An Australian-based Nigerian engineer, Olaoluwa Dawodu, has applauded President Bola Tinubu for what he described as a bold and necessary overhaul of the nation’s security leadership.

Dawodu, a Chartered Engineer from Isan-Ekiti who specialises in Mechanical Design, Maintenance, Reliability, and Projects, said the President’s decision to reshuffle the top hierarchy of the Armed Forces was “a step in the right direction towards strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture.”

In a statement reacting to the development, Dawodu commended Tinubu for what he called “the much-needed changes,” urging the President to set measurable performance targets and timelines for the newly appointed Service Chiefs.

He also advised the President to relieve any officer who fails to meet the set benchmarks, adding that accountability and results should be the guiding principles of the administration’s security policy.

While congratulating the new Service Chiefs, the engineer charged them to “justify the confidence reposed in them by enhancing professionalism, vigilance, unity, and comradeship within the Armed Forces as they serve the nation with honour.”

Dawodu, who is widely known for his philanthropic contributions, said Nigerians expect tangible results in the fight against insecurity, noting that the reforms would only make an impact if they translate to improved safety across the country.

President Tinubu recently approved major changes in the security sector, sacking General Christopher Musa as Chief of Defence Staff and replacing him with Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, the immediate past Chief of Army Staff.

Also affected in the shake-up were the Chiefs of Army, Navy, and Air Force. General Waidi Shaibu was appointed Chief of Army Staff, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas became Chief of Naval Staff, while Air Vice Marshal S.K. Aneke replaced Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar as Chief of Air Staff.

The President, however, retained Major General E.A.P. Undiendeye as Chief of Defence Intelligence.

The appointments, announced in a statement by presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare, came weeks after the reported arrest of 16 senior soldiers over an alleged coup plot, although the Presidency did not link the changes to the incident.

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The Presidency boasted that the ruling political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has the majority of lawmakers in the Red Chamber, thereby making it impossible for the minority to have their way.

DAILY POST reported that Senators across party lines, on Wednesday, stormed out of plenary, calling for the impeachment of Buhari, as well as the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan over the increasing rate of insecurity in Nigeria.

But Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, played down the possibilities of his principal being impeached.

Speaking on Channels Television in reaction to the move, which is still very much in its early stage, Adesina said, “The National Assembly has a self-regulatory mechanism. It is so composed that minorities can’t have their way.

“They cannot force it down the throats of the majority and fortunately, in those Chambers, we have sensible people who will say ‘No, it’s true we have insecurity in the country and the President is doing his best, so let us continue to encourage the security agencies to do better.’

“Mr. President is not going to wave a magic wand to solve the security issues. No one has such a magic wand. It is something that would be done methodically.

“It’s something that will be done systematically… It’s not going to be by magic wand. There’s no magic wand to solve this kind of problem.”

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DAILY POST had reported that Abdulsalami was reportedly flown out of Nigeria for medical treatment.

The retired Army General was said to have suffered a partial stroke.

He was first flown to a hospital in the United Kingdom (UK).

Writing on his Twitter page on Monday, Shehu confirmed that Abubakar is out of hospital and there was no cause for alarm.

“Alhamdu Lillahi for Allah’s mercy.

“I just ended a visit to His Excellency Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Head of State.

“He is out of hospital in a London apartment and apparently in no serious condition.

“He was his jovial self, maintaining a keen interest in developments back at home in Nigeria. Please, no cause for alarm.”

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It will be recalled that Governor Akeredolu on Monday in a statement ordered Herdsmen to vacate all forest reserves in the state and also outlawed Under-age grazing, Night-grazing and also banned the movement of Cattle within the cities and highways of the state.

Akeredolu’s order was in response to the killings and kidnappings happening in the state, which have largely been blamed on Fulani herdsmen through reported stories of victims and survivors of their brutality.

However, the Presidency, through the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu on Tuesday condemned this order, insisting that the Governor should not enforce such .

Speaking to newsmen on Tuesday, the group’s publicist, Oluwatosin Akinbulumo informed that the leadership of the network and all her members are in total support of the governor’s order as it is a sacred steps towards ensuring the safety of residents of the state and their properties.

“Our forests have become haven to evil kidnappers and one of the deadliest terrorist group in the world causing great havoc on innocent citizens of the state and commuters. The governor’s order is a welcome development which will serve as a pedestal towards the cleansing of our forest off these demonic agents.

“As a development-oriented youth group, we believe assured security is an important catalyst for growth and sustainability, and we can’t afford to fold our hands and allow some evil agents jeopardize the peace and tranquility we enjoy in Ondo State”, he said.

Speaking further, Oluwatosin stated that the youth group is ready to mobilize young men and women of the state to defend the borders of the state if the State Government is cowed by the Presidency and end up not enforcing the earlier announced order.

He added, “We will not hesitate to mobilize heavily to confront these killers masquerading as herdsmen if the Governor refuse to ‘do the talk’, and ensure they vacate our forest and highways within the seven days ultimatum announced by the Governor”.

The group’s mouthpiece also encouraged other State Governors in Southwest to follow in the path of Governor Akeredolu.

“These herdsmen are all over Southwest, from Saki in Oyo State to Shagamu in Ogun State, they are everywhere and have found refuge in our forest reserves from where they perpetrate the heinous acts causing havoc on our people. Our Governors must unite to ensure the peace we enjoy in Southwest remain nonnegotiable”, he continued.

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Mr Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity stated this.

Shehu commented  few days after US authorities announced charges against 80 people, most of which are Nigerians, in a wide-ranging fraud and money laundering operation that netted millions of dollars from victims of internet con jobs.

Responding , Mr Garba Shehu who was a guest on Channels Television, which was monitored by Mega Icon Magazine,  informed that the present administration will work with all nations around the globe to fight criminality.

“The government will generate and ask for new laws from the National Assembly and there will be new executive orders that will block some of these loop holes that have been exploited by our fellow country men to go out there and embarrass and black paint the country”.

The Buhari’s  media aide stressed, “Every citizen of this country who travels out of the country, is required to obey the laws of their host countries,” adding that “the government would not stand in the way of the justice system.”

He added that President Buhari is not one to excuse Nigerians from obeying laws of the country in which they reside.

Speaking about the negative impact and stigma which the recent bust by the FBI might have, Mr Shehu said, “The action of a single Nigerian is not the action of all Nigerians”.

Meanwhile, he averred  that Nigerians are hardworking and honest people, and as such cannot all be termed fraudulent just because of the misdeeds of a very few.

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Obasanjo, in his latest letter had cautioned Buhari on the need for drastic action to tackle insecurity if the nation must remain a united one.

The former president also called for a gathering of various ethnic groups in the country to deliberate on how to live peacefully with one another.

Reacting, the senior special assistant to President Buhari on media and publicity, Garba Shehu said those aggrieved with the present structure of the nation should approach the National Assembly.

Featuring on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, he said: “To call for a national conference when there is a sitting Parliament in place, whoever is making that call is not a democrat.”

Shehu also insisted that the government in which he serves, was on top of the security situation in the country.

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Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang issued the warning while addressing State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja after meeting with the President.

Enang, while congratulating the President and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said those celebrating the success should be modest so as not to anger the opposition.

He said, “Let me, first of all, congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the victory as president and vice president on the Next Level and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“What we as a government and a people should do is to ensure that our statements, our actions, our celebrations and our reaction to those who lost should be tempered, temperate, measured, humble and such that are not capable of inciting the other party to anger.”

Enang also called on those who won as senators and members of the House of Representatives to talk to their followers to speak less and work more to bring about unity and integration of those who have lost.

He said: “The real winners in this election are the Nigerian voters; and we are conscious that about 11 million people voted for the other party while 15 million voted for our party.

“For the incoming members of the National Assembly, first, for the members who have been re-elected; first as Senators and members of the House of Representatives is to congratulate them; for those who are elected new and are coming in, we congratulate and welcome them.

“We are praying that their actions should also be conciliatory. In the next election we are going in on March 9, next week, we should look at as a party and as a government, the areas and the pitfalls and address them so that there would be peaceful election.

“I will advise that all those who are going for the election, campaigning, the governorship candidates and the House of Assembly candidates who are going in for the elections, they should also measure their campaign words and they should maintain peace better than was maintained in the presidential and National Assembly elections.

“Finally, I will urge the opposition party which has lost the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to be measured in their statements and reactions and their decisions. If they have grievance, let pursue the appropriate constitutional channel of a petition.”

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Umar said he was only answerable to the Presidency.

Umar said this while maintaining that he would not answer a query the Federal Judicial Service Commission, FJSC, issued to get his reaction to a petition accusing him of engaging in reckless abuse of judicial powers.

It will be recalled that the National Judicial Council, NJC, had on January 29, disclosed that it forwarded a petition that a group under the platform of Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative, lodged against the CCT boss, to the FJSC.

The group alleged that Umar abused the judicial process by granting an ex-parte order for Justice Onnoghen, who has not been convicted, to be removed from office.

President Muhammadu Buhari had relied on the said ex-parte order that was dated January 23, and swore-in the next most senior jurist of the Supreme Court, Justice Tanko Muhammad, to take over as the Acting CJN.

The NJC, at the end of its emergency meeting, said it was convinced that the FJSC was the appropriate constitutional body empowered to deal with issues the petitioner raised against Umar. Upon receiving the petition, the FJSC, directed the CCT boss to respond to allegations against him.

Meanwhile, in his response dated February 6, 2019, and marked CCT/HQ/FJSC/S/01, Umar contended that neither the FJSC nor the NJC, had the constitutional powers to query his actions.

Insisting that he is not a judicial officer, Umar said he could only be called to account by President Buhari. He stressed that unlike judicial officers, members of the CCT, at the time of their inauguration, take official oaths and not judicial oaths.

According to him, “With regard to the prayer of the petitioner for an appropriate sanction against the chairman, it is important to note that the chairman and members of the tribunal, not being judicial officers, are not constitutionally subject to any disciplinary proceedings by either the National Judicial Council or the Federal Judicial Service Commission but the Presidency.

“The petitioner alleged that judicial oaths were breached and that the National Judicial Council should consider appropriate sanctions. It is to be noted that the chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal are not judicial officers.

“This is predicated on the fact that the chairman and members of the tribunal, during swearing-in, only subscribe to official oaths and not judicial oaths. Therefore, not being a judicial officer, I did not subscribe to judicial oaths as alleged.”

Besides, Umar, maintained that it was within his powers to grant the ex-parte order that led to Onnoghen’s suspension.

He, however, declined to make further comments on the issue he said had turned subjudice since the Court of Appeal was already seized with facts of the matter.

To further justify his position, Umar, adduced a letter dated May 18, 2015, which was signed by the then CJN and Chairman of the NJC, Justice Mahmud Mohammed.
The letter marked NJC/CIR/HOC/1/74, had specifically barred members of the CCT from referring to themselves as Justices

The then CJN, noted that going by provisions of Paragraph 15 (1 and 2) of Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, members of the CCT panel could not be regarded as judges.

“From the foregoing provisions, no member, including the chairman of the CCT on appointment, is a judicial officer as defined in Section 318 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended unless he or she has held office as a judge of the superior court of record in Nigeria”, the letter added.

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The students’ Union body disclosed this in a statement signed by Mr Adeyemi Amoo, it’s National Public Relations Officer (PRO), and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.

Amoo called on Nigerian students to discountenance the allegations by ASUU, saying that the association was ready to protect the interest of all the students.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari, who is a known person in character and style to virtually all Nigerians, would never dole out such amount of money for any reason, which would not be of any national benefits or developments.

President Buhari on January 3, met with the leadership of the Nigerian Students to resolve issues with ASUU.

The meeting centred on ways to smoothen unresolved issues that led to the industrial action.

“Our attention has been drawn to the purported and sponsored allegation, that NANS had been bribed by President Muhammadu Buhari with a whooping sum of N150million to protest against ASUU.

“We commend the well meaning, intellectual and genuine civil society groups for not falling cheap for this blackmail, as we’ve gotten informed and reliably that they’ve also been lobbied by ASUU to join them in pushing such blackmail.

“We are not surprised that this blackmail isn’t flying beyond the pseudo groups they’ve been able to arrange and mobilise with cash.

“President Muhammadu Buhari, is a known person in character and style to virtually all Nigerians, even the oppositions knows that Buhari will never give out such amount of money for any reason(s) that is not of national benefits or developments.

”No doubt this propaganda might have seen the acceptance of the masses if it wasn’t targeted towards Buhari himself.”

Amoo explained that NANS had earlier declared November 17, 2018 as a nationwide day of mass action tagged: “SAVE EDUCATION RALLY ” held simultaneously across the states of the federation, to protest the incessant strikes across universities, polytechnics and colleges of Education.

He added that in October 2018, NANS national leadership, met with the Minister for Education, to fine-tune ways of putting a long term end to the regular carnival of strikes in the educational sector.

“We thereby demanded as the major stakeholders in the sectors, to always have representatives at the meeting of ASUU with Federal Government, as this was targeted towards adding to the strength and voice of ASUU, so as to make government yield to there demands in time.

“The Federal Government on her own side sees the request of been an observer at the negotiation table with ASUU as a welcome development.

“NANS was invited twice to the meeting of Federal Government with ASUU, ably represented by the NANS national president, Danielson Akpan, but was walked out twice by the ASUU leadership, insisting that such negotiations must not be done in the presence of younger ones.

“NANS leadership begins to wonder what reasons might be behind the blind insistence of ASUU that NANS must not observe the meeting, when the Federal Government has wholeheartedly approved our attendance at such meetings.”

Amoo said the NANS leadership, ordinarily would have informed the students and the general public on this actions by ASUU, but decided not to give room for the government, to see the actions as an advantage to blackmail the ASUU.

He added that NANS after exhausting all means, resolved to issue an ultimatum to the Federal Government and ASUU to return to negotiation table to urgently safe students from getting involved or addicted to various forms of social vices.

According to him, NANS, in the course of getting things resolved urgently, sorted an audience with president Muhammadu Buhari, which was granted and held on January 3 at the presidential villa.

“At the meeting, NANS appealed to president Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency resolve the ASUU strike, for him not to loose the support of over 20million Nigerian students.

“This was the statement of the NANS president at the meeting as against the cheap blackmail that NANS has assured Buhari of mobilising 20million votes for him.

“NANS, therefore, uses this medium to inform Nigerian students and Nigerians at large, that its leadership will not, has not and will not for any reason sell the interest and integrity of our dear organisation.

“We want to tell ASUU that NANS is not for sell, we have not and will not turn our struggles to source of empowerment,” he said.

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Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, posted the clip on his page.

In the short audio released by Omokri on his twitter page, Amaechi was allegedly heard saying Buhari does not listen to complaints of Nigerians, nor read comments concerning his administration.

“The President does not listen to anybody. Does he even read,” Amaechi allegedly said.

The former presidential spokesman wrote: “Nigerians hear the audio of Rotimi Amaechi’s conversation, they may weep. The man has no iota of respect for Buhari.

“In fact, he hero worshipped former President Obasanjo in the tape and said he is the only worthy Nigerian leader. They know the truth, but hide it!”

Omokri further threatened to release more audio of Amaechi criticizing Buhari if the minister does not own up to the statement.

However, Ogunlesi has taken to his Twitter page, to claim that the recording is from 2014 and was in fact, directed towards Jonathan.

“Audio from 2014 or so. At the height of Amaechi’s fight with GEJ.

“In the (paraphrased) words of Victor AD – WETIN YOU GAIN #DubaiStrategy,” Ogunlesi wrote.

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