Finally Ministerial list is out - Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari forwarded a list of 25 ministerial nominees to Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki on Wednesday evening through his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.

Kyari was accompanied by Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, to submit the list in a sealed brown envelope.

Initial reports indicated that a list of 41 ministerial nominees were drafted, a list that was later pruned to 25. This was the first batch that was presented to the Senate President on Wednesday evening.

Daily Sun, however, has gathered that a fresh batch of ministerial nominees will hit the Senate by Tuesday, October 6, same day the chamber is expected to resume in plenary after the October 1 independence anniversary recess.

A National Assembly source disclosed on Thursday that the president does not intend to have 42 ministers.

Unresolved, however, is the status and fate of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

In the event that the president sticks to appointing only 36 ministers, the FCT may have no representation in the cabinet.

At exactly, 4:59 pm on Wednesday, Kyari presented Buhari’s ministerial list to Saraki, hours after plenary was adjourned for the week.

Saraki’s spokesman, Yusuph Olaniyonu, disclosed thereafter that, “following the tradition of the Senate, the Senate President decided that the envelope will remain sealed till Tuesday October 6, when, during the plenary sitting of the Upper legislative chamber, it will be opened and the list read to Senators.”
Regardless, these are likely members of the FEC from our sources:

    Former Minister Mr. Audu Ogbeh; Southeast APC leader Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and Director General of the Buhari campaign organisation and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi; former governors Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mr. Abubakar Malami.

So far, only three women have scaled through. They are former Ogun State Commissioner for Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun; Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan and Mrs Amina J. Mohammed, Special Assistant to UN Secretary General on Post-2015 Development Planning, are also ministerial nominees.

(Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, DAILY SUN

Independence Address by President Muhamadu Buhari

“October 1st is a day for joy and celebrations for us Nigerians, whatever the circumstances we find ourselves in because it is the day, 55 years ago; we liberated ourselves from the shackles of colonialism and began our long march to nationhood and to greatness.
“No temporary problems or passing challenges should stop us from honouring this day. Let us remind ourselves of the gifts God has given us. Our Creator has bequeathed to us Numbers – Nigeria is the ninth most populated country on the planet. We have in addition arable land; water; forests; oil and gas; coastline; and solid minerals
“We have all the attributes of a great nation. We are not there yet because the one commodity we have been unable to exploit to the fullest is unity of purpose. This would have enabled us to achieve not only more orderly political evolution and integration but also continuity and economic progress.
“Countries far less endowed have made greater economic progress by greater coherence and unity of purpose.
“Nonetheless, that we have remained together is an achievement we should all appreciate and try to consolidate. We have witnessed this year a change in our democratic development.
“The fact that an opposition party replaced an entrenched government in a free and fair election is indicative of the deeper roots of our democratic system. Whatever one’s views are, Nigerians must thank former President Jonathan for not digging-in in the face of defeat and thereby saving the country untold consequences.
“As I said in my inaugural speech, I bear no ill will against anyone on past events. Nobody should fear anything from me. We are not after anyone. People should only fear the consequences of their actions. I hereby invite everyone, whatever his or her political view to join me in working for the nation.
“My countrymen and women, every new government inherits problems. Ours was no different. But what Nigerians want are solutions, quick solutions not a recitation of problems inherited.
“Accordingly, after consultations with the Vice President, senior party leaders and other senior stakeholders, I quickly got down to work on the immediate, medium-term and long-term problems which we must solve if we are to maintain the confidence which Nigerians so generously bestowed on us in the March elections and since then.
“As you know, I toured the neighbouring countries, marshaled a coalition of armed forces of the five nations to confront and defeat Boko Haram. I met also the G-7 leaders and other friendly presidents in an effort to build an international coalition against Boko Haram.
“Our gallant armed forces under new leadership have taken the battle to the insurgents, and severely weakened their logistical and infrastructural capabilities. Boko Haram are being scattered and are on the run.
“That they are resorting to shameless attacks on soft targets such as I.D.P. camps is indicative of their cowardice and desperation. I have instructed security and local authorities to tighten vigilance in vulnerable places.
On power, government officials have held a series of long sessions over several weeks about the best way to improve the nation’s power supply in the safest and most cost-effective way.
“In the meantime, improvement in the power supply is moderately encouraging. By the same token, supply of petrol and kerosene to the public has improved throughout the country. All the early signs are that within months the whole country would begin to feel a change for the better.
“Preliminary steps have been taken to sanitize NNPC and improve its operations so that the inefficiency and corruption could be reduced to a minimum.
“Those of our refineries which can be serviced and brought back into partial production would be enabled to resume operations so that the whole sordid business of exporting crude and importing finished products in dubious transactions could be stopped.
“In addition to NNPC, I have ordered a complete audit of our other revenue generating agencies mainly CBN, FIRS, Customs, NCC, for better service delivery to the nation. Prudent house-keeping is needed now more than ever in view of the sharp decline in world market oil prices. It is a challenge we have to face squarely. But what counts is not so much what accrues but how we manage our resources.
“We have seen in the last few years how huge resources were mismanaged, squandered and wasted. The new APC government is embarking on a clean up, introducing prudence and probity in public financing.
“At an early stage, the federal government addressed the issue of salary arrears in many states, a situation capable of degenerating into social unrest. The APC government stepped in to provide short-term support to the debtor states and enabled them to pay off the backlog and restore the livelihood of millions of Nigerians.
“Fellow Nigerians, there have been a lot of anxiety and impatience over the apparent delay in announcement of ministers. There is no cause to be anxious. Our government set out to do things methodically and properly. We received the handing over notes from the outgoing government only four days before taking over. Consequently, the Joda Transition Committee submitted its Report on the reorganization of Federal Government structure after studying the hand over notes. It would have been haphazard to announce ministers when the government had not finalized the number of ministries to optimally carry the burden of governance.
“Anyway, the wait is over. The first set of names for ministerial nominees for confirmation has been sent to the senate. Subsequent lists will be forwarded in due course. Impatience is not a virtue. Order is more vital than speed. Careful and deliberate decisions after consultations get far better results. And better results for our country is what the APC government for CHANGE is all about.
“I would like to end my address this morning on our agenda for CHANGE. Change does not just happen. You and I and all of us must appreciate that we all have our part to play if we want to bring change about. We must change our lawless habits, our attitude to public office and public trust. We must change our unruly behaviour in schools, hospitals, market places, motor parks, on the roads, in homes and offices. To bring about change, we must change ourselves by being law-abiding citizens.
“Happy Independence Celebrations. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Nigeria @ 55, worth celebrating

“October 1st is a day for joy and celebrations for us Nigerians, whatever the circumstances we find ourselves in because it is the day, 55 years ago; we liberated ourselves from the shackles of colonialism and began our long march to nationhood and to greatness.” – Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria

This was the opening paragraph of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Independence Day speech on October 1, 2015, and it gives suitable reasons why Nigeria’s freedom should always be celebrated.

However, before now, Nigeria’s Independence Days were affairs filled with gloom and pessimism for many of its citizens.

The country seemed to be slipping backwards and backwards on the progress scale and every October 1, which marked a new year, made this decline seem more obvious with many Nigerians left asking “What are we celebrating?”

Buhari approves N70 million for Independence Day celebrations

Nevertheless, the past one year has left citizens with reasons to celebrate and hope that the country might have finally begun its march to greatness.

One such reason for celebration is the successful conduct of Nigeria’s 2015 general elections. The entire world predicted and was waiting for an eruption of violence which would divide the country for good.

 

However, against all odds, Nigeria’s most anticipated elections were peaceful and largely free and fair.

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan’s concession of defeat to Buhari came as a pleasant surprise and put the country in a favourable light for the first time in many years.

Buhari’s presidency was ushered in along with the hopes and expectations of Nigerians that, as promised by the All Progressives Congress (APC), things would finally change.

 The president got to work immediately on the Boko Haram insurgency and after a series of security summits and conferences, it seems that the Nigerian military is finally making progress in the war against terror.

The improvement in electricity generation has also come as a pleasant surprise to citizens as most people now enjoy steady power supply and have no need to fuel their generators.

On August 12, 2015, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Godknows Igali said that power generation in the country had peaked at 4,600 MW from 1,327MW in May.

Buhari administration has brought change to power sector

Another area to which Buhari has devoted his energies is the fight against corruption. The president has repeatedly promised that his administration would recover Nigeria’s looted funds and put a final stop to the plague of corruption.

Buhari seeks foreign support to recover Nigeria's looted funds

Buhari’s administration has been severely criticized but many are in agreement that the country is towing a very new and very delicate path.

It would seem that for the first time in a long time Nigerians can finally have the audacity to hope for a nation that will one day be worth celebrating.

 

Happy Independence Day!

Great shock on Malaysian Airline

298 people on board crashed Malaysian flight, 154 Dutch – Airline  

There were 298 people, including 154 Dutch nationals, on board the Malaysia Airlines flight that crashed in strife-torn eastern Ukraine on Thursday, an official from the carrier said.
“There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board the plane,” Malaysian Airlines vice president Huib Gorter told reporters at a press conference at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport from where the doomed flight had taken off.
He gave a preliminary breakdown of the passenger’s nationalities, saying: “154 were Dutch, 27 were Australian.”
In addition, 23 others were from Malaysia, 11 were Indonesian, six were British, four were German, another four were from Belgium, three were from the Philippines and one was Canadian.
Around 50 passengers remained unidentified, Gorter said.
Air traffic control lost contact with the Boeing 777-400 around 14:15 (12:15 GMT) near the Russian-Ukrainian border, the Malaysia Airlines official said.
Flight MH17 took off from Schiphol shortly after noon and was supposed to land in Kuala Lumpur at around 06:10 am local time, Gorter said.
Malaysia Airlines will send a team to Ukraine on Friday to help with the investigation.
Another airplane will also be made available to grieving relatives wanting to visit the crash site, Gorter said.
Questioned about the cause of the plane crash, Gorter said: “At this stage we are still looking at it from the viewpoint of being an accident.”
Earlier, shocked and crying relatives were shielded from the press as they arrived at Schiphol to be taken to a special gathering area.
They were later escorted from the airport and taken by bus to an undetermined destination, Dutch news agency ANP reported.
The crash is the Netherlands’ second-largest air disaster to date.
The country’s largest disaster happened in March 1977 when 238 Dutch citizens died in Tenerife when two Boeing 747s crashed with the loss of 582 lives.

Jacob Zuma: I'm short of words

South African President Jacob Zuma addressed his nation and the world to inform us that the world has lost a true icon. Nelson Mandela, 95, passed away at his home a short while ago. While the late President's health had been in steady decline for a number of years, it is still difficult to come to terms with the fact that he is no longer with us.

It is impossible to put into words the impact that Mandela has had on the world. He showed that peaceful resistance, even in the midst of the most terrible circumstances one could possibly imagine, is possible. He could have been bitter and call for retaliation against his and his peoples oppressors, but he insisted on a government of inclusion and reconciliation. Somehow, some way, he succeeded in bringing his people along with him.

The world lost a true giant today. Mandela was one of those few people in this world that are bigger than life and he will be remembered for many years to come. May he rest in peace.

Nelson Mandela: The Inspiring Words He Told Oprah Winfrey

When Nelson Mandela appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2000, the South African leader, who passed away Thursday at the age of 95, was, understandably, not just any other guest.
"As he was getting ready to leave the building, everyone of the Harpo staff lined the hallway to shake his hand," Winfrey would later recall. "We now call that hallway the 'Nelson Mandela Hallway' here at Harpo." (Harpo is Winfrey's production company.)
Read Mandela's Most Inspirational Quotes
"This has not happened before or after," she said.
Before Winfrey's staff lined up to meet the anti-apartheid leader who emerged from prison to become South Africa's first black president, Mandela discussed his heroic life and how, branded a terrorist and traitor by South Africa's apartheid government, he survived nearly 30 years in captivity.
Watch Nelson Mandela on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show'
"You must fight the battle for dignity on the very first day you go to jail and that's what we did. We put our foot down and insisted on being respected even though were prisoners," Mandela said.
Mandela spent much of his time in prison on Robben Island, where he was made to do forced labor and was permitted just one visitor a year; he could either write or receive one letter every six months. Despite those limits on communication, he completed a law degree, organized protests within the prison and helped lead the movement against apartheid.
Unexpected Facts About Nelson Mandela
"If I have not been to prison, I would not have been able to achieve the most difficult task in life and that is changing yourself," Mandela told Winfrey in 2000.
"I was in the company of great men," he said of his fellow prisoners. "Some of them were more qualified, more talented than I am, and to sit down with them to exchange views was one of the most revealing experiences I had."
In reflecting on how he held no bitterness towards his captors and went on to lead the country, Mandela said that thinking of his time in prison left him feeling "angry."
Nelson Mandela's Life, Family, Imprisonment in Photos
"Our emotions said the white minority is our enemy [and] we must never talk to them, but our brains said if you don't talk to this man, your country will go up in the flames. And for many years to come, this country would be in rivers of blood," Mandela said. "So we had to reconcile that conflict and our talking to the enemy was the result of the domination of the brain over emotions."
After developing a personal bond with Mandela, Winfrey went on to found the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls just outside Johannesburg, in Mandela's native country.
Mandela Mourners Celebrate His Life
"To be in his presence is like being in the presence of grace and royalty at the same time," Winfrey said in introducing Mandela on her 2000 show. "It is one of the greatest honors of my career to welcome Nelson Mandela."
In 2011, when Winfrey ended her show, she named the Mandela interview as one of the top 17 headline-making moments in the show's 25-year history.
Upon hearing of Mandela's passing on Thursday, Oprah called Mandela her "hero" and said his life was "a gift to us all."
"One of the great honors of my life was to be invited to Nelson Mandela's home, spend private time and get to know him," Winfrey said in a statement. "He was everything you've ever heard and more - humble and unscathed by bitterness. And he always loved to tell a good joke. Being in his presence was like sitting with grace and majesty at the same time."