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CAN Says Tinubu On Right Tract, Calls For Perseverance
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says the administration of President Bola Tinubu has taken the right steps towards repositioning the country.
Archbishop Daniel Okoh, President of CAN, made this known while speaking with State House Correspondents after a meeting with Tinubu on Monday in Abuja.
He said that the visit was to congratulate the President for the electoral victory in the 2023 election and to pledge their support for the administration.
Okoh said that Tinubu has shown that he is sensitive to the feelings of Nigerians, adding that Nigerians should be more patient with his various reforms.
“Sincerely, what we found out is that the President is actually sensitive to all these challenges that we have. He’s aware, and we see him making very positive steps, even from the beginning of his administration.
“He has come with a great sense of inclusiveness. And Nigerians are having a sense of belonging as Nigerians and in this government. And I tell you that his pronouncements so far, and his body language has increased the confidence of Nigerians in Nigeria.
“And we believe that, given the chance, he will do a lot more. And we are praying that the Lord will strenghten his hands to be able to do more and turn around the fortunes of this country,” he said.
Okoh called on Nigerians to continue to persevere with the current challenges, saying, “this is just the beginning of this administration, and Nigeria is big and what we face now started not just today”.
He said that these challenges would take awhile to rectify, stressing that the President was already taking steps to reverse the ugly trend.
“So, we ask Nigerians who are watching and those people who seem to have lost hope, to not lose hope, but to have patience and persevere. Though it is night, we know that a new dawn is just in the horizon.”
He urged the President to continue with the path he has chosen to steer the ship of leadership through inclusiveness and openness.
Okoh said the president has pledged to continue dialogue and engage with all stakeholders to make Nigeria great again in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration.
“So, we believe that now we have a listening president. And we urge him to continue on that path. And to continue to always look out for those who mean well for this nation, and put them into good use.”
General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, has assured that all security challenges facing the nation will be effectively addressed by the year’s end.
This statement was made during the launch of attack drones and the demonstration of locally produced bombs, developed by a homegrown technology firm.
The event was attended by security specialists and senior government officials, as General Musa showcased the indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to the audience.
Accompanied by Ajao Adewale, the Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, and Caleb Mutfwang, the Governor of Plateau State, General Musa emphasized the ongoing bureaucratic obstacles in acquiring military equipment from abroad.
Governor Mutfwang stressed the urgency for decisive measures against insecurity, calling on leaders to prevent any entity within the nation from possessing military capabilities.
The operational features of the UAVs were also demonstrated, with General Musa expressing satisfaction with this advancement, labeling it a pivotal step in combating insecurity in the country.
The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Abure National Chairman of the LP having earlier found that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
It held that issue of leadership was internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.
The court allowed the appeal filed by Senator Ester Nenadi Usman and one other and held that it was meritorious.
It proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the LP got being unmeritorious.
Details shortly…
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, special adviser on political matters to Vice-President Kashim Shettima, has resigned from his position, According to Daily Trust.
The newspaper quoted sources as saying that the former spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) resigned two weeks ago.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Baba-Ahmed as special adviser on political matters to Shettima in September 2023.
Baba-Ahmed is the elder sibling of Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election.
Baba-Ahmed served as chief of staff to Bukola Saraki, former senate president, from 2017-2019.
CONFRONTATION WITH MATAWALLE OVER NEF
In April 2024, Bello Matawalle, minister of state for defence, described the NEF as a “political paperweight” after the group stated that the north made a mistake voting Tinubu in 2023.
In his reaction to Matawalle’s remarks, Baba-Ahmed said it would have served the Tinubu administration better if Matawalle had listed his achievements as minister — and the achievements of the other northern appointees — instead of attacking NEF.
“Scathing criticism of NEF by a junior minister of defence, Matawalle, is ill-advised. He could have done a better job for this admin if he identified contributions of especially northern ministers and other appointees like me to improving security and reducing poverty in the North,” Baba-Ahmed said.
In a riposte, the minister said any appointee must defend and promote the administration they work for.
“Dr. Baba-Ahmed’s relationship and affinity with Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) is well-known,” Matawalle said.
“The fact now is that he is an appointee of the administration as Special Adviser and it is incumbent on him to work for the success of the government he is part of, protect and defend the government against unjust and vicious attacks from those who hide under ethnic and other primordial interests to heat up the polity for myopic reasons.
“It is pertinent to state that every appointee of President Tinubu including Dr. Baba-Ahmed owes the government a copious duty to promote, elucidate and advance the good works and commendable efforts of the government across all sectors.”
He added that northern appointees must defend the government or take their exit.
Matawalle is a native of Zamfara while Baba-Ahmed hails from Kaduna.