We equipped security, subdued terrorists, bandits -Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Abuja said the robust plan to improve the security architecture of the country had been realized, with upgrading of hardware, building of facilities, training, and equipping of staff and officers, and structuring of a welfare system that caters for more than 50,000 children of fallen heroes.
Speaking at a ceremony attended by two former leaders of the country, Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and President, Goodluck Jonathan, Buhari said he instituted the recruitment of 60,000 soldiers into the Armed Forces, and thousands graduated from the Nigerian Defense Academy, NDA and other security institutions to tighten security.
President presented 81 new, symbolic flags to the various units of the Nigerian Army.

“At the inception of this administration, the nation’s security situation was greatly challenged by the activities of violent non-state actors. Today, I am pleased to specially note that the situation has tremendously improved and I wish to also proudly highlight that we have made remarkable progress in the fight against insurgents, militants, oil bunkers, kidnappers, and other criminal elements in the country.
“This administration has achieved a remarkable transformation of the military in the areas of fighting power, training, operations, manpower, remunerations, and medical services. These are in addition to maintenance efficiency, accommodation, and expansion of forces. The improvements in these areas have collectively enhanced the Army’s capacity to effectively carry out its constitutional mandate,’’ he said.
Buhari, who endorsed 81 flags for the various units of the Army, noted that the fighting power of our military was at a low ebb as of May 2015, adding “However, 7 years later, its fighting power has increased significantly making it fourth in ranking among African militaries as against seventh in 2015.’’
He said interventions and yearly budgetary allocations to the Army, between 2020 and 2022 alone, had been able to procure hundreds of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, Troops Carrying Vehicles, utility vehicles, tanks, and Armoured Personnel Carriers to augment those earlier procured.
“From 2017 to 2022, significant numbers of new fighting and utility vehicles along with supporting artillery guns, machine guns, rifles, and corresponding ammunition were acquired and inducted into various theatres of operations. This translates to a significant increment in the Army’s equipment holding since 2015.
“With the significant improvement in the fighting power as a result of the procurement of equipment and mission-specific training, the Army was empowered to rejig its operations.
Accordingly, the Army has restructured the conduct of its operations to meet current realities.
“The quantum of platforms inducted into the Army since 2015 had enabled troops to take the battle to the terrorists and criminals, particularly in the North East resulting in the recapture of territories hitherto held by the insurgents,’’ he stated.
Buhari told the gathering of top security chiefs, traditional rulers, and top government officials, who witnessed the ceremony, that creation of the Army Aviation was one of the major aspects of the ongoing expansion process in the Nigerian Army.
According to him:  “The renewed vigor for the operationalization of the Army Aviation emanated from a strong desire to effectively tackle contemporary security challenges across the country. This unit, when fully operationalized, will provide rapid deployment, close air support, casualty evacuation, and prompt delivery of logistics supply, among other roles.
“As an administration, we have demonstrated commitment to increasing the strength of the Armed Forces in my resolve to secure the country’s cha…
[10:39 PM, 4/27/2023] CNL THOMAS Imonikhet: Atiku, Obi victims of over confidence in last general elections–Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday said that while the All Progressives Congress, APC was working hard to retain power in the recent elections, the combined opposition was a victim of over confidence- the main reason why he believed they lost.

Speaking at his residence in the State House, Abuja where he received the Progressive Governors Forum led by their Chairman, Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, the President said: “They were already telling their foreign backers that they would defeat the APC.  Our Party blended confidence with caution, we worked hard and won.   Now, their over confidence is creating more problems for the opposition than anyone else.  They are finding it hard to convince those who supported them from outside why they are unable to beat us.

According to a statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) quoted Buhari as adding that, “A combination of over confidence, complacency and bad tactical moves made them lose, plain and clear. This has created more problems in their camp.  Why did they fail to remove us?”

Speaking in response to an issue raised by Bagudu, the leader of the Forum, Buhari said “an important reason I congratulate Asiwaju on winning is because the opposition got support and false hope from outside  and went on to create the impression that they will win, that they will defeat us.  How more wrong could anyone be?” he asked.

The President charged the Progressive Governors to stick together and openly address issues among themselves.
“Try and keep solving problems. Be courageous to discuss them openly between yourselves. This is the best way to survive politically in Nigeria,” said the President, urging that “you (Governors) have a program to meet regularly and to discuss issues and how to maintain the Party nationwide.”

The President spoke at length about his retirement proposal, saying that he intended to be at home in Daura for six months before moving eventually to Kaduna.

He thanked Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State for the infrastructure he has provided that would make life for his retirement and that of the people of the state much better, adding that the Governor of Kano had equally done the same.

The Chairman, Atiku Bagudu said the visit was ostensibly to say “Happy Sallah” to the President and to thank him for the leadership he had given to the Party and the nation.
This being their first visit since the elections, they congratulated the President on the Party’s victory in the Presidential Polls, saying, “Congratulations, your Party won the Presidency, a majority in the Senate and for being the leading Party in the House of Representatives. These successes would not have happened without your support.
“History will remember you kindly.  Around the world, the election is being celebrated because of the turbulence in the region and in the developing world, all courtesy of your leadership. We won by sheer hard work, the same thing you have always encouraged us to do.  We thank you immensely for everything,” he added.

The Governors in attendance in addition to Kebbi were from Plateau, Imo, Kwara, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kogi, Lagos, Cross River , Jigawa, Katsina, Ogun and Nasarawa States.

The Deputy Governors of Kano, Gombe, Borno and Ebonyi were in attendance, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

[10:41 PM, 4/27/2023] CNL THOMAS Imonikhet: Fintech “ll enable financial inclusion- Yuguda

Director General Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda has said that Fintech is a game changer in deepening the capital market and enhancing financial inclusion.

He stated this Thursday in Lagos during the Supernews Nigeria Fintech Conference, themed ‘Imperative of Fintech in Promoting Financial Inclusion in Nigeria’.

Yuguda who was represented by the Director Registration, Exchanges, market Infrastructure and Innovation of the SEC, Mr. Abdulkadir Abbas maintained that this development will further attract more young people to the market.

He said the theme is very important to the capital market as transformation in the sector is incomplete without fintech.

“We can see a kind of game changer and rapid transformation in the financial sector due to fintech. It is a building block for enhancing financial inclusion.

“Traditional means can no longer work, the average age of investors in the capital market is 45-50 years and we are currently trying to attract the millennials to the market and this can be achieved with the aid of fintech.

“We are exploring ways to leverage on fintech to bring on the young people to the market. The capital market sees fintech as an opportunity and that is one of the ways we intend to change the dynamics of the capital market,” he said.

Speaking further, the DG noted that it was in view of the importance of fintech that the capital market initiated the fintech roadmap which enabled SEC to come up with innovations and rules to support the initiative.

According to him, “We need innovation to deepen and broaden the market and we had to come up with rules to support it like the rules on crowdfunding among others.

“We all saw the success achieved with the electronic offering by MTN, a lot of Nigerians were able to subscribe with their phones and other gadgets conveniently. We realised that one of the ways to unlock investment opportunities is through fintech and we are stepping up such strategies to deepen the market,” he added.

He however, expressed the need to strike a balance between investor protection and innovation, adding that financial inclusion cannot be achieved with it a good strategy for financial literacy.

He expressed the readiness of SEC to collaborate with other regulators and stakeholders in the quest to attract more investors to the capital market and grow the economy.

In her remarks, Publisher/Chief Executive Officer of Supernews Nigeria, Ngozi Onyeakusi said the conference centres on Fintech and Financial Inclusion which holds a great potential for the Nigerian economy and for the financial stability of the country.

She said the emergence of Covid-19 no doubt projected the need for adoption of fintech in daily activities and businesses but not without its attendant challenges.

Onyeakusi said the choice of the theme was aimed at contributing its quota to the financial  inclusion target of the federal government.

“This conference centres on fintech and financial inclusion which holds a great potential for the Nigerian economy and for the financial stability of the country”

“It is a learning opportunity designed to enhance awareness, deepen understanding of participants in the role of fintech in rendering banking, capital market, insurance and pension services cheaper, faster and conveniently” she added.