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Reverse Ugly Narrative, NLC Tells Buhari …Proposes National Security Summit …As More Nigerians Join Calls For Buhari’s Resignation

Published

5 years ago

February 5, 2020

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday, condemned the spate of insecurity in the country, and called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to, as a matter of urgency; take a decisive action to reverse the current ugly narrative.
President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, who made the call while speaking at the meeting of the National Administrative Council (NAC) of the NLC, however, disclosed that as its contribution to the insecurity crisis in the country, the congress would soon organise a National Security Summit.
The National Administrative Council of NLC, led by Comrade Ayuba Wabba, met to address some pressing national issues; which include security, pension fund, casualisation, and minimum wage.
“We seem to have come full circle. And all segments of our society, including the National Assembly, are agreed that time has come for new thinking, new strategies and hard decisions.
“Accordingly, we urge Mr President to make decisive decisions to reverse the current ugly narrative! We must rein in now the desperate elements and disparate forces in the land that threaten to overwhelm us. Time is of essence. In all of this and on all fronts, there is one recurring question, ‘where did we go wrong?’”
Wabba pointed out that one of the cardinal campaign promises that brought to power President Buhari in 2015 was his assurance to restore security to a traumatized people and a nation torn by strife, especially, the insurgency in the North-East.
He acknowledged the efforts of the present administration to address the issue of insecurity, but regretted that recently, loads of commuters were either being abducted or slaughtered.
The NLC president said: “However, of recent, and on a sustainable basis, the Boko Haram insurgents have been hitting soft and military targets on a scale and regularity that makes one wonder if the gains of the past have not been reversed or wiped out.
“For example, at a stage, all the access roads leading to Maiduguri were taken over by the insurgents often dressed in military fatigues. Bus loads of commuters were either abducted or slaughtered. From their fall-back positions, the insurgents seized the initiative by unleashing terror and mayhem on our military and civil populace.
“In a triumphal act of devious ingenuity, they yanked off Maiduguri and its environs from the national grid, plunging the place not only into darkness but causing a major disruption”, the NLC argued.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has appealed to the United States of America to speed up the delivery of the acquired A-29 Super Tucano aircraft for efficient military operations in the country.
The Minister of Defence, Maj-Gen Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd), stated this when he played host to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Berth Leonard in Abuja, yesterday.
He commended the US government in her continued support to Nigeria in the areas of health care and military operations.
According to him, “Nigeria has benefited from the US in providing equipment for the Nigerian Air Force, activation of the Charlie 130, supplying of aircraft spare parts, training, educational and numerous health programmes”.
In her response, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Berth Leonard, assured that America would continue to collaborate with Nigeria to combat the insecurity posed by the Boko Haram and other terror groups operating in the country.
She said that, “the Pentagon is always ready to collaborate with Nigeria in combating insecurity, conflict management and precision in addressing human concerns”.
The ambassador, however, tasked the Nigerian military to maintain professionalism by protecting human rights in their operations.
On his part, the American Defence Attache, Col Andrew Clark, requested for a regular joint military-strategic meeting between the US and the Nigerian military.
He said this would help in effective coordination of military activities in Nigeria.
In another development, following the call by the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe for President Muhammadu Buhari to step aside over the increasing level of insecurity in the country, many more Nigerians have joined in the clarion call.
Some concerned Nigerians, made their position known in separate interviews, yesterday.
Speaking, the National President of the Association of South-East Indigenous Town Unions (ASETU), Chief Emeka Diwe, said no right thinking Nigerian, no matter party affiliation, will cover up with the country’s security ills.
Diwe, a human rights activist, regretted that the wind of change as professed by Mr. President during his campaign has blown more trouble to the nation.
He stated categorically that the President has failed, particularly to tackle the issue of insecurity, which, according to him, has become a menace ravaging the country.
In the same vein, he said all service chiefs serving under Mr. President are ‘unserviceable service chiefs’ who are only carrying out the directives of their paymaster, hence, should also be shown the way out.
“If President Muhammadu Buhari wants the insecurity to stop in Nigeria, he must call the Fulani herders to order because they are the root cause of insecurity in the country”, he added.
He saluted the gallantry of the senator representing Abia South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, counting him as among the very few Igbos who have so far exhibited rare legislative quality.
Meanwhile, he has described the call as one which every Nigerian should support, insisting that Mr. President’s resignation will save the nation a great deal.
Also, the Chairman of Action Alliance in Imo State, Hon. Anthony Ahaneku, expressed worry at the height of insecurity currently witnessed in the country.
Although, he admitted that the state Action Alliance party has a robust relationship with the President but that, according to him, it is not enough to keep mum when things are going the wrong way.
Ahaneku said that the current security situation in the country was one that everyone should be concerned about.
The AA boss noted that it was in the light of the foregoing that the Presidency vehemently kicked against the ‘Operation Amotekun’ in the South-West and ‘MASSOB/IPOB’ in the South-East.
He alleged that a handful of praise singers of the president were feeding fat from the country’s current state of unrest.
In his reaction, the Imo State Chairman of Maja Party, Hon. Reuben Obijiaku, condemned Mr. President’s ‘I don’t care’ attitude towards insecurity, accusing him of using ‘double standards’ since his coming on board in 2015.
Obijiaku said that until the President resigns honourably, the country would continue to battle with many security issues.
Also speaking, the special adviser to immediate past governor of Imo State on Research, Hon. Ogubundu Nwadike, claimed that a lot has been said about the President’s lackadaisical attitude towards the safety of Nigerians.
To this end, he advised the President to take the path of honour and resign, as many Nigerians, according to him, have no more confidence in his government.
The SA described the killings of Nigerians on a daily basis as barbaric, saying that this has, indeed, given a bad image to the country before the international community.
In his reaction, a social media influencer and the Director General of Hope Uzodinma’s Official New Media, Mbazuwigwe David Asikaogu, described the call as hate speech, asking that the senator be called to order.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari should not be blamed for the country’s insecurity, maintaining that insecurity was part of the ills inherited from past administrations.
Asikaogu further accused the callers of the President’s resignation of acting in defense of their principals who have failed to see anything good in APC administration.

News

Shettima In Ethiopia For State Visit

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.

Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.

Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”

During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.

The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.

In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.

News

RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.

This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.

The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.

The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.

Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.

The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.

He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.

According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.

At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.

He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.

Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.

According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.

At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.

He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.

Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.

He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.

However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.

At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.

He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.

Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.

Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.

In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.

At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.

Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.

Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.

John Bibor

News

Tinubu Orders Civil Service Personnel Audit, Skill Gap Analysis

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.

The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.

“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.

Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.

He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.

“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.

President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.

He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.

“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.

“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.

Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.

Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.

She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.

Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.