My children study abroad because I can afford it – Buhari
President Muhammad
Buhari has said that the forex crisis in the country is being managed by
his administration and that not every Nigerian will be able to access
foreign exchange at official rates in the country.
The President made the revelation during an interview with Talk With Al Jazeera during his visit to Qatar.
When asked by the
interviewer about the inability of parents with children schooling
abroad to purchase forex at affordable rates to keep their children in
school.
President Buhari said,
“Not every Nigerian can afford it and the country cannot continue to
subsidize the forex needs of everyone.”
Reminded by the interviewer that his own children school abroad, President Buhari said “I can afford it.”
The Al Jazeera anchor
then asked, “So it’s their tough luck then?” in reference to those
Nigerians who are unable to afford the school fees.
The President responded by shrugging his shoulders.
Many Nigerians voted
for President Buhari due to the ability of his campaign managers to
dress him up as a man of very modest means who could relate to the pains
of ordinary Nigerians. However it appears Buharinomics may not be as
forgiving to those class of Nigerians as they would have liked.
The man allegedly killed and buried his own father in Umuajana Village Umudioka, Dunukofia LGA of Anambra state.
The old man had gone missing for some days and his family had started
looking for him. The shallow grave where the son buried him was
discovered on Sunday March 6th, around 2pm after someone raised
suspicion. The son was handed over to the police for further
investigation.
Abia North Rerun Election: PPA Rejects Result (See their Next Move)
The
leadership of the People’s Progressive Alliance (PPA) in Abia State has
rejected in total terms the result of the Saturday rerun poll in Abia
North Senatorial District, calling for a cancellation of the results of
the controversial polling units in Ohafia and Arochukwu local
governments.
According to the PPA Zonal Chairman in Abia North, Hon. Rapheal Ukoro, the returning officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr. Ojike Nwankwo,
on Sunday afternoon announced Chief Mao Ohuabunwa of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) as winner despite declaring the election
inconclusive on Sunday morning based on the controversial results of
Wards 2 and 3 in Arochukwu (home base of the PDP candidate, Chief Mao
Ohuabunwa) due to heavy ballot-box snatching and falsification of
results.
Addressing
a press conference in Umuahia on Monday, he said, “we wish to state
categorically that our great party, PPA, affirms its position on the
rejection of the result of the Saturday rerun poll in Abia North,
noting that the returning officer of INEC, Dr. Ojike Nwankwo, had at the Ohafia INEC collation centre on Sunday, March 6, 2016, at 7.00 a.m., announced
in the presence of party agents and other INEC officials that due to
irregularities in some wards in Arochukwu and Ohafia local governments,
where election was marred by widespread rigging and violence, the
election was inconclusive.
“Shortly after the declaration of the indecisiveness of the rerun poll, the returning officer and other INEC officials moved to the State INEC
office in Umuahia, where the PDP candidate and agents met with them in
closed door to perfect their illegal action. It was gathered that the
returning officer and other INEC officials were compromised by the PDP
agents with the support of the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie
Ikpeazu, who doled out handsome cash gifts to them to reverse their
earlier position.
BIAFRA: Fear Grips FG as ICC Commences Investigation
There’s pandemonium in Nigeria’s seat of power as ICC
sent their first letter to commence investigation into the ongoing
genocide, massacre and extermination of harmless Biafrans.
CCT: Tinubu meets Danladi, orders Osinbajo to get Saraki out of office
National leader of All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
The National leader of All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has reportedly
reached an agreement with the Chairman of Code of Conduct Tribunal,
Justice Danladi Umar over the trial of the Senate President, Bukola
Saraki on 13 counts of false asset declaration.
The CCT recently fixed March 10th for the resumption of the trail of the
Senate President.A source privy to the details of the agreement,
claimed Justice Danladi agreed to Tinubu’s demands on speedy trial of
the Senate President and invocation of all sub-sections under Section 23
of the Conduct Bureau and the Tribunal Act to convict the Senate
President.The agreement was allegedly initiated through the office of
the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, at the instance of his Chief of
Staff, Mr Adeola Ipaye.Ipaye, a former Lagos state Attorney General
and Justice commissioner, is a loyal aide of Asiwaju Tinubu. Tinubu
appointed him as Special Assistant on Legal Affairs in 2011. He was
later promoted in 2003 as Senior Special Assistant on
Legal Matters to former Governor Tinubu.
It was reliably gathered that Tinubu and CCT Chairman, Umar Danladi have
a long standing relationship. The close relationship between the duo
made their deal on Saraki smooth, a source who spoke on condition of
anonymity claimed. When Tinubu was dragged before the Justice Danladi
Umar-led Tribunal by Code of Conduct Bureau for false assets declaration
in 2011, Danladi was poised to hand him soft-landing before he got
express order from ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to free Tinubu.
Tinubu was later discharged and acquitted.
The Code of Conduct Tribunal, empowered by the Code of
Conduct Bureau and the Tribunal Act can legally prescribe any of the punishments contained in Section 23 of the Act on an
offender.
Section 23 of the Act provides; “(1) Where the tribunal finds a public officer guilty of contravening any of the provisions of this act, it shall impose upon that officer any of the punishments specified under subsection (2) of this section.” Section 23(2), however, states: “The punishment which the tribunal shall impose shall include any of the following: (a) vacation of office or any elective or nominated office as the case may be; (b) disqualification from holding any public office (whether elective or not) for a period not exceeding 10 years; (c) seizure and forfeiture to the state of any property acquired in abuse or corruption of office.”A source close
to Mr Tinubu, who confided in our correspondent, said the former
governor of Lagos State has given the Vice President the mandate to
remove the Senate President, Bukola Saraki from office at all costs.
The source quoted Tinubu to have said, “It is a done deal. I
have told Yemi what to do. I don’t need any contract from him. He should
get that boy out of office”.
Tinubu is widely believed to have single-handedly nominated Prof. Yemi
Osinbajo as Vice Presidential Candidate to the then Presidential
Candidate of All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. The
present Vice President serves as commissioner for two terms when Asiwaju
Tinubu governed Lagos State between 1999 and 2007.
On the trial of the Senate President, the camp of former governor Bola
Tinubu is reportedly strategising and has foreclosed any room for
chances.
He secretly offered the 8 witnesses, billed to testify against the Senate President, $35,000
each with promise of security protection. Tinubu also promised the
witnesses other supports that a close source declined to comment about.
The witnesses are: Yahaya Bello, Michael Wetkas, Mustapha Abubakar
Musa and Nura Ali Bako. Others are: Adamu Garba, Samuel Madojemu,
Abdulrahaman Bayo Dauda and Nwachukwu Amazu.
However, the trial of the Senate President has assumed a new political dimension.
A Villa source confided in our reporter, that close aides of
President Muhammadu Buhari have reportedly told the President that the
trial of the Senate President, initiated from the office of Vice
President, is actually designed to get at the President in the long run.
Presidential aides discovered that some politicians in the South West
region are scheming to nominate Senator Ahmed Lawan as possible Vice
Presidential Candidate to run with the present Vice President, Prof.
Yemi Osinbajo as presidential candidate of the APC. According to the
political calculation, even if President Buhari decides to seek
re-election in 2019, the APC caucus in the South West will present the
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo to contest against him in the primaries.
The
renewed plot to kick Saraki out of office, according to the source, is
to make Senator Ahmed Lawan the Senate President and position him to run
with Prof Yemi Osinbajo on the same presidential ticket. Tinubu has
reportedly anointed the Vice President to take over the mantle of
leadership from the President, Muhammadu Buhari, by 2019.
It is yet to be known how President Muhammadu Buhari will react to the new political scheme.
A Public Affair Analyst, Mr John Ogboru said, “with recent
revelations in respect to Saraki’s case, the President should not be
fooled, they are plotting against him. Isn’t it clear that it is rather
about politics than the anti-corruption crusade? What I see here is
Tinubu fighting Saraki using the Vice President, Danladi & co,
because he sees him as a potential threat”.
“This is warning, Biafra is a spirit” – Nigerians react to Ngige collapse in NASS
Nigerians express mixed feelings after Chris Ngige collapsed in the
National Assembly – The minister of Labour and Productivity is presently
receiving treatments – Pro-Biafra agitators believes his collapse is a
warning from God The reported collapse of Nigeria’s minister of Labour
and Productivity, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige today, February 18, has got
social media buzzing.
OUR REPORTER had earlier reported that the minister collapsed while
defending his ministry’s budget before the House of Representatives’
Committee on labour. He was immediately rushed to a hospital for
treatment as his condition is yet to be known as at the time of
preparing this report.
However, while Ngige’s collapse has been greeted with joy in some
section of Nigeria populace who believes his collapse is not unconnected
to his recent remarks on the protests by the Indigenous People Of
Biafra (IPOB) for a sovereign state. Others have taken to social media
to wish the minister quick recovery. Nigerians react to news that Chris
Ngige slumped in National Assembly Ngige had stated that the Pro-Biafran
protesters are to the east, what Boko Haram is to the northern part of
the country and the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in the southwestern
part of the country.
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said
the sacking of the Director General of the Budget Office of the
Federation and appointing a new one was not
enough to address the controversies trailing the 2016 budget.He insisted
that the budget be withdrawn from the National Assembly and a new and
error-free one represented.
Fayose also queried the request by the Minister of Information and
Culture, Lai Mohammed, for a “special funding arrangement for public
media organizations to enable them to scale up their sensitization
campaign against insurgency in the North-East.”
According to him, Mohammed had to explain further to Nigerians his request since he said Boko Haram has already been defeated.
“What they told us was that they have technically defeated Boko
Haram. What then do they need special fund for? Even last year, there
was no such special fund.
“To my mind, there could be more to this clamour for special fund for
media on ‘already defeated’ Boko Haram than meet the eyes.”
Fayose said what the controversial 2016 budget required was a
holistic approach, not just making one person scapegoat, adding that;
“the President must take total responsibility for the budget scam and
apologise to Nigerians for the government’s embarrassment caused by the
display of gross incompetence.”
Fayose maintained that padding of the budget with strange figures, now
being denied by Ministers was a clear intention to steal in advance,
adding that; “Though it is good that the President listened to my call
for the punishment of those responsible for the national embarrassment,
mere sacking of officers at the Budget Office will not remove the stain
splashed on Nigeria by the shameful budget.”
He likened blaming an imaginary “budget mafia” for the padding of the
budget to a driver blaming someone else for not applying the brake when
it should have been applied, saying; “the bulk stops on the President’s
table, he can’t blame anyone apart from himself for this national
shame.”
“Sacking one or two persons on this budget scam is just like using
some people as cover-up for the national embarrassment caused by the
President himself. Even the President himself signed a letter wrongly as
October 22, 2016 and one is tempted to ask who the President will sack
for these avoidable errors.
“In my own opinion, it is necessary that those handling the President
should bring it to his consciousness that he is not God that cannot
make mistakes and this budget scam must be seen as part of the mistakes
that President Buhari is capable of making.
“By doing this, the President will be provided with another
opportunity to represent the Budget because I wonder how Nigeria can
operate on a budget already disowned by notable ministers, including the
government’s spokesperson.
“Or what remedy can anyone do to a budget in which 2015 budgetary
allocations of an agency was reproduced verbatim? Even N180 million was
discovered to have been allocated to NIMET twice.”
