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Tag: Bayo Onanuga

  • Presidency Reveals Companies and Routes for 50% Transport Cost Reduction

    Presidency Reveals Companies and Routes for 50% Transport Cost Reduction

    By Daniel Edu

    Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has unveiled the list of companies collaborating with the Federal Government to implement the plan to reduce transportation costs for Nigerians during the festive season.

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, earlier this week, announced a 50% reduction in transport fares for interstate road travelers during Christmas and New Year, with the government covering half of the expenses. Additionally, he declared free nationwide train rides from December 21, 2023, to January 4, 2024.

    In a social media post on Thursday, Onanuga disclosed the five transportation companies participating in the initiative: GIG (God is Good), Chisco Transport, Young Shall Grow, God Bless Ezenwata, and Area Motor.

    The post read, “Participating companies in the FG’s plan to reduce the transport burden of travelling 5 million Nigerians:

    1. GIG (God is Good)
    2. Chisco Transport
    3. Young Shall Grow
    4. God Bless Ezenwata
    5. Area Motor.”

    Nigerian Railway Corporation Implements Free Train Services

    Simultaneously, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced the initiation of free train rides on all its passenger services, effective Thursday.

    In a statement released on Wednesday night, the NRC affirmed its commitment to the President’s directive, offering complimentary train services for passengers from December 21, 2023, to January 4, 2024. The corporation encouraged passengers to obtain free tickets online, clarifying that tickets would not be issued at any of its train stations.

  • Presidential Anger Erupts in Response to Obasanjo’s Democracy Critique

    Presidential Anger Erupts in Response to Obasanjo’s Democracy Critique

    By Milcah Tanimu

    In a swift rebuttal on Monday, the Presidency held former President Olusegun Obasanjo responsible for the present condition of Nigeria’s democracy. Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, conveyed this stance, asserting that the current democratic system in the country can be traced back to Obasanjo’s influence during his tenures as military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and civilian President from 1999 to 2007.

    Onanuga criticized Obasanjo’s recent commentary on democracy, stating, “Obasanjo ought to know that he brought this thing into Nigeria. He was the one who made us adopt it in 1979.” He went on to highlight the irony of Obasanjo’s critique, suggesting that the former president now appears to be expressing wisdom after leaving office.

    The reaction from the Presidency followed Obasanjo’s remarks at a high-level consultation on Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy in Africa. Obasanjo had raised concerns about the shortcomings of Western democracy in delivering good governance and development in Africa. He proposed the concept of “Afro democracy,” emphasizing the need for a system tailored to the unique circumstances and history of the continent.

    Obasanjo critiqued Western liberal democracy as a “government of a few people over all the people,” arguing that it did not fully represent the majority. He questioned the relevance of a system that, in his view, neglects and excludes the minority.

    In response, the Presidency faulted Obasanjo for poorly implementing the democratic model during his leadership, particularly his choice of the presidential system over the parliamentary system. Onanuga contended that Obasanjo, instead of advocating for a better system, accepted the recommendation for an American-style democracy, which he asserted was not in line with Nigeria’s historical practices.

    The Presidency also accused Obasanjo of incorrectly copying the presidential system’s form and structure without grasping its underlying spirit. Onanuga further highlighted that Obasanjo attempted to modify the constitution during his presidency, implying a flawed implementation of the democratic framework.

  • Trash Chimamanda’s Open Letter – Tinubu’s Camp Tells Biden

    Trash Chimamanda’s Open Letter – Tinubu’s Camp Tells Biden

    The Director, Media and Publicity, Tinubu/Shettima Campaign, Bayo Onanuga has asked US President, Joe Biden, not to take seriously the open letter written by Chimamanda Adicihe where she berated the United States and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for congratulating President-elect Bola Tinubu.

    In the letter titled ‘Nigeria’s Hollowed Democracy’ and published in The Atlantic, the author questioned why Americans keep congratulating the winner of Nigeria’s disastrous election in February. Adichie pointed out that following the passage of the 2022 Electoral Act in Nigeria, which gave legal backing to the vote-counting process, Nigerians trooped out to vote on the morning of February 25.

    She writes: “Many Nigerians went out to vote holding in their hearts a new sense of trust. Cautious trust, but still trust.”

    She says what followed was a breach of that trust, when on February 26 social media became flooded with evidence of voting irregularities: “numbers crossed out and rewritten; some originally written in black ink had been rewritten in blue, some blunderingly whited-out with Tipp-Ex.”

    Reacting to her letter, Onanuga in a tweet posted on Friday morning, described her letter as a fiction written over the loss of her tribesman, Peter Obi.

    “Dear President Joe Biden, please just trash the open letter by Chimamanda on Nigeria’s election once it gets to your desk. She wrote fiction, inspired by the monumental loss of her tribesman Peter Obi.”

    While Chimamanda restated her support of Obi in her letter to the US president, the revered novelist made no mention of doing so based on ethnicity.

    “I supported Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, and hoped he would win, as polls predicted, but I was prepared to accept any result, because we had been assured that technology would guard the sanctity of votes,” she said.