Presidency - Why Presidential Plane is Parked in London

The Presidency has explained rationale behind parking a presidential aircraft in London as President Muhammadu Buhari continues his medical treatment in the United Kingdom.

The Presidency dismissed criticisms that the presidential aircraft in London consumes £4,000 everyday for parking lot and its idleness.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said in a statement yesterday that the presidential aircraft was at the service of President Buhari, who has been in the UK for medical treatment since May 7.

He said the Presidency was constrained to decry criticisms on retention in London of the aircraft, NAF 001, as mostly informed by lack of understanding of protocol around foreign trips by heads of state all over the world.

He said: “It is important to state that for reasons of protocol, national security, diplomacy and prestige, there is no world leader who travels abroad and is left without plans for immediate return or possible evacuation. 

“From operational point of view, this country’s Armed Forces as represented by the Nigeria Air Force are not to abandon their Commander-In-Chief in whichever circumstance he is. This is a standard operating procedure.”

Shehu described claims about outrageous fees allegedly paid by Nigeria as totally untrue, explaining that aircraft conveying heads of state all over the world usually enjoy waivers even where payments for parking are differentiated by aircraft categories.

According to the presidential spokesman, even where the waiver was not granted, “payment will not exceed £1,000 which is a quarter of the amount being peddled.”

He noted that Buhari was not the first to have a presidential aircraft standing by for him as he would “certainly” not be the last.  

“All past Heads of this country have had this privilege, and the part that surprises the most is that leaders, who in the past travelled with three Nigerian aircraft, did not suffer this trenchant criticism.”

Shehu appealed to Nigerians to ignore opposition campaign aimed at derailing Buhari’s administration’s “big plans” for the country. 

Source: Daily Trust

Biafra: Okorocha slams Nnamdi Kanu over agitation

Rochas Okorocha
Imo State Governor

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha yesterday took a swipe at the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

Addressing State House correspondents in Abuja, the governor said Kanu lacks the capacity to lead the Igbo nation to war.

Okorocha, who asked Nigerians to regard Kanu as a young man seeking relevance, said those boys clamouring for Biafra were frustrated and were merely venting their frustration.

He was responding to a question on whether he would advise Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, having met with stakeholders, to consult Kanu, a principal actor in the agitations.

Okorocha said while Kanu could ride on the sentiment of the alleged Igbo marginalization to push his agenda, the entire Igbos were not speaking with him (Kanu). 

“You must understand the position of a thing and what has created this hullabaloo if you like and the big noise about this whole thing. Nnamdi Kanu was a breakout of MOSSOP out of agitation. So, it is agitation, agitation, agitation. 

Nnamdi Kanu
IPOB Leader

“Nnamdi Kanu, a young man seeking relevance, agitating for whatever he believes in, what he stands for, must be treated separately from the entire Igbo nation. The question is: does Nnamdi Kanu has the capacity to lead Igbos to war? Or lead me and the governors to war? So, I will stand now and Nnamdi Kanu will tell me stand up, let’s go to war? So, sometimes, we over dramatize issues just to make a big deal out of it and that has been the big challenge.”

He said the 17 northern youths that recently gave the quit notice to the Igbo resident in the region could not be said to have spoken for millions of Arewa youths. 

The governor warned that agitation,if not well taken care of, would consume the country one day.

Source: Daily Trust

The Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Communications Commission Moves to Save 4,000 Jobs - Etisalat

To save over 4,000 jobs and asset striping of Etisalat by its bankers over $1.2 billion, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) are intervening in the crisis. 

In a statement on Friday, the CBN said, the move is necessary to prevent job losses and asset stripping. Experts say, if Etislat is grounded, the impact on the telecoms industry and the economy will be huge. 

A consortium of 13 Nigerian Banks had a syndicated loan of about $1.2 billion to Etisalat, the debt the telecom firm hasn't been able to completely liquidate in line with agreed terms of the facility. It was based on the attempt of the banks to move in to take over the company that the financial and telecommunications regulators have moved in to intervene and forestall down-sizing and asset stripping. 

The CBN Spokesman, Isaac Okorafor said: “Although it should ordinarily not be the role of a regulator to decide how individual bad loans are resolved, the CBN believes that Etisalat is a systemically important telecommunications company with over 20 million subscribers that if not well handled, may have domino effects on the banking system itself.”

He further explained in the stamen that the CBN and NCC, sensing that banks may go ahead in the usual way and downsize the company’s over 4,000 staff, reached an agreement to intervene and implore the consortium of banks to be reassess its position in dealing with Etisalat. 

Okorafor explained that the collaborative move by the regulators was aimed at foreclosing the outcome of job loss and asset stripping and to ensure that Etisalat remains in business and is able to pay back the loans. 

According to him, the CBN and the NCC, in the coming days, will meet with the syndicate of banks and the HIS, the tower managers and the equipment suppliers, in order to achieve what he termed “a win-win outcome” for all stakeholders.

It will be recalled that Etisalat has been embroiled with a consortium of 13 Nigerian Banks that gave it a facility of about US$1.2 billion, on which the company has been unable to meet its repayment obligations in line with agreed terms of the facility.

Source: Daily Trust

Edo State Government Orders Employment of 4,200 Youths

Godwin Obaseki
Edo State Governor

Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has ordered the immediate employment of 4,200 youths across the state, under the Edo State Public Works Programme, from July 1. 

This was contained in a statement signed by the governor’s Chief of Staff, Taiwo Akerele, which said the measure was in line with the governor’s promise to create 200,000 jobs within four years. 

The statement said Obaseki directed the engagement and training of 50 civil engineers to supervise the public works programme, and explained that the successful applicants were taken from the database of unemployed youths developed by the government for the Edo Jobs Initiative. 

“Those that would be employed would work across the state on 45 inner roads selected under this special window. The governor also promised to engage another set of 4,200 in August 2017 under another window that will see the state government constructing and maintaining another set of 55 roads,” the statement said. 

The statement added that the administration had finalized arrangements to train young electrical and electronic engineers under a special arrangement with Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), a programme which the statement said would build the capacity of young men and women on the practical aspect of electrical engineering in line with the ‘Electrify Edo Project’, which kicked off with the signing of a power purchase agreement between the government, Siemens AG and Ossiomo Power limited.

Source: Daily Trust