Nigeria @ 61: We’ll take decisive actions against secessionist agitators, sponsors –Buhari

 

…Says NASS member among high-profile financiers of Kanu, Igboho

.Let’s unite for peaceful co-existence – Gbajabiamila, Govs, others

.Atiku bemoans declining living standard

. PDP prays for nation’s survival

Obiora Ifoh,, Jonas Ezieke, Abuja and Ibrahim Quadri, Lagos.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has said while his administration shall continue to work on dialogue based solutions to address legitimate grievances, it will not hesitate to

take decisive actions against secessionist agitators and their sponsors who threaten national security.

 

Buhari stated this on Friday morning in his nationwide broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 61 Independence anniversary.

 

The President also disclosed that sponsors of secession agitators and including a serving member of the National Assembly were being currently investigated by the security agencies.

 

He said: “In line with section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the security and welfare of Nigerians continue to be the prime focus on which programmes and projects of our government revolves.

 

“Therefore, as a Government, we are ready to arrest and prosecute all persons inciting violence through words or action. Our resolve for a peaceful, united and one Nigeria remains resolute and unwavering.

 

“That said, our hope is not to fight for peace. We can always settle our grievances peacefully without spilling any blood.

 

“I will therefore take this opportunity, on this special day that symbolises the unity and oneness of our great nation, to ask all Nigerians to embrace peace and dialogue, whatever your grievances.

 

“The seeds of violence are planted in people’s heads through words. Reckless utterances of a few have led to losses of many innocent lives and destruction of properties.

 

“Such unfiltered and unsubstantiated lies and hate speeches by a few evil persons must be stopped. Our media houses and commentators must move away from just reporting irresponsible remarks to investigating the truth behind all statements and presenting the facts to readers.

 

“We must all come out and speak against the lies being peddled. At this point, I would want to sincerely appreciate the large number of our Traditional, Religious and Community leaders as well as other well-meaning Nigerians who, in their various fora are openly spreading the message of peaceful co-existence and conflict settlement through dialogue in their respective communities.

 

“Nigeria is for all of us. Its unity is not negotiable. And its ultimate success can only be achieved if we all come together with a common goal of having peace and prosperity for our nation.

 

“We shall continue to work on dialogue based solutions to address legitimate grievances. But we remain ready to take decisive actions against secessionist agitators and their sponsors who threaten our national security.

 

“The recent arrests of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo, and the ongoing investigations being conducted have revealed certain high-profile financiers behind these individuals.  We are vigorously pursuing these financiers including one identified as a serving member of the national assembly.

 

“This is a clear example of how people abandon their national leadership positions for their selfish gains. Instead of preaching unity, they are funding and misleading our youth to conduct criminal acts that sometimes lead to unfortunate and unnecessary loss of lives and property.

 

“As the so-called leaders run abroad to hide, our innocent youths are misled and left in the streets to fight for their senseless and destructive causes.

 

“Government will continue, with greater level of peoples’ participation and in collaboration with our international partners, to improve the security architecture, reduce enabling environment for criminality to thrive and eliminate opportunities for terrorism financing.”

 

According to the President also, the past 18 months has been the most difficult in the nation’s history.

 

President Buhari also painted out that even the 30 months civil war the country experienced, perhaps did not pose as much challenged to the country.

 

“Fellow Nigerians, the past eighteen months have been some of the most difficult periods in the history of Nigeria. Since the civil war, I doubt whether we have seen a period of more heightened challenges than what we have witnessed in this period.

 

“Our original priorities for 2020 were to continue stabilising our economy following the deep recession while restoring peace in areas confronted with security challenges. But the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating impact on all nations meant we needed to shift gears and re-strategise.

 

“Nigerians came together as one to fight against COVID-19. It is this attitude and by the special grace of God, we continue to survive the pandemic as a nation and indeed, provide leadership and example at regional and international levels.

 

“The doomsday scenario predicted for our country never came. Even as the Delta variant continues to spread, we have built the capacity we need to respond now and into the future,” he said.

 

On the ban on Twitter in the country by the federal government, the president disclosed this he has directed the lifting of the suspension but bemoaned the negative use into which the social media has been put by youths of the country.

 

“Following the extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed and I have directed that the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements.

 

“As a country, we are committed to ensuring that digital companies use their platform to enhance the lives of our citizens, respect Nigeria’s sovereignty, cultural values and promote online safety,” the President said.

 

Buhari also expressed worry over the rising cost of good items in the country, saying he has directed the relevant ministries to take actions to halt the trend.q

 

He said: “@The Agricultural sector remains key to our economic diversification efforts as the sector has been a consistent driver of the non-oil sector contributing 22.35% and 23.78% to the overall GDP in the first and second quarter of 2021.

 

“@We have seen significant private sector investments in almost all areas of the agricultural value chain. And these have continued even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

“Unfortunately, as our food production capacity has increased, food prices have been going up due to artificial shortages created by middlemen who have been buying and hoarding these essential commodities for profiteering.

 

“To address this, I am hereby directing the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to rehabilitate the National Food Reserve Agency and also work with security agencies, the Nigerian Commodity Exchange, and the National Assembly to find a lasting solution to these disruptive and unpatriotic hoarding activities.”

Also, as Nigeria celebrates her 61st Independence anniversary, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has called on Nigerians to be more united for the common purpose of building a country that meets the best expectations of all Nigerians.

Citing the well-known aphorism, United We Stand and Divided We Fall, Gbajabiamila said unity is priceless, urging every Nigerian to drop their sentiments and work together for a better nation.

 

In a message marking Nigeria’s 61st Independence Anniversary, the Speaker re-echoed the fact that Nigeria is “the only country we can call our own,” noting that, “As far as I am concerned, there is no country on earth like Nigeria, and I know every patriotic Nigerian holds this view.”

 

He added that Nigerians must all work together to fulfil the dream of a nation of peaceful coexistence and abundant prosperity.

 

He said in the past 61 years, Nigeria has grown and developed beyond imagination, though he recognised the fact that, “We still have significant challenges we must overcome together.”

 

Speaker Gbajabiamila said Nigerian leaders were doing their best to see an end to the challenges facing Nigeria, especially the insecurity across the country.

 

He noted that such efforts required the support of all citizens, irrespective of political affiliations.

 

The Speaker reassured Nigerians that the 9th Assembly would always give the necessary legislative interventions to other arms of government to smoothen the task of governance.

.Bagudu applauds Buhari’s leadership, urges states to complement each other

As the country mark’s her 61st independence anniversary, Kebbi state governor and Chairman, Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) Atiku Abubakar Bagudu, has called on all states of the federation to complement each other instead of competing against each other.

 

 

Bagudu also expressed satisfaction over the progress the country has made so far, especially under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

 

Speaking Thursday in Abuja after a meeting of the NNPC,  Renewable Energy Division, Contec Global Energy Limited and the Kebbi state government, where the official announcement of partnership was made, governor Bagudu confirmed that the partnership has taken off.

 

 

On the country’s 61st independence anniversary, Bagudu said: “A few years ago we import most things that we use but now we are becoming self-sufficient in a number of areas. The border closure which was extended over a year was the best message by our President that why we respect our neighbours but we will take any step to protect our economy. So my message on this 61 anniversary is that states in Nigeria should not be competing but rather we should complement each other to produce more so that we can compete globally.

 

 

“The NNPC Renewable Energy Division as part of the vision of Mr. President has been trying to diversify actively so that the bulk of NNPC revenue will one day comes from biofuel and needs to mobilise all states of Nigeria because NNPC has been entering into agreements which is a very laudable development to our country.

 

 

“We believe that if states embraced biofuels as a number of us are doing, we will diversify our revenue, mobilise more domestic production and generate more income both for our people, state and country.

 

 

“What we are having today is a strategic investor that will bring technology and take it to the next level where the fuel would be produced.”

 

 

Also speaking, the Group General Manager, Renewable Energy Division of NNPC, Hussaini Tahir, said his organisation has two programmes in Kebbi state, “one is Cassava Biofuel Ethanol and the other one is the Sugarcane Biofuel Ethanol Plant. Currently, the one that we just had an agreement now to develop in Kebbi state is the one for the Cassava Biofuel Ethanol.”

 

 

He revealed that all pre-development issues have been done; “The plant is going to be an integrated plant whereby we produce pure ethanol. We also have a co-generation plant whereby we produce power for the plant and if we have excess we can export it to the grid. We will be able to produce animals feeds also and at the same time produce starch.”

For him, the Managing Director of Contec Global Energy Limited, Dr. Adedeji Ashiru, said the investment will create about one million jobs.

 

 

“We have entered partnership with Kebbi State Government and also with NNPC. We are not just bringing investment to Kebbi state, we are bringing econmic empowerment as well because this investment will probably yield almost one million employment. It’s not just for Kebbi but the nation at all.”

 

 

Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has advised Nigerians to summon the courage, energy and political will to face problems confronting the country head-on and address them squarely.

 

The Governor said many of the present challenges the country is grappling with including secessionist calls, among others are products of complex and complicated past, noting that Nigeria’s political, leadership tussle and trajectory are by no means unique and therefore urged secessionists to retreat.

 

Speaking at the 83rd anniversary of Ikoyi Club 1938, on Wednesday while presenting a paper titled “Present, Past and Future”, held at the club’s Secretariat in Ikoyi, Lagos, Governor Sanwo-Olu said critical stakeholders must learn from the experience of other countries to guide the present and create a future that is even better than what Nigerians envisaged.

 

The event was clearly an opportunity for Governor Sanwo-Olu to ventilate his thoughts about Nigeria at 61.

 

While reflecting on the political, socio-economic and political trajectories of the country, the Governor concluded that religious and ethnic jingoism should be completely removed from our lexical items in the country.

 

“In a few days, Nigeria will celebrate her 61st anniversary as an independent country. It will be another opportunity to reflect on our past, our present and our future. A complex and complicated past, like many other countries; a challenging present, again like many others and a future that we all look forward to with hope and optimism.

 

“Most countries of the world face deep-seated questions about ethnic, racial and religious diversity, and that Nigeria’s seemingly intractable past and present challenges are not unique to us. What is important is that we must constantly summon the energy and political will to face our problems head-on and address them squarely. We cannot continue to throw our hands up in despair or retreat into the tempting ghettoes of sectionalism and ethnic and religious bigotry.

 

“We must learn from the past of others to guide our present and create a future that is even better than what we envisaged. That is yet another important link between past, present and future; the ability to assess deeply, learn, and adapt in light of that learning,” he said.

 

Governor Sanwo-Olu said his administration is committed to continuity of good governance, saying it will build on the past and adhere to a robust vision passed down over the years that will serve the people of Lagos and change their lives for the better.

 

He said building on the legacies of the past for the present and future is very vital, noting that the artistic greats of yesteryears have helped set standards that continue to inspire the present and will no doubt inspire the future.

 

He said: “For governance to be transformational, it must start by acknowledging and respecting what has gone before, otherwise it will be doomed to keep going round in circles, wasting effort and achieving little. Therefore, we have stayed consistent to a vision that we inherited from previous administrations.

 

“For us in Lagos State, continuity is key; building on the past, adhering to a robust vision passed down over the years that will serve the people and change their lives for the better. We will forever be committed to making a link between past, present and future, for the betterment of the people of Lagos.

 

“For example, the first two lines of a city-wide metro-rail network, first envisioned decades ago, are now being completed. Our THEMES governing agenda recognises what has been accomplished before us and highlights how we can build on that as quickly as possible to show visible and verifiable results to the people of Lagos, in the shortest possible time. To frame it another way, we are pouring the concrete of today onto the foundations of yesterday to create the future that we deserve,” he said.

 

Governor Sanwo-Olu stressed further that “Without the past, there would be nothing to build on. When we are done with our own service, we will hand over the baton to the next set of leaders, to continue from where we stopped.

 

“And that is how the software of human civilization advances, one ‘update’ at a time. Whether it is at the level of Ikoyi Club, or Lagos State, or Nigeria, or the entire planet, the imperative to build on and improve on the past is one that cannot be wished away or ignored. Standing on the shoulders of giants in the hope that someday future generations will stand atop our own shoulders, extending the productive value chain of time, the cycle of past, present and future, into perpetuity.”

 

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of Ikoyi Club 1983, Mr. Adewale Mumuney, said the club remains incontrovertibly the prime choice among many seekers of a recreation and sporting centre for multi-racial harmony, outstanding facilities, serene ambiance and governance system that works peacefully and effectively.

 

He commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for his immense support of the club’s IPP project and for enabling the Club to be a COVID-19 vaccination centre for members and staff, among others

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration has gone down in history as the worst in the annals of our national life.

The PDP after reviewing the 61 years of the nationhood, surmised that the
push by this administration to sink the nation to the precipices is evident in its daily lives; the lies, injustices, violations, state-backed violence, impunity, nepotism, treasury looting, harsh economic policies and accommodation of terrorism, but that the nation has continued to survive by the resilient spirit of Nigerians.

In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP posits that though the APC and its government have been pushing the nation to the brinks, Nigeria, as a nation, will never fail.

“It is painful that all the gains made by our nation since independence in 1960 and especially during the 16 years of the PDP in office, including the entrenchment of national unity and cohesiveness, freedom and personal liberty of citizens, rule of law, credible elections, justice, equity, fairness and economic progress; the very elements of an independent state, have all been reversed by the APC and the Buhari Presidency.

“The Buhari Presidency and the APC have on all fronts taken our nation back to the pre-independence days with associated bondage mentality and frustration resulting in many losing faith in the system and leaving our country in droves within the last six years.

“Is it not an irony that our nation is celebrating independence in the face of subverted elections, brazen crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices as well as other suppressive acts including the muzzling of free speech as witnessed in the ban on Twitter in Nigeria?

“Is it not also an irony that as we celebrate independence, thousands of our compatriots are falling victims to extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and illegal detention in dehumanizing cells; which underscore the horrible situation under President Buhari and the APC, as even profiled by reputable international organizations including Amnesty International (AI) and US Department of State?

“How can we celebrate when the APC government has no answers to the murdering of our youths by security operatives as witnessed in the EndSARS protest killings of 2020 and, where those who demand for accountability in governance are being hounded, harassed and framed?

“Is it not painful that under President Buhari, our nation has been opened up to terrorists, bandits and kidnappers, who are wantonly killing our citizens while their known apologists are enjoying official cover with one of them even holding office as cabinet minister?”

The PDP however holds as unpardonable that President Buhari has failed to secure the nation and that in spite of the genuine suggestions by patriotic Nigerians including the PDP, his administration has remained lethargic and assuming a helpless situation.

“Nevertheless, our party celebrates our gallant troops who are making huge sacrifices to defend our nation, despite the daunting challenges they face.

“On the economy front, how can we celebrate when President Buhari and the APC have in a space of six years, wrecked our once robust economy and turned Nigeria into the poverty capital of the world, where over 82.9 million Nigerians can no longer afford their daily meals.

“How can we celebrate when the APC has plunged our nation into economic slavery with over N33.1 trillion accumulated debt, a 33 percent unemployment rate, collapse of productive sectors and a weakened naira from the N167 to a dollar handed over to President Buhari in 2015 to a dismal N576 to a dollar today?

“Instead of ending its corruption and seeking ways to revamp the economy, the Buhari administration is busy doctoring the books with false indices that have no bearing of any sort to the harsh reality on the ground.

“Indeed, this is not the way to go. The incontrovertible truth is that there is no hope in sight under the APC and that is why there are no drums on the streets to celebrate Nigeria at 61.”

Meanwhile, the former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has urged Nigerians to remain united despite their current existential challenges and struggles for economic survival.

He also calls on governments at all levels to enunciate policies that will lead to improved standards of living for the average Nigerian even as he assured that the future ahead of us as a nation will be brighter and better.

In his goodwill message on the occasion of Nigeria’s 61st Independence Anniversary, the former Vice President expresses concern at the level of disunity, intolerance and bigotry in the country which results in conflicts with its attendant losses of human lives and property.

According to him, disunity doesn’t help Nigerians because it makes it impossible for them to unite for a mutually beneficial common cause.

“I believe that our common interests are greater than those things that divide us. If we spend our energies on division rather than fighting for our common interests, it would be more difficult to bring about positive change to assuage the situation”, Atiku said.

According to the former PDP presidential candidate, diversity is not a bad thing in itself, but what matters is the transformation of the diversity into strength.

He explains that when the citizens are united, they are more likely to bring about the desired change than when they are divided.

The former Vice President adds that Nigerians can defeat divide and rule politics if they are united behind their common interests.

Atiku reminds leaders at all levels of the imperative of making our democracy work for all through justice, equity, fairness and even spread of development across the country.

The Waziri Adamawa regrets that, despite our vast oil resources, extreme poverty and joblessness have remained persistent, adding that “there is no excuse that 61 years after independence, extreme poverty is still the ordinary citizen in the face.”