THE Presidency has denied the allegation that the current administration is favouring the South West at the expense of other regions in terms of appointments in the security sector. After the appointment of Major General Olufemi Oluyede as Acting Chief of Army Staff, many persons, especially on Social Media, accused President Bola Tinubu of “Yorubanisation”, a term which losely interprets as favouring the Yoruba. Oluyede was appointed to stand in for General Tahoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff, who has been away from the country treating an undisclosed ailment. Some Nigerian had argued that there were equally competent generals who…
Author: Abdullahi Maitama Sani
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AMID the controversy trailing the tax reform bills, President Bola Tinubu said the document should not be withdrawn from the National Assembly. The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement, Friday. He rather explained that the bill should go through the legislative process. According to the statement, President Bola Tinubu “received the National Economic Council’s recommendation that the tax reform bills already sent to the National Assembly be withdrawn for further consultation.” Tinubu also commended the National Economic Council members, especially Vice President Kashim Shettima and the 36 State Governors, for…
THE Senate has reconstituted its adhoc committee to Investigate the alleged economic Sabotage in the nation’s petroleum industry. The Senate, presided over by the Deputy President, Senator Barau Jibrin, announced these decisions during plenary after the Leader of the Senate/Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, sponsored a motion on the need for the two chambers to jointly conduct the oil probe. In his motion, the senate leader observed that the House of Representatives had debated on the same subject and also constituted its ad-hoc committee to investigate it. He observed that there “is a need for the ad-hoc…
THE Presidency has said contrary to job loss fears and perceived marginalisation of the North, the tax reform bills currently before the national assembly will benefit all states and harmonise the country’s tax laws for greater efficiency. It said it became necessary to address the misunderstandings and misgivings around the tax reform already embarked upon by the administration following a meeting of the Northern Governors last Monday. The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, argued this in an explainer titled, ‘Explainer: Proposed tax reform bills not against the north; they will benefit all states’ on…
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Major General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede as the acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS). This was disclosed in statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Wednesday. According to the statement, Oluyede will act in the position pending the return of the indisposed substantive Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja. See full statement below: STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE President Tinubu appoints Major General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede as acting Chief of Army Staff President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, has appointed Major General Olufemi…
SENATE President, Godswill Akpabio cautioned Senator Osita Ngwu for praising the beauty of Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu during a ministerial screening on the floor of the upper legislative chamber on Wednesday. Bianca, like six other ministerial nominees screened by the Senate, read her credentials before the red chamber and was subsequently quizzed by the lawmakers. She was screened for the post of Minister of State Foreign Affairs. When Akpabio opened the floor for questions, Ngwu, who currently serves as the Senator representing Enugu West District in the 10th National Assembly, started by applauding Bianca’s beauty to which he attracted a rebuke. “Mr…
THE Senate has begun the screening of seven ministerial nominees named last Wednesday by President Bola Tinubu. The screening exercised was held at the red chamber on Wednesday after it was postponed on Tuesday. The upper legislative house began with Nentawe Yilwatda, the nominee appointed to replace Betta Edu as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction. The Senate suspended its rule to admit the ministerial nominees. Other appointees for screening are Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu nominated as the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi nominated as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Jumoke Oduwole nominated as the Minister of…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu believes the naira for crude transactions will stabilise the oil sector. Tinubu said this on Tuesday in a review meeting with the Implementation Committee on the Naira-based sales of crude oil and refined products. “Whatever solution we proffer in crude oil and refined products sales in Naira should not take us back to our experience in the last 40 years,” presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga quoted his principal as saying in a Tuesday statement. “There can be cost and revenue adjustment in the oil sector, but the issue is that the government will not have to go back…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has received a call from President Joe Biden of the United States of America. The phone discussion which took place at about 4pm, Nigerian time, on Tuesday, lasted for about 30 minutes. This was disclosed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, while briefing state House Correspondents about the development. The discussion centered about the recent release of the Head of Finance Crime compliance at Binance, Tigran Gambaryan. Tuggar said, “The call was about the collaboration between the two countries with regards to law enforcement and law enforcement agencies as well as the release of…
PRESIDENT of the Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote, has said his refinery is the solution to the lingering fuel queues across the nation. Speaking with State House Correspondents, on Tuesday, Africa’s richest man asked the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and marketers across the country to stop importation of fuel. Dangote, flanked by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun and the special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that at full capacity his refinery can supply whatever is being consumed. “What I estimated as our consumption daily is about…
THE Presidency has postponed the screening of seven ministerial nominees “to allow all nominees to conclude all aspects of documentation and pre-screening exercises”. The screening exercise was initially scheduled to be held on Tuesday on the floor of the Senate but the Presidency said the exercise has now been shifted to Wednesday noon. This was contained in a statement on Tuesday signed by Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Senate Matters, Basheer Lado made available to News Point Nigeria. Last Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu sacked five ministers, re-assigned 10 ministers to new ministerial portfolios and appointed seven new ministers for…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu wants the speed up repair works and restore power to the northern part of Nigeria. The north has been thrown into a blackout following the vandalism of some transmission lines, raising concerns among stakeholders in the region and beyond. But President Tinubu has directed the Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu and “relevant agencies to speed up the pace of work to restore electricity to all the affected states in the North”. “President Tinubu is saddened by the reports of vandalism and wilful destruction of power infrastructure and other public assets that caused the unfortunate blackout. “In a…
THE Governors of the 19 Northern States on Monday met with traditional rulers from the region in Kaduna State to discuss critical issues affecting the region. News Point Nigeria reports that the meeting was part of the Northern States Governors’ Forum’s efforts to engage with key stakeholders and address pressing concerns, especially the lingering insecurity, poverty, out-of-school children and other socio-economic challenges ravaging the region. The meeting which was chaired by the Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, and hosted by Governor Uba Sani at Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House in Kaduna, has in attendance…
PRESIDENTIAL spokesman Bayo Onanuga says with the recent cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Tinubu, suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Betta Edu, has officially been relieved of her ministerial assignment. ”Betta Edu is gone,” Onanuga declared on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics Monitored by News Point Nigeria. “She was suspended in January and this is October. She is gone, officially. Her position has been taken over by the Plateau man. “As far as this government is concerned, there is no more place for her in this cabinet,” the presidential spokesman said, adding that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission…
PRESIDENTIAL spokesman Bayo Onanuga says that his principal, President Bola Tinubu, is not unfeeling as painted by some persons on social media. Onanuga said the President feels the pain of Nigerians and has assured them that better days are nearer than before. The presidential spokesman, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics monitored by News Point Nigeria, said his principal is not T-pain, as “mischievously” nicknamed on social media. Onanuga said Tinubu has not come to inflict pain on Nigerians but to “repair the economy”. He said “the President is aware that the citizens are going through some difficulties” but…
PRESIDENTIAL spokesman Bayo Onanuga said contrary to popular opinion, his principal, President Bola Tinubu, did not acquire a new official jet but a refurbished one. “It’s not President Tinubu’s plane, it belongs to the people of Nigeria, it is our property,” Onanuga said on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-economic programme aired on Channels Television monitored by News Point Nigeria. He said some jets in the presidential fleet like a 19-year-old Boeing B737-700 purchased under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo are all in bad condition, and their maintenance costs were outrageous. Hence, instead of spending a bogus…
THE Presidency on Saturday faulted The Guardian newspaper’s lead story of October 25, which had the title: “Calls for military intervention: misery, harsh policies driving Nigerians to desperate choices.” Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, Information and Strategy, in a statement, said that the story “openly incited unrest against President Bola Tinubu’s administration and advocated regime change under the guise of journalism”. He said the inflammatory headline and content deviated from responsible reporting. See full statement below: STATE HOUSE PRESS STATEMENT RE: “MISERY, HARSH POLICIES DRIVING NIGERIANS TO DESPERATE CHOICES” – OPEN LETTER TO THE GUARDIAN The Guardian newspaper’s…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Saturday congratulated Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Botchwey on her election as the incoming Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. On Friday, leaders of the 56 Commonwealth nations meeting in Apia, Samoa, elected Botchwey, a 61-year-old former lawmaker who has served as Ghana’s foreign minister for the last seven years, as the 7th Secretary-General. She is expected to assume office on April 1, 2025. Botchwey is the second African to be elected secretary-general of the Commonwealth in its 75-year history, after Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria, who served in that position from July 1,…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has restricted Ministers, Ministers of State, and Heads of Agencies of the Federal Government to a maximum of three vehicles in their official convoys. This was disclosed in statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Thursday. According to the statement, Tinubu also ordered all ministers, ministers of state, and heads of agencies to have at most five security personnel attached to them. See full statement below: STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE PRESIDENT TINUBU ISSUES NEW DIRECTIVES ON REDUCTION IN COST OF GOVERNANCE President Bola Tinubu has restricted Ministers, Ministers of State,…
BAYO Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has revealed the reason behind the sack of some ministers, which he said was based on Nigerians’ scorecard and empirical facts. He also relayed the role the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, played in the ministers’ dismissal from the cabinet. Tinubu on Wednesday relieved Barr. Uju-Ken Ohanenye, former Minister of Women Affairs, Lola Ade-John, his counterparts ministry of Tourism, Prof. Tahir Mamman (SAN) who headed the Education ministry, Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development and Dr.…