Leadership
WE’RE NEGOTIATING WITH BOKO HARAM – PMB
We’re Negotiating With Boko Haram – PMB
George Agba, Igho Oyoyo, Ruth Tene Natsa
President Muhammadu Buhari hinted yesterday that the federal government was currently negotiating with Boko Haram to secure the release of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, last year.
On its part, the sect has given conditions for the release of the girls, among which is the demand for the release of one of its members who has been strategic in developing Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs).
Buhari, however, declared that his government would not accept such a condition.
The president disclosed this in response to questions from members of the Nigerian community in France under the auspices of Nigerians in Diaspora Organization (NIDO).
He expressed his administration’s anxiety at the fact that the girls were still under captivity in the nest of the insurgents and said it was making concerted effort to secure their freedom.
He stated, however, that in perfecting the negotiation, government must first establish those who are genuine members of the sect in order not to make the mistake of engaging the wrong persons.
Buhari, who is on a three-day official visit to that country, asserted that government could no longer fold its arms to watch the unfortunate incident which had attracted global attention and sympathy both within and outside Nigeria.
He said, “The issue of Chibok girls has occupied our minds and because of the international attention it drew and the sympathy throughout the country and the world. The government is negotiating with some of the Boko Haram leadership.
“It is a very sensitive development in the sense that, first, we have to establish whether they are genuine leaders of Boko Haram. Number two: what are their terms? The first impression we had was not very encouraging.”
The president said one of the conditions given by the terror group was the release one of its members who has been strategic in developing explosives, a demand, he said, government will not accept.
“They wanted us to release one of their leaders who is a strategic person in developing and making the IEDs that are causing a lot of havoc in the country by blowing up people in churches, mosques, markets, motor parks and other places,” Buhari said.
“But it is very important that if we are going to talk to anybody, we have to know how much he is worth. Let them bring all the girls and then we will be prepared to negotiate. I will allow them to come back to Nigeria or to be absorbed in the community.
“We have to be very careful about the concern we have for the Chibok girls. One can only imagine if they got a daughter there between 14 and 18 (years) and for more than one and a half years. A lot of the parents who have died would rather see the graves of their daughters, rather than the condition they imagine they are in.”
Explaining why the negotiation had become necessary, Buhari said, “This has drawn a lot of sympathy throughout the world. That is why this government is getting very hard in negotiating and getting the balance of those who are alive.”
He assured the NIDO members that his administration was doing everything possible to improve the state of the economy by providing infrastructure in critical sectors.
LEADERSHIP recalls that in July this year, the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, had stated that government was ready to engage the sect if they were genuinely willing to surrender.
Lamenting the insurgents’ bloody campaign and devastation of villages, Adesina had noted that the federal government was not ruling out negotiation with the terror group if it would stop terror attacks in the country.
PMB Orders Payment Of FG Workers’ Salaries
President Muhammadu Buhari has issued a seven-day ultimatum to federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to pay all salary areas owed to workers.
The directive was contained in a circular with reference number HCSF/428/S.1/128 dated September 14, 2015 from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi.
The circular was made available to journalists yesterday in Abuja by the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria.
In the circular, the president directed the MDAs under the federal government’s jurisdiction to compile the names of all public service employees who are being owed arrears of salaries and allowances.
Specifically, the circular from the presidency stressed the need for urgency in compiling the names of those being owed with a view to paying them immediately.
Not done, the presidency further directed the MDAs to ensure that each unpaid entitlement is accurate, verifiable and contains the name, designation, status (serving or retired) and amount due to each officer.
“The correct information should reach the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation on or before Monday, September 21 2015,” the circular directed.
In his reaction, an elated secretary-general of ASCSN, Mr. Alade Lawal, commended President Buhari “for bringing hope to thousands of public service employees who are being owed arrears of salaries and allowances for years.”
I’m Determined To Diversify Nigeria’s Economy- PMB
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Paris, the capital of France, declared his administration’s firm determination to industrialize Nigeria and diversify her economy, saying the country was at a new dawn in repositioning its destiny for greatness.
Also, the umbrella organization of about 800,000 French manufacturing firms and businesses have concluded plans to undertake a trade mission to Nigeria next month.
Buhari, who is on a three-day official visit to France, said one of the key objectives of his administration’s ongoing economic reform was to restore the confidence of investors in the Nigerian economy.
Addressing leading French businessmen and investors at the headquarters of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), President Buhari also reaffirmed his government’s determination to curb corruption in Nigeria.
“Our ongoing economic reforms are designed to restore business confidence and block leakages and wastage of public resources. We are also focused on the recovery of stolen wealth belonging to the country,” he told participants in a Nigeria/France Investment Forum.
The president also told them that his administration will spare no effort in sustaining Nigeria’s credentials as the preferred and number one investment destination in Africa as well as the country with the fourth highest investment returns in the world.
Buhari said, “Nigeria is now at a new dawn to chart and reposition its destiny for greatness. We are resolved and firmly determined to consolidate on industrializing Nigeria and diversifying its economy into sectors such as agro-processing, mining, manufacturing, petro-chemicals, food processing and textiles.
“Nigeria has what it takes to make a breakthrough and there is more to Nigeria than oil. It is a blessed land rich in agricultural and mineral resources, coupled with skilled and low-cost labour, large market, robust and competitive private sector.
“With a blessed land rich in agricultural and mineral resources, skilled and low-cost labour, large market, a robust and competitive private sector anchored on investment policies and legislation to guarantee predictability and consistency with global business practices, we are poised for double-digit growth.
“There is much more to our country than oil and we are determined to consolidate on industrializing Nigeria and diversifying its economy.
“The privatisation of key sectors of our economy, which was started under previous administrations, will be pursued and expanded to include other sectors. This exercise will be conducted in an open, transparent and competitive manner.
“We recognize the private sector as the engine of growth and a veritable partner in our economic agenda, and we’ll therefore give the fullest possible support to foreign and domestic entrepreneurs.”
The president also stated his administration’s resolve to redress the serious infrastructural gaps in Nigeria, raise production to create more jobs, build capital and stimulate further growth and prosperity of the country.
Promising that his government will rebuild Nigeria into a competitive, virile, productive economy based on excellence, integrity, transparency, accountability and respect for the rule of law, Buhari said there are enough opportunities in Nigeria to increase its annual trade volume with France.
“It is a positive development that today Nigeria is the largest trading partner with France in Africa, but opportunities abound to greatly increase the current $5billion annual trade volume and I fully agree with President Hollande when he declared in February, 2014, in Abuja that trade volume between both countries should double in four years.”
The Nigerian president noted that his rapid-fire approach in tackling insecurity in the early days of his government was to ensure the safety of all citizens and guarantee investment for both local and foreign investors.
He added that the existing cordial partnership between Nigeria and France was necessary to promote a win-win sustainable business relationship, even as he tipped the trade expansion to cover critical areas such as agriculture, energy, automobile and skill development.
On his part, the president of MEDEF, Pierre Gattaz, announced that the umbrella organization of about 800,000 French manufacturing firms and businesses will undertake a trade mission to Nigeria next month.
According to Gattaz, the MEDEF trade delegation would comprise prospective investors in agriculture, mining, automobiles, energy, skills development, light manufacturing, food processing, transportation services and many other areas.
Nigeria Must End Violence Against Children – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has given his commitment and that of his administration to ensure that Nigeria progresses in the Struggle to End Violence Against Children (VAC) within a one-year plan.
The president, who was represented by the Head of Service, Mr. Danladi Kefasi, made the commitment in Abuja yesterday at the formal launch of the Year of Action to End Violence Against Children. He said: “I, as president, am prepared to mobilise Nigeria to end sexual, emotional and physical violence against children.
The president in his address noted that while VAC had been ignorantly down played, the 2014 national survey on VAC in Nigeria exposed its magnitude and the need to provide adequate policies and legislation to help end them.
He gave the assurance that his administration would continue the efforts of past administrations which had enacted the Child Rights Act, provided education and health care support services and for the first time in 2013 linked the sustainable development of Nigeria to the prevention and effective response to VAC.
“Ensuring that all children are safe from abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect is one of the six commitments of the National Priority Agenda for Vulnerable Children 2013-2020 (NPA),” he said
The president urged all stakeholders, including ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to together work on the priority action to end VAC.
The priority action presented by the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Dr Ezekiel Oyemomi, will be spearheaded by the Ministry to develop a multi-sectoral implementation plan to ensure that all children are safe from abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect, and advocate for the adoption of state level plans of action, passage and implementation of the Child Rights Act in all states.
The policy, he added, will “advocate for the social welfare professionalization bill, create a regulatory body for social welfare and the para-social welfare workforce, empower and encourage children to speak out, enhance access to services as well as improve availability and quality of services, enhancing the capacity of professionals working with children and well as strengthening efforts to hold perpetrators accountable,” among others.
LEADERSHIP recalls that findings of the Nigeria VAC Survey conducted by the National Population Commission (NPC), with support from the United Nations Education Fund (UNICEF) Nigeria and United States Centre for Disease Control (USCDC) was made public last week where it was revealed that most Nigerian children suffered various forms of abuse before age 18.
The report revealed, among others, high prevalence of violence against children, starting at a young age and often perpetrated by people close to victims as well as the fact that children do not disclose, seek or receive services related to VAC.
The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, in his statement noted that statistics showed high prevalence of VAC in developing and underdeveloped nations.
He revealed that since January 2015, the Force had recorded 133 cases of child-related violence, recording 141 victims, and 118 perpetrators already charged to court.
