President Muhammadu Buhari condoles with family, friends and associates of Dr. Simon Harry, the Statistician-General of the Federation, who passed away Wednesday.
Also commiserating with the government and people of Plateau State on the loss of an illustrious citizen, and noting his exemplary contributions to the evolution of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and developmental planning of the country, President Buhari pays tribute to the late Statistician-General worked conscientiously with previous heads of the organisation in recent years, providing relevant data to government and making the NBS a point of reference on various issues affecting the country.
The President affirms that with his appointment in August, 2021, Dr Harry ensured that the organisation where he had put in three decades continued to be relevant in taking crucial decisions in the country, urging colleagues in the field of data gathering and analysis, especially at the NBS, to take solace in the fact that having risen to the pinnacle of his career, the late Dr Harry put in his best in the service of the country.
He prays that God will repose his soul and comfort the family in this time of grief.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
April 13, 2022
STATE ASSEMBLY SPEAKERS MEET IN LAGOS, ASSURE SUPPORT FOR TINUBU’S PRESIDENTIAL BID
- Sanwo-Olu: ‘Asiwaju our only hope for true transformational leadership’
Ability to transform vision and ideas into a reality is the most important skill anyone preparing to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari next year must possess, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said.
The only tested individual with such gift and competence, Sanwo-Olu said, is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Lagos Governor told a gathering of Speakers of Houses of Assembly (HoA) at a forum organised by Lagos State House of Assembly in Ikeja on Wednesday. The event’s theme is: “The Legislature, Changing Times and Nigeria’s Democratic Journey”.
Fifteen serving HoA Speakers from States being governed by All Progressives Congress (APC) fully attended the consultative forum, which also had serving Deputy Speakers, serving legislators of States and all former members of Conference of Speakers in attendance.
The frontline presidential aspirant and National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Tinubu, was the Special Guest of Honour at the event.
The attendees unanimously expressed support for Tinubu in his bid to get the party’s nomination to contest for president.
Sanwo-Olu said Tinubu’s leadership capacity had been sufficiently demonstrated, given the tenacity with which the former Lagos Governor rolled out vision and ideas that transformed the sub-national city into a flourishing economy.
He said the forum was held as part of wide consultations embarked on by the APC leader in his bid to win the support of the party members across various backgrounds and camps.
Sanwo-Olu said: “It is not by chance that you all are gathered here today. It is because we agree totally that you all are important stakeholders that need to be engaged and identified with separately from others. You are the real foot soldiers who can go back to the hallowed chambers and pass the message to all members of your respective Houses of Assembly and your former colleagues in the legislature across States.
“Tell them that the man, Asiwaju Tinubu, whom we all look forward to, has reached out and identified with them as important stakeholders in the journey to next political dispensation. We need a fresh breath of leadership at this critical moment in our country. Asiwaju is qualified and competent to provide leadership we desire to see. He has the spirit, capacity, tenacity and the experience to do that for us. As stakeholders, legislators, both current and former, are the critical component that can make this happen for us.”
The Governor said a better and greater Nigeria could be achieved if a detribalised candidate that had been tested with the right leadership capacity was given a collective support to succeed President Buhari and build on the progress recorded by the current administration.
Tinubu acknowledged the nation is endowed with great human capital to experience a true transformation but said premium must be placed on leadership ability of individuals jostling to run for president.
The frontline aspirant said the country he was seeking to build would not be an index of poverty, frustration and banditry, stressing that his qualification to vie for the Number One office in the land was not in question, as his pedigree as a student on Dean List, professional in private sector and his strides as two-term Governor in Lagos stood him out among the aspirants.
Tinubu said: “It is a very challenging time for us in the country and we need to decide the next leadership right. We need to intellectually assess the current situation, bring in a person with a clear vision and ability to deliver. Accelerated development of our country is all about thinking, doing and being courageous. I am a thinker and a doer.
“I was raised with courage and that is what is driving me to push on my vision to create a Nigeria that will work for all. We can build this nation and reverse the carnage. What we need is leadership, the visioner to drive the change we desire. That is why I have presented myself to canvass for your support.”
The APC National Leader said he was prepared to take over the mantle of national leadership legitimately through the ballot, and not making attempts to gain political power passing through the back door.
He said he possessed the capacity to truly transform the country, noting that his administration as Governor of Lagos initiated many unprecedented steps towards lifting the State’s economy.
If given the chance to become the president, Tinubu said he would bring his new capability to bear and transform the potential of the country into a reality.
“As I need Nigeria, the country needs my competence. I have been a good example with shrewd, daring and can-do attitude. And I have never lost a single election,” Tinubu said.
Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures chairman and Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abubakar Sulaiman, in his response, described Tinubu as “a great leader with character and sacrifice”, noting that the former Lagos Governor placed high premium on the welfare of the party members and citizens.
He said: “Asiwaju Tinubu, we are fully aware of your aspiration to become the president of our country. I give you the assurance that members of the State’s legislative houses will be willing and ready to work with you on this goal. We are behind you in this journey and we, therefore, make request to give us the opportunity to be part of the process.”
SIGNED
GBOYEGA AKOSILE
CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY
13 APRIL 2022
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES EXTENDED CONTINENTAL SHELF PROJECT REPORT, SAYS NIGERIA’S BID TO EXPAND MARITIME TERRITORY WILL BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT WAR, LITIGATION
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja expressed optimism that Nigeria’s bid to expand its maritime territory, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is fully on course and would be achieved without ‘‘war, litigation, or purchase.’’
‘‘I am looking forward to the day that I can announce to Nigerians that additional maritime territory has been approved for Nigeria by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf,” the President said while receiving a progress report from the High-Powered Presidential Committee on Nigeria’s Extended Continental Shelf Project.
The President assured the Committee, chaired by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, of his full support on Nigeria’s submission to the United Nations for additional maritime area, under the recognised international convention.
He commended the Committee on the progress made so far and the dedication invested on the work within a short time, assuring them of all the support to conclude the project in good time.
Underscoring his special interest on the project, the President told the Malami-led committee:
‘‘I have always had special interest in this project right from the first day I heard of it, because this type of project where Nigeria will gain additional territory without conflict has never happened before in her lifetime.
‘‘I am therefore glad that it is happening within our lifetime. This is one of the many reasons I have been ardently following your progress over time.
‘‘It is my intention to support the submission to the United Nations for additional maritime area, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to claim for Nigeria every bit of space that she deserves under UNCLOS.
‘‘It is pleasing to know that most wars that have taken place in the world since time immemorial including present times have always been territorial, and Nigeria has this one and only chance to gain territory without war, litigation, or purchase.
‘‘More so when this territory lies within the area dubbed as ‘the Golden Triangle’ in the Gulf of Guinea, which contains unquantifiable resources some of which have not even been discovered.’’
In his remarks, Malami thanked the President for his strong support to the project, noting that it was dormant for more than 30 months before the president rescued it.
‘‘I thank you for making this project your pet project, because when it was virtually dead after being dormant for more than thirty months and the Nigerian Experts had almost given up on it, you rescued it, and it is where it is today because of you,’’ he said.
The Attorney-General of the Federation told the President that ‘‘by the grace of God’’ the Committee is delivering and gaining more grounds for Nigeria on the project.
The President listened to an administrative presentation on the project by Surveyor Aliyu Omar, the Secretary of the Committee and the technical part was presented by Prof. Lawrence Awosika, a marine geophysicist and former Director with the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
April 12, 2022
