President Bola Tinubu has announced a 30-day confab for Nigerian youths to discuss challenges confronting them.
Tinubu made this announcement on Tuesday during his 64th Independence Day Anniversary Broadcast.
Details shortly…
Former House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara has shed light on President Bola Tinubu’s pronouncement on fuel subsidy removal, stating that it was merely a joke.
He made the clarification while speaking on Channels TV on Friday.
According to Dogara, Tinubu wasn’t the one who removed the subsidy, as there was no provision for it in the budget approved by the National Assembly before his election.
Dogara clarified that Tinubu’s declaration that “subsidy is gone” was not backed by any policy action.
“In this case, there was no provision for it, and anybody who told you he (Tinubu) suspended it was just joking because how did he suspend payment that was not budgeted for in the first instance?
“There was no provision for subsidy in that budget and I am not aware of any amendment that took place to accommodate the payment of subsidy. The truth is that he (Tinubu) was not the one who removed the subsidy. But he did make that pronouncement,” Dogara said.
The former speaker explained that although Nigerians are feeling the effects of subsidy removal, it was the right move for the country’s progress. He stressed that real change requires sacrifices and that Nigerians must move beyond discussing problems to finding solutions.
He added, “In addressing this, we must accept whether we like it or not unless we are being disingenuous. Whether the President said the subsidy was gone or he was removing the subsidy, we all know that subsidy had been removed before he was elected. There was no provision for it in the budget and you know the budget is backed by the constitution. If there’s no provision for it in the budget, then how do you pay for it?”
President Tinubu had announced the removal of fuel subsidy during his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, stating that there was no provision for it in the national budget from June 2023.
Edo State Governor-elect, Monday Okpebholo, and his deputy, Dennis Idahosa, were seen kneeling before President Bola Tinubu during a visit to Aso Rock on Thursday.
The moment, captured on video, showed the duo expressing their appreciation to the president for his support during their successful campaign.
The visit took place just days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially declared Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the Edo governorship election.
The visit took place just days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially declared Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the Edo governorship election.
Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 247,274 votes. The Labour Party’s candidate, Olumide Akpata, came in third with 22,761 votes.
Accompanied by other top APC members, Okpebholo and Idahosa expressed their profound gratitude for the confidence reposed in them by both the party and the president.
Okpebholo pledged to live up to the expectations of Edo people by delivering on his promises and working towards the development of the state.
In his remarks, President Tinubu congratulated the newly elected leaders and urged them to prioritize the welfare of Edo people.
He encouraged them to focus on unity, development, and good governance as they prepare to take over the reins of power in the state.
The video of the kneeling gesture has sparked conversations on social media, with some interpreting it as a sign of humility, while others raised concerns about the implications of such acts in Nigerian politics.
Okpebholo is set to succeed Governor Godwin Obaseki, whose tenure will end in November 2024.
Watch the video below:
A looming cabinet reshuffle has sparked intense lobbying among ministers and their political godfathers, as President Bola Tinubu prepares to sack underperforming appointees.
Sources reveal that ministers have been frantically calling their godfathers to influence the President, while others have sought the intervention of the President’s allies and associates, including Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila.
Leading reporters learnt that the President has been under immense pressure from political godfathers and ministers who fear being dropped from the cabinet.
To alleviate this pressure, the Chief of Staff advised President Tinubu to take a brief break in the United Kingdom after the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in China.
“The President needed some time off to clear his head and make decisions without external influence,” a presidential aide disclosed.
Ministers and their godfathers have pulled out all the stops to save their jobs. Some have resorted to media campaigns, touting their achievements and highlighting their contributions to the administration.
Others have taken to social media, attempting to garner public support and demonstrate their commitment to the President’s agenda.
A source stated, “Since reports filtered out that the President would soon reshuffle his cabinet, he has been under immense pressure from political godfathers and ministers who are afraid that they may be dropped from the cabinet.
“Due to the intense pressure, the CoS had to advise the President to take some days off in the United Kingdom after concluding the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in China two weeks ago.
“Remember that for some days, Nigerians did not know about Tinubu’s whereabouts. After pictures of his meeting with King Charles surfaced online, people started speculating that he went to London for medical checks. The fact is that he was advised to spend a few days to allow the pressure and lobbying to subside.
“Anyway, it is not unusual for politicians to lobby on behalf of their wards but Nigerians are not satisfied with the performance of many of the ministers and the President would have no choice but to let them go. If you are not performing, you have to go, regardless of who your godfather is,” he added.
It is learnt that the cabinet shake-up will be based on empirical evidence from performance reports.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga on Wednesday confirmed that President Tinubu had stated his intent to rejig his cabinet.
He added, “The President has given an order to all his ministers at the last Federal Executive Council meeting to go out there and speak about the activities of his administration.
“Some of them have been media shy, television shy, radio shy, and he wants them to overcome all that and go out there and speak about what they have been doing because the feeling out there is that government is not doing enough and the government has been doing a lot. And it is up to them to go out there and blow their own trumpet. They should go out there and talk about what their ministries have been doing.”
The Central Delivery Coordination Unit, headed by Hadiza Bala-Usman, has been tracking and assessing ministerial performance. The unit received performance reports from at least 20 of the 35 ministries.
“The assessment reports will be a product of a joint effort of the ministers, citizens, and industry experts,” Bala-Usman had explained early in the administration.
President Tinubu had directed ministers to present their performance reports to Nigerians. “If you are performing, nothing to fear. If you miss the objective, we’ll review it. If no performance, you leave us,” he stated during his first anniversary.
The Presidency has revealed that President Bola Tinubu is considering a reshuffle of his 47-man cabinet.
The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing reporters at the State House in Abuja.
Responding to a question about potential changes in the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Onanuga confirmed that the president is “tinkering with the idea” of reorganizing the cabinet.
However, he did not specify the exact timeline for the reshuffle, stating, “I can’t say specifically whether that will be done before the Independence celebration on October 1.”
The announcement has sparked anticipation about possible changes in ministerial roles, although no details were provided on which ministers might be moved or dropped.
Some children in Kwara State have been seen in a widely circulating video on social media calling the President Bola Tinubu “Thief”
Leading reporters who monitored the video, the children storm the street singing in slangs and Yoruba language, saying ‘this hardship is much, we are comfortable with it’.
Watch video below:
The Senate President Godswill Akpabio will be presenting the results of the just concluded Edo State governorship election to President Bola Tinubu.
This was confirmed by Senator Akpabio on Monday, September 23, while he was speaking with journalists in Benin, Edo state’s capital city.
According to the Senate President, he will make the presentation of the result to President Tinubu once he returns to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
The Sebate Presidebr also confirmed that the result sheet of the governorship poll was handed to him by the chairman of the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, Jeret Tenebe.
Akpabio said, “I was presented with a copy of the results sheet by the Edo State chairman, Jeret Tenebe, shortly before my departure to Abuja.
“This will be transmitted to our party leader and President, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR,” Akpabio said.
Recall that Monday Okpebholo was declared winner of the Edo governorship election by the Independent Bational Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sudnay, September 22.
Okpebholo clinched the governorship seat ahead of PDP’s Asue Ighadolo and Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata who came second and third respectively.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and one of its largest economies, has now spent over 13 months without ambassadors in 109 diplomatic missions worldwide.
The diplomatic vacuum has raised serious concerns about the country’s standing in the global arena and its capacity to navigate the increasingly complex international relations.
For more than a year, Nigeria has lacked formal representation at the highest levels of diplomacy, leaving the country at a disadvantage in engaging with global partners.
Following President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration, a reassessment of foreign policy led to the recall of 83 ambassadors; both career and non-career from their posts in September 2023, but the subsequent appointment of replacements has yet to occur.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, had said the ambassadors served at the president’s behest in their host nations and that it was the President’s “prerogative to send or recall them from any country.”
The envoys were instructed to return to Nigeria by October 31, marking a shift in diplomatic strategy and suggesting that the government was looking to realign its foreign engagements to better serve national interests.
However, more than a year later, the anticipated appointments of new ambassadors have yet to materialise, creating a diplomatic vacuum that has left the country’s missions leaderless and its voice on the global stage weakened.
This prolonged diplomatic vacuum echoes the delays seen during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, which took 17 to 20 months to establish ambassadorial positions.
The implications of this prolonged absence are far-reaching. At a time when global diplomacy is becoming more intricate, Nigeria finds itself without the ability to fully engage with other nations or participate in critical trade and security negotiations.
Ambassadors play an indispensable role in representing their country’s interests abroad, managing bilateral relations, and serving as key players in multilateral organisations. Their absence means missed opportunities and a weakening of Nigeria’s influence in global affairs.
While the Federal Government has made some progress by appointing 12 consuls-general and five chargés d’affaires to represent the country in 14 countries in April 2024, these appointments fall short of filling the gap.
Consuls-general and chargés d’affaires can handle routine administrative duties and oversee the day-to-day operations of an embassy, but they do not possess the authority or diplomatic weight to engage at the highest levels, such as with heads of state or critical international negotiations.
The absence of full ambassadors is a glaring omission at a time when Nigeria needs strong representation more than ever.
This diplomatic void is not just a procedural issue; it has real consequences for the nation’s global influence, its ability to secure international investments, and its role in shaping policies that affect the African continent and beyond.
On May 28, 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the situation, citing a lack of funds as the primary reason for the delay in appointing new ambassadors.
Few days later, the MFA’s spokesperson, Amb. Eche Abu-Ode, said any new ambassadorial appointments will depend on budget allocations. “I guess the funds may be included in the supplementary budget, but for now, there is no clear way forward without funds,” Abu-Ode stated.
The admission highlights a troubling intersection between diplomacy and economics, with financial constraints halting Nigeria’s global engagement.
The issue of funding underscores deeper problems within Nigeria’s diplomatic apparatus. With no clear timeline for when the budgetary issues will be resolved, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is left in a holding pattern.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s international partners may interpret this prolonged inaction as a sign of instability or disinterest in global affairs.
This perception can be damaging, particularly for a country that relies on foreign investments and international partnerships to fuel its economic growth.
President Bola Tinubu has made known his position on the Edo State governorship election scheduled for Saturday, September 21st, 2024.
The president admonished all politicians and stakeholders involved in the polls to respect the democratic process and promote peace.
This comes just hours before voting in the poll, which has continued to generate tension in the state.
According to Tinubu, the people’s will to chose their leaders must be allowed to prevail.
The president’s position was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga on Friday.
The Nigerian leader said he was confident in the ability of the the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies to remain neutral and impartial in carrying out their mandate towards the election.
President Tinubu further urged the citizens to maintain peace during the voting process.
The statement reads, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on all stakeholders in the upcoming Edo State governorship elections to conduct themselves peacefully and sportingly. The election is scheduled for Saturday, September 21, 2024.
“The President implores the governorship candidates, political parties, and supporters to respect the democratic process and the people’s will. He believes in the voters’ ability to make informed decisions about their future leaders.
“President Tinubu emphasises that democracy thrives on civility, tolerance, patience, and respect for the rules of the game. He notes that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has committed to conducting a free and fair election and urges all stakeholders to work together to ensure a successful and peaceful process.
“The President commends the governorship candidates and political parties for their campaigns, which have focused on issues that matter most to the people of Edo State, including improving livelihoods, promoting economic growth, and contributing to national development.
“He urges all citizens in the state to remain peaceful and respectful throughout the voting process. He encourages them to resolve any disagreements amicably through the constituted authorities.
“In addition, President Tinubu expresses unwavering confidence in the professionalism and integrity of security agencies and INEC officials. He urges them to remain impartial and avoid any actions that could compromise the integrity of the electoral process.”
President Bola Tinubu has opted out of attending the 79th United Nations General Assembly session in New York.
Vice President Kashim Shettima will lead Nigeria’s delegation instead, as announced by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President.
President Tinubu’s decision stems from his desire to focus on domestic issues, particularly addressing the aftermath of the recent devastating flooding.
The statement reads said:
President Bola Tinubu will not attend the 79th United Nations General Assembly session in New York this year.
The President has thus directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation.
President Tinubu, who returned to the country last Sunday after his trip to China and the United Kingdom, wants to focus on domestic issues and address some of the country’s challenges, especially after the recent devastating flooding.
At UNGA 79, Vice President Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement to the General Assembly, attend important sideline events, and hold bilateral meetings.
The high-level General Debate, with the theme “Leaving no one behind: Acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations,” will run from Tuesday, September 24, through Saturday, September 28, 2024.