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HURIWA to Buhari: If Presidency is tough, please resign now

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Following the admission by President Muhammadu Buhari that the Presidency is tough and that he is eager to go, a call has gone to President Muhammadu Buhari from the Human Right Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) to be honest enough to resign now to minimise the damage his crass incompetence and gross dereliction of duty would costs the Country if he stayed on till May 29th 2023.

HURIWA disclosed this Nigerian Newssphere on Tuesday Morning.

The Rights group faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s call on the Academic Staff Union of Universities to consider the plight of the future generations of the country as the strike stretches into the fifth month just as HURIWA stated that the administration bears the largest chunk of the blame for totally abandoning public tertiary institutions because the children of the President, Governors, Senators, ministers and heads of government agencies are all schooling in foreign educational institutions including the ugly scenario that the Wife of President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly lived in Dubai the United Arab Emirates for the better part of the last seven years of the current administration of her husband.

HURIWA said it is so sad that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has not only endangered national security interests by the nepotistic appointments of only Northern Muslims as heads of all the internal security institutions including the Prison/Correctional centres and the President by refusing to fire his officials who have sabotaged national security including those who clearly facilitated the recent invasion and jail break at the Kuje minimum security prison in Abuja and most other jailbreaks, what this dereliction of duty by President Muhammadu Buhari shows is that he is comfortable working with saboteurs of national security interests and that he is fine with incompetence and abysmal failures of leadership in his government.

HURIWA is therefore appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to be a statesman by tendering his resignation from office now to stave off greater disasters that await the nation should his rudderless government persists in its infamy, impunity and lawlessness.

The Rights group regretted that as stated in a report from the CBN that indicates that Nigeria has lost more than 80 per cent in foreign investments in the last three years as capital importation drops just as Data from the country’s statistics body said that foreign capital imports have declined in three years.

HURIWA citing official statistics disclosed that Capital imports into Nigeria had dipped by 81.46 per cent, about $6.91 billion from $8.49 billion in the first quarter of 2019 to $1.57 billion in the same period of 2022, as disclosed by a data from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the NBS data, Nigeria’s capital imports reports for four years say there is a steady drop in capital inflows into the country.

HURIWA also blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for destroying the national economy by his government’s failures to defend Nigeria from external and internal terrorists going by the evidence provided by the nation’s Apex Bank during the latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting (MPC), when the regulator of Banking industry admitted that an unconducive domestic investment climate is affecting foreign capital inflows into the country.

The Rights group recalled that the CBN said that Foreign Direct Investment has been very low while there was a reversal in foreign portfolio inflows from Nigeria in Q4 of 2021. He said the poor trend is due to an unconducive domestic investment climate which is worsening. In February of this year, Emefiele said, inflows stood at $17.67 billion in comparison to $66.4 billion in the same month in 2021, which is the highest since 2020. The World Bank in its recent June update on Nigeria said the rising global interest rate is going to lead to more investment outflows from Nigeria in 2022 which will lead to a fall in total capital importation.

HURIWA quoted a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari said the Presidency was tough and that he was eager to retire home when he received some governors of the All Progressives Congress, legislators, and political leaders at his residence in Daura, Katsina State.
The statement is titled ‘Enough is enough, President Buhari tells ASUU, urges lecturers to consider generational consequences.’

HURIWA quoted President as stating thus: “The observation that I abandoned my base was made by the Emir of Daura, Dr. Faruk Umar Faruk, at the eid prayer ground. He held the microphone and told everyone that the last time I was in Daura was during the Eid-el-Kabir of 2021. “In ten to eleven months’ time, I will come here. I have a better house in Kaduna, but it is too close to Abuja. “I am eager to go. I can tell you it has been tough. I am grateful to God that people appreciate the personal sacrifices we have been making. I wish the person who is coming after me the very best.”

HURIWA has therefore admonished President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately resign so he doesn’t create additional burdens that may be too tough for the incoming administration to confront from May 29th 2023 just as the Rights group said the worst show of shame for the current government was the crass unwillingness of the administration to take measures to stop the incessant industrial actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities by not showing adequate leadership qualities.

Buhari to ASUU: Enough is Enough, end prolong strike

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…Says strike will have generational consequences

President Muhammadu Buhari has told the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that enough is enough and should reconsider their position on the prolong strike with a view to calling it off.

He made the call on Monday in Daura, Katsina State, when he received some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), legislators and political leaders at his residence.

The president expressed worry that the strike will have generational consequences on families, the educational system and future development of the country.

He said the strike had already taken a toll on the psychology of parents, students and other stakeholders, throwing up many moral issues that already beg for attention.

President Buhari noted that the future of the country rests on the quality of educational institutions and education, while assuring that the government understands their position, and negotiations should continue, with students in lecture halls.

“We hope that ASUU will sympathise with the people on the prolonged strike. Truly, enough is enough for keeping students at home. Don’t hurt the next generation for goodness sake,” a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), quoted him as saying.

The president called on all well-meaning Nigerians, particularly those close to the leaders and members of the association, to intervene in persuading the lecturers to reconsider their position, and the ripple effect on an entire generation and the nation.

President Buhari said students from Nigerian universities will be faced with the challenge of competing with others in a highly connected and technology-driven workspace, and keeping them at home only deprives them of time, skill and opportunities to be relevant on the global stage.

“Colonial type education was geared towards producing workers in government. Those jobs are no longer there. Our young people should get education to prepare them for self-employment. Now education is for the sake of education.

“Through technology, we are much more efficient. We should encourage our children to get education, not only to look for government jobs,” he added.

President Buhari said resources should be channeled more into building infrastructure and operations of the health and educational sector, not to expand the bureaucracy to create job opportunities.

“By this time next year, I would have made the most out of the two terms, and the remaining months I will do my best,” the president noted.

President Buhari urged those in political positions and places of privilege to be mindful in helping the many Nigerians that were looking for opportunities.

If you are greedy, you won’t look around to see what is happening with those who are less endowed,’’ he said.

The president told the governors and political leaders that he had not been to his house in Daura for close to a year due to the demands of office.

“The observation that I abandoned my base was made by the Emir of Daura, Dr Faruk Umar Faruk, at the eid prayer ground. He held the microphone and told everyone that the last time I was in Daura was during the Eid-el-Kabir of 2021,” he added.

President Buhari said he would retire to Daura, not Kaduna, where he had a better house.

“In ten to eleven months time, I will come here. I have a better house in Kaduna, but it is too close to Abuja,’’ he said.

The president explained that the schedule of work was much, saying he recently had to sympathise with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, who had to be away most of the time from his family.

President Buhari urged the APC stalwarts to keep working for the good of the people and the country, noting that “ We are a lucky people, and we need to reflect more on where we are coming from.”

The president said relative to the resources available, and compared to the last administration, the government had done well in many areas, particularly in infrastructure.

“I wish the person who is coming after me the very best,” he said.

Marketers defile FG, now sell fuel for N185/Litre in Abuja

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Residents of Federal Capital Territory(FCT) woke up on Monday morning to see various filling stations selling petrol at N185/litre.
The development defiles instructions given by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to ensure that petrol remains available at the subsidized price of N165/litre amid untamed queues.
Our correspondent who went round some filling stations reported to have seen Shaffa and A A Rano along Kubwa expressway and Jabi upwardly reviewed their metres.
While their managers declined NewsDirect comments, gathered that the marketers adjusted their meters to reflect a ‘new official price’ following rising operational cost.
The upward adjustment is also a sharp contrast to the recent promises made by top executives of the South-West bloc of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
The association, penultimate week, pledged support for the Federal Government by ensuring that Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) was available at the regulated price of N165 per litre, at retail stations.
The Zonal Chairman, IPMAN South-West, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen Lamidi, who gave the assurance at a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, also highlighted some of the problems his members are facing: product sharing, rise in penalties, difficulty in getting tax clearance, high cost of doing business in the country, amongst others.
He, however, assured that despite the contending challenges, the union has resolved not to embark on any industrial action as a conflict resolution technique.
“As far as we are concerned in the South-West, we have gone beyond strike. Strike is not the solution to any problem because if there is a strike, it affects the masses and our businesses.
We will work together to ensure free flow of petroleum products and also make sure that products are sold at the government-regulated price, if we get them at the normal price’’, the Zonal Chairman said.
Meanwhile, petroleum marketers on the platform of Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) rose from their 2nd National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on last Thursday, with a plea to President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make dollars available at official rate to oil marketers, to enable import diesel, end petrol scarcity and ultimately save the Nigerian economy from sinking. They said that dollar support should be available till Dangote Refinery comes on stream later in the year.
The association, among others, urged the National Assembly to immediately enact a Bill for the establishment of Energy Bank for easy transaction in petroleum products in the sector.
The National President of the Association, Mr Benneth Korie, who briefed the media after the NEC meeting in Abuja, noted that the bulk of the operational challenge peppering marketers and depot owners spring from expensive diesel which hovers around N850/litre.
While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for approving a higher bridging cost payment to transporters, Korie said the operators’ challenges were far from over as oil marketers and depot owners spend about N20 million weekly on diesel to power their operations, a development he said erodes their profits.

Go and fix your health challenge, Kwankwaso taunts Tinubu

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Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso has asked flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in forthcoming 2023 elections, to pay attention to his health.

This is coming at the time Tinubu has picked former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima as his running mate.

There have been rumors on Tinubu being ill, with videos portraying him as such circulating online.

But the ruling party’s presidential candidate has insisted that he is fit as fiddle.
While addressing rumors on his health in the buildup to the APC Presidential primaries, Tinubu had said, “I have the brain and the capacity. If you hear them saying, he is sick, I didn’t apply for the job of race running. I didn’t apply for the job of bricklaying. I went to school to study Accountancy and Management.”

However, in an interview with ARISE Television on Sunday, Kwankwaso asked Tinubu to take the issue of his health seriously.

If you see my friend, Bola, tell him to take it easy, take good care of his health and make sure that… because I love him so much, he is my friend. This campaign is very rigorous, it requires a lot of effort and so on and so forth. I hope he will take it easy so that we can continue the struggle to ensure one solid and prosperous Nigeria,” he said.

On Tinubu’s choice of Senator Kashim Shettima as running mate, Kwankwaso said, “My only worry is the platform. This platform I don’t know. I know he is a strategist, Bola Tinubu, he is a good man. I had reasons to sit with him uncountable number of times from 1992 to date.

“I wish I will see him to ask him what he will tell Nigerians what he will do differently from what Muhammadu Buhari is doing today.

“That is my serious concern for him. Ordinarily, if I cannot get it, I can recommend him but it’s going to be like building something on zero.”

Eid-el Kabir: Buhari calls for citizens involvement in ending insecurity as Muslims celebrate Sallah

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President Muhammadu Buhari has called for citizens involvement in ending insecurity as Muslims faithful across the country yesterday thronged various eid grounds to two rakat Eid-el Kabir prayers marking this year’s celebration.

Buhari said increased disclosure of unusual activities will expose bandits and terrorists, nudging the security apparatus to eliminate threats across the country.

The president stated this while speaking to newsmen after the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at his country home, Daura, Katsina State, on Saturday.

“We are praying that the rainy season will be good for production of the food we eat in the country.

“Look at when we closed the borders for about two years, a lot of people went back to the farms and they have not regretted that decision. Now we are feeding ourselves and exporting rice.

“My advice is about people that are organising themselves and attacking institutions and communities. The people know them. So let them report them to the security agencies.

“I hope they will sit and reflect and make sure they save their names and their families,” the president said.

Among those in attendance at the prayers included governors and other top political leaders.

A symbolic slaughtering of ram was also performed at the praying ground shortly after the prayers.

Locations such as Ilorin, Zaria, Kano, Kaduna Kastina, Suleja, Borno, and reported peaceful celebrations as citizens trooped out to Mark the celebration.

 

 

Hold Peter Obi responsible if anything happens to me says Reno Omokri

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Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s aide, Reno Omokri, has said Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate should be held responsible if any mishap happens to him or any of his family members.

Omokri raised the alarm over his safety and family members in a tweet.

The “TableShaker” alleged two supporters of the former Anambra Governor were caught on CCTV trailing his family.

He added the Metropolitan Police were already in possession of the images of the two supposed ‘Obidient’ stalkers.

 

Malami marries Buhari’s daughter as third wife

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The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, yesterday married one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughters, Nana Hadiza, as his third wife.

The Nation reported that the ceremony took place inside the State House Mosque after the Jumat service, away from prying eyes of uninvited guests, including the media.

Initially, attempts to ascertain the elusive piece of information were unsuccessful.

However, a reliable source, who was privy to the event revealed to The Nation, confirmed it last night, saying: “It was performed after the Jumat service”.

2023: While Atiku continues holidaying in Dubai, APC Governors move to woo ‘aggrieved’ Wike

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…APC presidential candidate, Tinubu agreed to pick Muslim running mate says Ganduje

…As Tinubu departs Lagos for France

While Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) presidential flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar has continued holidaying in Dubai despite deepening internal crisis, some governors elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday met with the ‘aggrieved’ Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike at his country home in Port Harcourt, apparently to woo him to join the APC ahead of the 2023 elections.

On the same day, Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje claimed that the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, had agreed to pick a Muslim vice-presidential candidate for 2023.

Wike, who lost the presidential ticket of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and also failed to get the Vice-Presidential ticket of the party, has been at loggerheads with the PDP ever since.

The governors who met with Wike yesterday were Kayode Fayemi, Rotimi Akeredolu and Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Ekiti, Ondo, and Lagos states, respectively.

Others in their entourage were the Ekiti State Governor-elect, Biodun Oyebanji; former Ekiti State governor and PDP chieftain, Ayodele Fayose, among others.

Sources said the APC governors are banking on the recent fallout of Wike with PDP leadership, after the main opposition party’s presidential primary, to get him into their party.

Wike has recently been receiving visits from politicians across political parties.

Following Atiku’s choice of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as running mate, the Chairman of the PDP’s Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, said the party had set up a nine-member committee to beg Wike.

The former vice president is believed to have nominated Okowa, despite the recommendation of Wike for the position by a 17-man committee set up by the party.

The crisis worsened with the loyalists of Wike threatening to leave the party if their principal defects.But Atiku recently allayed fears over the crisis in the party, saying he would ensure reconciliation.

The crack in the main opposition party came to the limelight after the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, accused Atiku of failing to honour the democratic choice in the selection of his running mate.

According to him, Wike, and others who backed (Wike) for the PDP vice-presidential ticket slot deserve a detailed explanation from the party’s presidential candidate.

Ortom, who said this during an interview on Arise TV on June 29, 2022, said it was surprising that Atiku could jettison the recommendation of 14 out of 17 members of the committee that recommended Wike as his running mate.

Ortom said: “I was among the 17-man committee that was set up by the candidate himself and some of us said Wike should be the vice-president. We discussed that in our meeting and we said it did not matter if he had supported the presidential candidate or not, but all that we need is unity and how to make things work.

“Unfortunately, the candidate himself picked Okowa. Some of us have resorted to prayers. I was really confused because I felt Wike would have been the VP. He was the second person to Atiku and Wike has charisma. All of us have our weak points.

“Wike can be something, but when it comes to mobilisation, impact, value addition and reaching out, Wike is an instrument. Wike is somebody who stood for the party. For some of us, we believed in him, but unfortunately, it was someone else.

”Ganduje Says Tinubu Has Agreed to Pick Muslim VPGovernor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State yesterday claimed that Tinubu had agreed to pick a Muslim vice-presidential candidate for 2023.

Ganduje, who was speaking during a gathering of clerics at the Government House as part of activities to mark Eid El Kabir, said: “We have advised him to pick a Muslim deputy and he has agreed. A Muslim-Muslim ticket is a reality.

It is not something new in Nigeria.”The Governor asked the clerics to pray for Tinubu to emerge as Nigeria’s president come 2023.Meanwhile, Tinubu was said to have left France yesterday, where he had travelled to for “important meetings”, for Lagos.

The APC presidential candidate, via his official Twitter handle, yesterday evening, shared a tweet, “Heading home,” with a link to his Instagram page showing him inside an aircraft.Tinubu departed Nigeria shortly after he held a closed-door meeting with Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on June 27.

A statement issued by his spokesman, Tunde Rahman, in Abuja then said: “He (Tinubu) is off to Paris, France to hold some important meetings. The APC standard-bearer is expected back in the country shortly.”

Former Japan Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe assassinated

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The former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has been asssinated after being shot while making a speech in the western city of Nara.

Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister until he resigned in 2020, was flown to hospital by helicopter after the shooting. His death was first reported by the public broadcaster NHK.

Footage and accounts broadcast by Japanese media showed Abe’s speech interrupted by two loud bangs – possibly from a shotgun – and smoke, with Abe stumbling to the ground after the second shot. TBS Television reported that Abe had been shot on the left side of his chest and apparently also in the neck. NHK had initially quoted firefighters as saying Abe showed no vital signs.

Moments later, members of Abe’s security detail wrestled a man to the ground some metres behind the former prime minister. The suspect was wearing a grey shirt, light brown trousers and grey trainers. His face was partly obscured by a surgical mask. He reportedly did not attempt to flee before being detained at the scene.

NHK said a suspect, named by police as Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old resident of Nara, had been taken into custody but provided no further details.

PSB: SmartCash will boost financial inclusion among all Nigerians- CEO, Muyiwa

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The Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of SmartCash Payment Service Bank, Muyiwa Ebitanmi has said that SmartCash Payment Service Bank(PSB) will boost financial inclusion among all Nigerians.

Ebitanmi made this disclosure to Nigerian Newssphere on Thursday during the activation of SmartCash PBS in Abuja.

He explained that with SmartCash, banking will be more convenient for Nigerians across the divide.

Muyiwa added that the company has put in place robust technical mechanism to protect and secure customers’ transactions.

He explained that with SmartCash, “Your phones is your bank. As long as long as you have a phone, you are eligible to have a relationship with SmartCash; Building a banking relationship with SmartCash is very easy, it is very secure and it is very simple.

“The key essence of SmartCash PSB is to come and bridge the financial gap in Nigeria. As you know, we have a lot of people in rural areas who are probably far from the cities, and are reasonably excluded today.

“SmartCash service bank is highly secured, it is very safe, we operate business thinking about our customers. The safety of our customers is the first for us, it is the most important element in everything you do and so because of that, we continue to do businesses in a way that will safe guard the funds of the customers that place money with us.

“We are in Wuse Market Abuja, just to sensitize people about SmartCash PSB. And we are trying to connect with every person on the street to let them know that SmartCash is the bank that is made for them”, he stated.

The official launching of SmartCash PSB was held on Thursday last week at Eko Hotel Lagos with Nigeria Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo and other key stakeholders in attendance.

Recall that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had in April this year granted approval to SmartCash, an Airtel subsidiary to operate as a Payment Service Bank (‘PSB’) in Nigeria.

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