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Tag: President Bola Tinubu

  • FG vetting candidates for ambassadorial posts, 18 months after recall — Report

    FG vetting candidates for ambassadorial posts, 18 months after recall — Report

    Nearly two years after President Bola Tinubu recalled all ambassadors, their replacements are expected to be announced “very soon”.

    Citing sources familiar with the development, Reuters reports that the federal government has commenced the vetting of potential candidates.

    An intelligence official added that background checks were being conducted on possible appointees, with information garnered from the screening shared with relevant agencies within the presidency and legislature.

    Tinubu recalled all career and non-career ambassadors in September 2023, barely six months after the start of his presidency.

    The president has since appointed consuls-general and chargés d’affaires, but there has been no mention of when the successors of the recalled ambassadors will assume office.

    This was despite the president receiving multiple letters of credence from other foreign ambassadors posted to Nigeria.

    Foreign officials and other stakeholders had expressed concern at the void in diplomatic leadership at various foreign missions.

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, blamed the delay in appointing ambassadors on a lack of funds.

    A government source told Reuters that the issue “is being resolved” and “that means the appointments will be announced very soon”.

    The federal government has budgeted N302.4 billion for its foreign missions in 2025.

  • We’ll support expansion of banks to drive economic growth – Tinubu

    We’ll support expansion of banks to drive economic growth – Tinubu

    President Bola Tinubu says the current administration is diligently working to establish a sustainable and globally competitive system for Nigerian banks and other financial institutions to thrive.

    Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said this at the groundbreaking ceremony for First Bank’s 43-story headquarters at Eko Atlantic City on Wednesday in Lagos.

    The President noted that banks could only prosper in a thriving economy.

    He said what the current administration had set out to achieve rests on the cooperation and capacity of the financial institutions.

    “Banks are the engines of economic growth, and we owe it to them to champion a system that guarantees sustainability and global competitiveness.

    “Our expectation is for our banks to excel, to expand beyond our shores, and to earn their place among the world’s most viable and profitable enterprises,” he said.

    According to him, the administration is ensuring an enabling environment for businesses to flourish.
    He acknowledged that the government assumed office during a challenging period, which required making difficult but necessary decisions to stabilise the nation’s economy.

    He said, “We assumed office at a time that demanded bold, progressive thinking, a time that called for difficult but necessary decisions to stabilise our fiscal and monetary landscape.

    “Our policies are inspired by the reality that we can no longer afford to postpone our economic transformation.

    “This administration is committed to creating an enabling environment for businesses to flourish, and I assure you that you have a partner in this government. We are here to climb the hills of progress with you.”
    The President commended First Bank for standing the test of time, saying the secret of the bank’s steadfastness, legacy of innovation and adaptability lies in the art of reinvention.

    “From the Bank of British West Africa to Standard Bank of West Africa and, finally, to this 130-year-old success story, First Bank has remained a towering institution, outliving disruptions and redefining banking through the decades.

    “In an industry where the fate of many banks is sealed in the dusty pages of history, surviving let alone thriving demands more than just calculated risks; it takes ambition, and the brilliance of refined minds.
    “I join you here today to celebrate a legacy of innovation and adaptability that has kept First Bank ahead of the curve,” he said.

    Other dignitaries at the event are Governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Lagos Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, and prominent business leaders, including Aliko Dangote, Gilbert and Roland Chagoury, Deji Adeleke, Mohammed Indimi, and Sen. Daisy Danjuma.

  • Omatseye narrates how Buhari plotted against Tinubu after securing 2nd term

    Omatseye narrates how Buhari plotted against Tinubu after securing 2nd term

    Veteran journalist and columnist Sam Omatseye has narrated how President Bola Tinubu’s relationship with his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, went sour before the former ascended power.

    Omatseye said Buhari and his cabals plotted against Tinubu because they did not want him to become president.

    Speaking on Edmund Obilo’s podcast State Affairs, the columnist said the ex-president didn’t want Tinubu to succeed him because he was afraid of the former Governor of Lagos State.

    “Buhari didn’t want him because he was afraid of him. The people around him didn’t want him. Remember that after Buhari became president, within a year, there was an estrangement between Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Muhammadu Buhari, and the story even went so far as to state that they wanted to remove his pass to the State House. That probably happened or didn’t happen. I’m not sure of that, but that was the level of the estrangement,” he said.

    According to Omatseye, when Buhari realized his second-term ambition may not be realized without Tinubu on his side, he became his friend again to secure his re-election.

    “He knew that if Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not come to his side, his desire for a second term would be difficult because the structure and the genius of Bola Tinubu might immobilize his capacity to get a second term. So he befriended him again for the second term. It was after the second term was guaranteed in an election that he decided to plot against him,” he narrated.

    Omatseye explained that the removal of Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was part of the plots against Tinubu.

    According to him, the removal of Oshiomhole, who was perceived to be Tinubu’s ally, was a ploy to take over the party structure and reduce Tinubu’s influence and power in the party.

    “One of the first things they did was to take over the party structure, that is, the party’s top brands, from him because he found that Adam Oshiomhole was his man. And if Adam Oshiomhole is the head of the party, it will be difficult.

    “It was not him alone. Some governors didn’t want that to happen; they didn’t want Asiwaju to still ride high in the party. Of course, the cabal around him and the men around Buhari didn’t want him. So they removed Oshiomhole,” he said.

  • Tinubu appoints CEO for mining corporation

    Tinubu appoints CEO for mining corporation

    President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Martins Imonitie as the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Mining Corporation.

    The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, made this known while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting on Monday.

    The minister disclosed that Imonitie is a mining finance expert from Australia, stressing that he will oversee the launch a mining corporation in the country.

    “We headhunted him from Western Australia, one of the biggest mining regions in the world. He has experience working with major global players, and he will drive this new initiative,” he said.

    Speaking on the ownership structure, Alake said the corporation’s equity structure will ensure minimal government interference, with 50 percent controlled by the private sector, 25 percent by the federal government, and 25 percent openned to Nigerian citizens.

    “It is designed so that after us, no government can interfere or inject political manipulation into its operations,” he added.

    The minister also said the Federal Government has no plan to establish a Solid Minerals Development Bank.

    He challenged private sector players to take the lead in setting up a specialised financial institution to support mining operations.

    “I never announced that the government will establish a Solid Minerals Development Bank. I threw the challenge to the private sector because once you allow government to set it up, you invite political interference”, he said.

  • Free Kanu in honour of Clerk, Adebanjo, others — SAN begs Tinubu

    Free Kanu in honour of Clerk, Adebanjo, others — SAN begs Tinubu

    President Bola Tinubu has been urged to free the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, in honor of deceased elder statesmen like Chief Edwin Clerk and Pa Ayo Adebanjo.

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr. Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, made the plea in a letter he forwarded to President Tinubu. He argued that Kanu is a product of a collective misunderstanding of some inevitable truths and political axioms.

    He further noted that Chief Clerk and Pa Adebanjo, as well as other late sages like Chief Mbazurike Amaechi, Prof. George Achulike Obiozo, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, and Chief Engr. Emmanuel Iwuanyawu, who spent their final years advocating for peace, unity, and national healing, requested Kanu’s release.

    “Their voices, though now silent, remain an enduring call for statesmanship and fairness,” the learned silk stated, adding that “Kanu is fast becoming a prisoner of conscience.”

    According to him, a sincere reflection on the antecedents and peculiar circumstances surrounding the emergence of the IPOB leader and his ordeals in the last seven years clearly shows that the Federal Government of Nigeria needs to reassess its strategy over what he termed a “national quagmire.”

    “Kanu is a product of our collective misunderstanding of some inevitable truths and political axioms, including That our Federalism (considering the inherent and different characters of the Peoples of Nigeria) is meant to comprehensively foster the growth and prosperity of Nigeria’s diverse Peoples within a harmonious framework of constituent communities.

    “It is not intended to serve as a mechanism for entrenching primordial hegemony by any particular group.

    “That it is an irony and hypocritical to be deceptively preaching ‘the indivisibility of Nigeria’ from a mindset that has a total disdain for anything healthy to the true federalism and nationhood of Nigeria where every sub-group ought to have a safe and founded sense of belonging.

    “To put it graphically, the indivisibility of Nigeria is not framed thought for an ethnic hegemony.

    “That the manifest selective preference for force and persecution over diplomacy and constructive dialogue in addressing critical national issues such as the case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu-calls for urgent reconsideration.

    “Sustainable nation-building is best achieved through engagement, consensus, and adherence to the Rule of Law. Patriotism is never founded on brutal force.

    “That it is a fundamental principle of the Rule of Law that a nation must uphold and enforce the pronouncements of its Courts and adhere to the rules and treaty obligations it has ratified. Any deviation from this standard undermines the integrity of the Courts and jeopardizes the nation’s credibility in the comity of nations.”

    He argued that, given the trajectory of Kanu’s trial, including his discharge by the Court of Appeal, “all that is left is for the political State actors to exercise the needed political will.”

    “Your Excellency, great leaders are not defined by their ability to suppress opposition but by their ability to unify, heal, and reconcile. The release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will not be a sign of weakness but a demonstration of political wisdom and statesmanship.

    “It presents an opportunity to turn a new page in Nigeria’s history that prioritizes peace, justice, and the collective well-being of all citizens,” Ume, SAN, who is a former Attorney-General of Imo State, added.

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  • Baptist Church to Tinubu: Nigerians are starving, act now

    Baptist Church to Tinubu: Nigerians are starving, act now

    ABUJA – The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Baptist Conference has issued an urgent call to President Bola Tinubu, urging his administration to take immediate action to address the growing hunger crisis plaguing millions of Nigerians.

    This appeal was made during the conference’s 10th-anniversary celebration in Abuja over the weekend, where church leaders condemned the stark contrast between the extravagant lifestyles of political elites and the daily struggles of ordinary citizens to afford basic necessities.

    Reverend Dr. Israel Akanji, President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, and Reverend Dr. Dogara Raphael Gwana, President of the FCT Baptist Conference, were among the key speakers at the event.

    Reverend Akanji stressed the urgent need for decisive government intervention, lamenting that many Nigerians are on the brink of starvation. He called for:

    Increased subsidies for education.

    Improved access to healthcare to reduce financial burdens.

    Support for farmers facing conflicts and natural disasters.

    “Many Nigerians are facing severe hunger and desperate circumstances. While we appreciate the government’s current measures, more needs to be done,” Akanji said.

    He further criticized the extravagant allowances of political leaders, stating that the growing wealth gap is causing deep frustration among the people.

    “Nigeria has the capacity to produce enough food to feed itself and even export to other nations. We must focus on inclusive policies that empower all citizens,” he added.

    Reverend Dr. Gwana, reflecting on the conference’s growth since its inception in 2015, highlighted its expansion to nearly 250 churches and over 200 pastors. He encouraged members to remain committed to church growth, missions, and social outreach.

    “Though we are only ten years old, we have achieved significant milestones. Our faith and dedication will continue to drive our impact in the years ahead,” he said.

    The event also recognized the pivotal role of women and youth in the church’s development.

    Pastor Saadatu Yashin, Director of the Baptist Women Missionary Union, emphasized the need to empower young believers and address societal issues like sexual harassment and gender inequality in leadership.

    “We are raising a generation that knows God, understands His Word, and lives responsibly. If young men truly understand the value of women, they will treat them with respect,” she stated.

    The conference concluded with a renewed call for unity, social responsibility, and immediate government action to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians.

  • We’re not ashamed of copying what works in other climes – TINUBU

    We’re not ashamed of copying what works in other climes – TINUBU

    President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in Abuja told an Airtel delegation led by its chairman, Sunil Bharti Mittal, that his administration is prepared to learn and not ashamed of copying what is working in other climes.

    The president also said the telecoms sector’s regulatory framework and operations would be reviewed to reflect global best practices, with a greater focus on protecting infrastructure.

    President Tinubu spoke at a meeting with an Airtel delegation led by Chairman Mittal at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The president, in a statement by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, was quoted as saying, “I am grateful for your openness, readiness, and confidence, which moved us very close to the prime minister of India. When he was here, we discussed things at length.

    “The entire ecosystem will be further examined, and if there is anything we can copy from India, we are ready to do so. We are prepared to learn. We are not ashamed of copying what is working in other climes.

    “It is for the good of all of us, and Nigeria is so critically important that we must give attention to those revolutionary intentions that can make business work. I am pro-business, and I will continue to be that. I can give you that assurance,” he said.

    The president noted that the tax reforms will create a more favourable climate for investors.

    “We will find a way to work with tax administrators to ensure that whatever we have to do, we will encourage growth and opportunities. We are ready to do that.”

    The Minister of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, thanked the President for consistently supporting the telecoms sector’s growth.

    Tijani said the approval by the president for the protection of fibre optic and undersea cables as critical national assets would further stimulate growth in the industry, assuring that the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) has started implementing and enforcing the law.

    The Chairman of Airtel commended the President for the two-pronged economic reforms that had transformed the economy for future growth.

    “When you took office, you made some promises. Given the country’s situation, I was unsure how deep and far you could take your commitments.

    “I am indeed reminded of 1991, when India was in a similar situation, and we were practically on our knees, having pledged 500,000 tons of gold to the Bank of England, and our vessel in Tokyo had been put up for sale.

    “During that time, the prime minister and his team took similar reforms to what you are taking now in Nigeria, and India has never seen better times after that.

    “The duties went down, the rupee was floated, and it depreciated significantly. Relicensing happened, and it was the dawn of a new world in India. We just moved forward,” he said.

    Mittal said the reforms turned India into one of the largest economies in the world.

    “I feel that what you have done here is unprecedented in a challenging time. Only people of resolve and steel can endure this huge pressure, floating the naira, which moved from N450 to about N1900 and is now coming back to N1400 to N1500.

    “It has been a remarkable achievement celebrated by the entire world. This was much required, and you delivered on your promises,” the Airtel chairman told President Tinubu.

    He also commended the removal of the petrol subsidy.

    “The second one was the removal of the subsidy, which was a very tough decision for any politician. It was unpopular and difficult, but you held your position, knowing fully that not doing it would not help the country.

    “You have taken a long-term position. It is my belief and hope that you have created a legacy for yourself. Your first term as president will mark a watershed in the development of your country.

    “This will be a turning point, and I would like to commend you for having held a firm position and taken the country forward,” he added.

    Mittal said more Nigerians should be encouraged to invest in the country, particularly those with huge financial portfolios abroad.

    “I have been speaking to people in Nigeria, friends and business people, and they are all now feeling calm, and when they start to get back, they will move very fast. I have experienced this in India,” he stated.

  • Aviation union to Tinubu: Settle unpaid Nigeria Airways workers

    Aviation union to Tinubu: Settle unpaid Nigeria Airways workers

    A union in the aviation sector, Joint Consultative and Negotiating Council, JCNC, has urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the outstanding payment of defunct Nigeria Airways workers.

    Chairman of JCNC, Mr Hector Nnadi, expressed sadness over the inability of some ex-Nigeria Airways staff to get their full entitlement 30 years after the national carrier was liquidated.

    In 2004, former President Olusegun Obasanjo liquidated Nigeria Airways following huge indebtedness.

    In 2018, the Federal Government approved the sum of N22.68 billion for the payment of retirement benefits to workers of the liquidated national airline.

    The amount approved by former President Muhammadu Buhari was about 50 per cent of the N45.3 billion total entitlement.

    In 2023, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, said the federal government was making arrangements to offset the last tranche of the monies owed.

    Speaking at the 11th edition of the Aviation Workers’ Week and Award Night, held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, Nnadi said it had not been paid.

    He said: “I would like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of our aviation workers, who strive day and night to ensure the safety, security, and efficiency of our aviation industry. Among these great veterans are the workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways, who gave their patriotic service to this nation but are still struggling to get their full entitlement after 30 years of liquidation.

    “We are sending an SOS to Mr President for his further intervention to conclude this over years challenge and become an aviation workers hero. The above is without prejudice to several efforts of theMinister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo.”

    Meanwhile, Keyamo also reaffirmed his commitment to unionism and the welfare of aviation workers at the event.

    The Minister, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Ibrahim Kana, mni, said unionism should not be antagonistic to progress but a protagonist for it.

    On his part, President of the Aviation Round, Air Commodore Ademola Ojuku, Table, in his good will message, commended the JCNC committee for its consistent effort in uniting aviation professionals annually to drive the industry’s progress.

  • Untitled post 8210

    ABUJA- CHAIRMAN, Senate Committee on South East Development Commission, SEDC, Senator Orji Kalu, APC, Abia North has taken a swipe at the recent book “A Journey in Service”, authored by former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, urging President Bola Tinubu to place picture of MKO Abiola among past Presidents.

    Answering questions from Journalists yesterday in Abuja, the former Abia State Governor who noted that the former Military President should call out the names of the Principal Actors that led to the annulment of the election widely adjudged as the freest, fairest, and most credible poll in the history of the country, that Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, said that since late Chief Moshood Abiola won the election, his picture should be placed among Nigeria’s past presidents.

    On the June 12 Election and Babangida’s Role, Senator Kalu said, “I look forward to the second edition of Babangida’s book because the first did not reveal all the realities. I was present during the events of June 12, and I know what happened. Babangida should call out the names of those responsible for preventing the election declaration. The coup in question was not an Igbo coup; it was a Nigerian coup, executed by the military. Moshood Abiola won that election, and there is no doubt about it.”
    On Recognizing Abiola’s Victory:

    Following the confession of Ibrahim Babangida, Kalu who appealed to President Tinubu to accord the Late Presidential Candidate Moshood Abiola full Presidential honours, urged Tinubu to swear in Abiola as the duly elected President of the June 12 , 1993 Presidential election in Postmortem and including the inclusion of his Presidential portrait among other Past Presidents of the Country.

    According to Kalu through such the Abiola family will be healed and compensated from the electoral tragedy which befell them and the nation.

    He said, “Since Abiola won, his picture should be placed among Nigeria’s past presidents. I commend former President Buhari for giving him a posthumous national honor, but I would also appeal to President Tinubu to officially recognize him and place his image where it belongs. This would help bring closure to his family.”

    Speaking further, Senator Orji has expressed confidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will complete his two terms in office considering the level of successes he recorded in bold economic, social and political policies.

    Giving more reasons why he believed that President Tinubu will win a second term in office in 2027, Kalu pointed out that the ruling Party the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) remains firm in its decision to cede its 2027 Presidential Ticket to Tinubu in line with the zoning arrangement to maintain a North-South power balance.

    Kalu who mentioned the economic reform Policies of the President which he said iis already delivering positive economic results, used the Manufacturing sector as an example Kalu stated that the cost of production had reduced to 18.5 percent from 23 percent which it was last year.

    Orji Kalu said; ” The good news is that we shall win again and President Tinubu will return.

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    “To be honest with you Asiwaju will win, many Presidents in Nigeria who have not done very well—I won’t call any names and they won their second term. We are appealing to Nigerians to support us.

    “We are not going to ruffle ourselves with the APC convention. We have only one Presidential candidate which is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    “In line with democratic ethics we are not looking for any other person or candidate but the problem of Nigeria is that you people don’t like to consolidate gains of reforms.

    Asking Nigerians to exercise more patience with the administration, Kalu who noted that the stability in the exchange rate is also another indication that the President’s reforms are yielding positive results, said, “It might be very difficult today, very hard and people are complaining but the reform is trickling down, somebody just told me this morning that the Dollar is 1490, so the reform is working but we should be patient.

    “I am a manufacturer and I can tell you that Manufacturing costs have gone up, last year it was 23 percent but early this year it has gone down to about 18.5 percent. You can confirm from the The Lagos Chamber Of Commerce And Industry (LCCCI) what I am giving you is the real fact.

    “I believe that there is hope in these reforms. It is difficult everywhere in the world but the most important thing is that initially they were done in a hurry now the President is taking time with his economic team and you can see that the President is making wilder consultations.”

    Kalu also thanked Babangida for erasing the false narrative that the Igbo Tribe orchestrated the 1966 coup events that led to the military mutiny that ousted the then civilian administration led by Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa.

    He said, “Because people are thinking that Babangida lied but I am very grateful the coup they called Igbo coup has been clarified , although I don’t need Babangida to tell me that the Coup was not executed by the Igbos , that is why I am a true Nigerian.

    “That coup was a Nigerian coup planned and executed by the Military and some people failed to do their job and their Igbos are bearing the brunt and that is not fair to the Igbos.”

  • Mixed feelings greet Tinubu’s policies in Ogoniland

    Mixed feelings greet Tinubu’s policies in Ogoniland

    The atmosphere in Ogoni turned sky-blue on Monday, February 3. It was a mixture of excitement and nostalgia. Excitement because, the Federal Executive Council, FEC, approved the establishment of a Federal University of Technology on Environment in Ogoni, after decades of brickbats.

    Nostalgia because many Ogonis feel that no matter what the government has done or will do in future, it will never bring back the lives of the Ogoni-13 including that of the rights crusader, Ken Saro-Wiwa who were merely asking for a good life for their people commensurate with their God-given economic potentials.

    Since 1993 when it came to the global spotlight for a very wrong reason, Ogoni has been a sad cynosure of all eyes. Several governments had come and gone but none has had the political will to pull the chestnut from the fire between the demands of the Ogoni people and the atrocities of Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, the principal culprits of the environmental disaster that has plagued that part of the country for several decades.

    Nevertheless, in just less than two years of his administration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has received more accolades for his boldness and genuine intentions to confront the challenges of the Ogoni kingdom with the zest and dexterity of a true human rights crusader.

    Penultimate week, when Ogoni leaders led by the Rivers state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara paid a visit to the President in the Villa, he instructed that the delegation should return home and carry out a comprehensive and extensive consultation with all the Ogoni people. President Tinubu has proved that diplomacy and lobbying could be the most needed panacea to achieve a targeted goal in any situation, no matter how long and how tense.

    Division in Ogoni

    The President has left no one in doubt that what the previous administrations could not achieve from 1993 till date by working out acceptable modalities by the concerned parties to allow for oil resumption in Ogoni, is very much possible with the best methodology. Hence, after the meeting in the Villa on January 21, a 4-man committee, with members selected from the five local government areas of Eleme, Tai, Oyingbo, Khana and Gokana, was set up to work out modalities for further consultations and advance a blueprint that would help in removing any grey area in the peace process.

    The setting up of that committee which is made of men of unquestionable integrity and character was devoid of politics and party affiliations. But the meeting that later took place in the Government House, Port Harcourt, a few days after the Abuja meeting, was almost scuttled by some individuals from Ogoni whose loyalty to their political leader (name withheld) is unwavering.

    Though the Port Harcourt meeting was held successfully with Governor Fubara making a vow that he would be committed to anything that would bring peace and harmony to Ogoni, those from the other political divide deliberately boycotted the meeting with the flimsy excuse that since they were not part of the Fubara government, the venue of the meeting should be relocated to somewhere else other than the Government House.

    Tinubu’s joker

    Joy resonated everywhere when the President signed into law the bill establishing the Federal University of Technology on Environment on Monday. “This project may not be the ultimate demand put forward by the Ogonis as a bargaining chip for oil resumption in the environmentally impoverished area, but it is a good step forward”, said Franklin Ntekim, former secretary of Obolo Youths Coalition, OYC.

    The establishment of the university followed two federal appointments that President Tinubu gave to two Ogoni sons: Senator Magnus Abe, chairman, National Agency for Great Green Wall and the South-South National Deputy Chairman of APC, Chief Victor Giadom as chairman, Nigerian Institute of Educational Planning and Administration. The gesture, though the right of every state of the federation, elicited excitement amongst the Ogonis. President Tinubu’s soothing balm also included the upward review of the contract sum of the age-long Bodo/Bonny 39km road project from N199 billion to about N280 Billion with the completion date set at December, 2025.

    MOSOP fumes

    The President of movement for the survival of Ogoni people, MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke however said “We have seen that President Tinubu has the will to right the wrongs of the past but we need not repeat the mistakes of the past, which could further throw Ogoni into crises. I wonder why the entire exercise should exclude the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). Secondly, there are legacy issues, including the demand to clear the names of the Ogoni 9, the demand for a fair share of the resources to be committed to Ogoni development, and the demand for the creation of a Bori State.

    “These are all issues we need to discuss and agree on so that we can smoothly progress in good alignment into implementation”.

    No resumption of oil production — Activist

    Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) argued that “Tinubu’s frontal policy of oil production resumption in Ogoniland is worrisome, decisive and problematic even for the administration and on this footing of putting the cart before the horse”. Fyneface doubted the possibility of achieving this in the next five years.

    He said, “One would have expected the President to start this process with a visit to Ogoniland, speak with the people and address some of the issues associated with why oil production was suspended in 1993 and then when these efforts are paying off with acceptance by the people after a considerable number of years, he will then seek to resume oil production”.

    He argued that approval of a Federal University was just an added advantage for the consultation process with the Ogoni but “not yet uhuru for oil to start flowing because the issues in the Ogoni Bill of Rights (OBR) as submitted in 1990 have not yet been addressed”.

    Oil war claims generation of Ogonis —Ngofa

    The former Nigerian Ambassador to The Netherlands, Chief Orji Ngofa while commending the efforts of President Tinubu so far, said whatever this administration has done in recent time to better the lot of Ogoni people, was just a “tokenism”. Ngofa regretted that a generation of Ogonis had been exterminated in the oil war thereby creating an atmosphere of distrust among the people. He added that “there must be a deliberate effort to make the Ogonis to buy-into the Nigerian state again.

    Anything short of that will be an exercise in futility”. The former Deputy National Secretary of the APC,

    however called on the Ogonis to unite and form a common front to deal with their existential problems and end the double vices of greed and selfish aggrandizement which can only balkanize their dream.

    He tasked the President to prove to the world that he has what it takes as an experienced human rights crusader to “write the wrongs of the past”, going forward.