Tag: Garba Shehu

11May By MosesianNo Comments

News

”Robbers attempted to burgle Ibrahim Gambari’s residence”- Presidency reacts to reports of a robbery attack in Aso Rock

On Monday, May 10, reports were rife online claiming there was a robbery attack in Aso Rock which is the seat of power in Nigeria. As Nigerians expressed shock at the news and were uncertain as to the authenticity of the report, the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, released a statement some minutes ago, saying that indeed there was a ''foolish attempt'' to burgle the office of the Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Profesor Ibrahim Gambari. He said the attempt was however unsuccessful. ''The Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari has confirmed that there “was a foolish attempt” to burgle his residence at 3:00am this morning but it turned out to be unsuccessful. Professor Gambari, whose house is on a street next to the Villa ha...

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7May By Ajiboye IfeoluwaNo Comments

News

President Buhari should speak to us… we didn’t vote for Garba Shehu or Femi Adesina – Dino Melaye

Senator Dino Melaye has asked President Buhari to come out and address Nigerians as people voted for him and not his media aides, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu.   Melaye said this when he granted an interview on AIT today May 7. According to him, President Buhari’s silence is detrimental to the war against insecurity in the country. He asked the president to resign "in the interest of Nigerians who are dying."   “President Buhari needs to speak to Nigerians directly, he needs to communicate with the media. Our president is absent, and this has negative concomitant effects on the war against insecurity in the country. It is very pathetic, but our president is not available. All we hear is presidency says, we didn’t vote for Garba Shehu or Femi Adesina. All our secur...

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7May By MosesianNo Comments

Politics

President Buhari should speak to us… we didn’t vote for Garba Shehu or Femi Adesina – Dino Melaye

Senator Dino Melaye has asked President Buhari to come out and address Nigerians as people voted for him and not his media aides, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu. Melaye said this when he granted an interview on AIT today May 7. According to him, President Buhari’s silence is detrimental to the war against insecurity in the country. He asked the president to resign "in the interest of Nigerians who are dying." “President Buhari needs to speak to Nigerians directly, he needs to communicate with the media. Our president is absent, and this has negative concomitant effects on the war against insecurity in the country. It is very pathetic, but our president is not available. All we hear is presidency says, we didn’t vote for Garba Shehu or Femi Adesina. All our security challenges b...

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7May By MosesianNo Comments

News

President Buhari Suspends Hadiza Bala Usman as NPA MD, Orders probe

President Buhari has approved the suspension of Hadiza Bala Usman as the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). According to a statement released by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, Her suspension followed a recommendation by Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, to set up an administrative panel of inquiry to investigate the Hadiza-led management of the NPA. ''President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the recommendation of the Ministry of Transportation under Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi for the setting up of an Administrative Panel of Inquiry to investigate the Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA. The President has also approved that the Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman step aside while the investigation is carried out. M...

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2May By Ajiboye IfeoluwaNo Comments

News

Buhari: Goodluck Jonathan’s media office reports Fr Mbaka to Pope Francis

Reno Omokri, on behalf of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s media office, has written Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis, reporting Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka to leadership of the church. Recall that Rev. Mbaka had last week asked President Muhammadu Buhari to resign forthwith or be impeached by the House of representatives. In response, the Presidency, through Garba Shehu, a senior special assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, accused the revered priest of making the call now because he was refused a contract by Buhari. The clergyman is yet to directly respond to the allegations made by the President’s spokesman. But some of his associates have challenged Garba Shehu to reply to the priest’s comments on Buhari and the insecurity in Nigeria. According to them, the alle...

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1May By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Ortom Deserves Commendation Not Condemnation – Benue Govt Replies Garba Shehu

We read the statement signed by Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, mallam Garba Shehu in which he said President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed “his disappointment and sadness to hear Samuel Ortom, the Governor of Benue State make a litany of accusations against his person and his government following the recent unfortunate incidents in the state”. Shehu was referring to Governor Ortom’s clarion call on the President to act decisively and in an unbiased manner to end the spate of killings by Fulani herdsmen in Benue and other parts of the country. We are convinced that Mr President was not aware that his aide Shehu made such a statement on his behalf. It is clear that the media aide didn’t speak for the President in the said statement. President Buhari...

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1May By Ajiboye IfeoluwaNo Comments

News

Mbaka asked Buhari for contracts, Garba Shehu alleges

Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, has alleged that Ejike Mbaka, Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry (AMEN), asked President Muhammadu Buhari for contracts but was rebuffed. Reacting to the priest call for Buhari to resign or be impeached, Shehu said Mbaka once brought three contractors to the president but Buhari insisted that due process must be followed. “Father Mbaka is everything apart form what he claims to be… an outsider distilling the avalanche of verbiage will be surprised that after supporting the President two times to win the Presidency, Father Mbaka has made a complete U-Turn, preposterously asking President Buhari to resign or be impeached,” Shehu said. “Here is the point of departure: Father Mbaka asked for a meeti...

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30Apr By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Adopt Ruga If You Want Peace In Benue – Garba Shehu To Governor Ortom

Governor Samuel Ortom wants peace in Benue, he should cooperate with President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime by accepting Ruga and other policies, says the Presidency. Mr Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu, claimed the recent spate of insecurity ravaging the state resulted from Mr Ortom’s rejection of Ruga settlements. His comment came on the heels of the killing of Benue residents on Tuesday by killer herders. While reacting to the Tuesday violence, Mr Ortom had said Mr Buhari’s “action and inaction” was responsible, accusing him of Fulanisation of Nigeria. However, Mr Shehu, in a statement on Thursday, claimed the governor’s refusal to adopt the controversial Ruga policy showed he did not value people’s interest. The governor had rejected the policy describing it as deceptive a...

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30Apr By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Impeachment: Senators, Reps Divided As Afenifere Backs Mbaka’s Verdict On Buhari

Some senators and members of the House of Representatives as well as sociocultural organisations on Thursday expressed divergent views on the call by the spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Father Ejike Mbaka, on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign or be impeached. The cleric, who publicly supported the candidature of President Buhari in the build-up to the 2015 elections, said “God is angry with the president.” His call for Buhari’s resignation or impeachment came 24 hours after a renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi raised the alarm that nobody is safe anymore in the country, and challenged the president to act. While some members of the National Assembly said Father Mbaka was right, others said the suggestion was overkill. The Yoruba sociocu...

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26Apr By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Isa Pantami: The Nigerian Minister Haunted By His Extremist Views – BBC

Nigeria's presidency says it "stands behind" an embattled minister facing calls for his resignation after extreme Islamist views he held in the past recently came to light. Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, and also a renowned Muslim cleric, expressed views sympathetic to groups such as al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. In one sermon from the 2000s he said he considered al-Qaeda founder, Osama Bin Laden, a better Muslim than himself, and in another, he said he was happy when infidels were massacred. Recordings of him expressing these views began circulating on social media last week, leading to calls for his resignation or sacking by President Muhammadu Buhari. But in its first reaction since the saga began, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said the mini...

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24Apr By dthataNo Comments

Politics

People Are Reporting Killings As If It Had Never Happened Before – Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assitant to President, Garba Shehu, has lamented that the way killings are being reported under the Muhammadu Buhari-administration is like it had never happened before. Garba Shehu explained that killings had been in existence since forever and President Buhari seems to be a target in the way it is being reported now. Speaking on Channels’ Politics Today, the spokesman, who also answered questions on the ongoing controversy surrounding the embattled Communications Minister, Isa Pantami, said that those who “stand in criticism of the minister are not willing to forgive him.” Garba Shehu, reacting to comparison of Pantami’s case to alleged forgery that consumed former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said the cases are different and opined that the latter was m...

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24Apr By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Kemi Adeosun’s Forgery Worse Than Pantami’s Comments On Terrorists – Garba Shehu

President Muhammadu Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu, said certificate forgery involving Kemi Adeosun, former Finance Minister, is worse than Isa Ali Pantami’s views on terror groups. Shehu made the remark on Friday when he appeared on Channels TV. Adeosun was forced to resign in 2018 after over her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) exemption certificate said to have been forged. Pantami, the Communications Minister, expressed views in support of Al-Qaeda and Taliban during his lectures in the 2000s. The Islamic preacher explained his views had changed but a there are calls for his resignation. The presidency, however, dismissed the demand. Shehu said in the case of Pantami, “you are probing the thoughts, what is called ‘McCarthyism’; you search the inner recesses of t...

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22Apr By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Biafra: “Publish Names Of Those That Asked For Money” – IPOB Tells FG

The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has reacted to the allegation by the Presidency that the renewed agitation for self determination in the South East was because the federal government had refused to share money to those behind the agitation. Recall the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, Wednesday, April 21, shrugged off threats of Nigeria’s balkanisation by advocates of Biafra and Oduduwa Republics, saying that President Muhammadu Buhari cannot be bullied into giving in to their demands. “President Buhari will pay no one. He is not going to pay and now it is clear that having ignored all of that, reasonable opinions are coming from those states and from those regions,” Garba Shehu disclosed. Reacting, the IPOB’s m...

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21Apr By dthataNo Comments

Politics

‘You Can’t Intimidate Or Bully Buhari’ – Garba Shehu (Video)

The Presidency on Tuesday criticised calls for secession noting that President Muhammadu Buhari will not be bullied. Addressing journalists during a media parley at the headquarters of the All Progressives Congress in Abuja, presidential spokesman Mr Garba Shehu said those advocating for secession are the problem of the country. He said that although the Federal Government is working to address challenges being faced in the country, those calling for secession and national conference are unelectable people who do not care for the nation’s democracy. “One thing with this president is, you can’t intimidate Buhari, you can’t bully him,” he said. “A lot of these people who are calling for secession, they are the problem of this country. And I am happy that reasonable opinions, voi...

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21Apr By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Those Calling For Secession Are Nigeria’s Greatest Problem – Garba Shehu

President Muhammadu Buhari Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity malam Garba Shehu, has said those calling for secession from the country are its problem. Shehu said this on Tuesday in Abuja at an event organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Professional Forum to showcase the achievements of the President Buhari-led administration. Shehu added that Buhari would, however, not be intimidated by the calls for secession by some persons, pointing out that the country will remain united no matter what. According to him, “for those saying that the presidency has not been talking, our position is clearly that this country is one and will remain united by the grace of God. “You can’t intimidate Buhari, you can’t bully him, a lot of these people who are calling fo...

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19Apr By dthataNo Comments

News

The Identities Of BDC Operators Arrested For “Transferring Funds To Boko Haram” –

Last month, Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant To The President On Media and Publicity, said the Federal Government had arrested some Bureau De Change operators who were facilitating transfer of money to Boko Haram terrorists. He had said some Nigerians transferring money to the sect from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were working with the BDC operators. “Bureaus de change are facilitating money to terrorists. We have already worked with the UAE. Convictions have been achieved of Nigerians who are transferring money to Boko Haram terrorists and this also happens domestically. And I tell you that by the time we finish this investigation, the shocking details will surprise many Nigerians,” Shehu had said. Daily Trust had earlier reported that dozens of persons have bee...

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15Apr By dthataNo Comments

News

No Official Update As Buhari Remains In UK After Two Weeks

The presidency has remained mum over the return of President Muhammadu Buhari from London, the United Kingdom where he is currently undergoing a medical check-up. Recall that on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, exactly two weeks ago, the president departed Nigeria for London where he was expected to receive medical attention from his physician. Prior to his departure, a statement from the Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu, stated that Buhari was expected to return to the country within the second week of April. According to Garba Shehu, the president “is due back in the country during the second week of April 2021.” Meanwhile, the second week ends today, April 15 without an update from the presidency regarding the president’s return. Recall that the president’s trip to the U...

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13Apr By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Garba Shehu Denies Commenting On Twitter Picking Ghana As Africa HQ

Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu has denied commenting on the choice of Ghana as Twitter’s headquarters for its Africa operations. Several media outlets (not Qed.ng) quoted Mr Shehu as knocking Twitter for its decision made public by the tech company’s CEO Jack Dorsey on Monday. But Shehu said in a tweet on Tuesday that he did not make any comment on the matter. “I did not comment on the Twitter choice of Ghana as their Africa base. There are many who have the same names with me. It will be mistaken of anyone to attribute a quote to me or even the Presidency that my verified handles did not bear,” he said. While Shehu did not speak on the matter, presidential aide Tolu Ogunlesi downplayed the development, saying Facebook had also announced that it would be opening an office i...

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5Apr By dthataNo Comments

Politics

You Didn’t Speak Like A Man Of God, Garba Shehu Attacks Kukah

Malam Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, has accused Bishop Mathew Kukah, Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese of playing partisan politics. While reacting to Kukah’s message, where the cleric said the Boko Haram crisis has worsened under President Muhammadu Buhari, Shehu said Kukah did not speak like a man of God. Taunting Kukah, Shehu asked him to visit the North-East and ask residents if there is any improvement in security. “All citizens have their individual ideologies, even their own versions of truth. But if you profess to being a man of God, as Father Mathew Hassan Kukah does, ideology should not stand in the way of facts and fairness.” “Father Kukah has said some things that are inexplicable in his Easter massage. But, in saying that the Boko Haram terrorism is ...

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31Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Nigerians In UAE Are Financing Boko Haram Terrorists – Garba Shehu

The Presidency has stated that its investigation revealed that some Nigerians in the United Arab Emirates were transferring money to the Boko Haram terrorists and financing their criminal activities in the country. The Presidency added that Bureau de Change operators are also in the chain of sending money to terrorists as they were the domestic agents. President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu, stated this while appearing on Channels Television, adding that some Nigerians had already been arrested in connection with the financing of Boko Haram. Shehu said investigation was ongoing and the details would be shocking to Nigerians when they were made public to Nigerians. He said, “It is shocking to any Nigerian that places of worship and farmland are places where kil...

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31Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Buhari Is Internet Savvy, He Can Work From Anywhere – Garba Shehu

The Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari can work from anywhere and attend to documents, as he is internet savvy. Shehu also berated critics over insinuations that President Muhammadu Buhari embarked on an emergency medical trip to the UK, noting that there was no emergency and that it was routine medical checks. Speaking on ChannelsTV, ‘Politics Today’ on Tuesday, Garba said: “It is a medical trip, and there is absolutely no urgency or emergency. “The President is not in any sick condition. It’s a routine medical checkup. The President has done this with a set of doctors that he has known over many years even before he came into office in 2015 and has continued to do that without any disru...

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31Mar By MosesianNo Comments

News

Buhari not a Medical Tourist, he has Retained UK Doctors for 30 Years – Garba Shehu

Presidential Spokesperson, Garba Shehu has stated that President Buhari is not a medical tourist following the controversy his recent trip to the UK for medical checkup ignited. In an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday March 30, Shehu said his principal has retained his doctors in the UK for over 30 years. He added that Buhari is wise and quite correct in his decision to consistently retain the set of doctors who have ensured good health for him. Shehu said;   “I think that, unfortunately, there is the misconception of the president’s trip, seen in the context of medical tourism. “President Buhari is not a medical tourist — if somebody has kept retainership with medical experts; we are talking about 30 years and plus. “Each year, they view you and exami...

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29Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

There Will Be No Nigeria If Igbo Is Denied Presidential Ticket In 2023 – Ohanaeze

The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural body, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo has carpeted the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, over his comments that President Muhammadu Buhari is very passionate about Nigeria’s unity. Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC rather maintained that Buhari’s actions and inactions pose threat to the unity of Nigeria. The National President of OYC, Igboayaka. O Igboayaka, in a press release, described President Buhari as “a direct opposite of Nigeria’s unity”. Dismissing as false, a statement credited to Garba that “Buhari is so passionate about Nigeria’s unity”, Igboayaka alleged that “Shehu is on a pay job, and one of the aides that is endangering the unity of Nigeria through his sycophantic service to the president.” Accordin...

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27Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

It’s Very Difficult To Sell A Bad Product – Hakeem Baba-Ahmed Mocks Garba Shehu On Live TV

Spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has come down hard on Mallam Garba Shehu, spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari. When he featured on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme on Friday, Baba-Ahmed said he sympathises with Shehu because “It is very difficult to sell a bad product”. Shehu, who was also a guest on the programme, had said some persons would fail in their bid to bring down the government of Buhari. While reacting to the secession moves of agitators such as Sunday Igboho and Asari Dokubo, Shehu said some “charlatans” were being sponsored to bully the president, thinking he will be forced into submission. Igboho had recently declared that the SouthWest is no longer a part of Nigeria and Dokubo also announced establishment of...

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27Mar By MosesianNo Comments

News

”You cannot bring down what is already down” – Aisha Yesufu replies Garba Shehu who said nobody can bring down Buhari’s govt

Aisha Yesufu has replied the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who on Friday, March 26, said in an interview with Channels TV that nobody can bring down the Buhari-led administration because it is a democratically elected government. ''I want to assure Nigerians that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is addressing multiple challenges that are facing the country especially in dealing with security and yet we are still making progress in agriculture, economy, anti-corruption. It is sad for the country that opposition is exploiting some of these things. It is quite unfortunate and I want to assure that the president remains focused in preserving the security and unity of this country. We accept that dissent is allowed, ...

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27Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Nigeria Will Never Witness Civil War Again – Buhari

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Friday, recalled the lives lost to the 30-month civil war in Nigeria and prayed that never again shall the nation witness such. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement titled “President Buhari pays tribute to martyrs of Nigerian civil war.” The civil war was fought between the government of Nigeria headed by Gen. Yakubu Gowon and the secessionist state of Biafra led by Lt. Col Odumegwu Ojukwu from July 6, 1967 to January 15, 1970. Shehu said the President spoke at an event to welcome the leader of the Tijjaniyya Islamic Religious Movement, Sheikh Muhammadul Mahy Niass.The presidential aide quoted Buhari as paying tributes to the martyrs of the civi...

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26Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Nobody Can Bring Down Buhari’s Government – Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, has said no one can bring down the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. While reacting to the secession moves of agitators such as Sunday Igboho and Asari Dokubo, Shehu said some “charlatans” were being sponsored to bully President Muhammadu Buhari, thinking he will be forced into submission. Igboho had recently declared that the SouthWest is no longer a part of Nigeria. During his declaration, the self-acclaimed activist said the major resources of Nigeria were in the hands of Northerners, stressing that Yorubas were being killed and their lands taken over. Dokubo also announced establishment of Biafra Customary Government in which he incorporated some parts of the South East and Sout...

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24Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

2023: Tinubu Is My Strong Ally – President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has put to death rumours of an alleged rift with political collosus, Bola Ahmed Tinubu adding that he is a Strong Ally. In a statement on Wednesday, signed by Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu, President Buhari described the Asiwaju of Lagos as "one of the most respected political leaders in the country who has stuck to his principles in the face of all adversities". "Recent reports of a rift between the two leaders of our party are false; the handiwork of some media mischief makers. It is quite unfortunate that certain sections of the media feed on birthing controversies, providing a nexus for naysayers who work behind the scenes planting such stories which are absolutely false." The President also described Tinubu, who is also known as the "Jagab...

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18Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Six Super Tucano aircraft to arrive in Nigeria By July – Garba Shehu

The Presidency, on Thursday, said six of the 12 Super Tucano fighter aircraft earlier ordered by the Federal Government will arrive in the country by July 2021. The Spokesman for the President, Garba Shehu, announced this in a statement titled, ‘Nigeria’s Super Tucanos To Arrive Mid-July 2021’. It read, “Six of the twelve Super Tucanos are on track to arrive in mid-July 2021. With the remaining six shortly after that. There are 14 Nigerian pilots currently training at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. “The Super Tucanos came off the production line in Jacksonville Florida and are now being equipped and flight tested. Nigerian pilots and maintenance personnel are training on these planes. Currently, the construction is ongoing, which will house the aircraft. “The Air-Ground-Integ...

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8Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Ibrahim Gambari, Garba Shehu, Others Take COVID-19 Vaccination

In continuation of the national vaccination exercise, the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu have taken their first dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Also Permanent Secretary State House, Tijjani Umar and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd). They were vaccinated by the Chief Nursing Officer, Dr Esther Ibrahim at the Special Care Centre of State House Clinic, Abuja. The Chief of Staff after taking his jab described the process as painless. He says he is simply following the President’s footsteps as a responsible Nigerian. He urged all eligible Nigerians to present themselves for th...

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7Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Garba Shehu Speaks On The Bush Fire Incident At The Aso Villa

BUSH FIRE INCIDENT RECORDED OUTSIDE VILLA PERIMETER People in the country and even abroad have been expressing concerns over reports of a fire incident in Aso Rock Villa, the seat of the Nigerian government. I would like to clarify that there was no fire inside the Presidential Villa. In the evening of Saturday, March 6, a fire broke out burning shrubs between the outer wire fence and walls surrounding the Villa, precisely in the area between the Villa and the Barracks, towards Asokoro. The fire, as being speculated, might have started from a passerby dropping a burning cigarette. The Federal Fire Service will ascertain the reason for it when they complete their investigation. It suffices to say that this bush fire, which started and ended outside the perimeter walls of ...

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7Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

COVID-19 Vaccine Has No Side Effects On President Buhari – Garba Shehu

In response to press enquiries, I like to assure all citizens, and to dispel fears and misconceptions about the safety of the vaccine administered on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN earlier this morning. After he got his jab, the President felt normal and went about doing his job. If there are side effects that follow, we will be open about that but so far there is nothing of a side effect, serious or mild on the President. He is carrying on as normal. We hope this will help to send a strong message among the people, especially those grappling with hesitancy about the efficacy and safety of the vaccine. Garba Shehu

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5Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Buhari’s Order To Shoot People With AK-47 Also Affects Amotekun – Miyetti Allah

The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Association has said that the order of President Muhammadu Buhari to security agencies to shoot anyone seen with AK-47 rifles also affects “Amotekun and other ethnic militias.” The association added that it does not have any problem with the order because its herders do not carry AK-47 rifles. The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore National Secretary, Saleh Alhassan, stated this during an interview with SaharaReporters, noting that every non-state actor carrying rifles was bound by the presidential order. Alhassan said, “First and foremost, our members don’t carry AK-47 riles. But if you have criminals that carry weapons, they are not state actors. So, if the President who is the Commander-in-Chief and whose responsibility it is to ensure law and order in ...

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4Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Buhari Directs Security Agents To Shoot Anyone Seen With AK-47

Garba Shehu, a presidential spokesperson, says President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security agencies to shoot anyone seen with AK-47. Shehu, who disclosed this in an interview with the BBC, said the president directed a clampdown on bandits who have refused to surrender. On the efforts being made to rid Zamfara and other northern states of bandits, Shehu said the government is resorting to lethal force. “The president has ordered security forces to go into the bushes and shoot whoever they see with sophisticated weapons like AK-47,” he said in the interview monitored by TheCable. “He ordered that whoever is seen with terrible weapons at all should be shot immediately.” ‘JETS BEING USED TO TRANSPORT ARMS TO ZAMFARA’ The presidential spokesperson also said the feder...

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4Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Zamfara No-fly Zone: We Suspect Helicopters Are Used To Take Arms To Bandits — Garba Shehu

The Presidency has said there is a strong suspicion that choppers are being used to transport arms to bandits, while defending the Zamfara State no-fly zone order given by the Nigerian government. The Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu told Daily Trust on Wednesday that the move was taken to boost security in the state. Also speaking on the ban on mining activities in the state, the presidential aide noted that there were strong suspicions that gold was being swapped for arms by criminal elements operating in the state. He said, “Even in Zamfara, there is a strong suspicion that some of those choppers are being used to ferry arms for bandits and also to evacuate gold and illegally smuggled out of the country, so the country lose...

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3Mar By dthataNo Comments

News

Ransom Payments Encourages Kidnapping – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said ransom payments would continue to prosper kidnapping. He said: “The time has come to reverse, completely, the grim and heartbreaking incidents of kidnapping”. Buhari, in a statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, urged the police and the military to go after kidnappers and bring them to justice. He expressed “overwhelming joy” over the release of abducted schoolgirls of Zamfara State, saying “I join the families and people of Zamfara State in welcoming and celebrating the release of these traumatized female students.” Buhari, who said he was excited that their ordeal came to a happy end without any incident, noted that “being held in captivity is an agonizing experience not only for the victims, but also their families and all of us...

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2Mar By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Salihu Tanko-yakasai More Courageous Than Adesina And Shehu – Sule Lamido

Former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has said Salihu Tanko Yakasai, former media aide of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state, has more courage that Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, presidential spokesmen. Salihu was arrested on Saturday over his call for President Muhammadu Buhari to resign due to widespread insecurity. News of his arrest was making the round when Ganduje announced his sack. Reacting in a statement on Monday, Lamido said Salihu is as brave as his father who stood up to tough leaders. “The Government and its Security Agencies need to be more circumspect in dealing with minor political irritations from irritant youths. Those dealing with security management should have done some background checks to understand the political DNA of Salihu Tanko and ...

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24Feb By dthataNo Comments

Politics

We will deliver on lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty – President Buhari assures Nigerians

President Buhari has said that his administration's plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty did not come by accident or something they just ''bumped into,” but is a deliberate one that will be pursued with remarkable grit and determination. Speaking on Tuesday February 23 at a meeting with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), President Buhari agreed with the Council that the country required a poverty reduction strategy that will usher in a “rapid, sustained, sustainable and inclusive economic growth. According to a statement released by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, President Buhari wondered why a holistic agenda on poverty reduction was never contemplated by pasts administrations when the Nation's revenue was at an all-time high.   “I ...

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16Feb By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Many Herdsmen Being Prosecuted For Alleged Killings — Garba Shehu

The Presidency yesterday said many herdsmen were undergoing trials and prosecuted in several parts of Nigeria for alleged killings and criminal activities. A presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, monitored by our reporter. He was reacting to reports that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s silence on the farmers-herders crisis parts of the country was bolstering and shielding crimes allegedly committed by herders. Shehu challenged the Nigeria Police Force to publish names of herders undergoing trials. He also said the president was not complicit in the herdsmen crisis. “The president is more than concerned of the ongoing situation, he is fully conscious of the fact that it is the responsibility of his government to work with ...

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15Feb By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Garba Shehu Asks Police To Publish Names Of Criminal Herders Undergoing Trial

- Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu has reacted to the insinuations that President Buhari is not doing enough to address the herdsmen crisis in the country. - Shehu said the insinuations are untrue, noting that many criminal herdsmen are being tried and convicted - The presidential spokesman also wants the Nigerian police to publish the names of the convicted criminal herders to back up his statement. The presidency has dismissed the insinuations that President Muhammadu Buhari is taking a soft approach to the herdsmen crisis in the country based on ethnic affiliations. Most herdsmen in the country are Fulani, the same ethnicity as President Buhari. Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said on Channels TV on Monday, February 15, that there is no substance to such insinuati...

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2Feb By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Buhari, King Mohammed Discuss Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, Fertilizer Plant

President Muhammadu Buhari and King Mohammed VI of Morroco on Sunday had a telephone conversation. A presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Monday, said the two leaders discussed joint efforts towards the realization of strategic development projects that included Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline and a fertilizer production plant. Shehu said they welcomed the positive and dynamic bilateral relations in all fields between the two nations since the King’s visit to Nigeria in December 2016, and Buhari’s visit to Morocco in June 2018. He said President Buhari and King Mohammed expressed determination to carry out, as soon as possible, the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline and construction of a fertilizer production plant in Nigeria. He said Buhari, who spoke with His Maj...

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1Feb By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Corruption: Garba Shehu Blames Nigerians For Transparency’s Poor Ranking

The Presidency has blamed Nigerians for the country’s poor ranking on Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perception Index in which Nigeria scored 25 out of 100 and was named the second most corrupt nation in West Africa and ranked 149 out of 180 countries. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday, barely two days after the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, discredited Transparency’s report. Responding to a question, Shehu said the report is a reflection of corruption by Nigerians and not by the Buhari administration. He said, “I’ll tell you that this one by TI is not a judgment on Buhari or his administration or its war against corruption, I will tell y...

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1Feb By BobbyNo Comments

News

How Police Will Appoint Next IGP – Presidency Explains As Adamu‘S Tenure Ends

As the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Adamu ends today, Monday, the presidency has said the appointment of next IGP would not be based on ethnicity as speculated. The president‘s spokesman, Garba Shehu, who featured on Channels TV Sunrise Daily on Monday, said it would be impossible for top security appointments to be based on ethnicity or religion. He maintained that police have their own ways of producing leaders, adding that if such appointments were based on ethnicity, the country would have more than 250 IGPs. Mr Garba said the appointment would be based on competence as the position deals with lives and property. “If we say we are going to use ethnicity or region as the basis, then we have lost it. This is about law and order, it is not about ethnic ...

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31Jan By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Budget: We Have Nothing To Hide – President Buhari

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Saturday said the nation’s balance sheet is open for the National Assembly and all Nigerians. He said his regime has nothing to hide. According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President spoke during an interview with journalists in Daura, Katsina State, after the registration and revalidation exercise of the All Progressives Congress. The statement was titled “We have nothing to hide, our books will always be open President Buhari.” Shehu quoted the President as assuring Nigerians of full implementation of the 2021 budget, with all transparency and openness in meeting the targets, while appreciating the National Assembly for the effective and detailed attention ...

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29Jan By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Anti-Buhari Characters Behind Transparency International – Garba Shehu

The Presidency has reacted to Nigeria's lowest ever drop at the recent Transparency International's 2020 Corruption Perception Index. PRESIDENT BUHARI DESERVES CREDIT FOR DIMINISHING CORRUPTION IN PUBLIC SERVICE The Buhari administration deserves credit for diminishing corruption in the public service and will continue to vigorously support prevention, enforcement, public education and enlightenment activities of anti-corruption agencies. We are currently analyzing the sources of data used in arriving at the latest Transparency International (TI) report on Corruption Perceptions Index in Nigeria since by their own admission, they don’t gather their own data. This report is not an accurate portrayal of the facts on ground. In the coming days, the Government's Technical Unit...

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24Jan By dthataNo Comments

Politics

IGP Adamu Orders Arrest Of Sunday Igboho Over Eviction Notice

Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police (IGP), has ordered the arrest of Sunday Adeyemo, youth leader better known as Sunday Igboho, over the quit notice he issued to herdsmen. BBC Hausa quoted Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, as confirming the arrest order during its programme on Friday. Shehu reportedly said the IGP informed him of his directive to Ngozi Onadeko, the Oyo commissioner of police, to arrest Igboho and transfer him to Abuja. Frank Mba, police spokesman, did not immediately respond to TheCable’s inquiry on the order of the IGP. Igboho had asked herdsmen in Igangan in Ibarapa north local government area of Oyo to leave within seven days following reports of the killing of some Oyo citizens. He had blamed herders and Fulanis, including Saliu Kadri, th...

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24Jan By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Calls For Restructuring: Go To National Assembly – Garba Shehu Tells Agitators

Prominent Nigerians, including the immediate past President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo; a chieftain of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Chief Audu Ogbeh, on Thursday said there was an urgent need to restructure  Nigeria for it to attain its full potential. They made the call at the 18th Daily Trust Dialogue with the theme: ‘Restructuring in Nigeria: Why? How? When?’ The prominent Nigerians suggested that the country should be restructured to make Nigeria work for all citizens. But in an interview with The PUNCH, the President’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said it was only the National Assembly that was empowered to restructure the country. He, therefore, advised proponents of restruc...

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20Jan By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Herdsmen’s Actions Illegal, Presidency Misinterpreted Constitution – Adegboruwa

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has faulted the presidency’s opposition to the vacation order given to herdsmen in Ondo State by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu. The PUNCH reports that Akeredolu had asked herdsmen to leave the state’s forest reserves within seven days. Apart from ejecting the herdsmen, Akeredolu also banned under-aged grazing, night grazing, movement of cattle within the cities and highways. But the presidency in a statement on Tuesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Akeredolu lacked the power to unilaterally sack herdsmen from Ondo forests. Reacting in an interview with The PUNCH, the senior advocate said the presidency misinterpreted sections of the constitution. Adegboruwa said...

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20Jan By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Ondo Forests: Afenifere Hails Akeredolu

Pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere on Wednesday said South West governors should join hands with Governor Rotimi Akeredolu in driving out killer herdsmen and bandits from their territories. A statement signed by Yinka Odumakin, the organisation’s National Publicity Secretary said it was not surprised at the statement by the Presidency telling the governor he has no right to secure his people from marauding herdsmen “The intervention by what we mistakenly call the Federal Government of Nigeria on behalf of marauding Fulanis in Ondo state against the lawful government in that state did not cone to Afenifere as a surprise as it is in line with non – pretence by this regime that it represents only Fulani interests against those of Yoruba, Igbo, Junkun, Ijaw and other ...

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20Jan By dthataNo Comments

Politics

Akeredolu’s Order: Ondo Tackles Presidency, As Villa Defends Herdsmen

The Presidency on Tuesday waded into the controversy generated by the directive of the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, asking herdsmen to leave the state government forest reserves. Apart from ejecting the herdsmen, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu also banned under-aged grazing, night grazing, movement of cattle within the cities and highways. He also gave the herdsmen seven days ultimatum to comply with the order. However, the Secretary-General of the Miyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Usman Baba-Ngelzerma, had reacted that the association had not been formally informed. But in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President called for restraint on the side of the state government and the Fulan...

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