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Buhari, Taking Nigeria 30 Years Behind, ACF’s Scribe Laments
The current Secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the former Senator representing Adamawa Central, Abubakar Girei, has said that the present administration of Muhammadu Buhari has taken Nigeria 30 years behind.
He made the remarks during an interview with newsmen in Yola, Adamawa State, yesterday.
“We should be comparing ourselves with Singapore, China, etc. Look at where we are living: 20, 30 years behind where we should be as a country in terms of progress and development, so, leadership is very important”, he said.
Giving his assessment of the alarming security challenges in the country under President Muhammadu Buhari, he said: “We should not localise the problems with security in the country to Buhari because it is now that we have a change of government and a government that is dealing with it seriously.
“We have not been having good governance in this country since 1999; it was in 2015 that we had a serious government that is committed to transforming the country.
“Notably, the security has spread to other parts of the country but Boko Haram, this government has dealt with it decisively, but we cannot deny that other forms of insecurity have spread to other parts of the country but all these security challenges are the handiwork of looters, political money bags, failed politicians and their surrogates like Sowore.
He elaborates that, “as a resident of Yola, and an indigene of Adamawa, we know the difference.
“I could not go for a condolence visit at Mubi because of insecurity and even within Yola; going to the mosque was a problem, there are security men everywhere, you have to be frisked and searched just because you want to pray.
“But whether Boko Haram has been defeated completely or not is a different matter, but we have different challenges other than Boko Haram and these are sponsored.”
On his assessment of the President Buhari-led government he said: “We as Nigerians know full well that we are living far behind our time.
“In 2015, when Nigerians trooped out and voted Muhammadu Buhari, we were full of high expectations, I for one thought that by the end of Buhari’s first term, Nigeria will be an El Dorado but we are not seeing it today, so I am very worried.
“Even though the insecurity situation has changed, one would have expected so much such that the country would have moved far beyond where we are today but the government is not listening because so many people have offered useful advice to this government but they have not utilised it.
“For example, we are practising democracy and in a multi-party democracy like ours, I would have expected that Buhari and members of his government would be looking for political solutions to problems bedevilling this country instead of giving military approach to issues because I strongly believe that most of the problems are engineered by the political enemies of this government.
“This is a democratically-elected government, elected for a second term but does not find it necessary to have a national political adviser, that is disturbing for me, because to me the government does not seem to accord premium to finding political solutions to its problems and unless they have politicians who would help them find in- roads to these problems politically, they would find it difficult to make progress.
“So, I will first of all advise Buhari to find political solutions to problems and place premium on it more than the military approach.
“Secondly, we have very serious economic and social challenges that are very clear to everybody.
“The Almajiri issue that has been lingering for decades is something this government can wipe out in two years if they are serious, am saying this because I’m part of the think-tank with the northern governors that has come up with solutions to addressing these issues and dealing decisively with the issue of out-of-school children and poverty is also crucial.
“When these issues are addressed, we would be wiping out the recruitment base for all these security challenges.
“Thirdly, it is important that this government addresses the problem of poverty.
“This government must be praised for some of the initiative introduced in addressing poverty which has not been given proper attention before now, but this government is doing it but they should be more serious about it and they must work in tandem with state governors to address poverty at the grassroots.”
Girei dropped a bombshell for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State saying, the current Governor of Adamawa, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri will dump the PDP for APC, and will be the joker for the party’s victory in 2023.
Girei said he and some APC patriots in Adamawa State have made Fintiri the fulcrum of their grand master plan towards reviving the party’s fortunes and reclaiming the state in 2023.
Speaking on the fortunes of APC in Adamawa State, having lost the 2019 elections, Girei said: “I am an optimist and we are working hard to revive the party.
“The APC in Adamawa was destroyed by APC members in including the former governor, Mohammed Umaru Jibrilla.
“The few people in the party secretariat who supported him to implode the party’s fortunes are all regretting it now because we told them severally that any attempt to field Jibrilla Bindow as candidate of the party will lead to the implosion of the party because we already gauged the mood that Adamawa people will not vote for Bindow and thus APC will loose; unfortunately, they did not listen to us and they are all regretting it now.
“But as I said earlier, we are working hard to rebuild our party but not only rebuild our party but regain its lost glory.
“But fortunately also for us, we are very lucky in a way because we have succeeded in throwing away the useless government of Bindow and we now have a very progressive, dynamic, transparent, sincere young man as governor, who is working hard to rebuild the state and put it on a sound footing.
“One of our targets is to bring him back to APC for the party to win the state in 2023.
“We that are patriotic, dedicated and loyal members of the APC, are doing our very best to re-engineer this party and one of the best ways we think we can do this now, having seen this progressive governor in the opposition party is to bring him to our party and win the 2023 elections with him as the governor, as am already sure we will maintain the power at the federal level.”
Also speaking on the botched RevolutionNow protest, Girei said: “This thing they call RevolutionNow is a ruse because to the best of my knowledge, a revolution is always driven by the people and citizens of a country not by a failed politician.
“This movement was obviously instigated by the looters and criminals who are so scared of Buhari’s stance to clampdown on corruption in his second term.
“Some of them were so corrupt that they would spend N14billion on jewellery, these kind of people would spend much more for the Sowore’s of this world, so Buhari should be commended.”
He added that: “It is unfortunate that our laws are still defective and have not created room for a stiff penalties and even when I was a member of the legislature.
“There is clear a difference between civil protest and a violent protest; a protest that was aimed at bringing government down is not good.
“People have been protesting in this country before, but Sowore said he wanted to bring down the roof, destroy federal, state and local government; while he has the right to protest, his right must not be allowed to trample on other people’s rights who want to live in peace.
“This protest is just an opportunity to create mayhem and lawlessness, and just like El Zakzaky and his men have said it openly that they are out to kill, so police had to do their jobs and prevent the breakdown of law and order.”
The ACF scribe explained that, “this protest was invented by those who are trying to protect their loot and that of their masters.”
The Rivers State Chief judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi has granted pardon to six inmates standing awaiting trial at the Port Harcourt maximum correctional center.
The six lucky inmates granted pardon on Tuesday by the state Chief Judge included Nwekeala Chizoba, Samuel Emmanuel, Aniete Kelvin, Ebube Fubara and Goddey Okpara who were on awaiting trial as murder suspects and have all spent between 10 years to seven years in the custody without a proper information filed against them in the court.
Justice Amadi during a special gaol delivery exercise last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre opined that the special gaol delivery was part of activities lined up to commomerate the 2024/2025 legal year in the State and restated the commitment of the state judiciary in decongesting the correctional centre and ensuring that those inmates who are not supposed to be there are removed from the custody.
The state chief judge stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to build a society that supports rehabilitation and gives a second chance to anyone or group of people who have fallen short of the expectation of the law and have been punished accordingly.
He stressed that the National Judicial Council(NJC) encourages judges to pay more attention to criminal matters to enable them to decongests the correctional facilities, noting that since his assumption into office, his administration has been able to reduce the number of inmates in Nigerian Correctional Centres and the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in particular, to less than 2,000 as against the over 4,000 inmates previously in the faculty.
According to him, “as they release the deserving inmates, they affirm their commitment to justice, compassion and rule of law but that they must not forget the fundamental principles of justice delivery system which is truth and fairness, integrity and equality before the law.”
I encourage you all the released inmates to return to your families and become better citizens. You must not engage in action that will return you all back to prison. Let me say that while the judges show empathy to you all, it does not absolved individuals from being held accountable for actions against individuals, corporate organisations and state which the law frowns at, ”he stated
The Chief Judge thereafter stood down the exercise to enable the DPP to intervene to case files following the fact that majority of the persons listed to benefit from the exercise are facing murder charges and adjourned to a date that will come before December.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the outgoing state Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Felix Lawrence, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Controller General, commended the state judiciary led by Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi for their continuous effort aimed at ensuring justice and decongesting the facilities.
Other activities lined up for the event included special church service at St Paul’s Cathedral , Anglican Communion, Rebisi Port Harcourt, inspection of guard of honour by the state Chief Judge mounted by officers of the Nigerian police and a special court session held at the ceremonial court hall.
By: AkujobiAmadi
The Director General of Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RBoPP), Dr. Ine Briggs, has explained that the Sir Siminalayi Fubara administration plans to enforce transparency in governance through public procurement.
Speaking at a one-day Public Procurement Enlightenment workshop organised in collaboration with the State Local Government Service Commission for newly elected chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries and leaders of legislative assemblies, Dr. Briggs said it is key for grassroot development.
She stated that the Sir. Fubara administration plans to reduce wastage and at same time infuse efficiency in public expenditure.
The RSoPP DG said the local government political office holders remain key drivers in the new vision hence the workshop is to arm them with knowledge on how to execute projects in tandem with needs of the people.
“ Your role in the prudent management of public resources is, therefore, not just administrative it’s the cornerstone of delivering the dividends of democracy. Every procurement decision you make must reflect a commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability” Dr. Briggs submitted.
One of the key goals of the administration she further reminded the participants was to use their offices to foster economic growth through public procurement.
She warned that the law establishing the agency empowers it to penalise defaulters, but that what is more important is voluntary compliance to the laws.
In addition to that, she said urged the local government council leaders that champion the practice and implementation of public procurement law.
On his part, Acting Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Pastor GoodLife Ben Iduoku averred that the aim of the workshop is to arm key stakeholders in the local government system to generate new ideas, innovation and strategies in tandem with government policies and programmes.
The workshop dealt on various topics on procurement planning, methods, Understanding Bid Process, including types of Construction Contracts and law.
Some participants were awarded excellence and meritorious awards as part of the programme.
By: Kevin Nengia
The 19th anniversary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Rivers State Chapter, recently ended in Port Harcourt in grand style, with participants from various schools including proprietors, the academia, civil society groups and top government functionaries charting the way forward for educational improvement.
The 19th NAPPS anniversary christened, ‘Innovation and Adaptation: Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities’ was held at Casoni Hotels, Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the association, Dr. Jaja Adafe Sunday expressed gratitude to the members and executives for their untiring efforts towards the achievements of the body.
He sought the intervention of government on the lingering crisis on the economy as it is affecting the running of schools.
He decried high cost of things including fuel and raw materials which has adversely affected the running of schools and payment of teachers.
Dr. Sunday hinted that the current economic situation in the nation is biting hard on the operations of schools, saying inflation, removal of fuel subsidy, fuel scarcity, poor electricity supply, tariffs and lack of government grants are some of the challenges faced by schools, and urged the members to brace up to the challenges, as it is the panacea to building a brighter future.
Guest speakers from the health sector and the academia thrilled the gathering on the essence of basic education which they said is the key to national development.
Former Dean of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Azuru and the Chief Medical Director of Meridian Hospitals, Dr. Odo Iyke were some notable guest speakers who delivered lectures at the occasion.
Some distinguished proprietors also got special recognitions and awards.
The 19th anniversary cake was cut by the Rivers State NAPPS Chairman with representatives of the state government assisting.