To register for #COVID19 Vaccination, visit our website https:///RVn9HsK1Gaand click on ‘COVID-19 Vaccination e-registration.
#YesToCOVID19Vaccine https:///26DrNYhI7o
Tag: Nigerians
COVID-19: FG Asks Nigerians To Register And Schedule A Date To Get Vaccinated
Nigerians Should Not Depend On Buhari Alone For Security – Femi Adesina
The presidency on Monday said Nigerians will be making a grave mistake if they believe that it is the sole responsibility of President Muhammadu Buhari to provide security for the country.
Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, who disclosed this while featuring as a guest on Channels Television programme, ‘Politics Today’, said the president was right when he charged school owners, including state and local governments, to scale up security around their educational institutions.
According to him, while he swore to protect the lives and property of Nigerians as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, every Nigerian is part of the security architecture of the country.
“That can only be wrong and it can only be part of the problem, rather than the solution. Security is everybody’s business. Even at the ward and local government levels, people can be part of the security apparatus. Because when you see something and you say something, you are contributing to the security architecture of the country.
“When you see strangers loitering around and moving suspiciously at the local level, you can tell somebody. You can tell the traditional rulers who will tell the security agencies. If we have the mindset that everything about security is the duty of the president, then that can only be wrong.
“Yes, the president has the responsibility to guarantee safety of lives and property according to the constitution that he swore to uphold but to say that it is his sole business, responsibility or prerogative, we will be very wrong. Everybody is part of the security architecture of the country. It is just that the responsibility weighs heavier on one person than the others but we all are part of it”.
Speaking further, Adesina said state governors as the chief security officers of their respective states have the duty to secure their states as they have sworn to do under the constitution.
“You are talking of diffusing power so that state government can be in charge, they have always been in charge. Governors are the chief security officers of their states, it is not the president. It is very convenient to talk about true federalism when it pleases us, at other times, it is also convenient to heap all the blames on the president.
“Governors are the chief security officers of their states and they have a role to play in the security architecture of the country. Yes, the president is the commander-in-chief and the bulk stops on his table but governors are chief security officers of their states”.
Also reacting to the spate of abductions under President Buhari, Adesina said Nigerians should be concerned about the swift response of the government in rescuing the abducted students rather than focusing on why the kidnapping occurred in the first place.
“Now when these abductions happen, how did it end? You have Dapchi, they were recovered. You had Kankara, they were recovered. You had Kagara, they were recovered. We are working on Jangebe in Zamfara now. You look at the end result not just that it happened.
“This is a vast country with security challenges. There could be glitches, there could be shortcomings in one area or the other but how did those things end? So, Nigerians should give some credit to this government.
“There is nothing wrong in being reactive; you can’t be proactive about everything. In security, there are things you can also react to. Yes, you can be proactive in preventing certain things, but the truth is that, you cannot prevent everything.
“No single country in the world has been able to prevent all security glitches. It happens. But the speed with which you react and the efficiency with which you react will matter”.
Also speaking on last Friday’s abduction of female students from Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe, Adesina said all cards are on the table to ensure that they are rescued at the shortest possible time.
“The Zamfara girls will be rescued at the shortest possible time. That is why government is working, the state government is working, security and inter-security are working. Everything is being done to bring those girls back.
“Every card is on the table. Each situation is taken according to its peculiarity. There are situations in which there will be dialogue, there will be situations in which there will be negotiations”.
Some Nigerians Claimed I Had Stroke – Femi Adesina
Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, said some Nigerians love peddling evil reports about government officials and wish bad things happen to them in the course of their duty.
Adesina, who said this in his weekly article titled: ‘My $1.9 Billion In Minnesota Bank’, said some Nigerians had claimed he had developed stroke after a picture he took with a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode surfaced online.
While saying life and health belongs to God, Adesina said his only response to those wishing to him stroke is ‘back to sender’.
He said: ” People love evil reports, particularly about those serving in government. Have we got so bad as a people, that we can’t have genuine, patriotic service again? Quite baffling.
“This leads me to a lie peddled about me from the pit of hell in the past fortnight. I had travelled to Umuahia, in Abia State, to deliver a paper at the Social Media Converge organized by the state government.
“At the Abuja airport, I had met former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, and we greeted pleasantly, as we always do. As we spoke, the former Minister’s aide took our photograph with his phone, which was later posted online.
“The camera angle was a bit awkward. My clothe seemed too baggy than it was, and my hand appeared twisted in the seemingly oversized sleeves.
“And what next? Some people subjected my arm and legs to photoshop, twisting them further, making me appear as a stroke patient. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.“Those who know me would testify that I like a good laugh. I laughed till my ribs ached, and I put my two feet up in the air. They were having a baleful ball, while I was having the time of my life.
“Life and health belong to God. And He has not denied me of that grace. Why then do the heathens rage, and the people imagine vain things? Let them continue to wail, and we will continue to laugh, and say: ‘back to sender.’
“Will Nigeria ever have people actuated by nothing other than patriotism to serve her? Not with the Ill-will often displayed to public officers. But for me, let them wail, while I spend my $1.9 billion.”
Nigerians detained in Saudi Arabia cry out for help, FG reacts
Some Nigerians detained in Saudi Arabia over expired visas and inability to renew their residency, have appealed for help.
One of them urged the Nigerian government to intervene.
“We all here are Nigerians. We have been here for more than 3, 6, 7 months without any action or information on transportation back to Nigeria.
“According to the rules and regulations of this location, you should be here for 2 weeks. But we have been here for more than 5, 6, 7 months. Others have flown back to their country.
“Only we Nigerians don’t have any source or way to go back. I’m here on behalf of others to beg for your pardon to help us; assist us please to get back to our country”, he said.
The footage caught the attention of the federal government.
On Friday, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, confirmed that the nationals would be flown home next week.
“There are plans for evacuation: 28, 29 Jan, in two batches of 400 and 200 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, she tweeted.
The official called for enlightenment campaigns for people to desist from irregular migration.
“It’s become very dangerous and more difficult,” the NIDCOM chief added.
New Year: Let’s keep hope alive, remain positive, Gbajabiamila urges Nigerians
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has congratulated Nigerians for witnessing the New Year 2021 despite the challenges of the past year.
In a New Year message by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, the Speaker urged Nigerians to keep hope alive in the year 2021.
He said Nigerians should use the experiences of the preceding year, 2020, which he described as very challenging, to work towards a better 2021.The Speaker said he was optimistic that the year 2021 holds a lot of positives for Nigeria and Nigerians, hence the need for the citizens to remain positive.
Gbajabiamila also called for continuous unity and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians, saying “we have no other country than Nigeria; this is the only country we can call ours.”
“It is my hope and prayer that the year 2021 will be better than all the preceding years of our nation’s history.“In this New Year, let’s remain resolute and determined in our nationhood. Yes, we may be going through challenges as a nation, but with our collective determination, we shall overcome,” Gbajabiamila said.
The Speaker also wished Nigerians a year full of prosperity.
Stop blaming God for Nigeria’s situation – Obasanjo tells Nigerians
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Tuesday, cautioned Nigerian leaders to stop blaming God for insecurity, bad economy, poverty, and other challenges confronting the nation.
Obasanjo said the nation’s woes remain the ‘choice’ of the leaders and followers, stressing a change of narrative as the country approaches 2021.The former president said this at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State, on his 2021 message to Nigerians.
According to him, with enormous resources available in the country, Nigeria does not have to be poor and no Nigerian must go to bed hungry.He described 2020 as a year of many challenges but urged Nigerians to work and pray hard in order to achieve “a glorious 2021”.
Obasanjo said, “I like the motto of a school which says ‘work and pray.’ Some people say it should be ‘pray and work’, but it doesn’t matter to me in what order I put it, but prayer must go with work and work must go with prayer.
“And I believe we need to work hard in this country as we pray hard so that the coming year, the year 2021 will be a glorious year for us. But it will not happen unless we work to make it happen.“We do not have to blame God for our situation, we have to blame ourselves. Nigeria does not have to be poor, no Nigerian must go to bed hungry. That we have a situation like that is a choice by our leaders and followers alike. My prayer is that God will make year 2021 a better year for all of us, but it will not happen without work.”
On strategy to recover the economy from recession, Obasanjo said, “When we do the right thing. We are not doing the right thing now. When we do the right thing, the economy will be what it should be.
“We have gone from one form of insecurity to bad economy and on the top of it is the COVID-19. Some people, either for insecurity or for bad economy or for COVID-19 have gone to the great beyond,
I will say may the soul of those who have departed, particularly in this year of challenges, may their souls rest in perfect peace.”
Nigerians call for impeachment of President Buhari
By Gabriel Udeh, Kaduna
Nigerians from all works of lives have called for outright impeachment of President Muhammad Buhari for not heeding to invitation to appear before federal house of Representatives resolution.Federal house of Representatives resolution had invited the President to address the house on security situation in the country immediately after the gruesome murder of over 43 rice farmers in Borno state of Nigeria.
The calls were made overwhelmingly during paper review and phoning programme of Liberty Radio aired in kaduna on Friday morning.
The callers of the less than 1hour paper review and phoning programme, complaint that the non appearance of the President before the reps Thursday as earlier scheduled is unconstitutional.
From the first to the last callers, all of them, exception of one, said rescinding of decision to appeared before the people who reserved the power and rights to impeached him, on ground of security and confidentiality is unconstitutional and counterproductive to the depth of insecurity challenges in the country.
Callers repeatedly expressed wonder that the President’s rights to extend the tenure of service chiefs, not to appear before federal house of representatives, abisemal disregard to quota system, this and that, were responsible for the enormous challenges the country is hitherto facing, and therefore called for his immediate impeachment by the house.
US Election: Donald Trump feels honored as some Nigerians hold rally in his support
Donald Trump took to Twitter to acknowledge the Nigerians holding a rally in his support.
The US election holds today and as Americans are casting their votes, some Nigerians are in Nigeria showing support for Trump by way of a parade.
Sharing the video of the rally, Trump wrote: “A parade for me in Nigeria, a great honor!”
U.S 2020: 9 Nigerians running in Tuesday’s U.S. elections
No fewer than nine Nigerian Americans are on the ballot in Tuesday’s general elections in the United States.
Running mostly on the platform of the Democratic Party, the candidates are bidding for different offices at the federal, state, and local levels.x
Reports states that, besides the presidential election, governorship polls are holding in 11 states and two territories, in addition to other state and local elections.
Congressional elections are also holding on Tuesday with all the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate up for grabs.
At the federal level, Mr Oye Owolewa, whose father is from Kwara and mother from Oyo, is aiming for a ‘shadow’ (non-voting) seat in the House of Representatives.x
Owolewa, a Ph.D. holder in Pharmacy from Northeastern University, Boston, is seeking to represent the District of Columbia (DC) under the Democratic Party.
If elected, the 30-year-old, whose agenda includes fighting income inequality in the U.S., would be the first Nigerian congressman in the country’s history.
Also at the federal level, Mr Yomi Faparusi, an Ibadan-born native of Ode-Ekiti in Ekiti State, is vying as an independent candidate to represent the state of Tennessee in the U.S. Senate.
Faparusi holds a doctorate in Medicine from the University of Ibadan, a Ph.D. in Health from Johns Hopkins University, and Juris Doctorate from the Widener University School of Law, Delaware.
This is not his first shot at the U.S. Congress. In 2014 and 2016, he vied for the Republican Party’s ticket to the House of Representatives but lost in both occasionsFaparusi’s priorities include being a positive voice for all Nigerians in the U.S. Senate and inspiring Americans of African or Nigerian descent to seek public office in the country.
In Missouri, a Republican-controlled state, Mr Yinka Faleti from Lagos is the Democratic Party flagbearer in the election for the office of Secretary of State.
According to Wikipedia, Faleti was in the U.S. Army as an active-duty officer from 1998 to 2004. He served in Kuwait, first under Operation Desert Spring and later as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The 44-year-old father of four holds a Bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy, West Point, and a Juris Doctorate from the Washington University School of Law.His goals as a Secretary of State include protection of the “right to vote for Missouri families”, and ensuring elected officials hear the people’s voice.
Also at the state level, Mr Paul Akinjo from Ondo is running for election to the California State Assembly under the Democratic Party to represent District 12.
Akinjo once served as Vice Mayor of Lathrop, California, and in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1982 to 1989. His priorities include housing, immigration, and transportation.
In Delaware, a small Mid-Atlantic U.S. state, Adewunmi Kuforiji is aspiring to represent District 34 in the state House of Representatives.Kuforiji, originally from Ibadan, Oyo, secured the Democratic Party’s ticket on Sept. 15 after defeating his challenger, Robert Haynes, at the primary. He holds a Bachelor in Accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration from Delaware State University.
In the 2018 mid-term elections, he vied for the same position but lost to the incumbent, Lyndon Yearick, of the Republican Party, whom he is facing him on Tuesday.
Also at the state level, Ms Esther Agbaje is seeking to represent District 59B in the Minnesota House of Representatives on the platform of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFLP), an affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party.
The 35-year-old daughter of an Episcopal priest and a librarian, both Nigerian immigrants, defeated longtime state Representative Raymond Dehn in the party’s primary in August.She is one of four progressive greenhorns who defeated established Democratic legislators in the primary.
Agbaje has a law degree from Harvard University, a Master’s from the University of Pennsylvania, and has served in the U.S. Department of State, among others.
As a millennial, a “generation that has suffered numerous setbacks”, she seeks to bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to government.
x
On the ballot at the local government level are April Ademiluyi, Ngozi Akubuike, and Benjamin Osemenam.Ademiluyi, 39, is running on the Democratic Party’s ticket for Judge of the Seventh Circuit Court in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
For her part, Akubuike, a legal practitioner, is an independent candidate for judge of the Minnesota 2nd District Court Position 8.
Akubuike studied law in Nigeria, then worked in the banking sector before moving to the U.S. where she graduated from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
She has served in several capacities, including legal manager for the state of Minnesota.
Osemenam, who moved to the U.S. in 1982, is contesting for a seat in the Brooklyn Park City Council of Minnesota to represent East District.
An engineer with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, he is vying on the platform of National Party.
He is a former president of the Association of Nigerian Engineers in Minnesota.
#EndSARS: Senate appeal to Buhari to address Nigerians Immediately
The Senate on Tuesday asked the President, Muhammadu Buhari to address the nation immediately on the current nationwide protests by youths against police brutality and bad governance.
The Senate also directed the police to offer protection to the #EndSARS protesters to prevent hoodlums from hijacking their genuine action.
The Senate decision was sequel to a point of order by Senator Biodun Olujimi, titled, “#EndSARS: The need for a comprehensive reform”
The federal lawmakers urged the protesters to stop their agitation on the streets while the Federal Government address their demands.
They also urged Buhari to immediately set up a judicial panel of enquiry made up of eminent Nigerians that would be respected by the youths to identify the notorious SARS operatives and ensure their arrest and prosecution
Details later….
