News

Buhari to Nigerians: Bear with us if we haven’t done enough

Published

4 years ago

November 7, 2020

President Muhammadu Buhari has pleaded with Nigerians yet to feel the impact of his government to bear with the administration.

He spoke in Ilorin through the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, at a town hall meeting with traditional rulers, youths, students, organised labour, market women and other stakeholders on the #EndSARS protest and its aftermath.

The forum was attended by the Kwara State Governor, Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman, Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi; the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Sulu Gambari, and other traditional rulers, representatives of market women, traders and other stakeholders.

In the President’s message delivered by the minister, he said the administration had the interest of the youths and the people in general at heart and was doing a lot to touch their lives.

The President said the government was constrained by dwindling resources occasioned by the impact of COVID-19 which also affected the global economy.

He said, “If we have not done enough or we have not touched everybody, we appeal that you please bear with us.

“In the first instance, what we have is less than 60 per cent of the revenue that was available to other governments that came before us.

“We all know what we suffered during COVID-19, and as we are just trying to recover from this we also faced another crisis.

“We appeal that you should please assist the government and be patient. This government is dedicated to serving the people and we will continue to try our best to do so.

“I thank you all for your perseverance, understanding and patience.”

The President said the administration had many initiatives targeted at creating jobs for the youth and alleviating poverty among women and vulnerable groups.

He said the government initiated a N75bn National Youth Investment Fund to provide opportunities for the youth.

He said the fund was part of the N2.3tn economic sustainability plan aimed at cushioning the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on most vulnerable Micro Small Medium Enterprises across the country.

The President said other initiatives targeted at the youths included N-POWER which had engaged 500,000 beneficiaries with 400,000 more in December.

He said 10,000 youths had been trained and benefitted under N-TECH and N-AGRO respectively.

The President said the federal government FINTECH created enabling environment for growth of businesses that use technology to enhance or automate financial services and processes.

He said over two million farmers, traders, mostly youths, were empowered under FARMERMONI, TRADERMONI and MARKETMONI.

The President said over 500,000 youths had also benefited from the Graduate Internship Scheme which provides short-term employment graduates.

He said 1,000 farmers from each of the 774 LGAs in the country were empowered and guided under the Youth Entrepreneurship Support programme.

Also, Governor Abdulrazaq thanked the President for the initiative of directing ministers to interact with the people at the state level.

He prayed for peace, unity and stability of the country.

Emir of Ilorin said the town-hall meeting was a good forum for the people to express their minds and grievances to government.

News

DHQ: Foreign fighters influx responsible for recent terrorists attacks

Published

2 days ago

January 16, 2025

Trends Admin

DHQ: Foreign fighters influx responsible for recent terrorists attacks

The military on Thursday reacted to the recent frequent terrorist activities in North-East and North-West states.

Defence Headquarters (DHQ) attributed the spike in the attacks to influx of foreign agents coming to strengthen the local terrorists.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, disclosed this during a press conference in Abuja.

Some 40 farmers were brutally murdered last Saturday in Borno State by the terrorists.

Over 50 people including soldiers that went to retrieve the corpses of the farmers on Tuesday were yet to return home after terrorists ambushed them.

Buba said the new foreign agents served as reinforcements for their local colleagues.

He said the situation was made worse by local collaborators disclosing troops’ movement.

He said, “The resurgence in terror attacks can be attributable to the influx of foreign fighters that come in as reinforcement for these terrorists. These foreign fighters are from the Sahelian Region.

“The other contributing factor are the local collaborators that form a support base for these terrorists. They serve as informants to the terrorists reporting on troop movement.”

Buba however declared the troops remained “profoundly conscious of their role and responsibility in ending insurgency and terrorism in the nation.”

News

JUST IN: Tinubu arrives Abu Dhabi for sustainability week

Published

6 days ago

January 12, 2025

Trends Admin

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan

JUST IN: Tinubu arrives Abu Dhabi for sustainability week

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu arrived in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Sunday to participate in the 2025 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW).

President Tinubu touched down at 2:14 a.m. local time and was received by Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE’s Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Themed “The Nexus of Next: Supercharging Sustainable Progress,” this year’s ADSW summit will see President Tinubu highlighting Nigeria’s achievements and reforms in energy sufficiency, transportation modernization, public health improvements, and economic development.