Connect with us

COVER

Democracy in a Crime Scene

Published

on

Share

By Chidi Amuta

Nigeria’s much anticipated presidential election has yielded an outcome, leaving behind a thick smoke trail of disquiet and global infamy. Mr. Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has since been announced winner of the February 23rd election. At home, the emotions are unevenly mixed between the minority whose partisanship has triumphed and the opposing majority who are understandably disappointed.

Internationally, the consensus among independent observers is that the conduct and outcome of the election fell short of the expectations of the majority of Nigerians.

The high expectation was palpable among Nigerians in the run up to the polls.

The optimism among an army of youth most of whom were voting for the first time signaled a more than usual level of optimism in the promise of democracy to heal the multiple wounds of a country that has been badly injured in the last eight years. For the first time, majority of Nigerians believed that the imminent elections would assuage their collective hurt from eight years of easily the most rudderless administration in the history of the country.

Early on election day, the atmosphere in most parts of the country was almost that of a carnival. Polling stations were over filled and the enthusiasm of young voters was readable on the faces of throngs. They had come to believe that the ballot held the key to a better country. Strangers at polling stations became friends united by a common aspiration, a shared hope and confidence in the power of democracy. Perhaps at last democracy had found hope and home in the largest black nation on earth.

People at polling units shared food, drinks and hope. Somewhere in  Kogi state, a man was arrested by the mob after he snatched a ballot box. The mob descended on him. At the point of lynching, he was rescued by youth, INEC and the police, all intent on having a peaceful election. At the slightest suspicion of INEC staff trying to play outside the rule book, a uniform cry rent the air: “We no go ‘gree o! We no go ‘gree!” That became a universal national outcry by crowds, mostly of youth, protesting slip ups and attempts by INEC and officialdom to deviate from the rules.

At other times, when it seemed that people would not have an opportunity to vote, a different, more militant outcry erupted: ‘We must vote o!! We must vote o!! We must vote!!!’ That was another nationwide battle cry of youth armies at different polling stations either when INEC officials were late in coming or voting material were lacking or INEC’s efficiency was lagging. In one place, women with bare hands fought off hoodlums with clubs and machetes who had come to disrupt voting.

At another polling station, people waited all through the day and well into the night just to cast a vote. A female voter from the neighborhood excused herself to go a make food for the multitude. She returned with a hot basin of Jollof rice to feed the crowd of voters. As night fell and the voting was yet to be completed or even start in some stations, the sloppy preparedness of INEC began to show. The batteries of the BVACS appliances began to run down and fail. But voters freely volunteered the power banks of their cell phones to help. Where there was no electricity,  voters eagerly lit up the voting points with the torch lights from their cell phones; hundreds of points of light by so many hopeful people seeking to free their nation from dark rule and the powers of darkness.

But as the voting got underway and the day began to wane, the optimism of those who had not yet voted turned into anger. Camaraderie turned into open frustration. Worse still, news came that in a number of places, thugs had invaded polling units and were disrupting the process. In other parts of Lagos in particular, some people had been injured, ballot boxes snatched, ballot strips burnt. Hoodlums had taken over parts of the city and were roaming free. Many could not vote.

Others waited in endless queues for the entire day. In some places, those who went out to vote returned home in bandages from wounds inflicted by hordes of thugs and hoodlums unleashed by political vampires. A day that began with the optimism of millions of democracy enthusiasts was ending with a national disquiet and a realization that the darker side of Nigeria had overwhelmed the promise of hope and the prospect of unfettered freedom. The results began to trickle in. Most people could not believe what they were seeing and hearing even from the very polling units where they had cast their votes earlier in the day and left for home.

As it turned out, the commitment by INEC that the new technology of the BVACS would ensure instant faithful uploads of results from polling units to INEC’s IREV central servers had failed or been compromised. In its place, INEC was relying largely on manual reportage of results from assorted sources. Where uploads were taking place, what was being uploaded was at wide variance from the actual results that people witnessed at polling stations.

Uploading of results was slow in starting and has continued to be slow. At the time of this writing, only 83% of results have been uploading though final results were announced two days earlier. In a number of places, results from states far away were uploaded in the name of other states.  In a few reported cases, fictitious results were allocated and uploaded to INEC. For instance, on INEC’s online results portal, results were uploaded for polling units in Okigwe where no election took place at all. In a rural place in Rivers state, villagers found a heap of signed and stamped INEC result sheets in a nearby bush bearing a different set of results from what was on display on INEC’s online site being beamed to the world!

Through it all, a result has been announced. A president-elect has emerged. Mr. Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is the president-elect. This outcome has not in any way doused the embers of anger and disquiet among Nigerians. Grave fears still abound that disappointment could spiral into mass protests even as the opposition candidates that lost the election have vowed to head to court to challenge the outcome. 

The picture that has emerged still speaks of a closely contested election with interesting figures. All three leading candidates won outright in 12 each of our 36 states. The votes scored by the three are interspaced by a margin of about one million votes. Yet in spite of the reportedly large turnout of voters, only 25% of registered voters were recorded. This is against 35% in the 2019 election which had a lower voter turnout.

The overall result is still a close call. Bola Tinubu scored 37% of total votes cast. Atiku Abubakar scored 29% while Peter Obi brought the rear of the three with 24%. In the attainment of the margin of 25% in two thirds of the total number of states , Tinubu scored a razor edge margin of in Bayelsa and Adamawa states. Mr. Tinubu scored 25.01% in Adamawa and 25.8% in Bayelsa respectively. 

In spite of the catalogue of anomalies and failings recorded in this election, it is only fair to acknowledge the overall political significance of the results we have so far seen. There are changing patterns in the nation’s political landscape. For instance, in spite of his incumbency and famed cultic followership, President Buhari’s APC was defeated in his home state of Katsina by Mr. Atiku’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).  Mr. Bola Tinubu, famed juggernaut of Lagos politics, was roundly  trounced  in Lagos state by Mr. Peter Obi, a fledgling third party newcomer in national politics. Similarly, Mr. Peter Obi swept the polls in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja while making significant inroads into the Northern hemisphere with substantial wins in Nasarawa, Kaduna and Plateau.

Since the three leading candidates reflected the tripod of dominant ethnic nationalities in our political layout, the results also indicated a throwback to identity politics of the past. Outside Lagos, Bola Tinubu swept the South West. Peter Obi chased the PDP from most of the South-east and most of the South-south. Atiku Abubakar shared the high grounds of the demographically huge political north with Tinubu of the APC.

At the national level, the emergence of Mr. Obi and the Labour Party indicates the emergence of a viable Third Force in the nation’s political architecture, thus supplanting what has always been largely a bipartisan picture.  Peter Obi effectively banished the binary option of “either or” from our political thought process by proving that a third force can offer voters an alternative to the two ageing older parties.  Largely, Bola Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket made no significant impact in the outcomes as his running mate, Mr. Shettima, merely delivered his Borno State and can hardly be credited with the wins of his party in either the north east of the rest of the Muslim north.

There are two very significant outcomes in the political landscape. The emergence of Mr. Obi who ran on a national message of a new Nigeria predicated on a new politics and dominated by developmental issues addressed to the youth indicates a future politics of ideas and issues. Similarly, Obi’s massive win in the south east sends a message to advocates of an Igbo presidency that what is urgently needed is not necessarily an Igbo president but a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction who embraces and embodies the essence of Nigeria’s broad questions and unites the nation under a common banner of progress, enlightenment and modernization. Peter Obi may have effectively ended the political isolation of the Igbo by expanding his reach beyond the homeland to the rest of the nation.

Perhaps the days of ethnic bigotry as a political creed are coming to an end at last.  We see the beginnings of a polity gradually growing out of traditional political loyalties compelled by a national youth bulge and urban national consciousness.

Most international observers of the election have questioned the performance of INEC and therefore the overall integrity of the polls. Even the United States department of State  in its congratulatory message to Mr. Tinubu has urged INEC to clean up its act from the untidiness of the presidential election. They all concluded that the election fell short of the expectations of most Nigerians.

That evaluation is essentially a moral judgment and indictment. It however ails to take into consideration Nigeria’s emerging national character and long standing reputation as a crime scene merely pretending to use democracy to earn respectability among nations.

Nigeria’s institutions of nationhood are essentially administered more like criminal cartels than as tools of collective sovereignty in any enlightened sense. At best, Nigeria under Mr. Buhari has degenerated into a sovereign crime scene. A crime scene with flag, anthem and the insignia and paraphernalia of sovereign nationhood is itself a dangerous proposition. It is made even more dangerous when it is a nation state presided over by a revolving conclave of gangster collectives.  It exports crude oil but insists on importing refined petroleum products to line the pockets of a handful of oligarchs. It runs on multiple exchange rates so that patronage can feed unfettered on the commonwealth. It arms a security force to supervise the routine stealing of half of its crude oil production. It buys arms and ammunition to fight an insurgency funded and created by known political figures so that a “security industry” of corrupt officers can thrive. Who needs a more elaborate crime scene than this?

In such a crime scene state, it is foolish to judge the actions of any state institution by rational moral parameters. Politics is ordinarily said to be amoral. Worse still, the politics of a sovereign crime scene cannot but reflect the essential morality of a jungle ruled by the ethics of gangsters. In such a place, the quest for political preeminence can only be a battle among captains of a pirate ship, a stampede among treasure raiders. The rules of engagement in that battle can at best only be  a code of dishonour drawn up by thieves in a jungle retreat.

Democracy in such a place cannot escape the organized riot that took place on 23rd of February. The common people were put through a ritual whose outcome may have been pre-arranged. INEC administered the fatal hypnosis through a pretension to technological savvy. A technology that delivered unquestionably credible elections in Anambra, Edo, Ekiti and Osun governorship elections  decided to flutter and fail when it came to an election to choose the president of the crime scene!

Understandably, therefore, the voices of protest by parties that lost this election have been greeted by a unified cry by both the APC and INEC. ‘Go to court!’ has been the constant refrain. The only line they cannot add publicly is this: ‘Our judges are waiting for you there!’ Yes, indeed, there is nothing in the record of recent judgments by the Nigerian Supreme Court on political cases that should fuel anyone’s hope that recourse to judicial remedy holds any promise of justice in the cases that have been evoked by this election.

There is an even more worrisome question from this electoral outcome. A ruling party that has presided over eight years of harrowing suffering for the people has literally arranged for itself a contentious succession in spite of  a reign of infamy and monumental ineptitude. Two conclusions are possible: the voting mob is irrational and basically foolish or the ruling party as a cartel of political gangsters has hoodwinked and conned the people.

Whichever we choose, Mr. Buhari will return to Daura as the ultimate carrier of the moral burden of this hour. His de-mystification is complete. A man who swore to bequeath a legacy of free and fair elections is going home after delivering a dubious self -adulating referendum. A man who came to power vowing to drain the swamp of corruption in Abuja may have ended up placing a presidential seal of approval on the triumph of industrial scale corruption. A man who was hailed into the town square as the hero that will chase away the ogre of insecurity is leaving us in the pool of the blood of friends and family needlessly killed. For Buhari, then, this outcome is the ultimate inversion of a deceptive mythology. We may have witnessed the greatest political heist of the century.  

Somehow though, Mr. Bola Tinubu is an apt and inevitable outcome. Perhaps a crime scene state needs none other than someone who fully understands the mechanics of the game to lead it. Perhaps the president -elect’s long and elaborate resume eminently qualifies him as the most apt leader of this kind of state at this moment in time.

COVER

Tinubu Makes Numerous Promises at Slain Soldiers Burial

Published

on

Share

President Bola Tinubu has directed the military to within the next 90 days ensure that all the benefits of the 17 officers and men of the army killed in Okuama on March 14 be paid to their families.

Tinubu said that government would provide a house in any part of the country to each of the families of the four officers and 13 soldiers.

He said that all the children of the deceased would enjoy a Federal Government scholarship up to University level.

He described the officers and soldiers as patriotic, brave and gallant Nigerians.

The president said that the deceased gave their lives to defend and protect the Nation against internal and external threats.

At the burial ceremony of the officers and soldiers on Wednesday in Abuja, Tinubu said that their death serves as a rallying point for Nigerians to condemn crime and criminality.

“They went as peacemakers and peacekeepers, seeking to bring an end to the hostilities between the two communities.“They didn’t go with tanks, machine guns and other weapons. They were on a mission of peace.“The officers and soldiers who lost their lives that day were patriots, brave and noble men who gave their lives to defend and protect our nation against internal and external threats,” he said.The 17 military personnel killed included Lt.-Col. Ali, Maj. D.E Obi, Maj. S.D. Ashafa, Capt. U. Zakari, Staff Sgt. Yahaya Saidu, Corporal Danbaba Yahaya, Corporal Kabir Bashir, Lance Corporal Abdullahi Ibrahim, Lance Corporal Bulus Haruna, Lance Corporal Sole Opeyemi, and Lance Corporal Bello Anas.The rest were Private Alhaji Isah, Private Clement Francis, Private Abubakar Ali, Private Adamu Ibrahim, Private Hamman Peter, and Private Ibrahim Adamu.Tinubu said that the deceased have all been awarded posthumous national honours.“The four gallant Officers have been awarded Member of the Order of Niger (MON). And the 13 courageous soldiers who also lost their lives have been Awarded Officer of the Federal Republic Medals.“As Commander-In-Chief, I do not take the contributions of members of our Armed Forces for granted. I recognise your valour and bravery.

“I honour your unflinching commitment to making our country safe from criminals, bandits, kidnappers and insurrectionists.”The President urged the officers and men of the military not to be deterred by these setbacks and be prepared to continue to work for peace and harmony.Tinubu also called on Nigerians to rededicate themselves to rebuilding communities and making them places where love, tolerance and harmony reigns.“Leaders at all levels, especially community leaders and traditional rulers, must work to strengthen the bonds that unite us. We must end the cycle of violence and bloodletting.“I want to make it clear, once more, that those who committed this heinous crime will not go unpunished. We will find them and our departed heroes will get justice.“The elders and chiefs of Okuoma also have a duty to help the military in fishing out the gunmen who committed the barbaric crime against our men.”The president commended the Armed Forces for their restraint in choosing not to carry out any reprisal attacks in Okuoma or its neighbouring communities.“We must all ensure that the innocent people of Okuoma are not made to bear the punishment of the guilty and wicked among them.”

On his part, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, said the officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army who were gruesomely murdered in Okuama Community in Delta on March 14, left behind 10 widows three of whom are pregnant and 21 orphans.Lagbaja made this known at the burial of the 17 personnel comprising one Lieutenant Colonel, two Majors, one Captain and 13 soldiers, on Wednesday at the National Cemetery in Abuja.According to him, the Okuama killing has added to the care of the Nigerian army and, by extension, the Nigeria state, 10 widows, three of whom are four, five, and eight months pregnant, 21 orphans, and many other dependents, including parents.“While commiserating with the families of these gallant soldiers, I assure them that the Nigerian army and the good people of this country will not leave them in the cold.“We shall do all within our power to provide succour to them and preserve the memories of their departed loved ones,” he said.Lagbaja said he considered his toughest job to be putting fine men and women in harm’s way, sometimes knowing that they might not return to their families and loved ones.He added that his men, correspondingly and intriguingly, know that in spite of the equipment, training, and other forms of preparations, sometimes some may not make it back alive, while some may return handicapped.According to him, “when soldiers die in the hands of the enemies of the State, we take it as dying for what the nation has considered a just cause; we celebrate them as gallant heroes.“But when they are gruesomely murdered by the very people they are trained, equipped, and took an oath to protect, it is highly demoralizing.“It is no longer news that 17 of the Nigerian Army’s finest men, whom we have come to bury, were murdered in a reprehensible manner on March 14 in the Okuama community of Delta State while they went on a legitimate peace-making mission.

“It grieves my heart that it took our search and recovery effort over 72 hours to recover some vital organs of the decapitated and disembowell bodies of my men that were scattered all over the Okuama community by the community youths and their friends.“I consider it the most barbaric act any citizen or community can commit against the authority of the state, and I must place on record that a lot of restraints have been exercised so far in our search and recovery efforts for missing arms, ammunition, other equipment, and body parts.“I assure the President and all Nigerians that the Nigerian Army remains committed to its constitutional responsibilities and will not be deterred by setbacks such as witnessed in the Okuama community.“As tasked by the President and Commander-In-Chief of our Armed Forces, the Nigerian Army, with the assistance of its sister services and other security agencies, is committed to bringing the perpetrators of the Okuama murder to book and recover all service and personal belongings taken from the murdered troops.“The Nigerian Army will continue to seek the cooperation of all well-meaning Nigerians, particularly in the affected area, towards swift and successful conduct of our search and recovery operations,” he said.The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, said the fallen heroes exemplified the very best of service to nation and love for country.Musa said they were the vanguards of peace, the guardians of freedom, and the sentinels of security, adding that their selflessness and unwavering dedication to duty would forever be etched in their hearts and memories.He assured the families of the deceased officers of the support of the nation and the armed forces in every way possible, urging them to find solace in the knowledge that their loved ones made an indelible mark on the nation’s history.The defence chief said the military would honour their memory by continuing the fight against those who sought to undermine the peace and security of the nation.

“We will remain steadfast in our resolve to build a nation worthy of your sacrifice.“The loss we feel today is immeasurable, but we must not allow it to dim the light of hope within us.“Instead, let us use this moment as a rallying cry to come together as a nation, to support our armed forces, and to work tirelessly towards a Nigeria free from the grip of violence and insecurity.“We owe it to these fallen heroes to honour their memory by redoubling our efforts to create a safer and more prosperous nation for all.“Let us build a nation where every citizen can live without fear, where communities can thrive, and where our children can grow up knowing the true meaning of security and stability.“To the men and women who continue to serve in the armed forces, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your dedication to duty.“Your commitment to defending our nation, even in the face of great peril, is truly commendable,” he said.Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and governors of Delta, Bayelsa, Kano, Kogi and Imo states amongst others attended the burial ceremony.

Continue Reading

COVER

Dangote, Elumelu Make Economic Planning System List

Published

on

Share

By Lubem Myaornyi, Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has in a strategic move to bolster the nation’s economic governance frameworks and ensure robust and coordinated economic planning and implementation, approved the establishment of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) and the creation of the Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce (EET).

PECC comprises leaders and key government officials like: President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – Chairman of the PECC; Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – Vice-Chairman of the PECC / NEC Chairman; President of the Nigerian Senate; Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum; Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; Minister of Agriculture and Food Security; Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development; and Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.
Others are: Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Minister of Labour and Employment; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy; Minister of Power; Minister of State, Petroleum Resources; Minister of State, Gas; Minister of Transportation; and Minister of Works.Tinubu also included 13 members of the organized private sector to drive the nation’s economy.The PECC will also comprise key members of the organized private sector, with the following members joining for a period not exceeding one year, subject to the President’s directive: Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Mr. Tony Elumelu; Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu; Ms. Amina Maina; Mr. Begun Ajayi-Kadir; Mrs. Funke Okpeke; and Dr. Doyin Salami.The rest members are: Mr. Patrick Okigbo; Mr. Kola Adesina; Mr. Segun Agbaje; Mr. Chidi Ajaere; Mr. Abdulkadir Aliu; and Mr. Rasheed Sarumi.

In the president’s determination to address immediate economic challenges and ensure the streamlined execution of economic strategies, President Bola Tinubu has established the Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce (EET) with a mandate to formulate and implement a consolidated emergency economic plan. The taskforce comprises key government officials and industry leaders in furtherance of the President’s collaborative approach toward achieving economic resilience and growth. The EET is now mandated to submit a comprehensive plan of economic interventions for 2024 to the PECC, covering the next six months, for immediate implementation within two weeks of its inauguration.The EET will meet twice weekly and is composed of the following members: Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance (Chairman of the EET); Minister of Budget and Economic Planning; Minister of Power; Minister of Agriculture and Food Security; Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare; and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.Others include: Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; National Security Adviser; Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum; Governor of Anambra State; Governor of Ogun State; Governor of Niger State; Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service; Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation; GCEO, NNPC Limited; Director-General, Nigeria Economic Summit Group; Special Adviser to the President on Energy; Dr. Bismarck Rewane, Economist; and Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa, Economist.The Economic Management Team, established in October 2023, and chaired by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, serves as the working group under the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC), playing a crucial role in the economic governance structure established by the President. The EMT traditionally meets monthly or as required, but will now suspend its meetings for the duration of the EET’s mandate (six months).The EMT is composed of the following officials: Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance (EMT Chairman); Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy; Minister of Works; Minister of Labour and Employment; and Minister of Agriculture and Food Security.Other officials include: Minister of State, Petroleum Resources; Minister of State, Gas; Minister of Power; Minister of Transportation; Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development; and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.The Chairman of the EMT may, as needed, call on any Federal Minister or Head of Agency to brief the EMT on key programmes and developments affecting the economy.The President’s formation of the PECC, under his Chairmanship, alongside the creation of the EET, led by the Chairman of the EMT, and the EMT itself, is the manifestation of a unified strategy aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s economic management architecture for verifiably improved performance. The formation of these teams will complement existing economic governance structures, including the National Economic Council (NEC), which is chaired by the Vice-President.Over the next six months EET will focus on the rapid implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of critical initiatives, strengthening the Tinubu-led administration’s collective approach to advancing Nigeria’s economic objectives.

Continue Reading

COVER

North-East Region Loses  $6.7bn to Insurgency — Zulum

Published

on

Share

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum has revealed that the North Eastern states lost $6.7billion to insurgency.

He stated this during a visit to the Director-General, Nigeria Country Department of African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr Lamin Barrow in Abuja.

Zulum made the assertion while commending AfDB on the implementation of its $65.

75million Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme (IBSDLEIP) to ameliorate insurgency.

Currently, IBSDLEIP is implemented in the North East states of Bauchi, Borno, Adamawa, Gombe and Taraba.

Zulum said the root driver of insurgency in the state was hunger and the initiative focuses on providing basic amenities that would reintegrate the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) into the society.

He said, “First and foremost, I want to commend the bank on the successes so far recorded in the implementation of the Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme in Borno State.

“The insurgency in Borno has triggered acute humanitarian and livelihood crises, devastating the economic activities of our populace, with the root cause to be poverty and lack of basic infrastructure.

“An outcome of the recovery and peacebuilding assessment of the impact of insurgency revealed that over 6.7 billion dollars were lost to insurgency, out of which Borno state accounted for two-thirds of the amount.

“The implementation of the Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme has helped us in addressing some of the humanitarian, livelihood and infrastructural problems arising from Boko Haram Insurgency in the State.”

Zulum expressed the state’s readiness to abide by the set rules and regulations of the bank, adding that, “We are ready to abide by the project procurement processes and implementation guidelines of the bank and we are also committed to working with the bank’s team and other stakeholders to ensure the completion of the project.”

Responding, AfDB’s Director-General expressed the continued commitment of the bank to support the reintegration of the displaced population in the state and improve the livelihoods of the people.

Barrow said, “We want to commend the Governor for his visionary and hands-on leadership style. We reassure him and the state of the commitment and continued support of the bank in improving the livelihoods and quality of life of the people of Borno State.”

Continue Reading

Read Our ePaper

Top Stories

NEWS16 hours ago

FCT HOS: Why President Tinubu Extends Atang’s Tenure By 6 Months

ShareBy Laide Akinboade, AbujaPresident Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has approved the extension of Atang Udo Samuel, as the the Head of...

NEWS16 hours ago

FGGC Benin Emerges Winner of 2023 National Senior Secondary Schools’ Debate

ShareBy Tony Obiechina, AbujaThe Federal Government Girls College, Benin has emerged overall winner of the 2023 National Senior Secondary Schools’...

NEWS16 hours ago

We’re Meeting Our Targets on Airport -Kuje Road Construction – Wike

ShareBy Laide Akinboade, AbujaThe Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, haom Wednesday,  expressed satisfaction with the...

NEWS16 hours ago

Osun to Partner FG on Culture, Tourism Development

ShareFrom Kunle IdowuGovernor Ademola Adeleke has secured a partnership deal with the Ministry of Tourism on the development of tourism...

POLITICS17 hours ago

I Didn’t Call for Ganduje’s Resignation – Alia

ShareFrom Attah Ede, MakurdiGovernor Hyacinth Alia of Benue has denied calling for the resignation of Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, the All...

POLITICS17 hours ago

Mutfwang Meets PDP North Central Leadership Calls for Unity among Officials

ShareFrom Jude Dangwam, JosThe Executive Governor of Plateau State, Barrister Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang has called for unity a purpose among...

POLITICS17 hours ago

FG Seeks Swedish Govt Support on Technical Education

ShareBy Tony Obiechina, Abuja The Federal Government is seeking the support of the Swedish Government to help drive its ongoing...

Metro17 hours ago

FG Declares March 29, April 1, Public Holiday to Mark Easter Celebration

ShareThe Federal Government has declared Friday, March 29, and Monday, April 1, as public holidays to mark the Easter celebration.This...

NEWS17 hours ago

Nigeria Prepared to Expedite Sustainable Dev’t in Collaboration with Partners — Tinubu

SharePresident Bola Tinubu yesterday said his administration is committed to deepening democracy by ensuring adherence to the rule of law...

NEWS17 hours ago

Police Engage Bandits in Gun Battle, Kill two, Arrest One in Benue

ShareFrom Attah Ede, Makurdi Men of the Benue State Police Command yesterday engaged bandits in gun duel in Mba-Mtsar village,...

Copyright © 2021 Daily Asset Limited | Powered by ObajeSoft Inc