TheNewsGuru

Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • Rivers: Stakeholders urge Buhari to wade into APC crisis

    Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, have called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to wade into the crisis rocking the party in the state.

    While rejecting the outcome of the last Saturday’s ward congress of the party in the state, the stakeholders said Buhari’s intervention will to ameliorate the fallout of the botched ward congress of the party in the state.

    Addressing newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday on behalf of the stakeholders, a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Marcus Nle-Eji, disclosed that the they were motivated by the need to keep the records straight and let the world know what is happening in Rivers state.

    Nle-Eji noted that it is only the presidential intervention anchored on Buhari’s reputation for integrity, justice and fair play, that can ameliorate the negative impact of the disenfranchisement of party members and the outright betrayal of the ideals of APC during the so-called sham ward congresses in the state.

    The former lawmaker, who further noted that what transpired in Rivers state, in the name of the APC ward congress, was an absurdist theater, said, “In all my years in politics I have never seen this trend of politics before. Even when we contested election under the military, during the Babangida and Abacha transitions, we never saw anything like this.

    “I have not seen soldiers used for party congresses before. You all saw what happened here on Saturday. Police, SARS, soldiers, criminals were hired to intimidate, harass and torture our supporters. Members of the same political party, APC.

    “You may ask what happened during the congresses. Let me use my local government area as an example. I am from Eleme LGA. Orji Ngofa, a former local government chairman and now an Ambassador led people and police to Eteo community. They shot sporadically and cars were destroyed. They shot guns, chased people around and caused so much mayhem.

    “Is that how they conduct primaries? SARS personnel were deployed all over the place, down to the unit level. Armed men took over entire wards. For me it’s strange. If you ask questions about the irregularities witnessed during the charade of as congress, you will be harassed, intimidated and asked to frog jump. I have received over four calls to report to the police.

    “If this SARS people are not called to order, I wonder what will happen. If SARS can be used to intimidate people for a party congress, what will happen in the general election? Over 40 persons who went to the secretariat to collect their forms, were arrested and detained and some of them are already being charged to court”.

    Speaking on the development, another stakeholder and member representing Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency, in the House of Representatives, Elder Chidi Wihioka, disclosed that party congresses like elections is a process not an event.

    Wihioka said, “Election is a process. Aspirants go to the bank , pay and take their tellers to the party secretariat, collect the forms and go back to their wards for their sponsors to sign and then take the form back to the secretariat before they can be declared candidates. That’s the process. Ward congresses are local based elections.

    “Most of the aspirants are artisans, farmers, traders etc. For them to get ten thousand naira to pay for the forms and come down to Port Harcourt is not an easy thing. So what we are dealing with here is a failed process, from the beginning to the end. How will APC print forms without result sheets? How is that possible? Without result sheets, what will the party national officers take back to Abuja? Will they cram the names of all the candidates?

    “How could they claim to have sold forms to over 8,000 aspirants within a few hours, If you have two persons per position and per ward, that will make it 16,000. You can see that the congress was a sham. How could you have contested the ward congresses without a form?

    “How come that for just ward congresses SARS was deployed ? DCP OPS Steve Hasso ordered that I should be detained and my phones seized because I challenged the irregularities. Has SARS been re-created for congresses? There was no congress anywhere.”

    Wihioka stated that the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi did not even go to Ubima for the congress, pointing out that at Ubima, there was shooting from 6 am to 4 pm to scare party members from coming out.

    The federal lawmaker claimed that the same scenario was witnessed at Emohua local government area of the state, where shooting was recorded at Elibrada, Rumuakunde and other communities.

    He therefore called on President Mohammadu Buhari and the leadership of the APC to make a statement and distance the party leadership from the charade that was enacted in Rivers state in the name of ward congress, which was orchestrated and supervised by one of his appointees.

    Also speaking, Hon. Worgu Boms, a former Attorney General of the State under Amaechi, faulted claims that there was a ward congress in the state.

    Boms said, “As at Wednesday, Ibiamu Ikanya, the party chairman had admitted at a meeting that the election materials for the ward congress were with him. From that Wednesday to Friday he failed to release the forms.

    “On Friday, I went to the secretariat and met party members in their numbers who were peacefully waiting for the forms to be released. It was only after SARS personnel arrived and started shooting that some violence erupted.

    “There were over 4,000 people at the secretariat as at the time of the shooting by SARS, how is it possible that all these people are Abe’s supporters? Dakuku Peterside, Dumo Lulu Briggs, Tonye Princewill, Tonye Cole, Chidi Lloyd, Sekonte Davies etc. are all coming out for governor, why are they not being singled out for blame? Were their supporters not at the secretariat?”

    Also, another stakeholder, Dr. Ipalibo Harry, a former commissioner under Amaechi regretted that it is sad that under APC, the same impunity that characterized PDP is being witnessed.

    Harry said, “It is sad and unfortunate that young men and women who spent their hard earned money should be treated this way. Our party members expected a genuine congress and not this fraudulent sham”.

     

  • Breaking: FG approves new military battalion for Birnin-Gwari

    Following Saturday afternoon’s raid by suspected bandits at Gwaska in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a new military battalion for the area.

    Personal Assistant to President Buhari on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, made this known on Monday morning while also disclosing the President as well approved a new Police Area Command and two additional Div Police HQs for Birnin-Gwari.

    TheNewsGuru reports bandits attacked Gwaska village in Birnin Gwari on Saturday afternoon leaving about 45 persons dead.

    Residents said the killings occurred around 2:30 p.m. when the bandits stormed the village in large numbers on motorcycles. They also burnt many houses in the community.

    Confirming the incident, Kaduna State Police commissioner, Austin Iwar, said the police have deployed over 150 personnel to the area as directed by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on Sunday.

    “Yes 45 people were confirmed dead and as we speak the state command have already deployed 150 policemen to the area to provide security,” he said.

    “We will also deploy another 200 police officers by next week to help protect lives and property in Birnin Gwari. We are doing everything possible to secure the area,” he said.

    On the need for the command to work with local vigilante in the area, Mr Austin said the police is already doing so and will continue to work with them in the area of community policing.

    A community leader in Birnin Gwari, who identified himself as Hussaini, said over 40 bodies were brought to emir’s place in Birnin Gwari on Sunday afternoon.

    “Some bodies that were seemed to have been burnt were already buried by their love ones at Doka and Mando villages, few kilometres from Birnin Gwari town,” he said.

    Following the latest attack, Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Sunday evening had announced that the federal government agreed to deploy a permanent army battalion in the troubled area.

    Bashir Ahmad said today’s approval of the new military battalion, the new Police Area Command and the two additional Div Police HQs for the area was efforts by the Buhari government “To bring an end to the bloodletting, and ensure that the criminals behind it are brought to justice,” while adding “The killings in Birnin Gwari are regrettable”.

    El-Rufai confirmed the development, stressing the engagements between the State and Federal Governments is yielding results.

    “Military and security deployments have continued in the area since then, but the bandits hiding in the forests continue to exert a deadly toll, killing civilians, soldiers and other security forces

    “The Federal Government has now approved a permanent army battalion in the area, instead of the previous ad-hoc deployments. Police strength in the Birnin-Gwari axis is also being enhanced,” the Kaduna state governor confirmed.

     

  • APC finally issues membership card to Adeosun

    APC finally issues membership card to Adeosun

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has officially issued Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun her party member card.

    TheNewsGuru reports Adeosun picked up the membership card of the APC on Saturday at the party’s secretariat in Abeokuta, Ogun State where she partook in the ward congress.

    “I was pleased by the turnout and conduct of yesterday’s Ward Congress. Every now and then we have to take time out from Abuja to visit our wards and get involved in what’s going on at the grassroots,” she said.

    Explaining why she is just receiving her membership card, Adeosun said: “I’ve been a committed member of the APC since inception; so picking my membership card yesterday was a mere formality, for those who might be wondering.

    “Before then I was a member of the ACN; which I joined when I was appointed Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State in 2011”.

    Meanwhile, the finance minister had earlier said “There’s no doubt that the APC Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has the best interests of Nigeria at heart.

    “We’re working really hard to turn things around. The signs are there that Nigeria is going to make it, we just have to continue working hard,” she stated.

     

  • Breaking: Investigation confirms Israeli intelligence involvement in Nigeria’s election

    Breaking: Investigation confirms Israeli intelligence involvement in Nigeria’s election

    An investigation into the Cambridge Analytica (CA) data privacy scandal has revealed key findings and confirmed Israeli intelligence involvement in the 2015 presidential elections in Nigeria.

    TheNewsGuru reports independent investigators, Julian Malins Q. C. and Linda Hudson, contracted to dig into the data privacy scandal, confirmed that Israeli intelligence worked to campaign for former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 elections.

    “It is correct that during the 2015 campaign, the SCL team was aware that there was also working for Goodluck Jonathan, entirely separately instructed, an Israeli intelligence gathering company,” Julian Malins Q. C. and Linda Hudson stated in their report.

    The Julian Malins Q. C. and Linda Hudson report, however, absorbed Cambridge Analytica of wrongdoing in the elections, stressing that SCL Elections did no work with the Israeli intelligence gathering company.

    SCL Elections and its offspring data analytics firm, CA, face allegations of improper involvement in the 2007 and 2015 elections on behalf of their client through a series of unlawful and unethical manoeuvres.

    SCL and CA was alleged to have aided in ‘hacking’ or unlawfully gaining access to Muhammadu Buhari’s personal data when he was a candidate in the presidential election and that SCL’s and CA’s work for the election campaign on behalf of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) broke Nigerian electoral law.

    It was also alleged that SCL and CA engaged AggregateIQ in the 2015 Nigerian presidential election to produce and publish a video to frighten voters with terrifying images of what would happen if sharia law was imposed by Muhammadu Buhari, if he were to be elected.

    “SCL’s contractual involvement in Nigerian elections was to provide advertising, marketing and PR services on behalf of the Goodluck Jonathan campaigns,” the investigators stated in the report.

    The report further stated that evidence was not found that SCL broke Nigerian electoral law and that the allegation that Buhari’s personal data was “hacked” is denied by staff at SCL and that nothing specific was found in the way of “hacked” data concerning Buhari, which was published to his detriment.

    “As to AggregateIQ, that company, which is Canadian and is entirely separate from SCL and CA, may or may not have supplied the Goodluck Jonathan campaign with videos, whether false and scurrilous or not. But I have seen no evidence to support, the Wylie allegation, that SCL and/or CA had anything to do with this.

    “I have to repeat, however, that, given the evidential difficulties described earlier, my conclusions here also have to be of a preliminary, rather than final nature,” the report read.

     

  • US technology frightens mono-economies – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday during a joint press conference with President Donald Trump in Washington has said the advancement of the United States in terms of technology is frightening to mono-economies.

    TheNewsGuru reports President Buhari who was on a 3-day working visit to the US said the threat is majorly for nations, especially those in Africa that overly depend on crude oil to drive their economies.

    The President of the largest democracy in Africa, being the first African leader to visit President Trump in the White House, also harped on the need for the US to patronize Nigeria’s crude oil in the stead of Shell’s.

    “The progress made by the United States in technology is certainly frightening for us that are mono-economy. I hope technology will allow them use our crude for its quality, for petrochemicals, being light one, vis-à-vis what they are getting from Shell,” he said.

    In his reaction, President Trump stressed the need to take down certain trade barriers between the United States and Nigeria, while also revealing that the US is working to expand trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria.

    “The United States is currently working to expand trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria; to create jobs and wealth in all our countries. We hope to be the economic partner of choice for nations across the continent and around the world.

    “Nigeria is a valued partner and a great friend. The United States is committed to working alongside Nigeria as we seek a future of strength, property, and peace for both of our countries,” he said.

    TheNewsGuru reports Trump went further to say that he is pleased with Nigeria as one of the US largest trade partners in Africa.

    He said his country is looking further to growing the trade relationships with Nigeria based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.

    The US President revealed that his country gave Nigeria over $1 billion in aid every year; “And we have already started talking with the President about taking down the trade barriers”.

    “Very substantial barriers to the United States trading with Nigeria. So, we think that we are owed that,” he added.

    The US President, who acknowledged steps President Buhari has taken in the fight against corruption in Nigeria, the largest democracy in Africa, said it will be easier for the US to invest in Nigeria if the barriers were taken down.

    “President Buhari has also taken steps to fight corruption and improve the Nigerian business climate and most of all and to me helping rip down the trade barriers.

    “It will make it easier for the United States and companies to invest, and we will be investing substantially in Nigeria if they can create that level playing field that we have to very much ask for and maybe demand,” he said.

    When asked what the US government is doing to repatriate stolen and illicit funds back to Nigeria to fund critical infrastructure, Trump said “We have also discussed all of those topics at length over the last period of time”.

    He added that “In terms of corruption, Nigeria has a reputation as you understand very well for very massive corruption. I also know the President has been able to cut that down very substantially.

    “We talked about it. He is working on it and they have made a lot of progress and I think they will continue to make a lot of progress.

    “We have a lot of people in this country, and frankly speaking the country itself, that invest in Nigeria.

    “So, cutting down on that element and a corrupt element is very important to us. And the President will be able to do that”.

    The US President stressed that more than anything else he discussed with President Buhari was US agricultural products coming into Nigeria, which he said Nigeria wants but that there have certain barriers that do not allow that to happen.

    “So for the good of our farmers, US farmers and for the good of Nigeria, and all of Africa, it is very important that we are able to sell our great agricultural products into Nigeria.

    “That will happen and we are going to be working on that right away,” he said.

     

  • Remarks by Trump, Buhari before bilateral meeting

    PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s an honor to be with President Buhari of Nigeria. We have many things that we do together, as you know, probably — especially on terrorism and terrorism-related.

    We also have a very big trade deal that we’re working on for military equipment — helicopters and the like. We have met before. We have developed a great relationship. And we look forward to our discussion today — very important — but again, especially as it relates to terrorism. And that’s terrorism here and terrorism all over the world. It’s a hotbed, and we’re going to be stopping that.

    Also, we’ve had very serious problems with Christians who have been murdered, killed in Nigeria. We’re going to be working on that problem, and working on that problem very, very hard, because we can’t allow that to happen.

    Mr. President, thank you very much for being here. Thank you.

    PRESIDENT BUHARI: Thank you, Mr. President, very much for inviting me. It’s a great honor. I’m very grateful for it.

    Sadly, security is the main issue. We very grateful to the United States for agreeing to give us the aircraft we asked for — the spare parts. We are even more grateful for the physical presence of the United States military (inaudible) that are going to our institutions in Nigeria, and train them and go to the front, in the northeast, to see how they are performing, as an example of the training given to them.

    So the commitment of the United States to get rid of terrorism across the world, we have firsthand experience of that, and we are very grateful for it.

    The problem about the (inaudible) and jihadists in Nigeria is a very long, historical thing. But the state is most concerned — they know that the Nigerian jihadists never carry anything more than a stick, and occasionally a machete, to cut down foliage and give it to the (inaudible) and carrying AK-47s.

    So I don’t think people should underrate what happened in Libya: Forty-three years of Qaddafi. People were recruited from the Sahel; they were caught — and nothing other than shoot and killed.

    With the demise of Qaddafi, they moved to their countries, into their regions, and they carried away with them the only experience they have — trained using weapons. And that’s what is aggravating the situation.

    We are doing our best to make sure we have stopped the cross-border and so on, and — to get the weapons from the (inaudible) and weapons in the region checked. But it’s going to take time, and the action by the United States in trying to see the end of ISIS has helped us a lot. Because Boko Haram in Nigeria at one time made a statement that they are loyal to ISIS.

    Now that ISIS have virtually gone with the help of the United States, we are very grateful for that. And we are sure that we are still (inaudible) the situation and the security in Nigeria.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP: We have very much decimated ISIS. Much has taken place over the last 12 months. But Boko Haram has been terrible. And how did you do with the young women that were kidnapped? How is that going?

    PRESIDENT BUHARI: The Chibok girls and the Dapchi one — the Chibok one was before we came — 2014. But only a number of them — we recovered about 80 of them. But the Dapchi one, there were 106 that were kidnapped. We got 100 back. Four died; one is still held in captivity. And we are very grateful to the United Nations organization that is acting as (inaudible) between us and the kidnappers. And we haven’t given up. We are trying to get everybody back to join their families and their schools.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP: A terrible problem. Mr. President, thank you very much, everybody.

    PRESIDENT BUHARI: Thank you very much.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much everybody.

    Q Are you working on a deal on immigration?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah.

     

  • Opinion: On Trump respect for President Buhari

    Opinion: On Trump respect for President Buhari

    On Monday the last day of April 2018, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari became the first African leader to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House with the US President openly expressing respect for the leader of Africa’s largest democracy.

    Speaking at a joint press conference with President Buhari, Trump continuously reverbed how he has so much respect for Buhari, but does the US President actually means it?

    Buhari’s statement at joint press conference with Trump in Washington
    President Buhari and Buhari at the joint press conference

    “I have great respect for you, Mr. President. Nigeria is a great country, I will be visiting soon,” were President Trump’s words.

    To fully grab the rhetoric of Trump’s claim of respect for Buhari, it becomes imperative to analyse and put the US President’s comments into perspective in context.

    Before the joint press conference, President Buhari had a bilateral meeting with the US President in the White House, of which what transpired, Trump hinted at the joint press conference.

    It is worthy to note that in the bigger scheme of things, the press conference was actually a footnote.

    Trump, when quizzed at the joint press conference, revealed that more than anything else he discussed with President Buhari was the need for US agricultural products coming into Nigeria, which he said Nigeria wants.

    “But there have been certain barriers that do not allow that to happen; very substantial barriers to the United States trading with Nigeria. We have already started talking with the President about taking down the trade barriers.

    “So for the good of our farmers, US farmers and for the good of Nigeria, and all of Africa, it is very important that we are able to sell our great agricultural products into Nigeria. That will happen; and we are going to be working on that right away. So, we think that we are owed that,” said Trump.

    Trump laid all these bare after Buhari insisted the US consider Nigeria’s crude oil in the stead of Shell’s.

    “The progress made by the United States in technology is certainly frightening for us that are mono-economy. I hope technology will allow them use our crude for its quality, for petrochemicals, being light one, vis-à-vis what they are getting from Shell,” Buhari earlier demanded.

    Trump’s claim of respect for Buhari cannot be said to be sincere as he ironically, tactically made a deal to push her agricultural products into Nigeria with the glaring fact that agriculture is the main thrust of Nigeria diversifying its economy from overdependence on crude oil.

    Trump’s claim of respect for Buhari is to serve the purpose of massaging the ego of the Nigerian President into cajoling him to have his way to get US agricultural products into Nigeria.

    Donald Trump is both rude and cruel; confirming diplomats and politicians alike can actually tell you to go to hell in a way you will look forward to the trip.

    Trump said “there is no country more beautiful” than Nigeria; however, people exactly know when people are actually telling the truth.

    “Well I would like very much to visit Nigeria. It is an amazing country. In certain ways, I hear from the standpoint of the beauty of a country — there’s no country more beautiful,” were Trump’s words.

    Trump has been known to be the most chronic fact twister in recent times; so, it is not unexpected for him to make such supposed factual statement about Nigeria. He hopes he is dealing with an actual ‘maga’.

    Buhari’s speech at working lunch with Trump in Washington
    President Buhari and trump before bilateral meeting

    If Trump is not high on the need to ‘mugu’ Buhari into assenting to allow US agricultural products into Nigeria, he wouldn’t have said what he said as it is obvious Nigeria is not in the list of the top 5 most beautiful countries of Africa, let alone “there is no country more beautiful” than Nigeria.

    If Trump’s statements should be taken as they are, he could have meant what he said, but given context, the US President has no regards for Nigeria and the things that matter most for the country. It is obvious the respect Trump has for President Buhari is for him to take advantage of Nigeria.

    He continuously prodded Buhari to consider lifting trade barrier to ensure the US gets its way of pushing its agricultural products into the country.

    Trump smiling hard
    Trump smiling really hard

    Meanwhile, in his speeches during the working lunch and at the joint press conference, President Buhari highlighted key areas the Nigerian government might be requiring the assistance of the US.

    Already Buhari and Trump both acknowledged Nigeria acquisition of 12 Super Tucano war crafts during the press conference. In addition to this Buhari made known that discussion with his American counterpart, bothered on, including security, anti-corruption, trade, human rights and humanitarian aid.

    While it is obvious that Buhari did not succumbed to Trump’s whims, there might be grave implications if he doesn’t, which might include the US tightening business relations with, and humanitarian aid for Nigeria.

     

  • Trade barriers: Trump mounts pressure on President Buhari

    US President Donald Trump on Monday mounted huge pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to consider taking down trade barriers between the United States and Nigeria.

    President Trump, who was speaking during a joint press conference with President Buhari in Washington DC, said the US is working on expanding trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria.

    “The United States is currently working to expand trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria; to create jobs and wealth in all our countries. We hope to be the economic partner of choice for nations across the continent and around the world.

    “Nigeria is a valued partner and a great friend. The United States is committed to working alongside Nigeria as we seek a future of strength, property, and peace for both of our countries,” he said.

    TheNewsGuru reports Trump went further to say he is pleased with Nigeria as one of the United States largest trade partners from the African continent.

    He said the US country is looking further to growing the trade relationships with Nigeria based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.

    The US President revealed that his country gives Nigeria over $1 billion in aid every year; “And we have already started talking with the President about taking down the trade barriers”.

    “Very substantial barriers to the United States trading with Nigeria. So, we think that we are owed that,” he added.

    The US President, who commended President Buhari for steps he has taken in the fight against corruption in Nigeria, the largest democracy in Africa, said it will be easier for the US to invest in Nigeria if certain business barriers were removed.

    “President Buhari has also taken steps to fight corruption and improve the Nigerian business climate and most of all and to me helping rip down the trade barriers.

    “It will make it easier for the United States and companies to invest, and we will be investing substantially in Nigeria if they can create that level playing field that we have to very much ask for and maybe demand,” he said.

    When asked what the US government is doing to repatriate stolen and illicit funds back to Nigeria to fund critical infrastructure, Trump said, “We have also discussed all of those topics at length over the last period of time”.

    He added: “In terms of corruption, Nigeria has a reputation as you understand very well for very massive corruption. I also know the President has been able to cut that down very substantially.

    “We talked about it. He is working on it and they have made a lot of progress and I think they will continue to make a lot of progress.

    “We have a lot of people in this country, and frankly speaking the country itself, that invest in Nigeria. So, cutting down on that element and a corrupt element is very important to us. And the President will be able to do that”.

    The US President stressed that more than anything else he discussed with President Buhari, being the first African leader to meet with Trump in the White House, was US agricultural products coming into Nigeria, which he said Nigeria wants.

    “But there have been certain barriers that do not allow that to happen. So for the good of our farmers, US farmers and for the good of Nigeria, and all of Africa, it is very important that we are able to sell our great agricultural products into Nigeria.

    “That will happen; and we are going to be working on that right away,” he said.

     

  • Buhari’s speech at working lunch with Trump in Washington

    Buhari’s speech at working lunch with Trump in Washington

    Mr. President, Senior Government officials, I have just had excellent discussions with President Trump and I would like to reiterate my immense gratitude to you, Mr. President for your kind invitation and the very warm and generous hospitality extended to me and my delegation since our arrival in the United States;

    2. We greatly appreciate the importance your administration attaches to a strong relationship with Nigeria. The United States remains for us a valued friend and strategic partner, whose support and solidarity over the years has meant a great deal to us. Our government’s three main priority areas are:

    a) Security
    b) Anti-corruption and good governance
    c) Economic growth and job creation

    3. We congratulate you, Mr. President on the statesmanly role you have played in so dramatically transforming the course of events in the Korean Peninsula to make the denuclearization of the region a real possibility.

    4. On security, please accept our sincere congratulations on the important role played by the US in the defeat of ISIS, although some of the remnants have found their way to the Sahel region. We are very grateful for the strong US support in our fight against terrorism. We also appreciate very much your agreement to sell twelve Super Tucano A-29 war planes and weapons to Nigeria to effectively fight terrorism.

    5. To contain the spate of insurgency in Nigeria, the Federal government has adopted a multi-sectoral approach, involving relevant government agencies to address the socio-economic and political dimensions while the Armed Forces of Nigeria assist the civil authorities to provide security and maintain law and order.

    6. As part of efforts to address emerging cases of insurgency in the country, the Nigerian Military adopted a non-kinetic counter terrorism/counter insurgency approach code-named “Operation safe corridor”, to de-radicalize, re-habilitate, and re-integrate willingly surrendered Boko-Haram members into the larger society.

    7. This programme is currently embarking on a number of projects including: skill acquisition centers and integrated farms; comprising poultry, fishpond and greenhouse farming, among others.

    8. A number of international partners, including the International Organization for Migration have contributed to the success of Operation Safe Corridor. We will also appreciate whatever support we could also get from the US.

    9. We are extremely grateful for your government’s support in the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the North East of Nigeria, as well as humanitarian assistance to the Internally Displaced Persons, through agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development and other international partners.

    10. The USA has been to date the biggest contributor to the humanitarian response and last year gave approximately 500 million US Dollars in cash and in-kind contributions through the United Nations and other inter-governmental organizations. These have mainly supported protection activities, namely health, food assistance and shelter.

    11. We are doing all we can to secure the release of the remaining abducted schoolgirls from Dapchi and Chibok. In this context, we will continue to welcome US collaboration in intelligence gathering, hostage negotiations and information-sharing.

    12. The government is taking necessary steps to promote the peaceful co-existence of herdsmen and farmers, by focusing on boosting security and enforcing legislation that will guarantee herders and farmers’ access to land, reducing strife and promoting harmonizing economic activities.

    13. I wish to extend sincere congratulations to you and your government on the impressive performance of the US economy under your watch.

    14. Our aim is to diversify our economy by focusing on agriculture and food security; power and infrastructure. We have cut the importation of rice by about 90% thereby saving a significant amount of money. We very much welcome increased US investment in the Nigerian economy, especially in the non-oil sector.

    15. Economic relations between Nigeria and the United States are anchored on three major instruments, namely: the Bi-National Commission, Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act.

    16. The Bi-National Commission in particular, comprising bilateral political, economic, developmental and humanitarian partnership, is a basic economic framework for engagement between our two countries.

    17. Nigeria’s trade volume with the United States stood at six point zero-seven billion United States Dollars according to 2016 statistics and comprised four point one-seven-six billion united States dollars worth of Nigerian exports to the US and one point eight-nine-four billion United States Dollars US exports to Nigeria. We should work to increase these figures substantially and to make balance of trade more even.

    18. We thank your government very much for the cooperation we have received in our effort to recover stolen funds. Our two governments have put the machinery in place for their respective Attorneys-General to collaborate in ensuring the return to Nigeria of over five hundred million United States Dollars ($500) of looted funds siphoned away in banks around the world.

    19. In this connection, we congratulate the US government on launching a Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which was spearheaded by the US Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering. We hope that we can continue to count on your support in our efforts to recover our money.

    20. The Government of Nigeria remains deeply committed to the principles of human rights as well as the promotion and protection of people’s freedom, even in the process of fighting terror. We will ensure that all documented cases of human rights abuses are investigated and those responsible for violations held accountable for their actions.

    21. In addition, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria inaugurated the Nigerian Military Human Rights Dialogue in August 2015 to provide the Nigerian Military and Para-Military with necessary tools to integrate human rights practices into their code, education systems, field training and disciplinary systems.

    22. To this end, the victims of a criminal law enforcement operation that occurred in 2013 (otherwise known as Apo-six) were compensated in April this year based on the findings of the National Human Rights Commission. Two of the police officers responsible were convicted for culpable homicide arising from the extra-judicial killings.

    23. Mr. President, this is the first time in the history of Nigeria that the Federal Government compensated the victims of extra-judicial killings. It also provides a sustainable platform for local and international human rights organizations to constructively engage the Nigerian security forces on human rights concerns. We also look to share best practices in this area with the United States.

    24. I thank you, Mr. President, again for hosting us and for your constructive response to our shaped problems. I hope you make Nigeria the first port of call whenever you visit African continent.

     

  • Buhari’s statement at joint press conference with Trump in Washington

    Buhari’s statement at joint press conference with Trump in Washington

    Good day, Ladies and Gentlemen of the media. It has been a pleasure and honour to visit Washington DC at the kind invitation of President Donald Trump.

    Nigeria and the United States share a long history of close and cordial relations, which encompass political, economic, military, social and cultural cooperation. Our two countries maintain a strategic partnership for peace and security, conflict resolution as well as the global fight against terrorism.

    We also share common features as secular federal states, practicing a similar democratic model of governance and committed to the universal values of fundamental human rights and freedoms, free enterprise, social justice and the rule of law.

    President Trump and his team and myself and the Nigerian team discussed issues related to security, trade, governance, human rights and humanitarian crises.

    SECURITY

    We congratulated the leaders of North and South Korea on their historic summit and we applaud them for the positive commitment they have made towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. President Trump deserves a great deal of credit for his statesmanly role in transforming so dramatically the course of events in that region.

    We also congratulated the US government on the important role it played in the defeat of ISIS, although some of the remnants have found their way to the Sahel region. We recognized the strong US support in our fight against terrorism and also appreciated very much the US’ agreement to sell twelve Super Tucano A-29 war planes and weapons to Nigeria to effectively fight terrorism.

    To contain the spate of insurgency in Nigeria, the Federal government has adopted a multi-sectoral approach, involving relevant government agencies to address the socio-economic and political dimensions while the Armed Forces of Nigeria assist the civil authority to provide security and maintain law and order.

    As part of efforts to address emerging cases of insurgency in the country, the Nigerian Military adopted a non-kinetic counter terrorism/counter insurgency approach code-named “Operation safe corridor”, to de-radicalize, re-habilitate, and re-integrate willingly surrendered Boko-Haram members into the larger society. This programme is currently embarking on a number of projects including: skill acquisition centers and integrated farms; comprising poultry, fish pond and greenhouse farming, among others. A number of international partners, including the International Organization for Migration have contributed to the success of Operation Safe Corridor. We indicated that we would appreciate whatever support we could also get from the US.

    We expressed gratitude for US support in the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the North East of Nigeria, as well as humanitarian assistance to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), through agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other international partners. The USA has been to date the biggest contributor to the humanitarian response and last year gave approximately 500 million US Dollars in cash and in-kind contributions through the United Nations and other inter-governmental organizations. These have mainly supported protection activities, health, food assistance and shelter.

    We are doing all we can to secure the release of the remaining abducted school girls from Dapchi and Chibok. In this context, we will continue to welcome US collaboration in intelligence gathering, hostage negotiations and information-sharing.

    VIOLENCE BETWEEN HERDSMEN AND FARMERS

    The government is taking necessary steps to promote the peaceful co-existence of herdsmen and farmers, by focusing on boosting security and enforcing legislation that will guarantee herders and farmers access to land;

    TRADE AND INVESTMENT

    I extended sincere congratulations to President Trump and his government on the impressive performance of the US economy under their watch.

    Our aim is to diversify our own economy by focusing on agriculture and food security; power and infrastructure. We have cut the importation of rice by about 90% thereby saving a significant amount of money. We very much welcomed increased US investment in the Nigerian economy, especially in the non-oil sector.

    Economic relations between Nigeria and the United States are anchored on three major instruments, namely: the Bi-National Commission (BNC), Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The Bi-National Commission in particular, comprising bilateral political, economic, developmental and humanitarian partnership, is a basic economic framework for engagement between our two countries.

    Nigeria’s trade volume with the United States stood at $6.07 billion according to 2016 statistics and comprised $4.176 billion worth of Nigerian exports to the US and $1.894 billion US exports to Nigeria. We urged greater effort to increase these figures substantially.

    GOVERNANCE AND ANTI-CORRUPTION

    We thanked the US government very much for the cooperation we have received in our effort to recover stolen funds. Our two governments have put the machinery in place for their respective Attorneys-General to collaborate in ensuring the return to Nigeria of over five hundred million United States Dollars ($500) of looted funds siphoned away in banks around the world. In this connection, we congratulated the US government on launching a Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative which was spearheaded by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering. We hoped that we could continue to count on US support in this area.

    HUMAN RIGHTS

    The Government of Nigeria remains deeply committed to the principles of human rights as well as the promotion and protection of people’s freedom, even in the process of fighting terror. We commit to ensure that all documented cases of human rights abuses are investigated and those responsible for violations held accountable for their actions.