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Fayose Slams Buhari Over N458m For Experts’ Hire
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has questioned the rationale behind the Federal Government’s alleged hiring of consultants from Malaysia with the sum of N458 million to help Nigeria build her economic capacity.
He said “the Federal Government’s action is a clear vote of no confidence on President Muhammadu Buhari’s government and economic experts in the country.”
The governor, said; “it is shameful that Nigeria, which produced the likes of African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina; Treasurer and Vice President of the World Bank, Mrs Aruma Otteh; Independent Non-Executive Director of Standard Chartered Plc, United Kingdom, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Professor of Political Economy, Pat Utomi, among others is now paying people from Malaysia to revive its economy.”
In a statement issued, yesterday, and signed by Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said “out-sourcing consultancy for the conduct of study that would aid the implementation of the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) is tantamount to telling Nigerians that they all lack capacity to govern their own country.”
He asked, how can you hire foreign consultants that would work for 13 weeks to conduct a study on how to revive the economy of a country like Nigeria and pay the consultants N458 million?”
Fayose said he had said it several times that the APC government of Buhari lacked clue as to how to solve our country’s economic problems, adding that, “now they have just confirmed that truly, they are clueless.”
He said; “By hiring economic experts from Malaysia, President Buhari and his men have confirmed that they have no capacity to govern this country.
“It was the cluelessness of the Buhari’s government that made the exchange rate that was N197 to $1 as at May 29, 2015 rise to as much as N500 to $1 before it came down to about N370 to $1. Today, official rate is N305 to $1.
“It was this same cluelessness that made one bag of rice that was N7,000 as at the time Buhari took office to rise to as much as N22,000 and made more than 25 States to be unable to pay workers salary regularly owing to dwindled revenue from the federation account.
“According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), an agency of the Federal Government, the number of unemployed Nigerians rose from 7.51 million at the beginning of October 2015 to 11.19 million at the end of September 2016. This was caused by Buhari’s government’s cluelessness.
“Like I have said before, President Buhari and his men do not know what to do. It is therefore left for Nigerians to use their votes to show Buhari and his APC the way out of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in 2019,”Fayose said.
Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade (2nd right),with his Deputy, Prof. Ivara Esu(2nd left)and others, during the second day of the Carnival in Calabar, yesterday.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.