News
Buhari, A Sectional Leader –Presidency
The Presidency, has described as unfortunate and sad the comments credited to a former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari, that there will be bloodshed in 2015 if the general elections are rigged.
The Presidency also faulted the comments of Buhari on Boko Haram.
In a statement by presidential; spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, the Presidency said, “the attention of the Presidency has been drawn to unfortunate statements in the media made by former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) in which he allegedly predicted bloodshed in 2015 and labelled the Federal Government led by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as “the biggest Boko Haram”.
“But perhaps the most unfortunate part of the statement was the portion in which Buhari said that, ‘since the leaders now don’t listen to anybody but do whatever they wish, there is nothing the North can do.’
“We find it very sad that an elder statesman who once presided over the entirety of Nigeria can reduce himself to a regional leader who speaks for only a part of Nigeria. We now understand what his protégé and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Nasir El’Rufai, meant when he wrote in a public letter in October of 2010, telling Nigerians that Buhari remains “perpetually unelectable” and that Buhari’s “insensitivity to Nigeria’s diversity and his parochial focus are already well-known.” Who can know Buhari better than his own political associate?
“Come to think of it, as the CPC presidential candidate in the 2011 election, how many states in the Federation did he visit to campaign for votes? Buhari never bothered to campaign in the southern part of the country and consistently played up the North-South divide to the chagrin of patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians. As the results revealed, Nigerians will never vote for anyone who wants to divide the country. Is Buhari going to continue to be a sectional leader?
“The Federal Government led by President Jonathan is not Boko Haram. Boko Haram means Western Education is sin. That being the case, one wonders how a government that devoted the largest sectoral allocation in the 2012 budget to education could be said to be Boko Haram. Between 1983, when Buhari forcefully seized power from the democratically elected administration of President Shehu Usman Shagari, and 2012, no other administration has committed the same quantum of resources as the Jonathan administration to education in the part of Nigeria that has witnessed the most Boko Haram-related insecurity.
“Only on April 10, 2012, President Jonathan commissioned the first of 400 Federal Government Model Almajiri Schools, equipped with modern facilities such as a language laboratory, Qur’an recitation hall, classrooms and dormitories as well as a clinic, vocational workshop, dining hall and quarters for the Mallams. As Nigerians read this, more of such schools have been completed.
“We now challenge Major General Buhari (rtd) to tell Nigerians what he has done, whether in his capacity as the head of a military junta or in his private capacity, to bring education to vulnerable children. If he cannot live up to this challenge, perhaps he has to reassess who really is Boko Haram.
“Buhari claims that the Federal Government does not listen. Such an accusation ought not to emanate from a man overthrown by his own hand- picked colleagues in the military for refusing to listen to advice and behaving as if he had a monopoly of knowledge.
“It is on record that the Federal Government led by President Jonathan is a listening administration, hence, its decision to pursue all means of resolving the Boko Haram insurgency including through dialogue.
“When Buhari says that ‘if what happens in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, ‘the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood’, we hereby state that it is Buhari himself who does not listen. He has obviously refused to listen to the Nigerian people, the European Union, the Commonwealth Monitoring Group, the African Union and a multitude of independent electoral monitors who testified that the 2011 elections were free and fair and ‘the best elections since Nigeria returned to civil rule.’
“Indeed, such a reaction from Buhari is not totally unexpected since he has become a serial election loser who has never taken his past election defeats graciously even when such elections were generally acknowledged to be free and fair.
“Still on the issue of Boko Haram, we wonder what locus a man whose party’s Secretary General, Buba Galadima, told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in December, 2010, that the Federal Government is underestimating the support base of Boko Haram, has to accuse a government that has been threatened on camera by the leaders of Boko Haram of itself being Boko Haram?
“Major General Buhari (rtd) also boasts of his knowledge of the Petroleum Industry because of his time as Federal Commissioner for Petroleum. We wonder why he did not boast of the infamous scandal that occurred in that ministry where under his watch billions of Naira (in the 1970s) were reported stolen, a matter which led to the setting up of the Justice Ayo Irikefe panel.
“Finally, we wish to make it known to Buhari that given his reference to ‘dogs and baboons’, perhaps his best course of action would be to travel to the zoo of his imagination because President Goodluck Jonathan was elected by human beings to preside over human beings and it is human beings who will determine what happens in Nigeria at any material time not ‘dogs and baboons’.”
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested four notorious female drug dealers in Edo, Imo, Kano, and Gombe states.
The Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement in Abuja, yesterday.
Giving a breakdown, Babafemi said that in Edo, an intense sweep of notorious drug hotspots within Benin City by NDLEA operatives on June 2 led to the arrest of four key traffickers, including three females.
“At Uyosa, Benin City, two female suspects were nabbed with a cocktail of illicit substances, including 176 grams of skunk, 65g of Loud, and 5 grams of Methamphetamine.
“Along Agbor road in Benin City, another female suspect, 21-year-old Anita Abraham, was apprehended with 95 grams of Scottish Loud and 329 grams of regular Loud.
“At Upper Mission, Benin City, a male suspect was arrested with a diverse cache of psychotropic substances consisting of Loud, Colorado, Swinol, and Methamphetamine.
“A swift operation by operatives in Kano State on Thursday, June 4, led to the arrest of a 19-year-old suspect, Saifullahi Lawan at the Kafi area of Madobi, with 40 blocks of skunk weighing a total of 38 kilograms,” NDLEA said.
In a related development, Babafemi said, operatives in Gombe state intercepted a 28-year-old suspect on June 1 near Dantiti Plaza in the Tumfure area of Gombe.
“The suspect was caught with 15,000 capsules of tramadol,” he said.
He said the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands and formations equally continued across the country in the past week.
Reacting to the string of successful operations, the NDLEA Chairman, retired, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa commended the officers, men and women of the Imo, Edo, Kano, and Gombe commands for their resilience and vigilance.
Marwa also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
He re-emphasised that the agency remains fully committed to dismantling drug supply chains and would continue to target traffickers regardless of age, gender, or concealment methods.
The Nigerian Navy says its operatives under Operation Delta Sentinel have intercepted over 135,000 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) during separate operations in Rivers State waterways.
Director of Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said the operations were carried out by personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder around the Onne and Abonema axis.
He said the seizures were made during routine patrols aimed at curbing crude oil theft and illegal fuel transportation across creeks in the state.
In one of the operations, naval personnel intercepted a fibre boat at the entrance of Owogono Creek in Ogu-Bolo Local Government Area carrying drums and jerrycans filled with suspected stolen AGO.
According to him, the occupants abandoned the boat and fled into nearby creeks, while the vessel and about 63,000 litres of product were recovered.
In another operation around Abonema in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, patrol teams intercepted a wooden boat conveying about 72,000 litres of suspected illegally refined AGO concealed in sacks.
The Navy said the products were being transported through waterways for onward distribution before the operation disrupted the movement.
Folorunsho said the recoveries highlight the continued exploitation of creek networks by criminal elements for illegal petroleum product transportation.
He added that all recovered items were handled in line with established procedures on anti-crude oil theft operations.
The Navy reaffirmed its commitment to intelligence-driven operations aimed at dismantling illegal oil networks and protecting Nigeria’s maritime economic assets.
The Permanent Secretary of Rivers State Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr Honour Sirawoo mni, has charged public servants to embrace accountability and prudent management of public resources, stressing that government funds must be utilised responsibly.
Dr. Sirawoo made the assertion during the 41st anniversary of The Rivers State Television (RSTV), in Elelenwo.
He noted that public service demands commitment and sacrifice, urging workers to justify the opportunities entrusted to them through diligengence and productivity.
“All I try to do is to see that we have value for every kobo that we spend and value for our time.
“Government has a social responsibility to provide opportunities, but when you have one, you must guard it through hard work and ensure your presence is justified,” he stated.
The Permanent Secretary further appealed to workers to see themselves as ambassadors of their respective institutions, adding that government remains committed to creating employment opportunities and improving public service delivery.
Also speaking, former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr (Mrs.) Christiana Atako, praised the station’s professionalism and consistency despite operational challenges.
“We have never been disappointed. In spite of all the challenges RSTV had at that time, they never failed us. They carried our stories very well,” she said.
Dr Atako encouraged staff members to continually improve themselves through training, education and professional development in order to remain competitive in the evolving media industry.
Earlier, Acting General Manager of RSTV, Ambassador Paul Damgbor, described the anniversary celebration as an opportunity to reflect on the station’s journey of over four decades and appreciate those who have contributed to its development.
Pastor Damgbor said that the station had recorded remarkable improvements in recent months through the acquisition of digital cameras, computers as well as upgrades in audio and visual production facilities.
“We have seen great change. We were able to get new brand digital cameras and improve on our audio. We have also provided new computers for key departments, including News, Programmes and the Library,” Damgbor remarked.
He also unveiled a commemorative magazine chronicling the history and achievements of the station, describing it as a valuable reference material for preserving RSTV’s heritage.
The Acting General Manager, however, expressed concern over the theft of critical equipment from the station’s transformer, a development he said had forced the organisation to rely heavily on generator power supply.
The Senior Pastor of Gateway International Church, Pastor George Izunma, who gave a short charge during the event, urged media practitioners to uphold the ethics of journalism and remain committed to accuracy in reporting.
“You are pressmen. You are okay to doubt, but verify,” he advised, stressing the importance of credibility and responsibility in the profession.
He equally highlighted the need to “ask the help of God, sow a seed of help, and step into something as if you have help” stressing the need to move by faith for growth.
Some participants at the event also raised concerns about employment opportunities while commending RSTV’s growth and contributions to public enlightenment in Rivers State.
A major highlight of the celebration was the presentation of an award to the Rivers State Ministry of Information and Communications in recognition of its diligence and service to the people of the state. Dr Honour Sirawoo also received a special award for his contributions to the growth and development of RSTV.
Awards were equally presented to outstanding members of staff of RSTV for exemplary performance and their dedication to duty.
The event also featured the unveiling and launch of the RSTV commemorative magazine as well as a tour of the station’s newly built cafeteria and other facilities.
The celebration marked another milestone in the station’s 41-year history and reaffirmed its commitment to excellence in public broadcasting.
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