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2023 Elections:Atiku Promises To Fight Hunger

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar with Dr Michael Olawole

 

The People’s Democratic Party presidential candidate in the forthcoming general elections Atiku Abubakar has promised to lead Nigeria out of darkness by stimulating growth that will create jobs and wage war against hunger if elected into power.

The former vice President made the pledge at the Private sector economic forum on the 2023 presidential election, which was hosted in Commerce House, Victoria Island Lagos today, by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and industry.

In an address presented by the President of the Chamber, Dr Michael Olawale Cole, he warmly welcomed the participants and enumerated the status of LCCI which was established in 1888 as the foremost Chamber of Commerce and Industry in West Africa, representing over 70% of private sector organizations in Nigeria.

In his words, the President stated that “while the Chamber is non-partisan, we are however interested in the economic agenda of the candidates and their plans to make a better Nigeria in the next dispensation”. He promised that members of LCCI wish to contribute in setting a new economic order that can take the Nigerian economy from the doldrums and reemphasized that the gathering was necessary in order to fashion out new policy directions, institutional reforms and sound governance as critical elements toward creating a new economic order in Nigeria.

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The president maintained that the Chamber has organized similar session in every election circle within the past 16 years as its public policy advocacy to provide a first-hand opportunity for the leading political parties to speak to the organized private sector on their economic blueprint for Nigeria. Dr Cole was vocal in highlighting the myriads of challenges confronting the nation which include oil theft, unsustainable subsidy regime, insecurity and the current foreign exchange crisis and mentioned the need for the incoming government to pay special attention in education, as that will determine the future of the Nigerian youths.

In his presentation titled “Nigeria dresses in borrowed robes”, the PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar used the opportunity to acknowledge the President and members of the Chamber for initiating such an intellectual gathering where germane issues affecting the growth of the country are discussed.

He stated how comfortable he was in the midst of captains of industry, entrepreneurs and businessmen and women which as a private sector person, it was like a home coming to him which he simply defined as a meeting of like minds.

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Atiku stated that in times of uncertainties, it is the hallmark of leadership for business and political actors to pause and anticipate before taking the next steps.

He maintained that our actions today will have consequences on our tomorrow and the day after.

The former vice president charged the audience to take stock of the assets of the present day government (if there are any) and liabilities (which will be huge!!) and take a position as the 2023 polls draw near. In his words, “it is also your responsibility to interrogate those who aspire to govern the country by assessing their understanding of the environment, their policy priorities and their strategies for dealing with a plethora of local and national issues from the mundane to the most complex”.

Atiku warned Nigerians not to allow political slogans to take the place of development plan; hence political propaganda on facebook, tweeter and Instagram is never a substitute for proper socio-economic and political agenda. He maintained that the private sector remains the key to any government’s development agenda and any administration that wants to succeed must always listen to them.

He emphasized that private sector leadership in driving growth is the first of the three key principles of his economic growth and development agenda for Nigeria.

The former vice President made an elaborate presentation with statistics on why Nigerian economy is crawling rather than growing and emphasized that under the present administration, our people are not working. He enumerated clearly that more Nigerians are poorer and more miserable today than in 2015, with high capital flight which he summarized by saying that Nigeria is being dressed in borrowed robes.

Atiku stated that these economic challenges have persisted because the APC led government indulges in a policy of blaming the opposition and external factors for Nigeria’s economic woes; hence an unprepared leadership fails to anticipate impending crisis and is always slow to react.

He stated that the evidence however is overwhelming that the country’s under-performance is largely attributable to leadership failures in the management of the state.

Having identified the key indices inhibiting economic and socio-political growth of the nation, Atiku mentioned the importance of a warm hand shake with the private sector as a strong productive and pro-growth private sector is needed to create wealth, generate employment opportunities and help to fight poverty.

He promised to do things differently if he is elected the resident of Nigeria, by supporting the private sector to drive growth. Atiku promised to establish strong partnership in investing in infrastructure, in creating jobs and improving income in the fight against poverty.

He promised to restore investor confidence in the Nigerian economy with a better coordinated fiscal monetary policy that will control inflation, stabilize the exchange rate and interest rates that will be supportive of business quest for credit.

The former vice President promised to break the jinx in infrastructure financing and undertake far reaching institutional reforms to engender efficiency and reduce administrative costs.

Atiku mentioned that he has a good grasp of the challenges bedeviling Nigeria and knows the root causes of the problems confronting the country which he classified majorly as self inflicted and promised to reverse the trend with determination.

In his final words, Atiku assured the audience that he is not a novice in economic reforms and economic management matters. In his words, “I have a history of economic reform and economic transformation. With me at the helm of affairs of this country, the good old days of prosperity will return” and warned Nigerians never to hand over their future to a green horn.

 

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President Tinubu Counters Police Academy in Kano, Establishes New Campus in Ogun

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a new campus of the Police Academy in Erinja, Yewa South Local Government Area in Ogun State.

A statement by Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President,
Information & Strategy, says President Tinubu also approved a special take-off grant of N15billion for the college.

The President’s approval was in fulfilment of the provisions of the Nigeria Police Academy (Establishment) Act, 2021, particularly with respect to the expansion of the Police Academy based in Wudil, Kano state, into multiple campuses across the country.

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The intervention fund will be sourced from the TetFund 2026 allocation to finance priority infrastructure, academic facilities, student accommodation, and core training assets.

A high-level consultative meeting involving the Minister of Police Affairs, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, officials of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Inspector-General of Police and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) recommended the siting of the new campus in Erinja.

The meeting considered student intake capacity, funding realities, academic quality assurance, and the long-term needs of the Nigerian Police Force, which is currently recruiting more men.

President Tinubu believes the expansion will strengthen institutional governance, modern policing education and national security.

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Retired Police Storm Villa Gate, Call Contributory Pension Scheme a ‘Killer Disease’

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Retired police personnel and their families, under the umbrella of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria, on Monday blocked one of the gates of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in protest.

The retirees are demanding the removal of the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme, which they described as “fraudulent, illegal, inhumane and obnoxious.”

Protesters carried placards reading “End CPS,” “If military, DSS were removed from PENCOM, why not police?” while many were chanting, “Police dey work, PenCom dey chop.”

They said the protest was aimed at urging President Bola Tinubu to assent to the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly on December 4, 2025, and transmitted to the Presidency on March 16, 2026.

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According to them, the bill, if signed into law, would exempt police personnel from what they called a “slavery and untimely death-inducing pension scheme.”

Speaking in a video of the protest posted by Channels Television, a retired ASP, Nurudeen Dahiru, said, “We are not begging anybody. We have come to fight for our rights. We have suffered.

“We are not here to fight anybody. We are just here to demand for our rights. We have served for 35 years.

“According to the Constitution of the country, when you serve your country for 35 years, you should go home and rest. But see us suffering now. We are not able to take care of our children.

“We have no food to eat. We are dying. Silent killing. So this contributory pension scheme is a killer disease. 35 years is not easy. We are not here to fight anybody.”

Another retired officer said, “We don’t have anything to train them. As I retired 20 years ago, how much are they paying me?

“It is 24,000 that I am paying you because I retired with the inspector. So they have to sign our bill and give us all our money.

“So that somebody can use it for something. You can buy a house. And then now we don’t have a house.

“How can an ASP, a DSP, a CP retire and they are paying him how much? No, no, no. Enough is enough. It is a do or die. Even if some people are killed today, others are coming.”

Speaking to reporters, the National Coordinator of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria, CSP Raphael Irowainu (retd), who led the protest, said the group was at the Villa to press for the President’s assent to the bill exiting the police from the CPS.

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Court Admits Nine Exhibits Against Malami and Family

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

A Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja and presided over by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Monday, April 20, 2026 admitted nine exhibits against a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami.

The exhibits were presented before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in its ongoing trial of the former Minister and some family members.

The EFCC is prosecuting the defendants on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, procuring, disguising, concealing and laundering proceeds of unlawful activities to the tune of N8,713,923,759.49 (Eight Billion, Seven Hundred and Thirteen Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty-Three Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty-Nine Naira, Forty-Nine Kobo), contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The exhibits, which are documentary in nature, were tendered through the fourth prosecution witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, J. S. Okutepa, SAN, the witness told the court that, in the course of his official duties, he received correspondence from the EFCC requesting documents relating to several accounts linked to the defendants and associated entities.

“I work as a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, Maitama branch. My duty includes receiving correspondence from law enforcement agencies and responding accordingly,” he said.

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Bata further disclosed that the bank complied with EFCC’s requests by providing both soft and hard copies of documents relating to accounts belonging to the defendants and companies such as Rayhaan Hotels Limited, Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited, Nashab Limited, Golden Age Global Ventures, and Rahamaniyya Properties Limited.

“My lord, the documents are nine,” he stated, confirming his ability to identify them when presented in court.

Upon application by Okutepa, the court admitted the documents, dated between July 19, 2024 and March 12, 2026, as Exhibits D1 to D9, despite an initial objection by defence counsel, J. B. Daudu, SAN, who noted that “the dates are almost all in March.”

Continuing his testimony under further examination by prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, the witness provided details of transactions contained in the exhibits.

He identified Exhibit D1 as containing account opening documents and statements for accounts belonging to Abubakar Malami and A.A. Malami & Co, including a naira account and a dollar account.

According to him, the statement of account for one of the accounts covered the period from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2023.

The witness confirmed that the accounts were active between 2015 and 2023, noting that “there were transfers within that period.”

He further revealed that total credits into one of the accounts stood at N383,637,21.55 between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2023, while total credits from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015 amounted to N560,506,465.12.

On debits, he stated that N384,322,120.85 was recorded between 2016 and 2023, while N571,891,174.08 was debited between 2012 and 2015.

Giving further breakdown of transactions, the witness told the court that on November 11, 2020, the account received N194,791,608.00 from New Horizons Limited, and on June 24, 2022, it received N622,500,000.00 from Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.

He added that on July 1 and July 7, 2022, the account received N250 million each from Rayhaan Hotels Limited, while on December 22, 2022, there was an inflow of N500 million linked to Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.

Continuing in that format, the witness identified so many transactions running into billions.

Following the testimony, the defence counsel, J.B Daudu SAN sought an adjournment to enable him study the exhibits and prepare for cross-examination.

“My lord, we need time to go through the nine exhibits tendered,” Daudu said.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter till May 13, 2026, for continuation of trial.

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