Tag: Garba Shehu

  • No jobs in government anymore – Buhari tells Nigerian youths

    No jobs in government anymore – Buhari tells Nigerian youths

    President Muhammadu Buhari has urged youths to acquire knowledge not towards getting government jobs as there are no “jobs in government anymore.”

    He also urged youths to acquaint themselves with history to avoid making the same mistakes of the past.

    According to a statement signed on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari said this when he paid a Sallah homage visit to the Emir of Daura, Faruk Faruk, at his Palace.

    The statement is titled ‘Train, educate your children on right values, the world is changing, President Buhari tells Nigerians.’

    He implored parents to inculcate right values in children, including deep fear of God, respect for constituted authorities and living a purposeful life through continuous education.

    “We should ensure the children get proper education. The knowledge they acquire should not be towards getting government jobs.

    “We don’t have jobs in government anymore. With technology, governments are becoming smaller, nimble and efficient.

    “Emphasis should now be on skills acquisition and competence in creation and deployment of technology. During the COVID-19, we asked all level 12 downwards to stay at home, and surprisingly, the systems worked effectively,” the President said.

    He also noted that the younger children should be guided and taught history, as they would find it hard to be patriotic, responsible and respectful, without a thorough understanding of their backgrounds.

    “Whoever does not have a good sense of history will easily make mistakes,” he said.

    President Buhari told the Emir of Daura, Dr Faruk Faruk, that he will be more regular in visits, preparatory to the handing over in May, 2023, adding that the prolonged absence was due to the demands of his office.

    “This is the longest I have been away from home. In fact, the Emir took to the court of public opinion at the prayer ground, when he openly told everyone that I had not visited Daura for close to a year,” he said.

    He urged all Nigerians to make sacrifices to move the country forward, especially the public servants, calling for more selflessness and inclusion.

    “In the end, it is only God that can reward your efforts, not man,” Buhari noted.

    In his remarks, Governor Aminu Masari claimed that, having fed at least 863,000 children under the school feeding programme in Katsina, adding that no government has done more to reduce poverty like the Buhari regime.

    He said every contrary view is held by those who “only think of themselves” and are “never appreciative until something gets to their pockets.”

    Masari said, “No government in the history of this country has done more to reduce poverty like President Buhari’s administration.

    “He asked religious and community leaders to bring enlightenment to bear on successful government programs such as the Social Investment Program, SIP through which 120,000 poor citizens in 12 Local Government Areas of the state receive a monthly payment of N5,000 and this is happening in all the states.

    “Today, we have over 863,000 children in the state being fed under the school feeding program. This has created 10,000 jobs for women cooks, 14,000 young men and women enrolled in N-Power.

    “We have food vendors who are engaged and earning their livelihood. All the foolish talk on social media is by those who only think of themselves. Our elites are never happy or appreciative until something gets to their pockets.”

    Masari who said security in the country had improved considerably under Buhari lamented that “human beings forget easily”.

  • Buhari reunites with primary, secondary school classmates

    Buhari reunites with primary, secondary school classmates

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Daura, Katsina State, had an emotional reunion with his primary and secondary school classmates coming to pay homage to him to mark the Sallah celebrations.

    The President inquired about each individual’s wellbeing, their health and wellbeing of their family members.

    A Statement by the President’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said president and his classmates prayed for the repose of those that died between last year, when they last met and this year.

    Buhari expressed his joy and happiness for the meeting, saying he got the same feeling that he used to have when they were young.

    The president and classmates also chatted for a while, talked about the school days and shared a lot of memories.

    He thanked the schoolmates for their respect and feelings for him which they have retained for all the time.

    The leader of the class association, Sen. Abba Ali, commended the sacrifices the president had been making and urged him to maintain focus on the nation which he said was more important than all else.

    The presidential aide revealed that the classmates presented a gift to the President and joined him in a memorable group photograph.

  • Buhari appoints Saratu Umaru as Executive Secretary, NIPC

    Buhari appoints Saratu Umaru as Executive Secretary, NIPC

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Hajiya Saratu Umar as Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) for a fresh term of five years.

    Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s media aide, confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

    According to the statement, Umar holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Ahmadu Bello University and an MBA in Finance and Banking.

    ”She is trained locally and internationally in all core aspects of her career, as well as in leadership, strategy, general management, risk management and corporate governance.

    ”Saratu Umar is a technocrat, reformer, strategist, economist, investment promotion expert, export development specialist, with experience in banking and finance, investment and consulting segments of the public and private sectors of Nigeria,” the statement added.

  • FG flays spate of attacks on churches

    FG flays spate of attacks on churches

    President Muhammadu Buhari has described as unacceptable the recent spate of attacks on Churches in some parts of the country.

    In a statement issued by his media aide, Malam Garba Shehu, on Wednesday in Abuja, the president said the attacks were clear indication that some enemies and wicked people were bent on causing religious tensions in the country.

    He said: ”From the tragedy in Owo two weeks ago that shook our nation to its core, to the killings and kidnappings just this weekend in Kaduna State, it is clear that there is a design by wicked people to put the country under religious stress.”

    The president believed that “our religious freedom, our diversity, is what makes Nigeria great. It is this diversity that gives Nigeria its strength. That is why Nigeria’s enemies seek to destroy it, by putting us against one another.

    “We will not let them. The nation will not be distracted or divided by these obviously planned and politically motivated criminal outrages.

    “The perpetrators are cowards; weak and wicked men with guns murdering, in cold blood, unarmed women and children at their places of worship.”

    Buhari noted the starkness of the contrast between the actions of those hateful cowards and those of true Nigerians in the aftermath of Owo.

    The president observed that “seeing the crowd of Nigerians voluntarily rushing to donate blood after the attack, thronging the local hospitals, even in the midst of mourning, I was proud of my country. I was filled with hope.

    “As for the cowards, they will be punished for their crimes. We will bring them to justice. Rest assured that the full might of Nigeria’s formidable security and intelligence forces are involved in that endeavour.

    “For now, I urge all Nigerians to come together in prayer – whether Christian, Muslim or any of our great faiths – let us hold the victims and their families in our hearts and minds.

    “Let us show the cowards who seek to divide us along religious lines that we will not be divided. Let us show them that Nigerians will continue to cherish what we share while respecting each other’s differences,” the statementread in part.

    The president therefore enjoined the citizens to always show the enemies of peace that Nigerians would never be bullied by cowards, extremists or terrorists.

  • JUST IN: Ex-Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar discharged from London hospital

    Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who was hospitalised in an undisclosed hospital in London for an unknown ailment, has been discharged.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports media aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Malam Garba Shehu made this known on Monday.

    “Alhamdu Lillahi for Allah’s mercy. I just ended a visit to His Excellency Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Head of State. He is out of hospital in a London apartment and apparently in no serious condition.

    “He was his jovial self, maintaining a keen interest in developments back at home in Nigeria. Please, no cause for alarm,” Shehu stated.

    TNG reports General Abubakar’s hospitalisation was kept secret by his family members and aides.

    Recall that the former Head of State, who is the Chairman of the National Peace Committee, could not attend a meeting on June 15 where all the governorship aspirants for the Ekiti governorship election signed a Peace Pact.

    He was represented by Bishop Mathew Kukah and other members of the committee when the peace pact was signed.

    Also, TNG reports Abubakar could not celebrate his 80th birthday on June 13, 2022, as earlier planned because of his sickness.

  • Garba Shehu fires shots at Tinubu: No one can claim to have made Buhari president in 2015

    Garba Shehu fires shots at Tinubu: No one can claim to have made Buhari president in 2015

    Spokesman to President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu has fired shots at the former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu for comments he made in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Shehu as saying no one can claim to have made Buhari president in 2015 in what seems to be a clap back to Tinubu’s comments in Abeokuta.

    Recall that the former Lagos State Governor had said without him it would have been near impossible for Buhari to become president in 2015. Although Tinubu had apologised, it seems his sins had remained unforgiven.

    “It is perhaps not surprising that on the eve of the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer primary there are those running as candidates who wish to associate themselves with the President’s rise to elected office seven years ago.

    “There are many people who played parts large and small in his historic election in 2015, making history as the first opposition candidate to defeat a sitting president with power changing hands peacefully at the ballot box.

    “There are those who advised the President to run again; those who decided to build a political party – the APC – that could finally be the political vehicle capable of delivering victory where all other opposition parties and alliances before it had failed.

    “Those decisions may have been agreed upon by a few. But they were delivered by thousands and voted for by tens of millions. No one can or should claim to have made the possible. Yet as important as that moment was, it is not what should decide the next general election.

    “What matters is the future: the policy platforms, the ideas, the drive, and the determination to take over the President’s stewardship of our country and build upon his legacy to make our country better than it has ever been.

    “The person most demonstrable in those qualities is the one to lead our party and our country forward,” Garba Shehu stated via his official Twitter handle on Monday.

  • Tenure elongation disincentive to growth of democracy – Buhari

    Tenure elongation disincentive to growth of democracy – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari says the desire of some leaders to remain in power, after completion of their constitutional terms in office, easily results in violence, loss of lives and displacements across the continent.

    The president, according to a statement by his media aide, Malam Garba Shehu, said this on Saturday in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, at the 16th Extraordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of States and Government of the African Union (AU), urging a stronger position by the AU.

    According to the Nigerian leader, attempts at tenure elongation by some leaders reverses the gains of democracy and good governance in Africa, and serves as recipe for volatility and violence.

    Buhari therefore advised leaders to consider strengthening democratic structures and cultures by adhering to the constitution.

    “Mr Chairperson, let me start by thanking the Chairperson of the Commission for the comprehensive report we have received on Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa.

    ”We are equally grateful to H.E. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, for his lead intervention on this pressing continental issue, especially for those of us in West Africa, where the spate of Unconstitutional Change of Government have been increasingly alarming.

    “Your Excellencies, as you are aware, in the past couple of months, we have witnessed a spate of unconstitutional changes and a return of military incursion in the continent.

    ”This situation is totally unacceptable. It is an attempt to draw the continent backward and derail the great mileage we had gained over the years in our quest for sustainable democracy.

    ”In the West African region, the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government have not shied away from taking appropriate steps and measures to curtail this unpleasant trend.

    ”I dare say that we have demonstrated great political will, in out-rightly condemning military incursions and unconstitutional Change of Government wherever it occurred,’’ he said.

    The president said far-reaching sanctions were imposed on ECOWAS countries that had unconstitutional change of government, when it became necessary.

    “It is therefore imperative to call on the African Union Heads of State and Government to express the same level of Political Will to ensure that this unfortunate trend especially in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso is curbed.

    “We must work collectively to ensure that constitutional democracy is restored to these countries as quickly as possible. There should be no room for unconstitutional change of governments in the continent.

    “I reiterate that the resurgence of coup d’etats in our continent calls for deep introspection on our parts as leaders. It requires our better appreciation of the root causes of military incursion into our politics.

    “As African leaders we have a duty to provide good governance to our citizens, address cases of extreme poverty and engender peaceful, free and fair elections in our countries.

    ”We must shun all calls for tenure elongation beyond the provisions of our respective constitutions,’’ the president told the African leaders.

    According to Buhari, calls for tenure elongation, undoubtedly, only contribute to heating up the political climate and serves as catalyst for crises and political instability.

    He said: “Mr Chairperson, in concluding my remarks, I would like to make a clarion call for a coordinated continental response that condemns all forms of unconstitutional Change of Government in Africa.

    ”Let us rise to the occasion and reject such changes as well as support imposition of far reaching sanctions regime from all African Union Member States, whenever and wherever military incursions rear their ugly heads.

    “We should also get the International community to buy into and cooperate fully with the African Union in imposing coordinated measures on those countries violating constitutional order.’’

  • Killing of non-indigenes in South East: Presidency warns against retaliation

    Killing of non-indigenes in South East: Presidency warns against retaliation

    The Presidency has cautioned against retaliatory violence, following the viral videos of the alleged killings of non-indigenes by the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the presidency also cautioned the general public against the indiscriminate sharing of posts on social media, to deny vested interests who seek to divide the country the chance to do so.

    In a statement released on Wednesday in Abuja by President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, the presidency also cautioned against any knee-jerk reactions, the creation of panic, and disruption of lives and livelihoods.

    Shehu stated, “While expert agencies are now verifying the factuality and veracity of the claims that accompany the horrid pictures being circulated, we call on all citizens to avoid hasty steps or conclusions that could exacerbate the situation, and on the contrary keep to a line of conduct that will help the law to take its proper course.’’

    The presidential aide quoted President Buhari as condemning the “wild, barbarous and wanton killings of innocent people” in the South-East as well as the other parts of the country, describing it as “deeply distressing.”

    The president warned the perpetrators of the acts to expect tough response from the security forces.

  • Buhari joins prayers for late UAE President

    Buhari joins prayers for late UAE President

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), joined the Muslim faithful to observe Jummah prayers, at which prayers were said for the repose of the soul of the late President of UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

    A statement by the President’s media aide, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja said the Nigerian leader attended the Friday prayers at Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed, ”The First Mosque.”

    The president was accompanied by members of the Nigerian delegation, who are on condolence and a congratulatory visit to the Middle East country, following the death of Sheikh Khalifa and the subsequent election of his successor, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

    In a sermon titled: ‘‘Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the loss of the Nation’’, read at all the Friday Mosques across the country, the Chief Imam of the mosque, Sheikh Ali Alhamoudi, expressed gratitude to God for the life and legacies of the late President.

    He described the late President as a forerunner in charitable works and humanitarian initiatives, saying through his efforts numerous mosques and hospitals were built, schools and universities were founded, while cities and institutions were established.

    ”Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed (may Allah have mercy on him) was always close to the people with his excellent morals and character.

    ”He was well-known among them for his praiseworthy qualities in this regard, and our prophet said: ‘The dearest and the closest of you to me on the Day of Resurrection will be those who are the best in character,” he said.

    The Imam said Sheikh Khalifa promoted the principles of justice in the UAE, so that all within the country could live within it in peace and equality, regardless of their religions and nationalities.

    On the new leadership, the Imam said Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was chosen by the Emirates and its rulers, its Sheikhs and its people, bearing the great trust of the nation and the great responsibility to lead the UAE towards global leadership.

    ”Prayers were offered for the success of the new president, the Vice-President, the Crown Prince and his brothers, and the Rulers of the Emirates,” the statement added.

  • Buhari departs for UAE on condolence visit, to meet new President

    Buhari departs for UAE on condolence visit, to meet new President

    President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Thursday on condolence visit to United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    Buhari will meet with the new President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to convey his condolences on the passing of the former president and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

    The President’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, confirmed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

    According to the presidential aide, the Nigerian leader will also extend his congratulations to the new President, renewing bonds of the longstanding friendship between Nigeria and the UAE.

    The president, in an earlier congratulatory message to the new UAE leader, had reaffirmed Nigeria’s cordial relationship with the country.

    He noted that the cooperation between both governments have helped Nigeria in tracking down illegal assets and tracing terrorist funds.

    According to Buhari, under the new leadership, he looks forward to a bigger and stronger partnership for peace, stability and prosperity of both countries.

    The president will be accompanied by the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Amb. Zubairu Dada, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, and the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika.

    Other members of his delegation are the National Security Adviser, retired Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno and the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, Amb. Ahmed Rufai.

    The President is expected back in the country on Saturday.

    Thenewsguru.com reports that Khalifa died on May 13 at the age of 73.

    He was president of the UAE since 2004.

    Abu Dhabi, which holds most of the Gulf state’s oil wealth, has held the presidency since the founding of the UAE federation by Sheikh Khalifa’s father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in 1971.