News Nigeria

The Unaired Part of Mrs Buhari's Interview At the heat of the intense pressure mounted on the BBC to stop airing the remaining part of the controversial Aisha Buhari interview a few days ago, I had the privilege of listening to the interview before it was fully aired. My good friend, the Head of the Abuja bureau of the BBC, Naziru Mika'il Abubakar, invited me to his office for comment on the interview, and directed that it be played to me before recording my comment. Listening to the president's wife passionately expressing herself on how her husband runs Nigeria left me cringing. Reading between the lines, I realized Mrs. Buhari was sending SOS to Nigerians to save her bewitched, servile husband from the clutches of the Aso Rock witches, popularly known as "Aso cabal". The Buhari I knew before election was not the obtuse person we have today as president. The Buhari I promoted during campaign had no nepotic, despotic or robotic tendencies. The Buhari I voted ...

Breaking Police/DSS Operatives Manhandle Wike in Failed Attempt to Abduct Federal High Court Judge Gov alleges plot to declare state of emergency. There is tension in Rivers State as scores of Department of State Services (DSS) operatives and policemen attempted to abduct a Federal High Court judge residing at Number 35, Forces Avenue in Port Harcourt in the early hours of Saturday. THISDAY gathered that the failed abduction was led by Mr Tosin Ajayi, Rivers State Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), and Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr Francis Odesanya. The operatives of DSS reportedly rough-handled the state Governor, Nyesom Wike, pushing him around and injuring his hand. A few of the operatives cocked their rifles and threatened to shoot the Governor. A statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, said the security operatives were irked by Wike’s arrival at the scene shortly after the failed abduction proce...

Gov’t to Scrutinize Activities of Taraba Investment and properties Limited. Taraba State Government has reiterated its determination to reposition the Taraba State Investment and Properties Limited and the State Micro Finance Bank for better performance in line with the vision of the Rescue Agenda of the present administration. Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku said this while inaugurating two committees that are to look into the activities of the two institutions from 2013 to date with a view to putting all the records in their right perspectives. Inaugurating the committees on behalf of Governor, at the Conference Hall of the Office of the Secretary to the Taraba State Government SSG, the SSG, Hon. Anthony Jellason charged the two committees to be fair and transparent in carrying their investigations. The SSG maintained that the purpose of the exercise is not meant to witch-hunt, explaining that, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Taraba Investment and P...

Unpaid Debt: AMCON set to take over Ben Murray-Bruce’s companies, assets June 23, 2016Musikilu Mojeed Excerpt there is a last-minutes change in plans, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) will on Thursday morning take over the assets of three companies belonging to politician Ben Murray-Bruce and his brothers. The assets are being seized following the failure of Senator Murray-Bruce and his brothers to settle an N11 billion loan owed Union Bank and acquired by AMCON. AMCON was established on July 9, 2010, as a key stabilizing and re-vitalizing tool for stabilising the nation’s financial system. Its enabling law empowers it to acquire non-performing loan assets of Nigerian banks at fair values and then put them to economic use in a profitable manner. Mr. Murray Bruce and his brothers, using their companies, had between 2005 and 2007 borrowed various sums of money from Union Bank. After they repeatedly defaulted in paying back, AMCON purchased the loan i...

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has approved a whooping sum of 400bn Naira to settle the ongoing crisis over unpaid salaries. With several states crying out that they are in debt and some states not being able to settle salaries of over 7 months, the president has had to intervene to get the nation back on track. He today approved a relief package valued at over N400bn, which would then be distributed evenly between the states of the federation.

We acknowledge the pains you face and are concerned about them. There are a multitude of things that require decisive action. We are taking action and in due course they will produce satisfying outcomes. Our determination is firm and unrelenting. Consequently, I am pleased to share President Muhammadu Buhari's strategic implementation plan for the 2016 budget. This Strategic Implementation Plan articulates 6 thematic Strategies and 33 priority actions which will constitute the short-term priority of the Federal Government over the next 12 months. 1. Lasting Changes in the Policies, National Security and Governance. ● Achieve an Appropriate Foreign Exchange Regime ● Increase low interest lending to the Real Sector. We will need to move toward a single digit interest rate. ● Maintain Capital Spending in the Budget at a minimum of 30%. Complement this with funds from the Infrastructure Fund for commercial projects ● Intensify the Implementat...

The senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has blamed the Nigerian military over an attack that left several members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria dead and many others injured at the weekend. The Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, confirmed to Premium Times that 60 bodies had been deposited at the hospital. A source told PREMIUM TIMES the figure exceeds 100, while the Shiites Islamic Movement in Nigeria says hundreds, perhaps over a thousand, of its members were killed. The Nigerian Army confirmed it arrested the leader of the group, Ibrahim El-Zazaky, and his wife. An image circulated on the social media Tuesday, purports to show a bloodied Mr. El-Zakzaky sitting on what appears to be the ground, looking frail and tortured. Mr. Sani said in a statement on Tuesday that the attack was nothing but “indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force by the military”. “Silence and neutrality to this amount to ...