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2019: Buhari Fails APC NEC’s Endorsement …New SGF To Be Sworn-In, Today
President Muhammadu Buhari’s grip of the All Progressives Congress (APC) suffered a setback as plot by some APC state governors to hoodwink the National Executive Council of the party to endorse him as the consensus candidate for 2019 general election failed at the NEC meeting in Abuja.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday deferred an ‘informal’ motion to endorse an automatic second term ticket for President Muhammadu Buhari.
NEC however tacitly passed a vote of confidence on the President as well as the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun led National Working Committee NWC, saying both men have done well.
Briefing journalists at the end of the meeting which lasted for about two and half hours, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara however said the issue of 2019 was not on the agenda of the NEC meeting.
“Today’s meeting was not about 2019 elections. When we talk about 2019 in the context of the agenda you saw, we are talking about membership registration, the drive for membership and others. We are not not talking about elections.
Even though there was a motion on the floor that called for a vote of confidence on the President, some of us felt it was not necessary because there is no where that his confidence is shaking.
But the motion was taken and passed. “But there was a second leg to that motion which called for the adoption of the candidature of the President, but it was deferred for now and no decision was taken because that is not the major reason why we were here”, he said.
But the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdulahi who was in company of the Speaker said the motion for a second term endorsement was informally moved by an ‘anonymous’ member of NEC. According to him; “The motion that was put was after the Minister of Agriculture had briefed the NEC about the activities and achievements of his Ministry, one of the NEC members said we should move a motion passing a vote of confidence on Mr. President.
There was no formal motion moved on the issue of second term for Mr. President. Somebody in the crowd shouted that we should move a motion and we don’t even know that member.
But the motion that was formally moved was that NEC should pass a vote of confidence on Mr. President and that was after the brief given by the Minister of Agriculture, especially when he said that by 2018, Nigeria will have no need to import a single grain of rice.
That is the context and I need you to understand that very well”, he clarified. Abdullahi said the only discussion or conversation on 2019 was the activities of the party in 2018, “especially the issue of convention.”
“It was agreed that since we have all these activities lined up, including the mini-convention, congresses and elective convention, a small team be set up to put dates to these party activities up to 2018. There was no discussion about election of 2019 or who will be the party flag bearer.
The committee will decide when all these activities will take place”, he added. On the national convention, Speaker Dogara said; “There was paper on the line of activities that the party is meant to embark upon.
There wasn’t a definitive and conclusive date on the party convention because it is something in the works and judging from yesterday’s meeting, I understand that the party will fine-tune this and then there will be another round of meeting where the specifics and details will be approved”.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Gida Mustapha has vowed to join the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration fight corruption, insecurity as well as efforts to revive the economy.
He spoke to State House Correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Buhari at Aso Rock Villa shortly before he left for the All Progressives Congress (APC), National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.
Mustapha, who was announced as the new SGF, Monday after Buhari sacked former SGF Babachir Lawal and former Director General National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke for corruption, said though it was not proper to talk before he is formerly sworn in, he already knows his brief and will execute to the latter.
He said already the vision of the government on how to run the country is well documented and everyone is expected to run with it.
Asked what Nigerians should expect to see differently from the SGF office, he said, “Well, I’ll wait until the oath of office is administered on me. Once that is done, I’ll now begin to take briefings from the office and begin to chart a roadmap. It is always not too fashionable to begin to talk about an office you have never occupied. That will be being too presumptuous and I wouldn’t want to do that at the moment. I will want to step into the office first.
“But I have a general picture of where we should be going, and I can assure you that my responsibility is that of coordination and ensuring the implementation of government policies as generated. Nigeria is not in lack of information and policy formulation, sometimes is the synergy of those policies for the purposes of attending the goal that has been lacking, and I think those are some of the things that I am going to bring to the office. There must be coordination, there must be synergy so that we can have a thrust that can move us forward.
This is even as the President will swear-in the new SGF today.
We’ve done so much in the area of security. Even the diversification of the economy so much has been achieved.”
Mustapha spoke on the agric policy of the administration, saying if all hands are on deck, the country will begin to feed itself.
He said, “There are no poor farmers in Nigeria again. Honestly, for anybody that is able. We can deploy our hands and our energy to growing our agriculture.
“I have been speaking to some of the governors, they are doing remarkable work with the Anchor borrowers grower schemeý and other schemes that are coming up. I believe that if we can do that consistently for a number of years we’ll get out of this quagmire. Because a nation that cannot feed itself has a long way to go in terms of institutional and industrial development.
“So, like I said I will not be too quick to say what I am going to do in office, but I have a general picture. Mr President has cast the vision, all of us that are appointees of government have the singular responsibility to ensure that we run with that vision. He has made it plain and whichever vision that has been made plain for those that are being charged with responsibilities we are supposed to run with that vision to ensure that at the end of the day the dividends of democracy is delivered to the people of Nigeria.
“We went round and campaigned and sought for their mandate, freely they gave us and it behoves on us charged with responsibilities to ensure that we do not disappoint them.
The expectations are great out there. You live with families and you know the expectations of families. You live in communities, you know the expectations of those communities. You live in geographical jurisdictions and you know the expectations of those people.
But we’ve come at a time when the resources are very very lean, in some cases not available but I believe with prudent management as being put in place by Mr. President we’ll be able to navigate these very difficult terrain and at the end of the day every Nigerian will have a smile on his face.
Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) of his administration’s commitment to supporting and strengthening the scheme in the State.
Fubara gave the assurance last Friday at the NYSC permanent orientation camp, Nonwa-Gbam, Tai Local Government Area in the State, during the swearing-in ceremony of 2026 Batch B Stream II orientation course.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Bureau, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Promise Oguzie, the governor said the State Government would remain intentional in providing the necessary support to improve the NYSC scheme and enhance the experiences of corps members deployed to the state.
He charged the corps members to be role models and quality nation-builders in their service to the good people of Rivers State in particular, and Nigeria at large.
“I charge you to be exemplary, dedicated and committed in all you do. Take full advantage of all the camp programmes and activities to enrich yourselves”, he said.
In his welcome address, the State Coordinator of NYSC in Rivers State, Mr. Moses Oleghe, urged corps members to see their deployment to Rivers State as a “veritable opportunity to make meaningful contribution to the growth of the State in particular and Nigeria at large.”
He further charged them to serve with all sense of “integrity, discipline, and the fear of God, especially when they will be engaged as INEC ad-hoc staff that will conduct the 2027 general elections.”
A total of 3,584 corps members composed of 1,421 males and 2,163 females were sworn in by the Chief Judge of Rivers State, who was represented by Justice Godspower Aguma.
Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, says Nigeria needs God-fearing leaders for the nation to move in the right direction and make meaningful progress.
The Governor stated this yesterday when he received in audience, the World President of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pastor Erton Kohler; his wife, Andriene Marques Kohler; daughter Mariana Marques Kohler and a retinue of ministers of the church at Government House, Port Harcourt.
Fubara who hailed the Seventh Day Adventist Church for its contributions to education and the grooming of future leaders in Nigeria, expressed delight that the Church had over the years, been investing in education at various levels and currently runs two universities in the country.
He commended the church for not only using its institutions to spread the gospel of Christianity but to groom future leaders for the country.
According to him, religion should not be just about defending one’s faith, but also making meaningful impact on the lives of the people.
He said that by floating these educational institutions, the church has demonstrated capacity to support Nigeria in the task of producing not only educated people but a breed of God-fearing leaders.
“Our country is where it is today because we lack the fear of God. If you have the fear of God, there should be a limit to what you can do because you understand the supremacy of God. But when God is not in your equation, you’ll go beyond the line and that is what has brought us to where we are today.
“So, I feel very happy that you are contributing to the development of our future leaders in this country. We need the right people being in the right place; prepared properly with good minds; that is what we need, not just in Nigeria but round the whole world.,” he said.
Governor Fubara further observed that the absence of God-fearing people in high places to take the right decisions that could impact positively on the society, has also given rise to other problems such as social inequality, poverty, corruption and criminality. According to him, Nigeria needs a system where the average parent could afford quality education for their children and a guarantee that upon graduation, the average child will have the capacity to compete favourably with anybody, anywhere in the world.
“If we have a situation where the little money that you’re being paid as wage can also afford you quality healthcare and after working at least for 15-20 years, you have a roof over your head, tell me why you should be involved in any kind of crime? At that point, you’ll feel secured and this attitude of insecurity about the future that leads to all the social vices we have today won’t be there,” he said.
Governor Fubara expressed appreciation to the delegation for the visit and for their prayers for Rivers State, assuring them of his continued support for their programmes in the state.
Leader of the delegation and World President of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pastor Erton Kohler said he was in Nigeria for a special conference of the church during which thousands of the church’s ministers will be undergoing an empowerment programme to further equip them for the task of herding their flocks and serving the society.
He expressed gratitude to the Governor for the warm reception accorded his entourage, saying the memory of the visit will linger in his mind for a lifetime.
Kohler disclosed that the Church has over twenty -four million (24,000,000) members and more than 182,000 places of worship, spread across 212 countries of the world.
The Rivers State House of Assembly has approved the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) submitted by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
This reaffirms the lawmakers’ commitment to enacting laws and taking legislative actions geared towards the overall development of the State.
The Assembly gave the approval during its Second Legislative Sitting of the Fourth Session held last Friday.
Speaking on the MTEF document during plenary, the House Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, noted that by the provision of Section 10(1)(b) of the Rivers State Fiscal Responsibility Law No. 8 of 2010, the MTEF ought to have been laid before the House in September 2025.
Amaewhule explained that traditionally, the document is expected to be presented four months before the commencement of the next financial year and immediately after the expiration of every three-year fiscal cycle.
He, however, stated that in the interest of the State and its people, the House considered it necessary to deliberate on the document, describing it as a precursor to the 2026 Budget Estimates.
The Speaker expressed concern that the year had already progressed significantly before the presentation of the framework.
During deliberations on the document, members examined the assumptions and projections contained in the MTEF and observed that strict adherence to the outlined fiscal parameters would ultimately serve the interest of Rivers people.
The lawmakers maintained that effective implementation of the framework would promote prudent financial management and enhance developmental planning across the State.
Following the debate and positive consideration by members, the Speaker put the question to the House and members voted overwhelmingly in support of the approval of the MTEF.
Meanwhile, during the same sitting last Friday, the House also received a petition from the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Dr. Gift Worlu.
The petition was presented by the member representing Obio/Akpor Constituency II, Hon. Emilia Amadi.
According to the petition, concerns were raised over an imminent security breach, threats to lives, destruction of property and alleged forceful takeover of property by some lawless persons within parts of the Local Government Area.
Presenting the petition before the House, Hon. Amadi appealed to the lawmakers to revisit the matter and take necessary steps aimed at safeguarding lives and property in the affected communities.
The House is expected to further deliberate on the petition and consider measures to address the concerns raised in order to sustain peace and security in the area.
King Onunwor
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