Following a strong statement issued by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar warning Service Chiefs not to use force against those he called “peaceful civilian protesters” without condemning the obvious violence that has greeted many states in North, the presidency has hit back at him describing his warning to Service Chiefs as absurd. In response to the comments by Atiku Abubakar, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga wrote, “former Vice President Atiku Abubakar this evening (yesterday) tweeted the absurd: he warned security agencies against using lethal force against looters and arsonists who masqueraded as protesters.…
Author: Michael Chibuzo
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of seven individuals to head strategic agencies and programmes under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. These appointments were announced on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale in a state house press release. He said that the appointments were to facilitate the needed relief to Nigerians and ensure the effectiveness of humanitarian and social development programmes. Those appointed include the following: (1) Dr. Badamasi Lawal is to serve as the Chief Executive Officer, National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA). Dr.…
By Michael Chibuzo In the past few days, Nigerians have taken to the streets to protest against what the organisers call bad governance or government, depending on which organizer’s messaging one is looking at. Despite the discordant demands from various groups, one common demand has been calls for the federal government to “subsidise fuel back to below N300 per litre”. Few others are also demanding that the Naira be “returned” to a value of N374 or N700 to one US dollar. On Sunday, President Bola Tinubu addressed the nation and it was obvious from his speech that the question of…
Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a national broadcast to Nigerians on Sunday appealed to protesters who have taken to the streets to call for an end to bad governance in Nigeria to shelve further protests in the wake of violence, killings and looting that characterised the three days of protests so far. The President who reeled out the progress made so far by the country in its journey to recovery after his administration removed fuel subsidy and reformed the foreign exchange market noted that the economy is recovering and appealed protesters not to “shut out its oxygen”. The President…
President Bola Tinubu will address the nation in a broadcast on Sunday, August 4, 2024, at 7:00 am, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale has said in a state house press release. He enjoined all television, radio, and other electronic media outlets to plug into the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) for the broadcast. The broadcast according to the presidential spokesperson, will be repeated on the network services of the NTA and the FRCN at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm on the same…
By Uche Nnadozie If you are reading the Financial Times and the article is titled “Shock Therapy Alone Will Not Cure Nigeria’s Economic Ills,” you might think the publication is a disgruntled political party media unit or the sore losers of Nigeria’s 2023 general election. This pessimistic article, rife with conspiracy theories, cherry picking, confusion, half-truths, cherry-picking, and shameless anger-baiting, suggests that Nigeria’s best path forward is backward. Our progress as a nation is surely not policy flipflops despite some bumps along the way. While the writer concedes that President Bola Tinubu’s reforms are crucial for economic survival, the article…
By Taiwo Ajakaye One major paradox of every recent protest across the world is the tag name “PEACEFUL PROTEST”. One reality of 98 per cent of recent “PEACEFUL PROTESTS” across the world is that they ended up being very violent and the cost to Nationhood is huge. That’s the paradox of PEACEFUL PROTEST from one Nation to another. One thing is obvious, there will always be reasons to protest certain actions of Government which could easily be settled on the negotiation table, unfortunately and more often than not, people in Government seem to be cut off from the reality of…
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi has announced the suspension of import duties and taxes on essential food items to make basic necessities more affordable for Nigerians and address the prevalent food inflation in the nation. In a public address on Monday evening, Adeniyi acknowledged the widespread economic challenges and outlined the government’s commitment to easing the financial burden on its citizens. He acknowledged that global inflation is impacting nations worldwide, including Nigeria, noting that to address this, the federal government, through the Nigeria Customs Service, is suspending import duties and taxes on essential food items…
As part of efforts to guarantee energy self-sufficiency in Nigeria by ensuring adequate feedstock for local refineries as well as to reduce FX burden for fuel importation, the Federal Government on Monday directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to sell crude oil to the Dangote Refinery and other local refineries exclusively in Naira. This was part of the resolutions of the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by the President yesterday. According to Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Strategy and Information, FEC adopted a proposal to sell crude to Dangote Refinery and other upcoming refineries…
By Tunde Rahman All hell has been let loose, and the centre can no longer hold in Kenya over the tax revolt that has been ravaging that East-African country since June. In the wake of the crisis, a part of the parliament building was razed down by arsonists. Some public buildings were touched while several companies and shops were destroyed and looted. Sensing their relative success in forcing the government to cancel the $2.7billion in tax hikes, the mainly Gen-Z protesters are now calling for President William Ruto’s resignation. The young people have succeeded in throwing Kenya into turmoil, and…