friday titled, ‘I Suddenly Remembered Why I Fell In Love With The President’.

    “The man we fell in love with is of iron and steel, one ready and willing to knock sense into contumacious heads, whipping everyone into line. And being kind to us in the process. A kind bully, if you like the oxymoron,” he termed Buhari.

    TheNewsGuru recalls that the President, on Tuesday, condemned the attacks on police stations, prisons and offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission, especially in the South-East, warning those supporting insurrection and violence in the country.

    Buhari had said and tweeted that some of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that happened during the Civil War, adding that they will be treated in the language they understand.

    The President’s tweet peeved some persons who felt he was insensitive to have made an analogy of the civil war. His critics subsequently reported the tweet to Twitter and the microblogging site later deleted the post with a comment, “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules”.

    Adesina in his piece on Friday said the President cannot allow chaos overtake the land.

    He said, “What our country needs at this time is iron and steel. An alchemy of GMB (General Muhammadu Buhari) and PMB (President Muhammadu Buhari).

    “We are in a democracy, yes, but democracy is no byword for lawlessness. If anybody misbehaves in any part, repeat, any part, of the country, they need to be whipped into line.

    “The nation needs not go into a tailspin because some people bear giant-sized grudges in their hearts. By the way, is there any part of the country that does not have one grievance or the other? Is the next option then to capsize the boat of the country? Any leader that has sworn to uphold the Constitution would not open his eyes, and see it happen.

    “Leaders must do whatever they should do to maintain peace and tranquillity in their countries. Their intentions will always be misinterpreted and misrepresented. No matter. The good of the larger majority must be considered at all times. North, South, East, West, anarchy should never be condoned, no matter what some people may say.”

    “President Buhari is not genocidal, and can’t ever be accused of such intentions. But a leader worth his salt cannot look on, and watch law and order break down irretrievably. It is not about a people, or region. It is about the country he took an oath to keep together,” Adesina stated.

     

  • Uproar as Buhari’s aide compares Nigeria to testicles of a ram, woman’s breasts

    Uproar as Buhari’s aide compares Nigeria to testicles of a ram, woman’s breasts

    Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina on Thursday compared Nigeria to the testicles of a ram and the breasts of a woman, sparking a social frenzy.

    Adesina in a statement he shared via social media stated: “As I often say, this country is like the testicles of a ram, which gyrates from side to side, as the animal runs. However fast the speed of the ram, have you ever seen the testicles fall off? Or when a woman runs, and holds her breasts, is it for fear that those tender parts will fall off? It never happens”.

    He also made a reference to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, wishing he be “put in the slammers where he belongs”, while going hard on some persons he described as past and present political leaders, disgruntled religious leaders for their quest to pass vote of no confidence on President Buhari.

    The post by Femi Adesina reads: “Don’t asphyxiate us, let us breathe. Remove your knees from the neck of Nigeria, and let the country be. What do we owe you, that you make it seem we must never have peace?

    “That was the sum total of the caution given early this week by the Department of State Services (DSS) on the state of the nation. Nigeria is currently undergoing severe security challenges, but rather than team up with government and security agencies to find solutions, some past and present political leaders, disgruntled religious leaders, and ethnic champions are in cahoots, to exacerbate the situation. They are plotting to hold conferences, which would pass vote of no confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari, a man they so much love to hate.

    “These agent provocateurs were the first to sow the seed of evil, disharmony and suspicion in the country, through the war of tongues they have deployed against the government of the day for many years. In their estimation, nothing good is happening in the country, except killings and bloodshed. And the only way out, in their narrow minds, is a removal of the constitutional order.

    “Now, how do you achieve such in a democracy, without subverting the very essence of democracy itself, and throwing the country into a tailspin? They do not bother, neither do they care. All they want is to get the man they do not want to see out of power. They have deployed everything against him: evil speaking, hate speech, misinformation, disinformation, bile, malignancy, and more. In the build up to the 2019 elections, they banded together, endorsed a candidate, whom they were already calling ‘My President’ before the polls. But what did we see? They were beaten black and blue, as Nigerians opted for a man they could trust.

    “What they lost through the ballot box, they have been plotting to get through the back door. Bad-mouth the man, paint him black, portray him as incompetent, and turn the people against him. And they have found a smokescreen in the security challenges the country is facing. They have crept under it, to show their hidden, hostile hands.

    “Incidentally, while combating insecurity, and myriads of other challenges, President Buhari is making conquests on other fronts, particularly infrastructure. Roads, bridges, rail network, airports, gas pipelines, other massive projects are ongoing. And they are telling themselves: unless we stop this man, he will still become the authentic Nigerian hero. So they are throwing everything against him, including the kitchen sink.

    “There is one funny fellow at the National Assembly, who is always using foul words against the leadership of the country. The more uncouth the words from him, the happier he seems to be. He has, to a large extent, poisoned the minds of people in his region of the country against the government. Evil words inexorably germinate, and bear bitter seeds.

    “It was ironic to see the fellow this week talk of massive insecurity in the land, poor state of the economy, and alleged stifling of voices of dissent. This was a character who stood surety for an insurrectionist who then jumped bail. The government has not put the man in the slammers, where he rightly belongs, and he has the temerity to talk of stifling of voices of dissent in the land. Good grief!

    “He talked of utilizing all constitutional means to do the needful against the government of the day. Well, every butterfly fancies itself a bird, and the fact that the mangrove tree lives inside the river does not make it a crocodile. Talk is cheap, and dreams cost nothing. The intention of that fellow, and his co-travelers is not really about now. What they are playing is the politics of power grab in 2023, thinking they should muddy the waters before then, as much as possible. When the lobster walks on mud, it stirs it up for everybody. The welfare and well being of the country and its peoples do not matter.

    “The disgruntled, caterwauling religious and political leaders are working towards a vote of no confidence in the President. After that, what next? The DSS has indicated support for a united, indivisible Nigeria, stressing that government can only be changed through the electoral process.The military has equally done same, saying it is committed to the present Administration and democratic institutions in the land. Good.

    “The military went further: “The current security challenges are not insurmountable. The Armed Forces in partnership with other security agencies are working assiduously to ameliorate the challenges. Nigeria will know peace again.”

    “Amen and amen. I can hear you say. This land will know peace again. And yes, this is where those past and present political leaders, religious figures, and chieftains of ethnic groups should have positioned. Instead of shenanigans to pass yeye votes of no confidence in a President doing his level best for the country, they should align with the military in the conviction that “Nigeria shall know peace again.” True, the security challenges are troubling and daunting, but they are not insurmountable. And Nigeria shall win.

    “These political, religious and ethnic leaders should please get their knees off the necks of Nigerians, and they should let us breathe. They have arrogated too much influence and authority to themselves, while not knowing that they are mere paper tigers. Nigeria is bigger than them, and the country will survive. As I often say, this country is like the testicles of a ram, which gyrates from side to side, as the animal runs. However fast the speed of the ram, have you ever seen the testicles fall off? Or when a woman runs, and holds her breasts, is it for fear that those tender parts will fall off? It never happens.

    “No matter what they do or say, irrespective of their machinations, Nigeria will survive. And peace, flowing like a river, shall return to this land”.

    Read some reactions by Nigerians below:

    https://twitter.com/uk_chama/status/1390603856174800898?s=19

    https://twitter.com/theonly1acre/status/1390466005118459905?s=19

  • There’ll be further turmoil in Nigeria if… – Presidency

    There’ll be further turmoil in Nigeria if… – Presidency

    The presidency has said there will be turmoil in Nigeria if a vote of no confidence is passed on President Muhammadu Buhari.

    This is contained in a statement released on Tuesday by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to Buhari on Media and Publicity, in reaction to an alert by the Department of State Services (DSS).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Adesina stated that the DSS “alerted on sinister moves by misguided elements to wreak havoc on the government, sovereignty and corporate existence of the country”.

    He further stated that elements were recruiting the leadership of some ethnic groups and politicians round the country, with the intention of convening some sort of conference, where a vote of no confidence would be passed on the President, thus throwing the land into further turmoil.

    The presidential aide stated: “Championed by some disgruntled religious and past political leaders, the intention is to eventually throw the country into a tailspin, which would compel a forceful and undemocratic change of leadership.

    “Further unimpeachable evidence shows that these disruptive elements are now recruiting the leadership of some ethnic groups and politicians round the country, with the intention of convening some sort of conference, where a vote of no confidence would be passed on the President, thus throwing the land into further turmoil.

    “The caterwauling, in recent times, by these elements, is to prepare the grounds adequately for their ignoble intentions, which are designed to cause further grief for the country.

    “The agent provocateurs hope to achieve through artifice and sleight of hands, what they failed to do through the ballot box in the 2019 elections.

    “Nigerians have opted for democratic rule, and the only accepted way to change a democratically elected government is through elections, which hold at prescribed times in the country. Any other way is patently illegal, and even treasonable. Of course, such would attract the necessary consequences.

    “These discredited individuals and groups are also in cahoots with external forces to cause maximum damage in their own country. But the Presidency, already vested with mandate and authority by Nigerians till 2023, pledges to keep the country together, even if some unruly feathers would be ruffled in the process”.

  • Ex-service chiefs gave insurgents bloody noses, got rewarded as ambassadors- Femi Adesina

    Ex-service chiefs gave insurgents bloody noses, got rewarded as ambassadors- Femi Adesina

    Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari rewarded former service chiefs with ambassadorial positions for their feat in the fight against Boko Haram.

    Buhari had nominated the ex-service chiefs as non-career ambassadors-designate, and sent their names to the senate for confirmation.

    The president also urged the lawmakers to give “expeditious consideration” to the nomination.

    TheNewsGuru recalls that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had criticized the move, accusing Buhari of trying “to shield the immediate past service chiefs from investigation over alleged killing of innocent Nigerians and crimes against humanity”.

    Countering the allegation in a Facebook post on Thursday, Adesina said the president is not known for using and dumping people who have done their best.

    “Almost everything in our country is accompanied by some sort of furore. You do, you are damned. You don’t do, you are damned. No wonder President Muhammadu Buhari often says in private conversations, when some tumults occur on certain issues: ‘Head or tail, you never win with some Nigerians.’ And he then smiles, to show that he has learnt to live with it,” Adesina wrote.

    “That was what happened last week when the nomination of the immediate past Service Chiefs as non-career Ambassadors was announced. The ululation from certain quarters could almost pull down the sky. They claim the Service Chiefs failed. And these critics are people who will miss target if they attempt to fire catapult at an elephant. Poor marksmen!

    “But in came Gen Gabriel Olonisakin, Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, Chief of Naval Staff, and Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff, and they gave the insurgents bloody noses. Drove them out of places they occupied, even went after them into their spiritual headquarters, Camp Zero, in Sambisa Forest, and took it from them.

    “The Service Chiefs did not make a clinical end of insurgency, banditry, and other criminalities in the country. But not for lack of trying. They did their level best, made huge advances, but the times were very difficult. Did they fail as in FAIL? Only in the eyes of those who appreciate nothing, and don’t even know what success is.

    “But President Buhari is not in that mould. He would not use people who did their level best, and dump them unceremoniously, so that they become objects of derision in the eyes of those who like to see people fall from elevated positions.”

    The presidential spokesman added that Buhari is known for rewarding those who serve him faithfully, no matter their status.

    “President Buhari nominated the immediate past Service Chiefs as non-career Ambassadors. And I say, bravo, Mr President. That is why we believe in you. That is why we have followed you through thick and thin, and will continue to do so, whether in or out of government. You are always faithful to those who serve you faithfully. You watch their backs, care for them, and that is why we believe. Yes, let everyone else be faithless, let them mock, but we believe,” Adesina said.

    “The former Service Chiefs did not end insurgency, but not for lack of will. I remember when Buratai himself relocated to the front, in Northeast, and he said he would not return to Abuja till the war was over. Under his charge, the insurgents were killed in many hundreds. But they were like locusts. The more they killed them, the more they increased. Very uncanny. They were attacked from the land, the air, and from the waters (where possible). But hell had enlarged itself, and continued to spew them out. Quite preternatural.

    “The President would have wanted those Service Chiefs to go home as heroes. So he gave them time. Longer than was usual. And having realised that they had fought the war with all that was in them, he decided on some kind of reward, show of appreciation. Admirable. A display of good heart. No matter who you are; a President, a billionaire, Archbishop, Imam, if you don’t have a good heart, forget it. You should be avoided. Like a plague.”

     

  • Buhari cannot speak on every national issue- Femi Adesina

    Buhari cannot speak on every national issue- Femi Adesina

    Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has averred that President Buhari cannot address every national issue that comes his way. According to him, any President who speaks on every issue must be a ”Talkative President”

     

    Adesina who appeared on Channels TV last night February 9, said this while reacting to claims that the President has been silent on the clashes between farmers and herders.

    In his words: “It is not that the president hasn’t spoken, because a number of times, the president has spoken on the issue and his position has always been the same. Anybody, whoever he is, that carries arms unlawfully should be arrested and prosecuted.

    The president has said it countless times. No matter who he is, where he comes from, criminality is criminality; anybody bearing arms unlawfully must be arrested and prosecuted.

    Every statement is categorical. Anything the president says is categorical, so you don’t need to ask for categorical statements again. Many times, he has spoken about this.

    Remember that some few days before the Ondo saga, there had been the Sokoto one that some people gave an ultimatum to Bishop Kukah to leave town. The presidency was against it.

    Would we say the president also spoke because Bishop Kukah was Fulani? Not at all. The president is the president of the whole country, and peace and security devolve in him and he must do everything fairly and impartially at all times.

    When you have knotty issues like this, many solutions will be proffered; the president does not need to speak on each and every one of them. He does not have to. It was just an idea being proffered. It should be looked into, and then if it is a consensus, it should be adopted.

    But it is not as one idea comes, the president speaks on it; another idea comes, the president speaks on it; such must be a talkative president. Ideas will need to be discussed and critically assessed.” he said