National
Minister begs for suspension of nationwide protest
The Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Audu, has appealed to Nigerians to suspend the nationwide protest tagged ’Endbadgovernace’ against the current government.
Shuaibu made the call in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Lizzy Okoji, on Saturday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the protest, which commenced on Aug. 1, and is expected to end by Aug.10, was organised in response to the challenges being faced in the country.
The minister urged Nigerians to embrace dialogue in addressing all their concerns regarding the difficulties being faced in the country.
He also urged them to trust President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which is working assiduously to address the challenges in the country.
According to the minister, the policies and strategic plans of the current administration were aimed at driving Nigeria to economic prosperity, improved welfare, quality education and strengthen health systems.
He added that other policies were focused on improved social amenities, food security, and infrastructural development, among others.
He assured Nigerians that their desire for good governance would be achieved before the end of the current administration’s first tenure.
“Mr President has shown countless times, his concern for the plight of Nigerians, with the recent implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage for workers.
“Driving the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative with CNG vehicles to cushion the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy, which will reduce the cost of transportation by at least 70 per cent.
“In response to the challenges of the masses in the face of the ongoing reforms, President Tinubu directed the disbursement of N50,000 uplift grants each to over 100,000 families per state for three months.
“This will impact close to 5,000,000 families nationwide. My colleague, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, with the directive of Mr President, has assured Nigerians that food prices will crash in 180 days.
“These are strategic measures aimed at addressing the high food prices currently affecting the nation being implemented,” he said .
Audu said that 250,000 metric tonnes of wheat and 250,000 metric tonnes of maize were being imported, which would be supplied to small-scale processors and millers across the country.
He further explained that, in strengthening the health sector, the president had directed the redesign of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, aimed at facilitating access to quality and affordable healthcare services.
“In the steel sector, the ongoing reforms to revive our steel plants will create over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs, while we attract Foreign Direct Investments as a means of growing and diversifying the economy,” he said.
The minister appealed to Nigerians to end the protest, citing its hijack by miscreants, who were already causing mayhem and a breakdown of law and order across the country.
He commended the people of Kogi for not participating in the protest, saying they instead, resorted to dialogue and collaborative efforts with the All Progressive Congress (APC)-led government of the state.(NAN
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.